Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Audition Blu-ray Movie Review

A dark, demented descent into a sinister abyss...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown October 13, 2009

Thomas Wolfe wrote, "loneliness is and always has been the central and inevitable experience of every man." It seems controversial Japanese autuer Takashi Miike (Gozu, Ichi the Killer, Visitor Q) would agree. Audition, Miike's unflinching exploration of one man's loneliness and the hell it invites into his life, is both a startling cautionary tale and an unsettling character study. He examines the desperation an isolated soul feels when divorced from love -- as well as the innate desire such solitude inevitably induces -- but ventures farther, allowing his flawed everyman to stumble into an inescapable labyrinth of his own making. It's more than a cult favorite horror classic, more than a grisly glimpse into the macabre. It's a truly disturbing, increasingly complex dissection of love, loss, and hopelessness; a perverse, inverted morality play that offers its lonely wanderer, and its audience, little respite or relief.

God help any man who has the misfortune to call Asami Yamazaki...

When an aging widower named Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) decides to heed his teenage son's (Tetsu Sawaki) advice and begin dating again, he turns to his colleague Yoshikawa (Jun Kunimura), a film and television producer who devises a scheme to help his friend find a suitable companion. The two men hold a casting call for a film neither one has any intention of producing. Instead, their auditions are aimed at finding someone who appeals to Shigeharu's sensibilities. No regrettable encounters, no painful rejections, no emotional entanglements... just a clever, field-narrowing con designed to increase Shigeharu's chances and eliminate the inconveniences of dating. After interviewing dozens of women, Shigeharu becomes obsessed with one girl: Asami Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina), a demure, soft-spoken waif whose experiences have left her with a troubled past but a refreshing outlook on life. However, unbeknownst to her smitten, middle-aged suitor, Asami's past has left her with deep scars and even deeper psychological wounds. After making a promise he doesn't fully understand, Shigeharu begins to realize Asami isn't the angel he believed her to be.

Audition is essentially three films fused into one cohesive whole. The first, a charming romance born of a lie, lends striking humanity to Shigeharu, a feat Miike and his seasoned lead accomplish with a sweet, touching realism horror fans aren't accustomed to seeing. The second, a disquieting journey into a surreal world of twisted nightmares and leering miscreants, sends a sudden and shocking shiver up the spine. From the moment Asami's phone rings to the second Shigeharu's horrifying investigation offers him the truth, Miike delves into dismemberment, molestation, torture, disfigurement, psychosexual madness, and more as he transforms Asami into one of the genre's most terrifying monsters. The third, an unrelenting tragedy that finds Shigeharu helpless to resist his lover's advances, delivers a slow, steady series of sucker punches meticulously constructed to leave the most hardened gorehound with a queasy stomach and a shaken spirit. Like Stephen King and other horror masters, Miike understands that an audience needs to feel a connection to a story's characters before they'll ever be frightened by what those characters encounter. Moreover, he understands that blood and gore -- even when pushed to such visceral extremes -- are mere tools and need to be implemented with care. He doesn't employ stark imagery as a gimmick, but as an extension of something more elemental, more alarming and, ultimately, more paralyzing than simple spurts and chunks could otherwise produce.

But Miike's madhouse is much more than the sum of its parts. It defies expectation at every turn, restraining itself when other films would attack the thematic jugular and unleashing its wrath whenever it seems the opposite will occur. He even presents Shigeharu's dances with death and insanity with graceful, dare I say beautiful finesse (in a is that a tongue? sort of way). His actors are perfectly cast and exceptionally talented; his shots are simple but engrossing; his story simultaneously precise and piercing. Torture porn aficionados (who, subsequently, despise the term "torture porn") will balk at Miike's slowburn pacing and grueling crescendo of gore, but cinephiles will appreciate his willingness to unravel his characters before subjecting them to the unthinkable. His vision, as pointed and disconcerting as it becomes, never wavers. His imagination, as sick and deranged as it may seem, captures the unspeakable horrors of Shigeharu's journey with astonishing efficiency, tapping into anything and everything that might make viewers bury their faces in their hands. Audition rarely relies on quick scares. Atmosphere and ambience are Miike's go-to weapons; destructive forces he brandishes with effortless ease. Even when Asami makes her intentions all too clear, the director remains focused, using naturalistic sound effects, haunting hallucinations, chilling kiri-kiri-kiris, and lingering shots of Asami's handiwork to make the film's closing minutes more unbearable, more nauseating than I could possibly convey.

Audition is so difficult to watch at times that it's difficult to declare outright love for the film. It isn't something you'll return to again and again; it isn't something that will coo softly at you from your shelf; it isn't something you can hand to a friend without first offering a stern warning. However, it is a mesmerizing tour de force that supersedes its genre and defies convention at every turn. It's a testament to its director's prowess; proof that Miike understands the nature of real horror and readily injects it into his work. It's the cinematic equivalent of being sprayed with a hose in December; watching a shadow twist on a wall when nothing in the room is moving; glancing at your door in the dead of night and seeing a lanky silhouette staring back. Audition is all these things and more, a truly original genre pic that won't soon be forgotten by anyone who braves its devious depths.

