You never forget your first time watching Takashi Miike's Audition: For some people, it is the first and last Miike picture they ever see. The wildly prolific Miike's best-known (and arguably most disciplined) work, the movie scandalized film festival audiences when it was shown around the world in 1999, and the terrific new two-disc Audition: Collector's Edition (Shout Factory, $25 DVD, $30 Blu-ray) celebrates the movie's 10th anniversary with a truckload of enlightening extras.

Unlike most of Miike's other films (Ichi the Killer, Sukiyaki Western Django), Audition has a rigorously formal structure and a careful, deliberate pace that, for at least the first two-thirds of the movie, lull you into believing you're watching an intimate character study of a widower, Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), who, with the encouragement of his teenaged son (Tetsu Sawaki), sets out to find a new spouse six years after the death of his wife.

Aoyama takes an unorthodox approach to finding his soulmate, collaborating with a work colleague to organize a series of auditions for young actresses competing for a supposed role in a feature film. The audition process allows Aoyama the opportunity to pore over the personal details of a bevy of young women before he's even met them, and it also allows him to study and consider them under the pretense of a film producer's gaze.

One girl in particular intrigues him: The fragile and delicate Asami (Eihi Shiina), a former dancer whose poise and beauty leave Aoyama utterly smitten. Although Aoyama's deceptive tactics sound a bit scummy on paper, he's actually a grandly sympathetic character onscreen -- a genuinely good man and father who simply doesn't know how to navigate the modern-day world of dating, but will be a worthwhile partner to whichever woman he winds up with.

It is Asami, who we know a lot less about, that is the more complicated half of the equation -- and beginning with a tremendous jolt Miike doles out at the 45-minute mark, is obviously more than the dainty beauty she appears to be. To reveal anymore wouldn't just be criminal: It would also rob Audition of the astonishingly horrific secrets that are gradually revealed in its second half, culminating with a never-to-be-forgotten finale infamous for sending some people bolting for the theater exit.

Both DVD and Blu-ray editions contain the same suite of extras, although the film looks more detailed and colorful in its Blu-ray incarnation (Audition was a low-budget affair, so don't expect a lot of slick and colorful 3-D pop).

Miike introduces the film in a brief segment that is a testament to his sense of humor. (``I would be so happy if people enjoy this. You may regret watching it, though.'') The movie is accompanied by a superb commentary track, spoken in Japanese and subtitled in English, featuring Miike, screenwriter Daisuke Tengan and moderator Masato Kobayashi.

Miike also reveals that he has fielded several offers to work in Hollywood, but they've never been acted on because he's afraid of having to give up creative control. (``A lot of people are watching you in Hollywood. You have to show rushes to suits, and I like the privilege of final cut.'')

The commentary also delves into the reaction Audition had on audiences during its original release (as she walked out of a screening at a festival, a woman came up to Miike and yelled ``You're sick!'' at him) and the impact it has had on the horror film genre, particularly movies such as Hostel.

The second disc includes extensive interviews with the cast and crew on the movie and the impact it had on their careers, but the commentary track, with Miike's unexpectedly humble demeanor and sense of humor, is the best extra in the set. ``I wonder if there's anyone else in America besides [Hostel director] Eli Roth who will listen to this commentary,'' Miike asks at one point. ``He might be watching this with Tarantino. It's hard to imagine what kind of person would listen to this.''

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