Audition - Japan's Brillance...

[SteveSzyk]

WowoWOWOwoWOWOwoW, if you have not seen Audition, you are missing out on a one of a kind masterpiece. Recently I have not been able to take this flick out of my DVD player, rewatching it, dissecting in, and realizing that this is so much more than just shocking, disturbing entertainment. Here's a film that contains some of the most shocking, violent scenes you will ever witness, yet somehow throughout it all, a sense of romance is present. Every sick little thing this woman does seems to have a reason, and seems to be in love (Don't ask... just watch). I also can't fail to mention Eihi Shiina's INCREDIBLE performance as this psycho bitch, that has slowly grown on me as the best psycho in any movie.

*I may be looking too far into this, as I tend to find deepness in meaning in the most meaningless shit, but wow I got alot out of this movie.

[Madman Marz]

Yeah, i thought this movie kicked ass. The ending was the best part.

[RavenBlade]

Talk about an Unbelivable masterpiece.

Very fricken disturbing.

She is very sick in the head,
but she has a point in what she was doing,
even though I would never condone such
an act in the name of needing love.

Asami: "Words Create Lies, Pain Can Be Trusted"

in a very weird way, she hit the nail on the head,
with that saying.

[countchocula]

Originally posted by SteveSzyk
*I may be looking too far into this, as I tend to find deepness in meaning in the most meaningless shit, but wow I got alot out of this movie.

Nah, you're not looking too far into this. There's subtext in every scene, including the harrowing climax. Asami is an unforgettable character. She's sweet, bloodcurdling, fragile, unrelenting, and enigmatic. Excellent performances all around. You know you're deep into a great film when you completely forget about the fact that you're reading subtitles.

[meltingman]

I'm hope no one ever gets a girlfriend like Asami. Sorry, I can't feel pity for her due to her excesses in her relationships.

Warning, do not watch this movie with your other half. Better to watch it alone.

Japanese horror at its (disturbing) best.

[SeperateSelf]

Originally posted by meltingman
I'm hope no one ever gets a girlfriend like Asami. Sorry, I can't feel pity for her due to her excesses in her relationships.

Warning, do not watch this movie with your other half. Better to watch it alone.

Japanese horror at its (disturbing) best.

***SPOILERS THROUGHOUT***

I disagree with your sentiments about Asami. She is one of the most pitiful characters ever in a move (IMO of course). I totally sympathized with her throughout the entire movie. Even during the climax, because it showed why she had become this way (that freak ballet teacher) which fucked with my head even more than the needles and piano wire.

I think I must be fucked up in the head, because I feel an inordinate amount ofsympathy for the most fucked up characters nowdays including
Asami from Audition
Sy Parrish from One Hour Photo
The Marquis de Sade from Quills
etc etc etc...

Do you think that showing so much sympathy for these characters makes me a little wacky? I don't know. Something has caused them to go off the deep end (society, abuse, etc) but in the end each person is responsible for her/his actions. Maybe I am whacko. Just a thought.

Originally posted by SteveSzyk
*I may be looking too far into this, as I tend to find deepness in meaning in the most meaningless shit, but wow I got alot out of this movie.

I tend to do the same thing, but I don't think you're too far off base here. Asami is very tragic, as you stated, and there was definite subtext in the puke eating etc.
As Asami says "Deeper, Deeper..."

[SeperateSelf]

Hehe... I had a conversation with one of my friends who just watched Swimfan last week.

***SPOILERS AGAIN***

FRIEND: Have you seen Swimfan man? That shit is fucked up!

ME: What's so fucked up about it?

FRIEND: The chick man, she's a total psycho. You woulnd't believe the shit she does.

ME: I bet she's not as fucked up a Asami from Audition.

FRIEND: I don't know man... I've never seen such a fucked up chick!

ME: Did she shove pins underneath her man's eyes?

FRIEND: No.

ME: Did she cut off his fucking foot with a piano wire?

FRIEND: Err... no.

ME: Did she feed her own vomit to the person she keeps tied up in a bag?

FRIEND: Who the fuck makes a movie like that?

ME: THE JAPANESE, MOTHERFUCKER!!!

hehe... glad I set that bastard straight on what reall horror is. :D

[Fettdog]

I've just watched Audition and all I can say is "Fucking Hell!". This is one of the most shocking, gut-churning movies I've seen in a long time (and I've seen a few!).

***** SPOILERS AHEAD! ********
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
This film draws in and lulles you into a false sense of security - after about an hour I was starting to think "what's all the fuss about with this film", but then we reach a crucial truning point - when Asami drugs the main character! I was physically squirming on my sofa watching her push the needles into his chest and eys, and when she broke out the piano wire.......well, it makes the hobbling scene in Misery look like a walk in the park (pun definitely intended! :) ).

