I rented Ringu the other night because of all the hype over it being the better of the two. I don't get it.

Kudos to the folks who made Ringu simply for the fact that its an original plot for a horror movie. But Ringu just looked really cheap to me, and the moments that were supposed to be tense just fell flat.

For example, in The Ring, when the girl attacks, they show a brief but quick moving montage of imagery thats pretty jarring and makes you wonder what the hell is goin on. In Ringu, they just cut to a cheesy black and white image of the persons face screaming.

Also, I kinda preferred how they trimmed the story line down a bit in The Ring, and removed all the ESP crap.

Unless I missed something, I don't recall the "video" in Ringu even showing a ring of light, it just showed an open well.

go and get the movie DARK WATER Tom...i promise you will NOT be dissapointed

Tom said:

I've seen the Ring twice.. and I also thought it was much better than ringu when the girl attacks.

7 days!!!

I prefer the remake as well. Although I did like the lead actress in Ringu a lot. She made the movie worth watching.

It's the originals only for me. I much much prefer the originals. The remake isn't terrible, but I prefer the original. Admittedly, I speak Japanese so that would enhance my enjoyment of it (compared to someone who has to read the English subtitles).

One thing about the original was the appearance of Sadako at the end, coming out of the TV... that was a genuinely freaky scene and the US version just doesn't manage that kind of impact.

In fairness, I think it comes down to what version you saw first. I saw the original many times and loved it so I felt no need for a remake. I feel that way about every remake, pretty much. I hate the idea. I felt the American version tried too hard to explain every little thing and lose the understated, quiet aesthetic of the original. Too "full on" for my tastes. It didn't need a remake - I'm glad the remake wasn't totally shit but I don't think it was necessary. Some of the scene composition and dialogue of the original is typically Japanese so I'm not surprised that Americans prefer the remake.

Tom said:

Why would it? That wasn't part of the original movie, or the novel it was based on.

Remember - the original was the original. The remakers came along with a bigger budget, fixed a few of the holes in the plot, and cashed in on someone else's idea. So in that sense, it is pointless the discuss which version is "better" - the original version was original. The American version wasn't.

Tom said:

Tom, Tom, Tom...I bet u watched the American remake before watching Ringu tho didnt u?

As 4 the 'ring of light' u mentioned - u have 2 put that in context of that film - it is what can Sadako can see from the bottom of her watery prison...

Yes, it is a little convoluted in it's plot, and yes, it does leave u with more questions than answers - it is after all, a cycle of 4 films (if u include Rasen) parts of a puzzle. U dont wanna be spoon fed all the answers do u? Cuz that's what the American version blatantly did.

As 4 the video scenes themselves, I think they are much more tense, wierd and maleavolant than the American one ever tried 2 be.

Sorry, but the originals are so, SO much better in every way - and 4 one reason above all else: it has atmosphere something the American ca$h cow - sorry, remake sorely lacks in abundance on every level.

Please dont say u liked the remake of Psycho or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre too!!!

Please dont take this the wrong way - this isnt a dig, or me being an 'art-house cinema snob', just a lighthearted observation.

By the way, Ardeo is right - Dark Water IS cool!
CLICK HERE 4 THE TRAILER:
www.darkwaterthemovie.com/06.htm
[This message was edited Sun Nov 2 12:59:08 PST 2003 by bananacologne]

I haven't seen Dark Water yet, but apparently an American remake will be released next year by Director Walter Salles,Jr.

i have no idea what this is about

Ringu was great, but The Ring was a lot better and creepier.

The ring was NOT a better movie!!! as has been stated by the few who have seen it, Ringu has the appropriate atmosphere the film needed. The "video" was more creepy in every way. More of the way it should have looked if it were supposed to be "killing" all who watch it. why it is the we american's insist on cheesing up every remake is beyond me. All so I was under the impression that Ringu was part of what was intended on something like 13 parts total. Of course we american's can't deal with that (we sort of suck at the "have patience" frame of mind) so we turn everything into as little as possible. That is usually why sequels suck such ass. And just to set the record straight the Texas chainsaw wasn't exactly a remake as a new visualization of the original. I haven't seen it yet so I don't know if it any good, but so that no one goes into it thiking it will be a dead on remake. Sort of like what they did with the original and remake of the 13 ghosts.

Some people are just prejudiced against American remakes.

EvilWhiteMale said:

That's ridiculous. I could equally claim that American audiences are prejudiced against non-English movies and foreign cultures. However it is hardly surprising that people who saw the original first and who like it will appreciate that version a lot more than the remake. Guess what, I loved "Get Carter" too before Sylvester Stallone tried so hard to ruin it for me by remaking it.

In this case, the remake was decent enough thankfully, so if you saw that version first you'd probably enjoy it despite it being dumbed down a bit.

This is a contentious issue over on IMDB too - have a read of the reviews for both movies and see an equally varied collection of opinions.

