Rating: 
Summary: Well, well, well
Review: Before you die, you see "The Ring" -- and, if you're lucky, you'll also catch "Ringu." DreamWorks Home Entertainment has taken the unusual step of marketing its classy-but-creepy "Ring" along with a same-day release of the original 1998 Japanese film, the equally disturbing "Ringu." The "Ring" cycle makes a lot of sense -- while the original certainly delivers on its dark reputation, the remake has nothing to lose from direct comparison. Both are horror films for adults and thinking teens, more psychologically threatening than relentlessly violent. "Ringu" haunted a few U.S. film festivals but has gone largely unseen here until this video release. The Japanese film benefits from a narrative drive and coherence that the U.S. version lacks. Some of the ghostly imagery (like the ghostly long-haired female) make a lot more sense in the Asian context. The Japanese film stars the terrific actress Nanako Matsushima in the Naomi Watts role. The male lead, Sanada Hiroyuki, adds power to "Ringu," while "Ring" remains mostly Watts' show. On the down side, the Japanese film suffers from some cheesy effects and modest production values. Director Hideo Nakata's rendering of what's on the death tape doesn't amount to much. No matter, you'll be too freaked out to worry about it. "Ringu," working with a small budget and no special effects of note, has a handsome but soft look helped along by a new high-definition master. Aspect ratio is 1.85:1. The film is in Japanese with worthy English subtitles. Audio has been remixed in 5.1, for what it's worth.
Rating: 
Summary: Stick with the re-make
Review: Everyone knows about The Ring, but few in america has had the privelege of viewing the japanese one.Well they weren't really missing anything. I couldn't stop laughing at all the cheeziness, and fakeness of this movie. I was cracking uo the entire time. Even the psychological horror in the film was laughable. This is just not at the same caliber as the re-make, and as rare as this is the re-make surpases the original. This one is boring, fake, and humorous. To call this the scariest movie ever, you'd have to be a 3 year old kid who hasn't seen any movie yet. Other than that the only thing this film accomplishes is putting it's viewer to sleep.
Rating: 
Summary: ugh what a waste of time
Review: i admittedly made the mistake of seeing the remake BEFORE i saw the original, and it ruined it completely for me. it started out promising, but then very quickly as i began to notice all the differences in the two i began to get very annoyed that the story/scares/characters were all not adding up to make nearly as much sense as in the american version. there were good ideas there but ultimately the american version took the good ideas and spun them into a great movie. so many little elements that helped to make the story make much more sense. like, why do these adults believe that the tape will kill them? what adult believes so easily in urban legends like that? what makes the story great is in the remake, naomi watts trying to figure out about the tape and its origins while her kid gets weirder and weirder and it begins to get to her and make her paranoid that it might just be true. its that struggle that helps to define her character. i didnt really get much sense of what any of the "characters" were actually like in RINGU. and i wouldve been completely lost as to what the actual deal was with the girl from the tape had i not seen the remake first as they rushed through those bits of the plot. the guy convienently figured everything out very quickly without much need to second guess. "hey, her bodies under the cabin, lets just go get her cause thats the only way we can be saved" how do we know this? I HAVE NO IDEA and neither will anyone in the audience watching this half baked movie. you can only assume these characters know what theyre doing but it seems more like theyre taking the steps through a screenplay thats not very well constructed instead of acting out of free will. everything was too easily handed to them without much sense of mystery at all. there werent nearly even as many scares in this one. this really makes me disappointed, because i been very curious to see this since i saw THE RING in the theatres but ultimately the curiosity having seen it was not worth the 3 bucks to rent it. save your money.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm going to regret saying this but...
Review: Ringu is much better than The Ring. Both movies are superb but Ringu scared me more. Plus the ending effect:
------------------SPOILER DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE RING OR RINGU BUT IF YOU HAVE SEEN ONE OF THE TWO OR BOTH READ ON-------- The effect at the end of Ringu is actually cooler and less disturbing as The Ring. Both movies will haunt your dreams but Ringu will terrify you for years to come. I recommend purchasing both because they are both entertaining. The special features that are available on the Ringu disc seeing as how Amazon hasn't listed them are these: High Definition Master of the original widescreen version
Remastered and Remixed original Japanese dialogue in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround which sounds great on a sound system
A couple of trailers for The Ring, 8 Mile, Catch Me If You Can The movie itself is worth the cost! There are slight differences in plots but they are mostly true to each other. As I said see both!
Rating:
Summary: WELL!!!
Review: "Ding, Dong, Dell" ....... who's in the well? WELL, we're not telling - but this Japanese - very superior Japanese thriller based on the Classical Japanese NOH tale reverberates horror - the 'crossing-over' from the other side - with allof the modern technology available - it's just a matter of time. Great tone of horror - we are never quite sure what 'she' is - is she human or alien? The dark, dark tones of the movie help tremendously - and the ringing of the enhanced Dolby 5.1 telephone. To say more would be to betray - but be assured - you're in for quite a ride - wasabi flavored, with a hint of warm saki!