It's rare that a film of such shocking power comes along, and along with Ring (which I saw last week, and have just bought the sequel today) I've been lucky enough to see two in the space of a few days. Damn these Japs can fuck with your head!

Following on from what meltingman said, be very careful about showing this to your other halves, as while my wife likes a good horror film, I watched this alone because this film will turn all but the strongest of stomachs - I like to think I've seen a lot of fucked-up shit in my time and can stomach pretty much anything, but this is up there among the most uncomfortable, yet completely compelling, viewing experiences I've ever had!

The funny thing is, though, I can understand why Asami was driven to do this! After being abused at home and branded by her ballet teacher, and then selected for romance through a fake audition (not to mention the implied abuse at the hands of the record producer than disappeared a year earlier), it's no wonder she has the point of view that she has! OK, her actions are exteme, but very believable in some ways.

To sum up - just "Wow!" - see this film, but not if you've got a week stomach. Those who balk at anything stronger than Scream, Final Destination and Swimfan ;) should definitely pass this one by - for all you Schmoes with lead-lined gullets, however, this is a must-see. You're unlikely to see a more shocking film for quite some time.

[Psychocandy]

Fettdog...if you think the end of Audition is some pretty fucked up shit get a hold of a copy of "Dead Or Alive". It's from the same director Takashi Miike and it contains three of the most fucked up scenes i've ever seen in a movie (these scenes have since been outdone by another Takashi Miike movie "Ichi The Killer which has to be seen to be believed). Seriously though. "Dead or Alive". I assure you that your jaw will hit the floor and stay there for the last ten minutes of the movie. The only DVD available with english subs is from the UK though. I don't know whether your DVD player is capable of playing R2 discs. Here's a link to a site that sells it though. I think that the p&p to the US is free from the place.

http://www.playserver3.com/play247.asp?page=title&r=R2&title=102891

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000066CX0.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

[Fettdog]

Thanks Psychocandy - I'll check that out. I actually live just north of London, so R2 discs aren't a problem! :) (I've got a multi-region too, so we UK Schmoes are lucky enough to get the pick of the world's offerings!)

I've only just rediscovered Japanese movies - years ago I saw stuff like Akira, Hard Boiled and A Better Tomorrow and thoroughly enjoyed them, but now I'm finding these horror offerings - Jeez! Ring and Audition are two of the most stylish and compelling films I've seen this year.

[Psychocandy]

Heh...sorry about that Fettdog. I clicked on SeperateSelf's Profile button by accident so I had you down as being from Loiusville. This makes things much simpler. If the shitty little Blockbuster store in the shitty little town I live in stocks Dead Or Alive then i'm certain the Blockbuster stores down London way absolutely must have it. So you don't need to buy it. Just rent it. If you do rent it drop me a message to let me know if you liked it. Oh...and watch it with some like minded friends with a whole bunch of beers. It's definitely a beer and junk food kind of movie. It's not actually horror. It's a Yakuza gangster flick. If you have ever seen any of Takeshi Kitano's Yakuza movies (Sonatine, Violent Cop, Hana Bi) then it's like one of those. On PCP.

[Ro's Baby]

I've heard alot about this flick so I rented it, and I was still totally unprepared for the second half. What a friggin' mind blow!
Uncomfortably brutal.

[Romero&Juliet]

OOO~~!! this is sounding mighty good..! you KNOW the Japanese horror thing is getting REALLY big when you start reading about it in Rolling Stone.. Apparently this, along with Ringu 1 and 2 are getting mucho wide release here in North America! I haven't seen the ring Movies around, but I noticed the Spiffy Audition DVD at BLOCKBUSTER yesterday!

cantwaitcantwait!

[Donnie Darko]

Audition was an amazing film. It was what Fatal Attraction could have been, both incredibly deep in it's character development and story, yet with incredible stylish visuals that had you squirming. I got the feeling that it was shot almost a little underexposed to get a lot of deep, rich colors and then touched up here and there to even it out. The second scene of Asami in her apartment where she's waiting for the phone to ring, and when it does, GOD DAMN! that was one of the creepiest moments in any film that I've ever seen. I find only Lynch really has that quality to just deteriorate reality (more about this later). This movie is really a fine, fine piece of cinema.

I consider myself to be a Miike connosieur, and I can assure you that this is one of his more toned down movies. Someone above mentioned "Dead or Alive" which really has some psycho scenes, but let me recommend these in no particular order:

Visitor Q - Insane "family movie" with incest, beastiality, insanity, etc.

