Takashi Miike has always been a prolific filmmaker, but when he released the creepy acclaimed feature film Audition ten years ago, Miike created a stir around the world that he will forever be associated with. Recently snaring the #1 slot on EW.com’s 20 Top Horror Films of the Past 20 Years, Audition is a cautionary tale of romance gone awry, making men worldwide squirm at its horrific climax.
Celebrating 10th Anniversary of Takashi Miike’s modern horror classic, Shout! Factory presents AUDITION: 2-Disc Collector’s Edition Blu-ray™ Hi-Def on October 6, 2009. The 2-Disc Collector’s Edition DVD is also available to own on the same day. Featuring a 1080P high definition transfer from the inter-negative, with a new 5.0 digital soundtack mixed from the original audio elements, AUDITION: 2-DISC COLLECTOR’S EDITION Blu-ray™ Hi-Def includes 75 minutes of new interviews with the cast and filmmaker along with a new audio commentary with director Takashi Miike and screenwriter Daisuke Tengan. The collectible Blu-ray™ Hi-Def is priced to own at $29.99; DVD has a $ 24.99 SRP.
SYNOPSIS
Deceptively innocent at first, Takashi Miike’s Audition finds Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi, Suicide Club, The Grudge), a middle-aged widower of many years, urged by his teenage son and his film producer friend Yasuhisa Yoshikawa (Jun Kunimura, Ichi The Killer) to get out and start dating again. To help Aoyama meet women, Yoshikawa devises a plan to hold a fake audition for a leading lady. Reluctantly agreeing, Aoyama auditions 30 young hopefuls and falls for the silent beauty of Asami (Benetton model/actress Eihi Shiina), a former ballerina with a dark past. Their courtship veers from quiet romance to psycho nightmare.
Directed by Takashi Miike and written for the screen by Daisuke Tengan (Imprint) from the book by Ryû Murakami (Karaoke Terror), the film Audition was released in U.S. theatres in 1999
Special Features Available on Blu-ray™ High-Def:
• Disc One: (Blu-ray)
◦ DVD Introduction with Director Takashi Miike and star Eihi Shiina
◦ Audio Commentary With Director Takashi Miike and Screenwriter Daisuke Tengan
• Disc Two: (DVD – Standard Definition)
◦ New Interviews With Cast Members Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Renji Ishibashi And Ren Osugi
◦ International Trailers
• Booklet Essay By Author Tom Mes (author of Agitator: The Cinema Of Takashi Miike)
Standard DVD Bonus Features
DISC ONE:
Ø DVD Introduction with Director Takashi Miike and star Eihi Shiina
Ø Audio Commentary with Director Takashi Miike and Screenwriter Daisuke Tengan
DISC TWO:
Ø New interviews with Cast Members Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Renji Ishibashi and En Osugi
Ø International Trailers
Ø Booklet Essay by Tom Mes (author of Agitator: The Cinema Of Takashi Miike)
About Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is a diversified entertainment company devoted to producing, uncovering and revitalizing the very best of pop culture. Founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos have spent their careers sharing their music, television and film faves with discerning consumers the world over. Shout! Factory’s DVD offerings serve up classic, contemporary and cult TV series, riveting sports programs, live music, animation and documentaries in lavish packages crammed with extras. The company’s audio catalogue boasts GRAMMY®-nominated boxed sets, new releases from storied artists, lovingly assembled album reissues and indispensable “best of” compilations. These riches are the result of a creative acquisitions mandate that has established the company as a hotbed of cultural preservation and commercial reinvention. With its fingers on the pulse of pop culture, Shout! Factory continues to impact the entertainment media landscape through acquisition of top quality programming for home entertainment releases. Shout! Factory is based in Santa Monica, California. For more on Shout! Factory, visit www.shoutfactory.com.