Oficiální web Miloše Formana

“Audition” consists of two short films that were released together as one feature film. The first segment “If there were no music” features a short anecdotal plot about two young musicians from rival brass bands. Both young men would rather watch a motorcycle race than play a concert with their bands. In the end, they decide to miss an important concert festival to watch the race.

Both Blumental (the trumpeter) and Vlada (the trombonist) are fired from their bands for this “betrayal.” However, they quickly find new jobs by simply switching bands.

The second segment called “The Audition/Talent Competition” is a fake documentary about an audition at the popular Czechoslovak theatre The Semafor (The Traffic-light). This simple story introduces a young pedicurist who wants to leave work so that she can audition. To solve her problem, she pretends that she’s been called to attend a trial.

A young semi-professional singer named Vera also auditions for the part. Despite her advanced singing ability, she suffers bad stage fright and isn’t able to sing a single note. The young pedicurist manages to sing, but her performance is ridiculous. When she returns to work she is accused of lying.

Mr. Sebor and Mr. Bor, producers from Barrandov Film Studios, found the material shot at the audition so interesting that they decided to give Forman another chance to make a second short movie so that these two segments could be released together as one full-length film.

Both films function almost like a documentary even though they are mostly staged. Characters are depicted as ordinary people who talk and act naturally, which may sometimes seem ridiculous and funny, but is also very touching. Both films present a sense of the sixties generation – of the havenless youngsters imprisoned in the authoritarian society created by their parents.

• “We had just started to prepare a documentary movie about the Semafor Theatre at that time. That theatre had become a smash hit in Prague. We were walking to and fro in the building shooting things going around. The theatre was just auditioning for a new singer. The power of the microphone seemed amazing to me. Those girls in the audition were coming in front of it as if it was a magic wand, which could endow them with beauty and a fabulous voice. Ordinary and stupid girls were flaunting and showing off, those without any musical ear whatsoever were howling and the shy ones suffering from stage fright were suffering even more while listening to the remarks of the judges. The atmosphere was rather unpleasant sometimes. Young women were unveiling their ambitions so shamelessly that it made me feel embarrassed. That was the moment when I decided to make a movie about this audition which I didn’t want to be ashamed of, and which would force my audience to watch the cruel performances as well.“
• About the casting of Vera Kresadlova (future second wife of Milos Forman): “Finally a girl trio came up and started singing “Locomotion”. I couldn’t take my eyes off one of them – a tall dark girl with pursed lips. I found out her telephone number and asked her whether she would like to be cast in my film. She said we had to talk about it first. We had an appointment in a café. She looked fabulous, but she made it clear that despite her age (she was just eighteen at the time) she was not going to be duped. She accepted my offer calmly and I could see she wanted to be talked into it. I was trying to do my best and she said yes in the end, but her condition was to take the whole band to the movie shoot. Vera really fit the casting in that film, and even though it was just fiction she managed to perform as a singer in real life at the Semafor Theatre afterwards. Slowly but surely she also ceased to resist my invitations, we started to date and after a while she moved to my place".