“If there was ever a movie I wish I had made, this is it,” Quentin Tarantino once said. And we can only share the cult director’s enthusiasm for “Battle Royale”. Previously indexed, now stream uncut!
Most of you may know Chiaki Kuriyama as O-Ren Ishii’s schoolgirl bodyguard in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill. There was one reason why the Japanese actress made the leap to Hollywood at a young age: „Battle Royale“. Quentin Tarantino celebrates the mix of dystopian action spectacle and murderous manhunt horror that has long been popular in Germany as one of his absolute favorite films and was so taken with Kuriyama’s performance in the cult stunner that he promptly brought her on board for his martial arts revenge saga.
But the cult director even goes one step further: “If there was ever a movie I wish I had made, this is it,” Tarantino said “Battle Royale” in 2009, which he even named at the time the best film he had seen in the past two decades. Exactly that, viz see, but for a long time you couldn’t do the orgy in Germany – at least not in full. The film by Kinji Fukasaku is not only regarded as a pioneer for “The Hunger Games”, but also enriches the murderous struggle for survival among young people with such relentlessly brutal violence that the film mercilessly failed the FSK:
The unabridged version of “Battle Royale” was not only indexed in Germany, but later even confiscated for a short time. Today the situation is different: In 2017, the film finally got the green light from the FSK and the uncut version received “no release”, i.e. a release from the age of 18. Since then, it’s finally been possible to get one of the most popular and gritty cult films of the early 2000s in regular retail outlets – on DVD and Blu-ray* as well as now even in 4K-Mediabook*. Or in streaming, where you can travel the cheapest:
“Battle Royale” on Amazon Prime Video*
No streaming provider currently has the film in their subscription, but you can get the highlight from Amazon Prime Video for as little as EUR 2.99 (as a rental version in SD) and for EUR 3.98 as a purchase version in HD and Ultra HD.
And if you want more afterwards, you can also get the sequel “Battle Royale 2” there. But be careful, it can’t hold a candle to the original…
“Battle Royale 2” on Amazon Prime Video*
“Battle Royale”: The evil brother of the “Hunger Games”
The dystopian young-adult sagaThe Hunger Games – The Hunger Games” brought it from a bestseller to a cinema phenomenon, but reminded many fans of Japanese cinema strongly of “Battle Royale”, which had already shown a similar scenario a few years earlier:
Japan is in chaos, with school violence spiraling out of control. To counteract this, the government decides to abandon a school class every year on a deserted island. Whether they like it or not, the students become participants in the Battle Royale – and are equipped with food and weapons to face a three-day fight of life and death that only one or one of them can win…
“Hunger Games” prequel: The first picture shows the new Katniss – alongside the big villain!
“Battle Royale”, which incidentally also inspired “Squid Game” creator Hwang Dong-hyuk to his Netflix megahit, reminds its audience in the best “Lord of the Flies” manner what people are capable of at a young age when they are not have another choice – and primarily asks viewers one question: What would I do in such a situation?
This film is uncompromising and provocative, lets you look deep into the abysses of the human soul and is unsettling, not least because it is tough and brutal, but at the same time it also repeatedly produces funny moments. However, they only amuse you until the laughter gets stuck in your throat.
On top of that, the whole thing is well played. And not only from the teen ensemble around Chiaki Kuriyama, but above all from the always great Takeshi Kitano, who once became famous in this country with the TV hit “Takeshi’s Castle”, thanks to films like “Sonatine”, “Hana-bi” and “Zatoichi” has long since enjoyed the reputation of a celebrated actor and director.
By the way: Over time, plans for a US remake of “Battle Royale” became known, but these were never realized. The producers Neil Moritz and Roy Lee, for example, secured the rights for a remake in 2006, but a massacre at the university in Virginia endangered the project a little later – before the first “Panem” book was published shortly afterwards. The young-adult novel made such waves that Moritz, Lee and Co. were sure that their “Battle Royale” adaptation would be seen as a rip-off and would therefore be doomed to failure. The remake in series format, which the US broadcaster CW was working on in 2012, never happened either.
The cult show “Takeshi’s Castle” returns – the new edition on Amazon Prime Video should be even bigger!
*The links to the Amazon offer are so-called affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, we will receive a commission.