The Eye, Ringu 2, Dark Water, and Ju-On: The Grudge

[JayKeeley]

All four Japanese films represent some of the finest movie making I've seen in recent times. I only point them out to you because I understand that ALL FOUR will be remade by Hollywood with the obligatory glossed-over American shiny happy look with glitzy actors. It's just mainstream shite for mall crowds, and they'll all get loads of marketing and snazzy trailers.

Honestly, don't watch the remakes (at least not until you've seen the originals) - ESPECIALLY Ringu 2. Fucking Ringu was horrific & demented (and I watched it when it first came out before any hype), and Ringu 2 is just a complete mindfuck. It is quite awkward just to watch, not because it's gory, but just because it's twisted. The fact that Naomi Watts is doing the US sequel (The Ring 2) means it will be nothing like the Japanese sequel.

Dark Water (directed by Hideo Nakata, who also did Ringu 1 & 2) and The Eye are just beautiful films (although I don't think The Eye is technically Japanese), and Ju-On: The Grudge is horrific, but it's slightly difficult to follow so I'll need to see it again. Either way, it was done really well, and Rue Morgue magazine (the best horror mag on the shelf) voted it as scariest movie of 2003. (Best movie went to May).

Of course, non-horror films like Ichi the Killer and Battle Royale will never be remade, thank goat. And if they were, it would be in name only.

 

[NAD]

Sign me up for Ringu 2 and Dark Water. Are those readily available on DVD over here, or do I need to find Region 0 crap on eGay?

 

[JayKeeley]

*goes to check DVD collection*

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

Are they subtitled, or dubbed Ali? It takes a special kind of patience for me to watch a subtitled movie.

 

[NAD]

What, like weed?

 

[JayKeeley]

OK the Ringu 2 I have is on Tartan Video (British Distribution), and is a Region 0. It still doesn't seem available in the USA, so it may be an eBay purchase if you can find one cheap. Have you seen Ringu 1, or just the American version?

Dark Water is region 3 (Japan) - however, mine is an old copy from when it first came out, and so it might be worth chasing down on eBay now in region 0.

By the way, The Eye is available on release in the US (I've seen it at my local rental store, along with Suicide Club which I have yet to see). My local video store even has Audition!!!

 

[JayKeeley]

Are they subtitled, or dubbed Ali? It takes a special kind of patience for me to watch a subtitled movie.

No, no, no - subtitles all the way! Dubbing loses all the original acting, and makes it sound like one of those "Battle of the Planets" type cartoons.

subtitles + widescreen = perfect watching for foreign movies

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

What, like weed?

Yes, that works.

But 'tis a no-no while job hunting.

 

[NAD]

No, no, no - subtitles all the way! Dubbing loses all the original acting, and makes it sound like one of those "Battle of the Planets" type cartoons.

Exactly.

Yep, I've seen Ringu and The Ring, I prefer the American adaptation, but that doesn't mean I don't like the original as well.

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

No, no, no - subtitles all the way! Dubbing loses all the original acting, and makes it sound like one of those "Battle of the Planets" type cartoons.

subtitles + widescreen = perfect watching for foreign movies

Yeah, I know, dubbing isn't really a great alternative, especially when more often than not the movie takes on a Saturday afternoon kung fu theater hilarity, but it really does grate on me nerves to constantly have to be reading. It better be a movie at least the quality of "The Killer" or "Hard Boiled" for me to overlook it.

 

[JayKeeley]

Yeah, I know, dubbing isn't really a great alternative, especially when more often than not the movie takes on a Saturday afternoon kung fu theater hilarity, but it really does grate on me nerves to constantly have to be reading. It better be a movie at least the quality of "The Killer" or "Hard Boiled" for me to overlook it.

Agreed. There is some further effort involved, and it certainly distracts from what's going on in the movie. Also, there are times when the subtitles appear before the dialogue has actually been spoken, and that kind of ruins the flow and suspense of the movie too.

You're right - the movie does have to be worth it, just so you can watch it 'intact', however, if it's an old Jackie Chan flick like "Snake in Eagles Shadow" or "Drunken Master" then bring on the dubs!! "Teacher, teacher! My kung fu is better than your kung fu! So you think your praying mantis style can defeat my Monkey Eagle Claw?". It all reminds me of that black dude in Police Academy and Spaceballs. Remember him?

P.S. Why would anyone ever want to watch the "full screen" version over the "widescreen"? I bought School of Rock the other day, and I noticed that you could actually choose between wide and fullscreen DVDs? Weird.

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

"Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" was another movie that I thought was fucking aces with the subtitles. And that black dude from the Police Academy movies was who I was trying to think of! LOL.

As for the wide vs. full, I guess the only thing is if you don't have a 30+ inch TV. I know if I'm watching a movie in the bedroom, the TV is only 27" and widescreen is only so-so in there. Now, on the full 36" flatscreen out in the living room, well it's either widescreen or nothing.

The other day I actually rented a flick from the local store and could have sworn I grapped the "WS" version off the shelf - I did - only the disc inside was FS. I was fucking pissed!

 

[NAD]

P.S. Why would anyone ever want to watch the "full screen" version over the "widescreen"? I bought School of Rock the other day, and I noticed that you could actually choose between wide and fullscreen DVDs? Weird.

