Audition
(American Cinemateque /Chimera Region One DVD)
 (1999)
review by Head Cheeze

After over a year of heavy critical praise and collector worship, Audition finally gets a region one release that not only does the film justice, but improves on the imported versions I have seen in every possible way.

For a GREAT review of the film, see Bill P.'s write up here! I am just covering the tech and extra goodies of the new disc in this review, and believe me, they are a review unto themselves!!

American Cinemateque/Chimera's treatment of Audition is nothing short of superb, from the transfer, sound mix, extras, all the way over to the gorgeous packaging! I was excited when I got this home, even though I've seen Audition several times, based on the beautiful slip-cased duo-fold package alone! It's a mini work of art and is definitely my pick for best horror packaging of the year (this includes the Book of the Dead edition of Evil Dead, which is very cool, but loses points for awkward storage and brain damaging chemical smell!!!). As a matter of fact, between this and the very awesome packaging for the Memento Special Edition, I think that the DVD cover is becoming an exciting art-form unto itself!! They even slip a neat little 4 panel, full-color booklet in there with a nice write-up about Miike and the film. This was love at first site, but imagine my surprise when everything inside proved just as beautiful!!!

The first thing you will notice about this version of Audition is the brilliant transfer. The colors are more vibrant, the contrast more defined, and the image is razor sharp. It's truly night and day stuff, with my import version hanging it's head in shame at comparisons end. The major flaw here is the fact that the transfer is NOT anamorphic, so those of you with widescreen TV's are out of luck. (Although Bill P. has shown me an equally attractive print on an upcoming German edition that is supposed to be "the best transfer of this film available" and is anamorphic!).

As important as the look of the film, the story has gotten a makeover as well, with newly translated subtitles (removable for our Japanese speaking friends!) that read more fluidly than the awkward subs on the import discs. To say that watching Audition this way is like seeing it for the first time all over again may sound like a reviewer cliche, but in this case it really does apply!

The newly mixed Dolby 5.1 sound compliments the visual feast with crystal clear audio, and during the film's denoument you will literally FEEL the horror that is onscreen! It's just plain fantastic. The bass is perfectly balanced, with just the right amount of dread inducing rumble and the highs are crisp and clear.

As for the extras, they're just more feathers in the cap of this set. We get a partial commentary by Miike (32 minutes spread out over the film during key moments), a 24 minute interview with Miike, the US, Japanese, and International trailers for the film, bios, and a photo gallery. We also get a tour of the Egyptian Theater (9 minutes), but on my copy I could not get this feature to work!! I don't know if this is a technical issue with my player or the DVD itself, but let's just say I wasn't heartbroken. There are also trailers for upcoming Chimera releases, which don't really count as an extra as much as a promotional tool, but I am a trailer lovin guy, so they were welcomed additions.

All in all this new Audition is a must buy for fans of the film, and until I see that German edition hands on, this one is the definitive version for me.