Audition (1999)

A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Ryû Murakami (novel), Daisuke Tengan (screenplay)

Stars:

Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryo Ishibashi	...	Shigeharu Aoyama
Eihi Shiina	...	Asami Yamazaki
Tetsu Sawaki	...	Shigehiko Aoyama
Jun Kunimura	...	Yasuhisa Yoshikawa
Renji Ishibashi	...	Old man in wheelchair
Miyuki Matsuda	...	Ryoko Aoyama
Toshie Negishi	...	Rie
Ren Ôsugi	...	Shimada
Shigeru Saiki	...	Toastmaster
Ken Mitsuishi	...	Director
Yuriko Hiro'oka	...	Michiyo Yanagida
Fumiyo Kohinata	...	TV station presenter
Misato Nakamura	...	Misuzu Takagi
Yuuto Arima	...	Shigehiko as a child
Ayaka Izumi	...	Asami as a child

Storyline

In Tokyo, Shigeharu Aoyama is a widower that grieves the loss of his wife and raises his son Shigehiko Aoyama alone. Seven years later, the teenage Shigehiko asks why his middle-aged father does not remarry and Shigeharu meets his friend Yasuhisa Yoshikawa, who is a film producer, and tells his intention. However, Shigeharu has difficulties to approach to available women to date and Yasuhisa decide to organize a sham audition for casting the lead actress for the fake movie. They receive several portfolios of candidates and Shigeharu becomes obsessed by the gorgeous Asami Yamazaki. Despite the advice of the experienced Yasuhisa, Shigeharu calls Asami to date and he falls for her. But who is the mysterious Asami?

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Plot Keywords:

murder | torture | widower | audition | friend | 

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Taglines:

She always gets a part

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence/torture and sexuality

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

6 March 2002 (France)

Also Known As:

Audition

Company Credits

Production Co:

Basara Pictures, Creators Company Connection, Omega Project

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min 113 min (R-rated)

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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Goofs

During their weekend getaway, Asami clearly removes all of her clothing then lies in bed and covers with a sheet. She then raises the sheet to expose the wounds on her thigh. The white panties can clearly be seen despite the fact that she just removed them.

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Quotes

Asami Yamazaki: I've never had anyone to talk to. You were the first person to support me. Warmly accepting me, trying to understand me. I'm sorry, but it's hard to forget that.

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Connections

Referenced in An American Mary in London (2012)

User Reviews

Best horror movie in the world!

Movies like Scream, I Know What you Did Last Summer, and their teenage-pheremone-reeking ilk have absolutely no right to call themselves "horror movies" when we have a film like Audition to watch.

This movie starts out very slowly, very sweetly, and builds to a fantastic gruesome climax that you don't see coming. Genuinely scary. I am a huge horror movie affectionado, and I have NEVER in my life watched a movie that made gasp like this one did. I was revolted, I was disturbed, I was scared.

Why is this movie so much better than anything I've seen? Subtlety. This movie makes good use of silence, sound effects and off camera action to SUGGEST instead of SHOW you what's happening. It's much more satisfying to watch a movie with this kind of approach than it is to watch people get stabbed with blood spraying all over the place. This movie follows no classic "horror movie rules". It's completely original.

It's not without its faults, of course. The plot is a little strange, and as the movie progresses on it sometimes gets a little hard to follow. Some would also argue that the beginning is too long and too heavy, but I think this is a perfect and even needed contrast to the crazy goings-on that will unfold.

This is a fabulous movie. Check this out if you'd like to see a REAL scary movie.