 

[JayKeeley]

One day I shall own a 52" Plasma Flat TV and hang it on a wall in my house. One day...

 

[NAD]

Shit, one day I'll own a 24" picture tube TV, and maybe MAYBE get cable even!

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

That picture > everything else I've seen today

 

[JayKeeley]

Shit, one day I'll own a 24" picture tube TV, and maybe MAYBE get cable even!

Hehehe, I have cable. Man, my two favorite shows are Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Soprano's (new season started last night!). HBO rules. No ad breaks during heated debates on the Bill Maher show!

Anyway, with regards to full screen viewing, have you ever seen LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring on full-screen format? It's funny because during the opening narrative by Galadriel, they show the nine kings hold up the rings, but you only see seven of them. There's loads of other examples of this kinda shit.

I also love how they try to 'fix' missing segments in fullscreen films by introducing 'pan & scan'. Have you ever seen this technique? It's horrible! Pulp Fiction was butchered because of this.

Man, I would move your couch closer to the TV!

 

[NAD]

Ugh, yes I've seen that pan and scan. It looks so terrible, and is incredibly obvious what they're doing!

If I moved my couch to the middle of my living room where would all my CDs go?

I actually put all those up on the shelf last night, took two hours to put them in order!

 

[ChiefB]

My local video store even has Audition!!!

Oh man, this film is just too brutal. It plays like a slow detective film until the grand finale. It made me sick and the problem is just when you think the gruesome bit is over it carries on and on and on. Bloody great film though!

Yeah, I know, dubbing isn't really a great alternative, especially when more often than not the movie takes on a Saturday afternoon kung fu theater hilarity, but it really does grate on me nerves to constantly have to be reading. It better be a movie at least the quality of "The Killer" or "Hard Boiled" for me to overlook it.

I love watching foreign films because their story telling techniques are always different from the US and UK films. Plus when watching foreign films one must assume that one has a firm grasp of English and can perform joined-up handwriting....and not resort to signing his cheques with an "X" or a thumbprint.......

Chief B runs for his life with markgugs hotly in pursuit armed with a very sharp knife!!

 

[Unsumed]

Fucking Ringu was horrific & demented (and I watched it when it first came out before any hype), and Ringu 2 is just a complete mindfuck. It is quite awkward just to watch, not because it's gory, but just because it's twisted. The fact that Naomi Watts is doing the US sequel (The Ring 2) means it will be nothing like the Japanese sequel.

You know that Ringu 2 isn't the original sequel, right? The original is called Rasen (or Ring 2: Spiral), and is better in my opinion. Great ending! The hollywood version is based on an entirely new script and has nothing to do with neither Ringu 2 or Rasen. There is also talk of doing a prequel (that of course will have nothing to do with the Japanese Ringu 0: Birthday ). It's really hard to keep track of all the Ringu movies out there . Ringu itself is actually a remake of Ringu: Kanzen-ban from 1995. There is also a Korean remake called The Ring Virus (or just simply Ring). Plus there's even a TV-series called Ringu: Saishuu-shô (Ring: The Final Chapter)... Phew!


So, to recap:

Ringu (Novel by Kôji Suzuki)
Ringu: Kanzen-ban (The first filming of Kôji Suzuki's novel)
Ringu (Known as the "original")
The Ring Virus (Korean remake of Ringu)
The Ring (Hollywood)

Rasen (Novel by Kôji Suzuki)
Ring 2: Spiral (First sequel to Ringu)
Ringu 2 (The more financially successful second attempt at a sequel)
The Ring 2 (Hollywood)

Loop (Novel by Kôji Suzuki)

The Birthday (Book with three short stories by Kôji Suzuki)
Ringu 0: Birthday (Japanese prequel)
The Ring 0 (Hollywood, probably)

Ring: The Final Chapter (TV-series, 12 episodes)

Collect 'em all .

Dark Water (directed by Hideo Nakata, who also did Ringu 1 & 2) and The Eye are just beautiful films (although I don't think The Eye is technically Japanese)

Dark Water is also, like Ringu, based on a novel by Kôji Suzuki. I think they made a great decision in casting Jennifer Connelly as the lead in the remake. And I think Walter Salles can do a good job directing it as well. An odd choice of director and I was pleasantly surprised by it. But Hideo Nakata is the king when it comes to this kind of understated horror, so his version will still rule in the end.

The Eye is a Hong Kong film. It has one of my all time favourite horror scenes in it. The elevator scene. Those who have seen it will know what I'm talking about . It's unforgettable (unless you're drunk of course ).

Ju-On: The Grudge is horrific, but it's slightly difficult to follow so I'll need to see it again.

Yeah, the storytelling in Ju-On is a bit weird, but worth getting into.

What version of Ju-On have you seen, the Japanese TV-version or the Japanese theatrical one? I've seen both TV-films (Ju-On and Ju-On 2) plus the theatrical version of the first one, and I have to say that the TV-versions are WAY scarrier than the theatrical version. I still haven't seen the remake of the second one but I doubt it will be all that impressive when I do.

A good thing about the upcoming Hollywood remake is that it's being remade by the original director, Takashi Shimitzu, in Japan. On the negative side it stars Sarah Michelle Gellar.

The weird thing about this movie is that when it's done the director will have made three versions of his film. Now that must be unusual .