Can someone please explain the different versions of the "The Ring"?
 

The Ring (US)
The Ring Virus
Ringu
Ring 0
Ring 2
etc...

I take it they are all basically the same story right? Why so many different versions though? Has it all been just different studio's take on the same thing or is this an Operation Condor/Armour of the gods thing?

TIA

Ringu is the original Japanese movie I believe the one that started it all.

The Ring is the american remake of Ringu

The Ring Virus I think is the Korean take on Ringu

Ring 0 is a prequel to Ringu

The Ring 2 is a sequel to Ringu

someone correct me if I am a little off on some of these.

So basically each country feels like if they don't make one within a certain amount of time something bad is going to happen right ;) Thanks I wan't quite sure how Ring 0 fit into the overall scheme. Also I noticed when looking on IMDB it seems there is going to be a US Ring 2 next year.

You mostly got it right, except that you got them out of order and forgot Spiral.

Ring (aka Ringu, 1998) - Original Japanese movie.
Spiral (also 1998)- Japanese sequel/spin-off. Major bomb.
Ring 2 (aka Ringu 2, 1999) - Second Japanese sequel, basically ignoring that Spiral ever happened.
Ring 0: Birthday (2000) - Prequel to original Ring.

The Ring Virus (1999) - Korean remake of original Ring.
The Ring (2002) - American remake of original Ring.

The american version of The Ring also includes some stuff from the Japanese Ring 2.

Well I just watched Ring Virus and frankly it just didn't have the same sort of creepiness the Ringu and Ring (US) had. Maybe it's a "been there done that" sort of response but overall I didn't think it was very good. Are Ring2 and Ring0 worth tracking down or is it more of the same?

There was a Ring TV series also.
I have read the first Ring book which the movie is based on and thought it was very good. I bought the manga but I didn't think it was that good.

There was a great site of all things Ringu, and it documented the timelines, histories and even reviews of all the Ring stories. Anyone have this link, I can't seem to find it?

Jeremy

Is this the site you were thinking of?

www.theringworld.com

Mr. Pink can correct me if I'm wrong, but I've read Ring Virus is closer to the book than Ringu and The Ring. I've seen all three but never read the book. The American version also adds a lot of information missing in Ringu. (What I mean is Ringu has a nice supernatural aspect, while The Ring is rather more empirical.)

The Ring didn't really add information missing from Ring, they simply changed aspects of the story and explained too much assuming the audience was too stupid. Aside from that, the US movie was pretty good.

I thought Ring 2 was pretty good and it's insight into the backstory was interesting but I found the whole finale at the swimming pool silly. Haven't seen Ring 0 so maybe someone else can comment on that one.