Rating:
Summary: BEST HORROR MOVIE OF ALL TIME- BAR NONE
Review: U.S. version is [bad] compared to this. You will not sleep the first night you see it..and you will definitely watch it many times and be thinking about it for many weeks after that. ...
Rating:
Summary: Better than the remake
Review: The remake was a fun movie but it didn't scare me at all. This original version did. The scariest part in the original to me was the way ghosts show up in the reflections on turned off TV. In the remake, it looked like just a blurry movement, but in the original, I could identify the actual figure of ghost standing in the image. It just scared the hell out of me and now I'm afraid to look at reflections on TV when it is off... Also, the cottage (above THE WELL) looked more realistic and believable in the original than the remake. The cottage in the remake was just too fake or artificial with all the "aged" look. The encoded voice in the tape was scary too. Its creepiness was similar to the reversed voice plot in The Exorcist. "A fly in the tape turns real" plot in the remake just made me laugh. And I LOVED the way Sadako came out from the well and did the ZOMBIE walk! The walk was much better than the remake. Samara in the remake walked just like a regular child and there was no eeriness what so ever. But the only thing I liked about the remake was the scene after Samara actually crawled out of TV. Her "transparent" look and her quick moves were a little better than Sadako's. (But I just wonder how they would come out if they were 14 inch TVs.) Overall I just love this original. I was surprised that small little things such as the reflections on the TV could scare me this much.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent creepy suspense
Review: "Ringu" contains no sex and no gore, so it may get poor reviews by viewers who require those elements in their favorite films. It is a supremely suspenseful flick, transforming everyday settings into scenes of impending menace. The music contributes much to the mood, and the entire movie has an underlying sense of danger, infused by a filmic sensibility quite different from that of velocity-crazed America. I'm not a horror fan, as such, but a film buff--and "Ringu" filled my late Saturday night quite well . . .
Rating:
Summary: Creepy in its Own Respect
Review: I was going to try and review "Ringu" without doing a compare and contrast with its American remake, "The Ring". However, it is very hard to do, especially since most people who check this film out have most likely seen "The Ring", and want to compare it to the original. One reviewer said your favorite of the two probably depends on which one you saw first. I'd probably have to agree. I saw "The Ring" first. "Ringu", without comparing it to "The Ring", stands very well on its own. It's really the first foreign film I've seen that is a horror movie, and it was made quite well. The idea is original - a cursed videotape that gives everyone who watches it a seven-day death sentence. While investigating the mysterious death of her niece, a young reporter stumbles upon this tape and has seven days to figure out where it came from, what it means, and how to lift the curse that's on it. Okay, now that we have the plot, here is the compare and contrast: There are a number of scenes in "Ringu" that are nearly mirrored in "The Ring", but other than that, there are quite a few differences. First of all, the tape. The tape in "Ringu" is a lot shorter than the one in "The Ring" - and a lot less creepy. Watching the tape in the latter, I was left with an unsettling feeling, which I believe was the purpose of it; in "Ringu", it didn't creep me out nearly as much. However, a lot of things were added to the one in "The Ring", and some of the images don't seem to make sense, whereas "Ringu" just cuts to the chase. "Ringu" seems like a brighter film; there are even a few scenes outside in the sun. "The Ring" was far more dark and gloomy, which I thought made it seem creepier. However, despite the fact that "Ringu" is a little more than an hour and a half, and "The Ring" was nearly two hours, "Ringu" managed to explain itself better. I was completely confused after watching "The Ring", and was still confused after "Ringu", but the original seemed to make more sense. Neither really explained how the tape came into existence, or why it is cursed, but "Ringu" explained the last scene better. I still don't get it, but maybe I'm not supposed to. Visually, "The Ring" is better, mainly because of the bigger budget. Still, "Ringu" looks pretty good, too. "Ringu" and "The Ring" are the same, yet completely different. I have to wonder what I would have thought of "Ringu" had I seen it before "The Ring". Would I have liked it more? It's hard to tell. I like both films, but in the end, I think "The Ring" is the version that is going to stick with me the most. I know, I know, it was strictly Hollywood, with a big budget and a lot of hype, with more special effects; I just think that "The Ring" took the great idea from the original, took its spookiness and turned it into something even better. But without "Ringu", "The Ring" would have never existed. I guess that says a lot about the original. If you liked "The Ring", I recommend you check this one out. Maybe rent it first, just to make sure. It's always fun to compare remakes with the original (another good one: "Vanilla Sky" vs. "Open Your Eyes"). But no matter which one you like more, you will still probably want to sleep with the lights on.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: MUCH better then the American version. This is the first Japanese movie that I have seen that actually makes more sense then the American version. The actors have to make up for a lack of special effects, just using emotions and expressions to convey the horror of the film but they do this well. The quality of this DVD is also very good. The style of Ringu is incredible, both the scenary of Japan and the soundtrack really enhance the movie. Ringu is actually much scarier then the Ring, they don't go for the quick shock, more for the psychological terror. Highly reccommended!
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