James Posted November 3, 2002 Share Posted November 3, 2002 [color=royalblue]Since there don't appear to be any threads about this movie yet...I thought I'd start one. First and foremost, I haven't seen The Ring yet. It isn't on at my local cinema...I think it'll be coming out this week in Australia. Nonetheless, I'm intrigued by it. I first heard about it in a chatroom with some friends...who all saw it and swore by it. They loved it. I've also read three film reviews of this movie...two of them were negative (two stars out of five) and one was extremely positive (four and a half stars). It seems that the American version's plot is a bit loose...whilst the actual "scary" aspect is very good. Cinematography is also apparently very good. If you haven't seen it, I'll explain what it's about. The Ring essentially revolves around an enchanged video tape. It is totally unmarked and appears to have nothing on it. But when you press "play", you see a series of nightmarish and disturbing images in black and white. At the end of the tape, you see a ring. Moments later, you receive a phone call. On the other end is a child who whispers "Seven Days". The watcher of the tape has only seven days until they die. There are a few interesting aspects to this concept. First and foremost, it must be noted that the American movie is based on a Japanese movie called [i]Ringu[/i] which is, in turn, based on a horror novel. The movie (and its successors, including Ringu 2 and Ringo-O: Birthday) are amongst the highest grossing movies EVER in Japan. One of the core ideas behind the movie is the question of the "forbidden fruit". If you watch the tape, you [i]will[/i] die. But if you don't watch it, you will wonder what is on it. You will be curious about the images contained within... The idea is, of course, that as dangerous as the tape is...as horrible as its contents are, it is human desire to explore the taboo. To touch the forbidden. And of course, your curiosity is "rewarded" in the most horrible way possible. Uniquely, the original creator of the Japanese film said that the seven day idea came about in order to make the concept more scary. You see...if you died right away, that'd be kind of pointless and painless. Instead, you receive a chilling phone message that gives you seven days to live. During that seven day period, things are not what they seem...and you have to live with the knowledge that at the end of the week, you will die. In the Japanese version, the tape is enchanted with a curse...and the images relate to memories and nightmares from a character known as "Sadako". The tape is Sadako's revenge for his/her death (I'm not sure if it's a male or female). In the American version, two girls in a cabin find the tape. One of them watches it...her friend doesn't. Her friend witnesses her death one week later. The death was so horrible that the friend is committed to an insane asylum for the rest of her life -- unable to be healed. The aunt of the "murdered" girl is a reporter who decides to investigate. She doesn't believe the urban legend -- and subsequently watches the tape. Sure enough, she receives the chilling phone call moments later. So, it becomes a race for her life. She has a week to unravel the mystery behind the tape. During this time...her young son watches the tape too. Obviously, she is extremely worried about this. However, her son begins drawing images at school that are directly from the tape. He also delivers other worldly messages. Clearly, he is the key to the mystery surrounding the tape's nightmarish contents. What I'd like to know is for those who've seen the movie...what did you think? And has anyone seen the Japanese versions? Ring-O was played recently on TV here...but I missed it. It looked pretty cool. Oh and...no spoilers please. ;) If anyone wants to learn more, I recommend visiting [url]http://www.dreamworks.com/thering[/url] for more info. The movie notes are really worth reading. :) Here's an image from the American version (I believe it is the friend of the girl who died...):[/color] [img]http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/2a460f93626cd4678625624c007f2b46/a2054d2ac1116dc288256c5000818188/ReviewBody/0.EDA?OpenElement&FieldElemFormat=gif[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Matt Posted November 3, 2002 Share Posted November 3, 2002 [color=red][b]Let me direct your attention [url=http://otakuboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16820]here[/url] or [url=http://otakuboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16054]here[/url]. :)[/b][/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted November 3, 2002 Author Share Posted November 3, 2002 [color=royalblue]Hm, those don't appear to be on the first page though. At least on my settings they aren't. o_O;;[/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrist cutter Posted November 3, 2002 Share Posted November 3, 2002 The video itself is not what's scary... basically nothing you talked about was all that scary lol. Once you watch the movie, you'll find out exactly what [i]is[/i] so horrifying about it though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Matt Posted November 3, 2002 Share Posted November 3, 2002 [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by James [/i] [B][color=royalblue]Hm, those don't appear to be on the first page though. At least on my settings they aren't. o_O;;[/color] [/B][/QUOTE] [color=red][b]The first link is not even half way down the first page for me. lol[/b][/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sui Generis Posted November 3, 2002 Share Posted November 3, 2002 Yeah like wrist cutter said the movie or plot itself is essentially not all that scary. Its really hard to describe A) without spoiling it and B) just is hard to describe...how it is scary. I'll just tell you one thing...lights are you friends when you sleep at night! Lol I don't sleep with my light but many friends that have seen it do. I personally loved the movie no matter how much I wanted to pee my pants during the movie.... Great filming and special affects I think...and I think its great how it was as scary as it was with minimal gore/grusome images...I mean its PG-13 yet we had adults hiding and walking out of the theatre... