Kinji Fukasaku's iconic 2000 dystopian thriller Battle Royale is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a special series of 4K theatrical-cut screenings set for October across North America next week, thanks to Iconic Events Releasing and Lionsgate.
Starring Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarō Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama, Kou Shibasaki, Masanobu Andō, and Takeshi “Beat” Kitano, Battle Royale follows a group of junior high school students forced to fight to the death by a totalitarian government (long before The Hunger Games and Fortnite, mind you). A huge hit in its native Japan, Battle Royale was never officially released in the United States (outside of film festivals), making this 25th anniversary screening the perfect time to catch it on the big screen if you haven't already.
The new 4K resolution, presented in Japanese with English subtitles, also presents a rare interview with Battle Royale screenwriter and son of director Fukasaku, Kenta Fukasaku. In Kinji Fukasaku: A Master at Work, Kenta grants “unparalleled access to his father’s history and unique directing approach on the film and reveals how Kinji’s experience in a Japanese munitions factory during World War II informed his son’s screenplay, how the 1970s protest movement inspired the onscreen violence, and how a Japanese youth crime wave at the time played a role in creating the concept and characters.”
Check out the trailer for the new restoration below, and for more info and to grab tickets for Battle Royale‘s screenings on October 12, 13 and 15, head over to the official Iconic Events site.
