New 4K Restoration
It’s The Hunger Games! It’s The Belko Experiment! No, it’s the apex film about people being forced to kill each other in a bloody brawl called Battle Royale!
In the near future, the economy has collapsed, unemployment has soared, and juvenile crime has exploded. Fearful of their nation’s youth, the Japanese government passes The BR Law: each year, a ninth-grade class is sent to a remote island where they will be locked into exploding neck collars, given a random weapon, and forced to hunt and kill each other until there is only one survivor left. Chiaki Kuriyama (Kill Bill) and screen legend Takeshi Kitano (Ghost in the Shell)—in his final film—star in the movie that has been argued, acclaimed, and banned around the world and remains one of the most savage, shocking, and emotionally powerful films of all time. [122 min; action, drama; Japanese and English with English subtitles]
"Battle Royale's dystopia reflects a hyper-tech Japan still deeply concerned with social cohesion and the value-gaps between the generations. It's the disturbingly dark social frame, not its bloody canvas, that makes this a battle worth watching." — Brian Gibson, Vue Weekly
"You would never suspect that a 70-year-old man made this film: it positively hums with youthful lust and rage." — Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
"Some will be uncomfortable or appalled, and the mix of humour and horror is uneasy, but this isn't a film you'll forget easily." — Kim Newman, Empire Magazine
Any film screened at IU Cinema may contain content that viewers find sensitive or upsetting. Visit our Audience Advisories page to learn more.
