Audition (1999)
Coming Out at 28 January 2000 in theaters.
“Ôdishon”
Drama, Horror, Mystery
Audition is horror film directed by Takashi Miike, based on the 1997 novel by Ryu Murakami. It is about a widower, Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), whose son suggests that he should find a new wife. Aoyama agrees, and with a friend, stages a phony audition to meet a potential new partner in life. After interviewing several women, Aoyama becomes interested in Asami (Eihi Shiina), who responds well to him, although as they begin to date, her dark past begins to affect their relationship.
Audition was originally started by the Japanese company Omega Project, who wanted to make a horror film after the great financial success of their previous production Ring. To create the film, the company purchased the rights to Murakami’s book and hired screenwriter Daisuke Tengan and director Miike to film an adaptation. The cast and crew consisted primarily of people Miike had worked with on previous projects, with the exception of Shiina, who had worked as a model prior to beginning a career in film. The film was shot in about three weeks in Tokyo.
The film premiered, with a few other Japanese horror films, at the Vancouver International Film Festival, but it began to receive much more attention when it was shown at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in 2000, where it received the FIPRESCI Prize and the KNF Award. Following a theatrical release in Japan, the film continued to play at festivals and had theatrical releases in the United States and United Kingdom, followed by several home media releases. Audition was received positively by Western film critics on its release, with many noting the final torture sequence in the film and how it contrasts with the non-horrific scenes before. The film has appeared on several lists of the best horror films ever made, and has had an influence on other horror films and directors including Eli Roth and the Soska sisters.
Director: Takashi Miike
Writers: Ryû Murakami (novel), Daisuke Tengan
Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura, Renji Ishibashi, Miyuki Matsuda, Toshie Negishi
Cast:
| 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 Osugi | … | Shimada |
| Shigeru Saiki | … | Toastmaster |
| Ken Mitsuishi | … | Director |
| Yuriko Hirooka | … | Michiyo Yanagida |
| Fumiyo Kohinata | … | TV station presenter |
| Misato Nakamura | … | Misuzu Takagi |
| Yuuto Arima | … | Shigehiko as a child |
| Ayaka Izumi | … | Asami as a child |
| Nattsu Tanahashi | … | Hotel front desk |
| Kimiko Tachibana | … | FM announcer |
| Tatsuo Endô | … | Doctor |
| Koshio Jindôji | … | Nurse |
| Kanji Tsuda | … | Bartender |
| Party | … | Gangster |
| Takako Katô | ||
| Saori Tachibana | ||
| Sugimura Yoko | … | Auditioning Actress |
| Yayoi Ôtsu |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia