Audition (Uncut Special Edition) DVD Review:

If ever there was a film so incredibly disturbing and graphic that it did not need to be released in an uncut version, Audition would be the film. However, it has been released in an uncut special edition DVD for audiences to see it all over again in all of it’s gory glory. What makes Audition so disturbing and incredibly creepy is that it is a slow and graceful build to a masterpiece of macabre. Nearly the entire film is filled with slow and mundane scenes, intentionally slow so that when the final scenes arrive they hit the audience over the head like a ton of bricks.

Audition begins with a very tender scene in which a young man loses his wife and is left to raise their young boy alone. When we jump forward several years there remains a quiet loneliness about Aoyama, now a middle-aged widower. His son and his film producer friend convince Aoyama that he should find himself a new wife, but this proves to be more difficult than he would like. Aoyama runs across the common problem of being unable to meet women, so he decides to hold an audition for a fake film in order to find a woman that he can date. Asami, a former ballerina, stands out to Aoyama and he begins to court her. Asami is quiet and seems to have a troubled past, but we soon find that there is far more wrong with her than just a troubled childhood.

Tension builds in Audition to a creepy point of unbearableness which makes the film unpleasant to watch in a horrific and mesmorizing way. The entire film is essentially a build up for the last fifteen minutes, which are among the most graphic that I have ever scene on film. The film is so intruicately planned and executed that I must admire it despite the fact that I hated watching it.

The special edition DVD features a fantastic transfer of the film which looks better than it ever has. The picture is sharp and the sound is clear. Although the film is only a few years old many copies of it looked much older, but that problem has been fixed and it looks fantastic. The DVD also has new cover art which is gruesome and simple, perfectly matched for the film. Inside is an insert with notes on the film, a Takashi Miike bio, and some fantastic production photos.

Special features include an introduction by Miike in which he warns audiences to turn the film off if they feel sick, and watch the rest the next day. There is also an interview with Miike as he goes into more details about the film, and director’s commentary on specific scenes. There is a photo gallery with some fantastic photos, many of which give me chills just to think about. Audition was voted 11th in Bravos’ 100 Scariest Movie Moments, and the clip from the show is also in the special features. The last feature is an interview with Ryu Murakama, the one responsible for this odd story.



Ryan Izay