Battle Royale (film)

Battle Royale (film)

Battle Royale (バトル・ロワイアル, Batoru Rowaiaru?) is a 2000 Japanese thriller film, adapted from the 1999 novel of the same name by Koushun Takami. It is the final film directed by Kinji Fukasaku, was written to screenplay by his son Kenta Fukasaku, and stars Takeshi Kitano. The film tells the story of Shuya Nanahara, a high-school student struggling with the death of his father, who is forced by the government to compete in a deadly game where the students must kill each other in order to win. The film aroused both domestic and international controversy and was either banned outright or deliberately excluded from distribution in several countries.

The film was a mainstream domestic blockbuster, becoming one of the ten highest grossing films in Japan, and was released in 22 countries worldwide. It received global audience and critical acclaim and is often regarded as one of Japan's most famous films, as well as one of Fukasaku's best films. Kinji Fukasaku started working on a sequel, Battle Royale II: Requiem, but he died of prostate cancer on January 12, 2003 after shooting only one scene with Takeshi Kitano. His son, Kenta Fukasaku, completed the film in 2003 and dedicated it to his father.