:: ORIGINAL vs REMAKE :: - Ringu (1998) Discussion

[–] oNecOolAsiaN 17 years ago

Surprisingly, I'd have to agree that the remake of the Ring is much better and more exciting than the original....which is a complete shock to me because I know how sucky all the hollywood remakes are. IMHO, the Ring is the only better remake so FAR.

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[–] christian_theringtwo 17 years ago

yeah
and tonight I'm watching BLACK X-MAS so I'll see, the original seemed a little boring

and well, in spanish we call it the remake age
I just translated it

and even though you don't accept it, like people who don't accept gay people

it's there, there's no choice to make, you have to accept it

or you have to accept it

=)

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[–] davidgoesboating 17 years ago

No, it's still my choice not to 'accept' gay people if I don't want to (although that would make me a bigot).

There is also a way I can not accept Hollywood - I can avoid watching Hollywood films, which I've been doing successfully for the last year or so, while discovering some great European cinema.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] jLsterz 17 years ago

the remake is SO MUCH BETTER. so much atmosphere and it was creepy throughout the whole thing, wasnt bored at all. great acting!

the original sucked..except the ending but thats it..the beginning w/ the 2 girls sucked..so stupid, the remake intro was SO MUCH SCARIER and more tense and it felt more realistic. the acting in the original was so awkward, it made me laugh.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] ChrisFrost 17 years ago

The remake overexplained everything, but was still a worthy followup. The original is much more powerful because it has the advantage of being the first, and has that Japanese mystery to it.
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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] vanilla_girl-1 17 years ago

I thought the remake was decent but what ruined it was the demonisation of Samara, the scene where she comes out of the TV made me laugh in the remake because she looked like she'd just been ejected from an Evil Dead convention.

I prefer the original's tv crawl because she takes her time, Sadako makes you go at her pace. Samara is teleporting around like she's Captain Kirk and creating "boo!" moments to pander to an impatient audience.

"yuugure ni kimi to mita, orenji no taiyou"

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] peppermint-9 16 years ago

I think people who prefer the Ring want everything to make sense On the other hand, Japanese people don't like it when plots are over explained.. This might be why some western viewers felt something was missing when they saw the original version.

In my opinion, the remake seeks too much logicality. It's nice to fill the empty spaces by yourself.

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[–] kris02 17 years ago

I think both Ringu and The Ring are very decent horror movies, but I found Ringu scarier (an eerie musical score if ever there was one!, a more haunting 'videotape'-scene, a more terrifying 'crawling-out-of-the-TV-scene', etc). The plot structure is maybe a bit clearer in The Ring, but overall I prefer the original. Still, The Ring is a good remake.

I also would like to recommend Ringu 2 and Ringu 0: Bashudei (Birthday). Although the latter is on the whole less scary than Ringu or Ringu 2, it has one of the creepiest and most terrifying finales I have ever witnessed. Please check it out!

Christo

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[–] A_Probably_Postman 17 years ago

I just think that it's funny that a lot of the people who liked the remake spoke in fragmented segments of scentences and the people who liked the remake actually made an intelligent arguement.

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[–] rukusswo97 17 years ago

I just think that it's funny that a lot of the people who liked the remake spoke in fragmented segments of scentences and the people who liked the remake actually made an intelligent arguement.

I'm hoping you meant those who like the "original" made an intelligent argument.

I was pondering weather or not to bring this up. (and Thank you Vanilla_girl for following up on what i was talking about.)

Not to Mod but i basically threw out all the "zmog teh originalz r teh boring!!1" comments not because you are wrong or right or to deprive you of your opinions but because it brings absolutely nothing to the discussion.

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[–] TCharlesBrowne 17 years ago

I like both of them pretty much equally- the original has more of an air of mystery to it, while the American one has better pacing and is slightly more effective as a "scary move", I feel- to be honest, I think the major reason for this is that reading the subtitles on the Japanese version just takes you out of the film too much. Both are extremely well crafted, though,and have their merits. That having been said, the kids in both of them just bug the Hell out of me.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] little_witch14 17 years ago

you almost had me going there until you recomended ringu 2. i haven't seen ringu 0 so there's nothing i can say about it except that if it's anything like ringu 2, i will scratch my other eye out as well.

look, no one will take you seriously if you openly admit that ringu 2 was a good film. it was slow, boring, and predictable, one of the biggest flop in movie-making history.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] Davi_Silva 17 years ago

The Original Of Course.

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[–] Dinalfos 17 years ago

The original is far better. The story may be less beefy, but it's also cleaner and has a better pacing. The music is also superio and I prefer the cold, clinical visuals. The remake had beautiful cinematography, though, but it's just not creepy enough.

But what truly sets the original apart from the remake is the fact that Sadako is treated more like a shady, lurking threat in the background with just enough backstory to keep the viewer both intruiged and scared. You feel like she's constantly watching. The remake, however, attempts (and fails) to develop Samara into a more rounded character, taking away the lurking, skin crawling aspects of the original.

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[–] il Donno 17 years ago

I completely agree with you. The most scary part of the original was that you didn't see Sadakos face. Only her unbelievably creepy eye in the end. Samara wasn't scary at all. Maybe it's because japanese children scare the sh!t out of me in general.

Anyway, watch the original. Waaaaaaaaaaay better than the remake!