Ichi The Killer - This is almost worse than Dead or Alive, especially if you can get the uncut, which is almost impossible unless you speak japanese.

Fudoh - Insane kids getting back at the Yakuza. Notably features a woman who can shoot darts from her vagina.

Happiness of the Katakuri - It's kind of a musical... let your imagination take you from there.

Most of these can be gotten in region free versions, although I have just picked up a region free player to watch "Uzumaki" (look for my other post on it soon!), so I'm hoping to get a lot more of his stuff.

[someguy]

GEEZ!! I shouldn't listen to some of these recommendations on here sometimes. That ending was so excrutiating to watch.

SPOILERS*****
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
When the guy was drugged and he saw what was in the bag,I wanted to gag. It was horrible. But I'm curious as to how he would know everything from being drugged. I also want to know how he saw the tongue thing when he went to the bar. I also went whoa when Asami was kicked down the stairs because she FLEW down.

[someguy]

GEEZ!! I shouldn't listen to some of these recommendations on here sometimes. That ending was so excrutiating to watch.

SPOILERS*****
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
When the guy was drugged and he saw what was in the bag,I wanted to gag. It was horrible. But I'm curious as to how he would know everything from being drugged. I also want to know how he saw the tongue thing when he went to the bar. I also went whoa when Asami was kicked down the stairs because she FLEW down.

[countchocula]

SPOILERS!!! Highlight to read...

Originally posted by someguy
But I'm curious as to how he would know everything from being drugged.

The drug allowed him to tap into Asami's psyche. He was able to see pretty much everything that propelled her into the bowels of insanity. Not very logical, but a great excuse to show off some disturbing imagery!

[someguy]

Yeah but what really bugs me is(highlight to read,but ti has SPOILERS!!)

How he saw the tongue flapping around when he went to the bar. Was he psychic or something?

[countchocula]

Heh, I can't explain that one. It's just something that we'll have to shrug off, I suppose.

PS-It's best to use blackened text for spoilers.

[someguy]

Whoops! What colour is the best? I meant Dark Blue.

[MotorizedInstinct]

OK, so i just bought Audition yesterday (without seeing it beforehand). The movie was amazing! Disturbing and Sadistic aren't the words to describe it. With that said, there was nothing Exploitive about the ending at all. Though the gore borrows heavily from Exploitation films from Japan and Italy it is far superior then them all. Why you ask? Because it has a REAL story with 3 dimensional characters and great subtext that most shlock directors (Excluding Fulci because he may have made garbage but they were at least artistic garbage) wouldn't put into there films. The gore was a story telling device and so was the confusing dreamlike state.

The main criticism of the film is the first 2/3s of it. Some say it is boring and stupid (though i was glad to see that many on this board didn't think so). This is what separates thoughs that love the film and thoughs that only like the last 1/3 of it. The beginning is a interesting romance with a strange undercurrent lying below it. So if you are in the mood to see and gory exploitive romp skip this. All you will be is bored to tears untili the last 20 minutes and then feel unsatisfied at the end. If you want gore just for the sake of it then rent Zombie or Dead Alive (probably the 2 best gore films made). They are stylish but with a complete lack of substance.

Audition satisfies and disturbes on so many levels that repeat viewing is a must. I have seen it 3 times already and i only bought it yesterday.
8.5/10

nikka nikka nikka di

[BadCoverVersion]

I bought Audition a few months back...and it never gets old.

It's rich in subtext and content, the performances are beautiful, the cinematography is just spot-on...and THAT ending...;)

Whoooooaaaa, 'tis GENIUS!!!


PS: My mum and dad actually watched it last week, and they bloody loved it...:confused:.

[MotorizedInstinct]

Yea, my Dad saw it and thought it was pretty cool too.

[frogmonkey]

the movie was fun as hell, but the damn tape case gave away the ending. Maybe this was just in the US version but I was pissed as hell. if it wasn't for that I would have been rocked upside my skull. dammit dammit dammit dammit. because of that I have gotten a few of my friends to watch it but hid the case from them so that they couldn't know what to expect. Of course, then most of them thought I was forcing them to watch a romantic comedy.

[Requiem-for-a-Dream]

Audition is a film of enormous power and sickness.

I loved every minute of it and urge all to see it in it's uncut form!

Matt

[Jim H]

I've only just rediscovered Japanese movies - years ago I saw stuff like Akira, Hard Boiled and A Better Tomorrow

I feel the need to point this out.

