Sorry if this question has been posted before:

My boyfriend and I have not watched either of these movies yet because we don't know which one to watch first. Can anybody help us make a decision?

before you get jacked to the movie forum....I'll just say that the american ripoff sucked. dont get caught up in the hype....avoid it all together if you can. IMHO. watch the original first....as always.

edited to add:

I apologize. saying avoid it was not the right thing to say. it was just how I felt. as das monkey said...you really need to viddy both yerself...but start with the original. forgive my harshness.

It seems the opinions on this are split pretty evenly. I actually like the American version better. They're different films with different styles to their presentation, so who knows which you'll enjoy more. You should really see both, and I would imagine the best way to actually enjoy both is to watch the original first and then see the American version. The original stands fine on its own, but I think Verbinski adds a lot to the presentation that you might fault the original for not having if you see them in the other order.

In the end, each has strengths and flaws, and it seems we all feel differently about which is better. You're going to have to watch them both to figure it out for yourself.

das

Thanks,

I'm a dingbat for not thinking of posting this thread to the movie board (duh). Will that happen automatically or is there something I can do?

Thanks again

Ringu is more naturalistic and ties into Japanese mythology. The Ring creates a back story and relies more on sfx. Both are a lot of fun. I didn't find that either distracted me from enjoying the other.

BTW I watched Ringu first.

From what I can tell people like whichever one they saw first better, in most case. I saw Ringu before The Ring (I had also seen Ring 2 and Ring 0 before The Ring). I definitely like Ringu better than The Ring. I thought that the changes that they made in The Ring were just pointless and ruined the movie/story. It is almost a completely different movie IMO.

If you generally don't like to watch foreign movies than you may not like Ringu. From what I have seen from the people I know and talked to if they had never really cared for foreign movies they enjoyed the style of The Ring better. It is probably more of a case of what you are used to and how you like your films to be laid out.

I found that The Ring was more scary/disturbing than Ringu. Ringu looked quaint in comparison.

I like both movies, and I like foreign movies. But I thought the American remake was the better film (by a small margin).

I found Ringu to be boring. IMO, don't even bother with it. The Ring is one of the few remakes that is actually better than the original.

See I think this is where the "foreign" thing comes into play. It is maybe about pacing, not so much foreign vs. domestic (although pacing plays a big part in that). If you prefer your [Horror/Thriller] movies to be faster paced and "cool and flashy" than you will enjoy The Ring more. Ringu is more about mood and tension, it is a lot more subtle...which some will perceive as boring. Now, I don't think Ringu is any scarier than The Ring, I found both to be fairly un-scarey. Though Sadako is a lot more scarier than Samara IMO.

That was another thing that bugged me about The Ring, the acting. I didn't think anyone was very good in it at all. Not that Ringu has stellar performances, but overall I enjoyed those actors more. Especially Sadako.

I'm not sure if it's a foreign vs. domestic thing. I love foreign films, and I very much enjoyed Ringu, but I really loved the way the scenes were edited together and the overall mood and color of The Ring. IMO, neither is really "scary" - they're "creepy," but each in its own way, and personally, the creepy aspects of The Ring are ... well ... creepier, especially upon multiple viewings. Ringu was great the first time, but I find I'm able to watch The Ring multiple times and still get a bit creeped out by it.

It's probably just personal preference more than anything else. I do think you do The Ring a huge disservice by accusing it of being "cool and flashy." Yes, it's much more Hollywood than the original and relies on more make-up effects, but compared to almost every other current American film related to this genre, it's incredibly subdued. It too is about mood and tension and is subtle, just in a different way.

das

I liked the "Ring" better.

I haved learned that I dislike most foreign films because they move slowly. I did a blind buy of "Ringu" and "Ran" and disliked both.

Actually no it didn't have anything to do with it being a foreign movie.

It's not about pacing either. I found both films to be slowly paced. I found the remake to be much more interesting visually and the story overall better.

I don't even need to post in this thread, das monkey has perfectly expressed my opinion.