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[–] preacherskid634 17 years ago

You saw it on tv...its never good on tv...plus it has all the commericals. You can't judge it on that. But don't bother seeing it again. The Remake is a one time only thing. You can't see it more than once...because then it just becomes hilarous.
don't hate me 'cause I have a brain

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[–] mattias1989-1 17 years ago

do you mind if i use your thread in my A-level research project? its exactly what im looking for!

also could you find time to reply to my thread? the link is:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0391198/board/thread/72665711

thanks a lot! M@

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[–] chrisl84notpia 17 years ago

surprised that no one really mentioned the cultural differences between the original and the remake.

of course there is a huge difference between american and japanese horror films. Japanese (or Asian in general) scary movies rely on the subtle atmosphere to make the mood. (goosebumps) American horror films, i've noticed, correct me if im wrong, because i know there are always some exceptions, but in most cases rely on more of the direct approach. (Influences from the early "Slasher" flicks)

anyhow, the remake has a different approach. Although it captures a good deal of the original Ringu's atmosphere, i have to say the original's mood was very creepy all throughout.

so its a matter of personal taste. I am Korean and grew up with the more subtle goosebumpy kind of scary stories/movies, so i prefer the original, as in i thought the original was scarier. But the remake does has some very good BOO! moments as well

p.s. Naomi Watts is such an awesome screamer... don't you agree?

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[–] alex_vanranden 17 years ago

It completely astounds me that anyone could see the American version and still enjoy the original. It is really, really bad.

There is no atmoshpere to speak of in the original and the creep-out factor is non-existent to the point of being laughable.

I enjoy and respect foreign cinema, don't get me wrong. But the Ring needed to be done the way Verbinski filmed it. It bleeds darkness and supernatural dread. Ringu just makes me think..."cool idea, but someone should have given this director more money"

That doesn't go to say that good horror flicks need to be big-budgeters, just the opposite. The Ring could have been done by a more independent film-maker, but i'm glad it was an actually frightening film that slipped through Hollywod. If it had not made so much money...nobody would be watching Ringu anyway.

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[–] Sigerk 17 years ago

Remake- way scarier, the original just kept building the suspense but nothing really happened, but I think it depends on wich version you see first, i saw the original after i had seen the remake so i expected morethings from the original

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[–] noopnumbat 17 years ago

I saw The Ring at the cinema when it came out. Recently I read the original book and then I just saw Ringu last weekend.

I thought the remake was excellent in every way. It's hard to say how much of the original's impact was lost for me due to having seen the remake and having read the book, but it didn't scare me anywhere near as much as the remake did.

I should watch The Ring again to see if it still creeps me out.

To those who claim stuff like "Asian horror originals will always be better than the American remakes", don't you think that's a tad close-minded? Do you really think a good original movie can never, ever be improved upon?

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[–] rotto-2 17 years ago

If I regard it as neutral point of view.
of course, It rather depends on which side they watch first.
and I think it is also related which race traits/character they belong to.

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[–] honsq90 17 years ago

All I remember is that when I watched the original when I was 11, I couldn't sleep for 2 weeks. I kept looking at the door at night, I dared not peek at the TV. Even after 7 days was up, I still couldn't sleep.

The funny/scary (however you want to see it) thing was that when we were watching the movie, after the tape scene, my friend's mother called and we were all screaming like *beep*

Damn, it was still bloody scary for me.

But now, I have the eye as my wallpaper and I realised, after looking at it for a long time, you don't get scared of the eye anymore. But I think if I watch the movie again, I'd have sleepless nights for a while.

Hell, I heard people in Japan committed suicide because of this movie. That's how scary it was.

The remake didn't have that much of an impact to me. Although the fast closeup to a rapidly decaying face made my hair stand. But other than that, I'd still say the original was scarier.

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[–] Rixubishi 17 years ago

I don't think it is narrow minded to say the originals are better than the remakes because the Hollywood money making machine is (successfully) capitalising on someone else's achievement. Now they remake every half decent Asian horror film.

I saw Ringu years before the remake and it spooked me much more than the American attempt. It was far more realistic, and the ending still freaks me out.

Also the part where Sadako grabs Asakawa's arm was way more intense than the remake.

The eye at the end was terrifying! Imagine it's you! You still don't see her face! And she's here to kill you!

Nothing in the remake can touch that moment!

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[–] MrTeaBelly 17 years ago

The Hollywood remake is oh-so-similar to every other Hollywood horror film, they can remake an original horror movie and somehow turn it into generic mush. The remake is a teen horror flick with extra blood. Yawn.

The cursed video of the remake resorts to gross out maggots and blood where the in the original ringu, you're actually hesitant yourself to bring yourself to watch it, when you finally do, the abstactness (is that a word) of the whole thing makes it more creepy that any amount of maggots and blood.

The scene in the original where Sadako crawls out of the telly, all you see of her is her eye, which is scary in the extreme. The remake shows all of her distorted face...Again, spoils the who atmosphere of the film.

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[–] agusdwikarna 17 years ago

The original is way better.

The original builds the atmosphere while delivering the final scary blow. The scare stayed with me, I couldn't stand watching dark corners for a week. Plus one sleepless night.

The remake also scared me, but the scare didn't stay after the movie was finished. I don't know why. Maybe because the remake reveals too much?

** spoilers **

Personally, I think Sadako's final scene is creepier. The way she walked and moved her body is so unnatural. I read it from a website that the actress that played Sadako belongs to a theater that specializes in jerky unnatural motions. No special effects there. The walking alone is enough to make Samara's scene looks cute by comparison :)

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[–] 17 years ago

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