Battle Royale Trailer Online

The official Japanese homepage for Battle Royale has posted the original trailer and TV commercial for the movie, along with the new trailer for the upcoming special edition cut of the film. Battle Royale has been very commercially successful in Japanese theaters since its release last December, but the film has also caused immense controversy, causing the Japanese parliment to attempt to ban the film from public screenings. The film, based on a manga, revolves around a fictional annual event called Battle Royale in which, to make an example of rising teen delinquiency, a randomly chosen class of 9th graders is left on an island and forced to kill each other until only one is left alive. The film has garnered immense praise for its direction and powerful case-study of violence, and at the same time has drawn harsh public scandle and criticism as pornography and irresponsible violent propaganda. A “Special Edition” of the film will be theatrically released in Japan in April, featuring deleted scenes, new footage and new editing in some sequences. According to rumor, an edited & censored version of the film is being prepared for possible American distribution.

Please be forewarned that the trailers for this landmark Japanese film do contain intense graphic violence.

Ain’t It Cool News has posted an extensive and very positive review of the film.