Akira is Japanese. So is Audition. A Better Tomorrow and Hard-Boiled are straight up Chinese (Hong Kong specifically) - one reason the themes of loyalty and betrayal are stressed so much. You'll see a lot more of that in Chinese movies then Japanese. Japan will sometimes have them, but the types of loyalty will be very different - reflecting the past samurai era kinds of loyalty in many cases.

As it stands now, Japan is DEFINETLY the worldwide center for horror, and Hong Kong has been the center for the best action movies for 30 years. Too bad the Hong Kong industry has been shrinking for years. It is worth noting that Hong Kong/China also makes good horror movies, but not nearly as much as Japan.

If you don't know if a film is Japanese, listen for lots of sounds that sound like "mahss", which is the most common verb ending in Japanese. In Chinese, you'll hear lots of sentences end in a long ahh sound that sort of rises at the end. Chinese people also tend to be bigger, slightly darker in skin color, and have wider faces.





******HUGE SPOILERS********















The whole thing is a dream isn't it? I thought that's what the ending indicated, what someone told me anyways. I find torture hard to watch in movies, so I avoid many Japanese horror films for that reason - it's a common theme.

[Requiem-for-a-Dream]

No it's not. Not at all, if you want the actual explanation, I can e-mail it to you. Just give me the word.

Matt

[Jim H]

I haven't seen it, and don't intend to. So spoil away. I was just assuming that since it's quoted in a number of places in reviews i've read.

My email is letratal@nklb.net

[MotorizedInstinct]

No, the ending is VERY real. The dreamlike state comes toward the end and it is done for expositional purposes and also just to fuck with you. The torture sequence is supposed to tbe real and that's what makes it disturbing not really the gore.

[Requiem-for-a-Dream]

Originally posted by MotorizedInstinct
No, the ending is VERY real. The dreamlike state comes toward the end and it is done for expositional purposes and also just to fuck with you. The torture sequence is supposed to tbe real and that's what makes it disturbing not really the gore.

Thanks, now I don't have to write it out.

That's the correct way to interpret the ending.

Matt

[zipperha]

I wasn't able to find "Audition" uncut at Blockbuster, so I had to settle with the r-rated version, no matter how sick it seemed to give in.

Yet I watched the movie and felt completely satisfied

SPOILERS!!!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Even though I'm sure a couple seconds of acupuncturing were cut, and I know for sure that the actual action of dismembermant of the feet wasn't shown (just sound effects), along with a probably quicker, less grapihc (all though still potent) decapitation, it DID NOT detract from the movie!

I was shocked! I HATE when movies are cut. But this was a fantastic film, even though it was two minutes shorter. It was still very disturbing, mostly in the fact that what wasn't fully shown in the version made it even sicker in my mind. It has been said many times that what the mind creates is always sicker than what it sees. And this was one f***ing sick movie.

Even so, I would like to know what EXACTLY was cut out, because even though the r-rated version to me seemed somewhaty gory and still heavily disturbing, TWO minutes were cut out. Does anyone know the differance?

P.S.: I will NOT go near my eyes with my contacts for at least a week. :o

[bob]

Did I watch the cut or uncut version:

***SPOILERS****

The copy I watched showed the needles going into his body and eyes. It showed her sawing (well, you know) off his foot, getting halfway through his other foot, and etc. Also, the beheading seemed rather graphic for an R-Rated cut.

I got the Ventura R1 release, just wondering.

***END SPOILERS****




What an awesome film. I didn't find the graphic scenes to be THAT tough, but they were pretty bad. But the performances were great, the message of the film is intelligent, and it is SCARY AS FUCK. Anyone who likes films, check this out!

[countchocula]

Bob, it sounds like you viewed the uncut version.

[LamentConfiguration]

I just bought this on DVD today and I was simply blown away by it. After seeing this I definitely wanna check out Ichi the Killer to see what else Miike has to offer.

***MINOR SPOILERS***
The thing I really liked the most was towards the end when Asami was talking about how men were only interested in sex, when Aoyama was actually looking to remarry. Did anyone else catch that?

[Requiem-for-a-Dream]

Yeah, I caught it too, depressing...

Matt

[Wicked]

I am in LOVE !!!

This movie is to fucking great for words. I love the movie. It's kinda long but long introduction totally makes sense.

Asami is great. She's so fragile and beautiful and kinda... pure. It's as if she remained a little girl she was when all those awful stuff happened to her. Beautiful. The last scene, when she's on the floor, at the bottom of the stairs repeating her lines from the beginning of their relationship is really special. She has the most gentle and peaceful voice... it's angelic.

to top it off, she looks sooooo great in those black rubber gloves and apron and straps.... wow

ok, yes my post is about Asami, not the movie, but movie freakin' rules!