The 2000 Japanese dystopian thriller Battle Royale was based on the novel of the same name that was written in 1999 by Japanese journalist Koushun Takami. It follows the story of a group of junior high schoolers who live in a Japan governed by a totalitarian regime who force them to fight to the death. Long before the dystopian days of The Maze Runner and The Hunger Games, the Kinji Fukasaku-directed movie was extremely controversial and was banned before release in a number of countries, including the United States where the film bypassed the movie theaters altogether and went straight to video.
In Japan the film was extremely successful, becoming the highest-grossing Japanese language film ever within its first six weeks of release. Despite its original limited worldwide release - or perhaps, because of it - the film became a cult classic very quickly and began to earn considerable critical acclaim.
Battle Royale had been considered Fukasaku's best film thus far when it was released; it was ultimately considered his best ever, as he passed away before he was able to complete another feature length movie. It has also become the foundation stone of a media empire that includes games, comics, anime and visual novels based on the original movie.
