Let me just say that if you have not yet seen "Audition", STOP RIGHT HERE!!! Do not go any further. While I will never give away spoilers, Takashi Miike's remarkable film plays best when you go in absolutely cold! The less you know and read about it, the better. Having said that, if you do choose to read on, I will give as little away as possible while trying to convey my feelings on this beautiful, yet extremely disturbing piece of Asian cinema.

OK, let me tread softly here, so please bare with me. "Audition" opens on a very sombre note as we see video production company owner Aoyama(Ryo Ishibashi) at the deathbed of his wife. She passes on just as her little son Shigehiko enters her room with get well flowers. We now shift to 7 years later. The now teenage Shigehiko(Tetsu Kuremura) notices how lonely and "old" his father has become and suggests his Dad think about remarrying. Aoyama eventually takes his son's advice but seeks help from an old buddy named Yoshikawa(Jun Kunimura), especially since old Dad has been out of the dating game for so long. Yoshikawa comes up with an idea that they create a casting session for a false film project to use as an audition for potential brides. Enter the stunning Asami(Eihi Shiina), who at 24 years of age is quite younger then her potential suitor. Immediately Asami catches Aoyama's eye(actually her application beforehand intrigued him) and he set's out to make her his. Asami is everything a man could hope for. She is beautiful, quiet, shy and mannerly and after several romantic evenings together, which includes Aoyama coming clean on the phoney audition, he is convinced that she is the Woman for him. Despite this, Yoshikawa has his doubts and suspicions which he relay's to Aoyama. No matter though, Aoyama is hopelessly drawn to her and wants to make her his wife. And that my friends is as far as I am going to go. To tread any further would be profoundly unfair to anyone who has not seen the film. And if you think you might have an idea about what happens, trust me, YOU DON'T!!!

This is an absolutely marvellous, deeply disturbing film that will have you watching more then once. Director Miike does an utterly amazing job in developing character. You may find the first hour a bit slow but trust me, it is worth the payoff because we sincerely get to know these chracters. We get to feel what they are going through. We get to enjoy the light moments as well as the sad. Miike's masterful hand guides us to the utmost corners of his onscreen characters in deliberate, yet completely necessary fashion. Aoyama and his son are such down to earth people, that we cannot help but like them and root for them. This accent on character makes what unfolds in the final 45 minutes or so of the film all that much harder for the viewer to take or accept. In the final analysis, you will be wondering why and feeling deeply disturbed and probably to some extant, angry. The music by Endo guides the film along at an almost dreamlike pace and the photography by Yamamoto is absolutely gorgeous. But it is Director Miike and his actors and their characters who steal the show and not only make this a masterpiece of Japanese cinema, but of cinema period.

The DVD:

Picture Quality:

Tartan does a fine job here in presenting this masterful film on DVD. The transfer is a bit dark at times and also a bit grainy but overall it is very pleasing to the eye and the grain is not terribly noticeable. The film is presented at 1.85:1 widescreen and is anamorphically enhanced for 16x9 TV's which is a huge plus. The English subtitles are quite readable but they are burned in so they are not removable. However, they are clear and from what I understand more literate then the Universe Hong Kong DVD. Colors are excellent and the blacks are rock solid. A note to all North American region free DVD owners: In order to have this PAL disc properly converted to display the proper aspect ratio of the anamorphic enhancement, you will need a player or a converter with true hardware progressive scan and the pantera chip. Otherwise, your conversion will appear either stretched or squashed. I viewed the disc on a Malata DVD N996 player which has the progressive scan and pantera chip and the conversion was spot on.

Sound:

The disc features the Japanes language audio with the English subtitles and is presented in Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0. The audio was crisp and clear with no hissing and completely adequate.

Extra's:

The top feature here is a 13 minute interview with Director Takashi Miike. The interview is subtitled and Miike talks about the film and it's themes and how the movie went over with the audiences in Japan. You also get two trailers for the film, one European and one Japanese. Both are anamorphically enhanced and the Japanese trailer is subtitled. There is also filmographies for the Director and main cast, film notes, scene access and a trailer reel for Tartan's Extreme Asia collection. Note: There is no inlay with the disc so the chapters can only be viewed from the menu.

Final Thoughts:

This is perhaps the most disturbing film I have ever seen and certainly the most disturbing to come around in a long time. It's also a very beuatiful film and this one movie alone has turned me into a Takashi Miike fan. I'm sure if your reading this you are interested in seeing it and purchasing the DVD. So, it is probably safe to say that you have read the reports about people fainting at the theaters and walking out during the screening. After viewing the movie, I guess I can see where certain "types" of people might pass out or even walk out but to me that seems a touch extreme but hey, everyone is different! I think one should judge on their own and this is certainly one DVD you shouldn't pass up. The direction, acting, music and photography is excellent and there is certainly more then enough here to make the hairs on your neck stand up. Tartan's DVD presentation is excellent and well worth the money and this one film is probably good enough reason why everyone should own a region free DVD player. Highly recommended.