Battle Royale
Battle Royale is a Japanese film that was released in year 2000 that is based on a novel that goes by the same name. Though the film did extremely well at the Japanese box office, it was nonetheless surrounded by controversy and was even banned in several countries after its release.
What I found most interesting about the film is that is follows the exact same premise as the films “The Hunger Games” and “The Belko Experiment,” both of which were released years later. Though there are some differences between the three stories, it is quite obvious that the two preceding films were “inspired” by Battle Royale.
This article discusses Battle Royale’s plot and also compares it to the other films. All of the movies have a very similar plot so I will mostly focus on Battle Royale while also interweaving aspects of the other films where relevant.
Battle Royale: Plot
The film takes place in a dystopian world that currently suffers from a major recession. The youth in country are disorderly and disobedient to authority. In an early scene of the movie a student runs passed a teacher at school and stabs him in the leg with a knife. In an attempt to control the students, the Japanese government enacts the BR Act. Each year they force a random group of students to fight each other to the death until only one student is left alive. The event last 3 days and not surprisingly, is referred to as a battle royale.
Prior to the event, each student is given water, rations, a map and a compass. Each student also receives a random weapon, and I really mean random. Some students receive large assault rifles or various explosive devices or fire arms while others receive axes, knives or tools like binoculars or a pot lid. Pot lid?
Prior to entering the Battle Royale arena, the students are also equipped with explosive collars meant to kill uncooperative participants or those that are in the “danger zones.”
In the film, danger zones are random plots of land on the island that change 4 times a day. If a student is on a plot at the announced time, then they are within the danger zone and their collar activates and their head explodes.
Plot Hole
The reason for the BR Act is actually a major plot hole in the film. For instance, the Act is meant to control disobedient students but in the film, none of the students are aware of the existence of The Act or of their obligation to participate in a battle royale. In the film the students are gassed on a bus during a field trip and brought to a remote island where they are introduced to the Battle Royale concept and are told that they will be participating in it this year.
How can the Act control disobedient teenagers if they are unaware of it? “The Hunger Games” actually addresses this issue by making their event public and televising it each year to serve as a reminder to all others who are thinking about disobeying authority.
Parallels in the Films
There are many parallels between the three movies (Battle Royale, The Hunger Games and The Belko Experiment) which demonstrates how ideas are adopted and tweaked by others in the book and film industries.
For example, The Belko Experiment is basically the exact same concept as Battle Royale except with adults. In the film the Belko company locks its employees in a remote office building and forces them to kill each other until only one employee remains. The company also convinces its staff to participate in the killings through a variety of similar tactics as seen in the Battle Royale film.
For instance, in Battle Royale the authority figures persuade the students to participate in killing each other by forcing them to wear explosive collars that will detonate if they refuse.
In The Belko Experiment, employees eventually learn that the company they work for has implanted explosive devices in their heads which will detonate if they refuse to kill each other. How the explosives were implanted is explained in the movie.
In both films the authority figures do a live demonstration of the devices which convinces the participants of the seriousness of the situation.
Another parallel between movies is the danger zone idea that was first introduced in Battle Royale.
The Hunger Games also utilizes danger zones in its story line but adds a bit of a twist. Instead of just killing the individuals caught in the zones, the game makers use extravagant tactics, such as fire or poisonous gas, to carrel separated fighters towards each other to create more excitement for those watching the games on tv. In this case, The Hunger Games ups the ante with some added flare and excitement - people don't just die, they die extravagantly.
There are several other parallels rippled throughout the three films but at this point I don't want to give away all of the films' secrets.
Conclusion
Overall I would say that Battle Royale was a pretty decent movie, especially when considering the fact that it was the first to come up with the idea of individuals killing each other off until only one remains. Though all three of the movies discussed in this article essentially follow the exact same premise, there are some differences between the films that make them all worth watching.
However, I have to commend Battle Royale for coming up with such an original idea. Battle Royale was the first to put the idea out there so they get some added credit for that.
In my opinion, The Hunger Games did a pretty good job at working out the kinks found in the original film and I would say that given its extremely high budget and heightened productive value, it was the most enjoyable movie to watch of the three. Basically, the hunger games is like a high production, high concept version of Battle Royale.
What are your thoughts? Have you seen the movie(s)? Did you like it/them?
Thanks For Reading
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