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amibasuki Posted November 3, 2002 Share Posted November 3, 2002 [FONT=arial]as I've said in the other Ring thread, I loved the movie. I was scared out of my wits though, since I'm not very good with horror movies anyway. the girl in the picture isn't the friend of the girl who died, but she plays a really big role in the movie. I dunno if I should say what it is though, I'm not sure how much I can reveal without it being a spoiler. but her name is Somara.[/FONT] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sui Generis Posted November 3, 2002 Share Posted November 3, 2002 [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by amibasuki [/i] [B][FONT=arial]as I've said in the other Ring thread, I loved the movie. I was scared out of my wits though, since I'm not very good with horror movies anyway. the girl in the picture isn't the friend of the girl who died, but she plays a really big role in the movie. I dunno if I should say what it is though, I'm not sure how much I can reveal without it being a spoiler. but her name is Somara.[/FONT] [/B][/QUOTE] Yeah thats about all you can tell them lol. Anyways that movie was scary. I didn't understand one part of the movie though. It is quite confusing at times... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrist cutter Posted November 3, 2002 Share Posted November 3, 2002 [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Lalaith Ril [/i] [B]I didn't understand one part of the movie though. It is quite confusing at times... [/B][/QUOTE] PM me, maybe I can help you... I understand all of it, as far as I can tell (unless there's something I'm missing). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkey Posted November 4, 2002 Share Posted November 4, 2002 This movie is an example of how geniouses direct. The amount of detail and foreshadowing is incredible, and each one of my friends saw things the others missed. I was one of the few people in the whole theater that understood the true meaning of the title, and it took me a while to understand... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrist cutter Posted November 4, 2002 Share Posted November 4, 2002 [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Smoky Joe [/i] [B] I was one of the few people in the whole theater that understood the true meaning of the title, and it took me a while to understand... [/B][/QUOTE] Um, as far as I can tell, "the ring" is just that circle of light that gets through the cover of the well. Or is there some deep, artistic meaning that I'm not seeing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted November 4, 2002 Author Share Posted November 4, 2002 [color=royalblue]Hm, part of the reason I created this thread was to ask if anyone had seen the Japanese versions of this movie. As I said, Ring O was played here recently, but I missed it. :( From what I hear, the Japanese version is even better.[/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted November 6, 2002 Share Posted November 6, 2002 I read up on this movie about a month ago. The plot is not scary unless you have an exceedinly weak stomach, but aye... I want to see this one, The japanese version is really worth checking out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted November 6, 2002 Share Posted November 6, 2002 [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by James [/i] [B][color=royalblue]Hm, part of the reason I created this thread was to ask if anyone had seen the Japanese versions of this movie. As I said, Ring O was played here recently, but I missed it. :( From what I hear, the Japanese version is even better.[/color] [/B][/QUOTE] Yes, I have seen the Japanese version of both The Ring and The Ring 2 I have not seen the new version though, but from what I hear, yes, the Japanese version is much better Even the video tape is supposed to be better, in terms of how disturbing it is From the pic you showed James, I am disappointed, in the Japanese version you dont even see the girls face, its always covered by her long hair, making her look more disturbing, why I am seeing her face in that pic I dont know, but have a hunch it is the scene where the press are taking pictures of her mother The sequel was also good, but just didn't have the general feel of the original I have no idea when it is released in the UK, but await in anticipation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSJ_WILLIE Posted November 7, 2002 Share Posted November 7, 2002 I am rather disappointed. I want to get with my gf to see it tonight because she is going with some friends but I cant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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