Directed by Kinji Fukasaku, Battle Royale follows a class of Japanese students abducted by the government and transported to an isolated island, where they are forced to kill one another until only one survives. Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda and Takeshi Kitano star in this adaptation of Koushun Takamis book, combining dystopian science fiction, violent action and survival suspense with a dark critique of authoritarian control and generational conflict. The film became an influential Japanese cult title closely associated with the modern battle-royale concept.

Arrow Video

The kids of Third Year Class-B Shiroiwa Junior High School are back, in a 4K restoration of the classic cult shocker adapted from the controversial novel by Koushun Takami.

Presenting an alternate dystopian vision of turn-of-the-millennium Japan, Battle Royale follows the 42 junior high school students selected to take part in the governments annual Battle Royale programme, established as an extreme method of addressing concerns about juvenile delinquency. Dispatched to a remote island, they are each given individual weapons (ranging from Uzis and machetes to pan lids and binoculars), food and water, and the order to go out and kill each other. Every player is fitted with an explosive collar around their neck, imposing a strict three-day time limit on the deadly games in which there can only be one survivor. Overseeing the carnage is Beat Takeshi Kitano (Sonatine, Hana-bi, Zatoichi) as the teacher pushed to the edge by his unruly charges.

Playing like a turbo-charged hybrid of Lord of the Flies and The Most Dangerous Game, the final completed work by veteran yakuza-film director Kinji Fukasaku (Battles without Honor and Humanity, Graveyard of Honor) helped launch a new wave of appreciation for Asian cinema in the 21st century.

Från IMDB:
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade stud