Ôdishon (1999)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Ryû Murakami (novel)
Daisuke Tengan (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 March 2000 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

She always gets a part

Plot:

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...

Plot Keywords:

Audition | Widower | Friend | Sack | Producer

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

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 Tanabashi	...	Hotel front desk
Kimiko Tachibana	...	FM announcer
Tatsuo Endo	...	Doctor (as Tatsuo Endô)
Koshio Jindôji	...	Nurse
Kanji Tsuda	...	Bartender
Party	...	Gangster
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Takako Katoh		(as Takako Katô)
Yayoi Ôtsu
Saori Tachibana

Directed by
Takashi Miike

Writing credits
Ryû Murakami		(novel)
Daisuke Tengan		(screenplay)

Produced by
Satoshi Fukushima	....	producer
Jun'ichi Shindô	....	planner
Akemi Suyama	....	producer
Toyoyuki Yokohama	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Kôji Endô

Cinematography by
Hideo Yamamoto

Film Editing by
Yasushi Shimamura

Production Design by
Tatsuo Ozeki

Costume Design by
Tomoe Kumagai

Makeup Department
Yuuichi Matsui	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Takeshi Suzuki	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bunmei Katô	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Kenji Shibazaki	....	sound effects editor

Production Companies

• AFDF
• Creators Company Connection
• Omega Project (as Omega Project Inc.)

Distributors

• American Cinematheque (2001) (USA) (theatrical)
• Bir Film (2004) (Turkey) (theatrical)
• Metro Tartan Distribution Ltd. (2000) (UK) (theatrical)
• Primer Plano Film Group (2003) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Rapid Eye Movies (2001) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Sagittaire Films (2002) (France) (theatrical)
• Vitagraph Films (2001) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Xenix Filmdistribution (2001-2002) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Art Port (Japan) (DVD)
• Art Port (Japan) (VHS)
• Audio Visual Enterprises (Greece) (video)
• DeA Planeta Home Entertainment (2003) (Spain) (DVD)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Gateno Films (2003) (Peru) (all media)
• Impuls Home Entertainment (2003) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD) (North America)
• Maple Pictures (2005) (Canada) (DVD)
• One World Media (2002) (Germany) (video)
• Palisades-Tartan Acquisitions (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• SBP (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• SBP (2004) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Siren Visual Entertainment (2002) (Australia) (DVD)
• Siren Visual Entertainment (2007) (New Zealand) (DVD)
• Tartan Video (2004) (UK) (DVD) (collector's edition)
• Tartan Video (200?) (UK) (VHS)
• Universe Laser & Video Co. Ltd. (200?) (Hong Kong) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Audition (International: English title) (UK)
Oodishon (Japan) (alternative transliteration)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/torture and sexuality.

Runtime:

115 min | USA:113 min (R-rated version)

Country:

South Korea | Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo | Dolby SR

Certification:

Sweden:15 | Chile:14 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Portugal:M/16 (orginal rating) | Portugal:M/18 (DVD rating) | Belgium:KNT | Argentina:18 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | Canada:R | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-18 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Spain:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R (cut) | USA:Unrated

Company:

AFDF

Trivia:

When the film was screened at the Rotterdam Film Festival 2000 it had a record number of walkouts. At the Swiss premiere someone passed out and needed emergency room attention.

Quotes:

Yasuhisa Yoshikawa: Happy people cannot act !

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Departed (2006)

A disturbing masterpiece.

Takashi Miike's "Audition" has to be one of the best Japanese horror movies I have ever seen.Ryo Ishibashi plays Shigeharu Aoyama,a lonely middle-aged man.After many years of being loyal to his deceased wife is the right time to begin dating again.His friend Yasuhisa decides to set up a fake casting audition in hopes that his friend can find new wife.Aoyama then goes through countless portfolio's looking for women to audition,but as soon as he sees the beautiful Asami's picture he knows that she is the one.Soon they begin dating.Everything seems perfect at first,but is Asami all that she seems?"Audition" isn't as violent and outrageous as "Fudoh" or "Ichi the Killer",but it certainly delivers some of the most harrowing scenes of violence ever captured on screen.The film is atmospheric and artistic,so if you're looking only for gore and violence avoid this one like the plague.However if you're a fan of Miike's works this masterpiece is not to be missed.10 out of 10.