BATTLE ROYALE Dir: Kinji Fukasaku, 2000. 122 min. Japan. In Japanese with English subtitles. PRESENTED IN HD Courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7TH - 7PM SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30TH - 10PM A hyper-violent, perversely fun exaggeration of the darkest teen angst impulses ever imagined, Battle Royale transports a class of ninth-grade students to a remote island and pits them against each other in an all-out deathmatch complete with heavy artillery and covert assassins. The winner is deemed worthy of living in Japan society under the new 'Battle Royale' act installed by grown-ups trying to teach the youngsters about toughness and respect for their country. Based on a controversial novel by journalist Koushun Takami, Battle Royale was the final completed feature of septuagenarian master filmmaker Kinji Fukasaku, who brought his experiences as a 15-year-old munitions factory worker during WWII to the fore. After receiving an outraged reception in Japan, the film's chances of U.S. distribution were further hampered by the popular backlash against violent media following the Columbine High School shootings. Just this year the film has finally been released in the U.S. and received renewed attention due to its similarities to The Hunger Games. Which is laughable, since this far bloodier—and better—powder-keg of a film blows any comparison out the window in its first five minutes. Rightfully proclaimed as a dark satire of modern Japan as well as one of the best action films of the last 20 years, Spectacle presents an HD transfer straight from its new US distributor. Trailer by C. Spencer Yeh TEENAGE RAMPAGE: http://spectacletheater.com/teenage-rampage SPECTACLE THEATER
 124 S. 3rd St. @ Bedford
 http://spectacletheater.com | facebook.com/spectacletheater | twitter.com/spectaclenyc