I dislike remakes in general, because I don't see the point. It seems cynical, greedy, and entirely unnecessary. If a Japanese director decided to remake a great American movie, I'd think that was an equally stupid idea.

The original was better in my opinion, because it was original. I freely admit though that I do prefer Japanese cinema to the Hollywood treatment in general.

Ringu is on British TV this week so I think I'll give it a watch. Ive seen 'The Ring' and thought it was quite an intelligent horror thriller.

I like Coke better than Pepsi...

normally i despise american remakes, because often they suck, but i did prefer the ring to ringu

Byron said:

That's what it comes down to, ultimately!

cborgman said:

Not all of them R bad 2 be fair, like 'The Ring'. But like Ian's mentioned 'Get Carter' with Sly Stallone was god awful I agree. U cant improve on a classic.
[This message was edited Sun Nov 2 7:04:13 PST 2003 by JDINTERACTIVE]

ian said:

You mean this isn't a thread about Coke Vs. Pepsi??... :O

Damn...I gotta find my glasses...

JDINTERACTIVE said:

there are a few good ones... birdcage over la cage aux folles, the ring over ringu both leap to mind.

but there are a lot of really bad ones... get carter, the american remake of "le femme nekita", the american version of which i can't recall the name, insomnia, swept away, etc...

Byron said:

for me plz

cborgman said:

What R the sitcom remakes like. How did 'Men Behaving Badly' go down? I here 'The Office' is also being remade, true?

ian said:

I don't think it's ridiculous at all. Although some people may genuinely like an original foreign version better, there are a lot of film snobs out there who automatically stick their noses up to the remakes. A lot of people won't even give it a chance because they really don't want to. If they say the Japanese original was way better, then they sound like intellectuals and people who truly understand good cinema. I just hate that attitude.

I really thought the remake in this case was a lot better. The atmosphere, the characters, the effects, and all that shit was better. The original just seemed much more dry. And don't get me wrong, I thought it was a great film on it's own, but the remake just took it up a notch.

EvilWhiteMale said:

Well, good for you.

Try to respect that not everyone agrees with that opinion and to dismiss it as people being "snobby" is just insulting and plain wrong.

People don't like the original Ringu because it's "foreign" they like it because it is the original and therefore the version they got to know and love first. Nothing complex about that.

There's something rather unhealthy about the attitude that enjoying a foreign movie is "intellectual" or "snobby" as you suggest. Perhaps this is symptomatic of a general western / American cultural insularity and unwillingness to accept foreign popular culture until it has been appropriated, sanitised, dumbed-down and suitably Americanised with nice recognisable white American faces and American accents.

One example that springs to mind is the fabulous BBC comedy "The Office". Instead of just showing the comedy in the USA, they are instead remaking it with American accents and basing it in New York.

ian said:

huge co-sign

JDINTERACTIVE said:

the remake of men behaving badly sunk like a stone and reeked like shite.

the american coupling is really bad by comparison.

i hate to even mention the "sad american rip-off" years when there were like 3 horrid rip-offs of ab-fab.

the american version of queer is folk is good, but completely different. the british ones were much more rooted in reality. the american version is a complete soap opera fantasy that bears little resemblance to real life.

if hard pressed i could think of more recent ones, but all in the family was a great conversion to american, so was sanford and son

cborgman said:

The funny thing about these shows is that the originals were really good. And it's not like they were in some crazy foreign language and therefore required people to read subtitles (thereby requiring a certain level of literacy and concentration not often commonplace nowadays) but they are in the ENGLISH language. Sure, some regional accents might cause occasional problems but the same goes for American regional accents.

ian said:

i agree. a lot of it boils down to over here, most entertainment sucks. we have movies that are so bad, they basically boil down to a lot of explosions and stunts to the point they barely have any semblence of a plot other than some very generic story about foreign terrorists and spies. very litttle network television has any kind of wit or intelligence, because they put everything down to the lowest common denominater so that it will draw more people in and get them to buy the advertiser's products. it has gotten so bad over here that people are used to this mcdonald's style easy no thought required entertainment junk food, and most british TV shows and movies are entirely too much thought process to be digested. it really sucks... i live in the foreign areas fo my video stores. give me black adder, ab-fab, coupling, the office, queer as folk, monty ptython, dr. who, are you being served?, mr. bean, or fawlty towers any day.

cborgman said:

Agreed...

Though there have been some great American comedies - Taxi, Cheers, MASH, Seinfeld, the Simpsons, Southpark, Frasier and a few others. I'm glad they didn't "localise them" when selling them to TV networks on this side of the Atlantic

ian said:

oh, god could you imagine any of those remade for localization? :shudder: that is why i dont understnad why they feel the need to remake them for america... yuck.

oh, and i thought of another one... they remade fawlty towers with john larroquete... and have had numerous rip-offs of it, the most recent being "whoopi"