However, I am going to reiterate that, for me, the foreign vs American thing doesn't enter into it. I do think that the American version is automatically being pooped on by some because of two reasons:

1. It's a remake (Internet Movie Zeitgeist tells us that remakes are almost always inferior)

2. It's an American film (Internet Movie Zeitgeist tells us that American films are almost always inferior to foreign pictures)

While the core story is the same, I felt the American version took enough new material to the table to make it worthwhile, both in terms of plot and style. It's not a quicky knockoff...a lot of thought and effort went into it.

Again, for me it's not that one sucks and the other rocks. The American version barely wins out.

Finally, I will add that my favorite scene from both films can only be found in the American version:

Surprisingly the American version is better. I suggest watching that version first.

Maybe because I saw it first, but I enjoyed Ringu more than the Ring.

I'm a snobby foreign film fan who loves Ringu and was ready to pounce on the Gore Verbinski version, but to my surprise I found I liked it just a little bit better. These are both very effective films, and not dissimilar in style or tone. The elements added by Verbinski didn't detract at all from the story as I knew it, and were quite effective (particularly the little scene referred to above). I also found the content of the tape itself to be more effective in the Verbinski version. However, I liked the depiction of "Sadako" (Ringu) better than "Samara" (the Ring), and particularly the very creepy walk of the former. And I preferred the way... ...in "Ringu" (a simpler effect, I think, and more effective), though I was more impressed by Verbinski's visual style, on-balance.

Perhaps it's only because this is how I did it, but I'd recommend that you watch them "in order", that is, "Ringu" first and then "The Ring". The differences in "The Ring" tend to be mostly additions, as opposed to subtractions or outright changes... though there are those as well.

Edited that last post for potential spoilerage... hope I got to it before I ruined a scene for anyone! VERY SORRY IF I DID!

I am sure there are others out there that are dumping on it for those reasons I am not one of them. I think your last line (in the above quote is what does it for me personally. The Ring has enough new material and changes in it that ruined the movie for me. Granted, I am glad that they didn't do a straight port of the Japanese movie into the American movie, it is good to see they tried to do something different, even an interpretation of the original, but I just don't think it was a good movie. I think the changes were awkward and odd. That is probably just a byproduct of happening to see the Ring series prior to the US release. Still I think if I would have seen the film with no prior knowledge of what The Ring was about I still would have had some major issues with it. One of them being how many times must you put a ring of something on the screen? It was almost as bad as Signs with all the references to water in it.

I'm just happy Dreamworks released Ringu on R1, so many of us can compare/contrast.

I saw The Ring first, then Ringu. I don't know if I can explain it, but I tend towards the American version. I can (and do) watch both often, and never get tired of them. I would also recommend the Novel.

I would lean towards watching the American version first. I will not say the American version is superior, but it is certainly the equal of the Japanese film.

I had both on DVD...

Watched the RING first in theatres then saw RINGU on DVD when it came out. Watched the American one again on DVD then watched RINGU again after it sometime. In the end, I liked the American version better overall. It just flowed better and the overall atmosphere of the film was creepier I think. I sold RINGU eventually on Ebay since it was really a film to watch again and again.

i think "RINGU" is by far the better choice. i thought the remake was laughable typical americanized dummied down garbage and the original was slow and creepy and captivating. i thought the parts that were supposed to be scary in the remake was laughably pathetic, the horse scene was one that brought huge laughs in the audience i was in. to avoid spoilers i wont name more but there were plenty of moments like that. also the best part of the original, the scene everyone talks about, was the very worst part of the remake, terribly done.

The original is a lot slower. Its good, but I honestly liked the American version better. Its flashier and just has a higher production budget. I thought the look of the movie was really important to both films. I enjoyed both of them, but the second one just pulled me into a bit more, as well as scare me. I would rent the first one, and if you like that, check out the original

ok i sounded stupid there. I dont care about how much it cost to make usually, but it just feels more polished, with better effects, etc. I think that just added a lot to the movie in the remake. IMO at least