Audition Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sadly, the undeniable low point of Audition's Blu-ray debut is its problematic 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer. While aggressive grain and intermittent softness is and should always be a part of a faithful presentation of Miike's film, Shout Factory delivers a master rife with edge enhancement, wavering clarity, and contrast inconsistencies. It doesn't help that the transfer itself suffers from minor artifacting, heavy ringing, occasional crush, and slight banding. Thankfully, the upgrade to high definition produces several noticeable (albeit inherent) improvements over previous DVD releases. Colors are stronger and more stable, skintones are more natural and less prone to flushing, blacks are deeper and more absorbing, and foreground detail -- despite the picture's prevailing softness -- is more satisfying than before. Likewise, textures are slightly crisper (particularly during close-ups) and delineation (look no further than Shigeharu's investigation into Asami's origins) is much more revealing. Oldboy fans will be all too familiar with the uneven upgrade offered by this Blu-ray release. Sadly, while Miike diehards will be more forgiving than newcomers, most viewers will find Audition to be an average, somewhat underwhelming technical addition to their library.

Audition Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shout Factory rebounds with two comparable (if not identical) lossless options -- a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0 track and a Dolby TrueHD 5.0 track -- mixed from Audition's original audio elements. Dialogue is warm and intelligible, restaurant chatter and alleyway ambience is persistent, and interior acoustics will bring the hair on the back of your neck to attention. The rear speakers are used to great effect enhancing the already immersive soundfield, lending resonance to ringing phones and murderous songs, and dialing up the pulpiness of the film's tearing flesh and rending bone. Proper LFE support is certainly missed (for the uninformed, that's the .1 in 5.1), but dynamics remain relatively strong throughout and both tracks exhibit welcome weight when needed. Moreover, pans are frighteningly smooth and directionality is on point. Whether Asami is slinking across Shigeharu's apartment or mulling over a glass of wine, every environment is convincing and every scene encounter sounds all too real. The tracks aren't perfect, but they do handle everything Miike employs with ease. If nothing else, they undergird the tone and tenor of the film. Fans couldn't ask for much more.

(Please note that the film's English subtitles aren't optional. While they aren't burned into the image, the subtitle track can't be turned off or disengaged.)

Audition Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Blu-ray edition of Audition features a fascinating selection of extensive extras, most of which can be found on the set's second disc. While the interviews have been relegated to a DVD-9 disc (an odd decision considering the amount of space a single BD-50 disc would have afforded its producers), they're nevertheless a welcome addition to the release. The set also includes a small collector's booklet with an essay by Tom Mes, author of "Agitator: The Cinema or Takashi Miike" (a captivating, well-researched dissection of the director's themes, characters, and films I highly recommend).

• Audio Commentary: Miike is an unexpectedly humble, exceedingly honest filmmaker and his commentary with screenwriter Daisuke Tengan follows suit. With the help of moderator Masato Kobayashi, the two filmmakers discuss casting, adapting author Ryû Murakami's novel, staging shots, developing characters, conveying horror, and building atmosphere over the course of the film. The only downside is that the trio doesn't seem to be watching Audition during their conversation (they often chat about topics that have little to do with what's happening on screen). Ah well, it's a minor nitpick. Listen to it as an extended interview of sorts and enjoy everything Miike and Tengan have to offer.
• Interviews (SD, 75 minutes): On disc two, you'll find four lengthy interviews with Ryo Ishibashi (shigeharu), Eihi Shiina (Asami), Renji Ishibashi (Asami's dance instructor), and Ren Ôsugi (Shimada). The actors are just as interesting to listen to as Miike and Tengan, sometimes more so. Their quiet reflections on character and story, as well as their thoughts on the reactions people have had to the film over the years, are engaging and informative, and their various anecdotes inject plenty of warmth and chemistry into the proceedings. The interviews drift off topic a bit too often, but never so far that I wanted to skip ahead.
• Director's Introduction (SD, 2 minutes): Miike automatically appears before the film begins to provide a brief introduction to his controversial cult favorite.
• Trailers (SD, 3 minutes): Two trailers round out the package.

Audition Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Audition encapsulates my idea of a perfect horror film. Its disturbing blend of quiet character development, unsettling visuals, and elemental scares attest to Miike's steady hand and unwavering vision, showcases his cast's talent, and should continue to etch permanent images in viewers' brains for years to come. Its Blu-ray release falters a bit with a problematic video transfer, but a pair of sturdy lossless tracks and a strong selection of supplemental content makes this release a solid one. I hope Audition earns a more thorough overhaul in the future but, for now, Shout Factory's 2-disc release is a great little Halloween treat.