The original J-Horror classic Ringu gets a new 4K UHD upgrade. The Arrow Video Disc comes with an all-new 4K Restoration and is filled with special features.
The Film
There is something powerful in the fact that more than 25 years later a film still possesses the power to frighten and has the power to cast a spell of dread until its final moments. The original J-Horror classic still holds a potency that even the US remake will never hold. Ringu or Ring is as much a meditation on our relationship with technology as it is a bold intelligent existential horror film that changed horror worldwide at a time when every entry appeared to be teenage slasher films.
Hideo Nakata’s adaptation of Koji Suzuki’s horror novel is the same kind of serious horror that The Exorcist is. That is to say that Nakata’s film takes a serious approach to horror giving the scares you would want but also giving you the creeping dread that stays with you well after you have seen the film. Ringu isn’t designed for shock. This is a noose that slowly creeps around your neck until the final wringing of the rope going taut against your neck snaps it cleanly in two.
Part of the brilliance of the film is the sense of finality, like a procession march, the film is built around. Reiko (Nanako Matsushima) a journalist and Ryūji (Hiroyuki Sanada) her ex-husband team up to solve the mystery of the Urban Legend come true of a cursed videotape. Nakata and screenwriter Hiroshi Takahashi create a narrative that cleverly mirrors a Noir where a Reporter is investigating a soon-to-be wrongly executed man. The difference here is that Rieko and Ryūji are trying to stop the death of their young son. As the mystery unfolds to them the audience understands things are going to end badly but how that plays out is one of the true joys of Ring.
So influential of a film that many an audience who have never seen the film will be familiar with its rhythms. No matter though, Ring is still an expertly executed horror film that you will be thinking about long after the pale imitations fade from memory. Ringis the real deal and should be respected and received accordingly.
The Transfer
This all-new, exclusive 4K restoration from the original camera negative by Arrow Films presented in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) is an improvement to the already masterful Blu-Ray from 2018. Arrow has treated Ringu with the same kind of respect they have with any of their other 4K UHD upgrades and new releases. The work done here is simply jaw-dropping. The film literally looks like it was filmed yesterday. The transfer is sharp, and clean without any hints of scratches or blemishes on the negative. The color reproduction and contrast levels because of the Dolby Vision encoding are deeper in its details giving us a darker luminous and far more textured and beautiful image. There isn’t a scratch, blemish, or issue with the picture. It is free of any sort of digital artifacting or DNR to remove grain. Ringu in its 4K UHD iteration is near a perfect mirroring of its 35mm origins.
The Extras
They include the following;
Audio commentary by Film Historian David Kalat
The Ringu Legacy
A Vicious Circle
Circumnavigating Ringu
Spooks, Sighs and Videotape
Sadako’s video
Theatrical trailers
Image Gallery
The archival audio commentary by David Kalat critic and historian gives an informative commentary track. Beginning with a discussion of why it should be called “Ring” instead of “Ring” because the author of the original novel wanted to use the English word but there was no Japanese equivalent of the word and having to add a vowel because of Japanese Characters. Kalat discusses the history of Japanese Horror, how it evolved into the Japanese Horror genre, the production of the film, the novel, and just about everything and anything you’d really want to know about Ringu and the Ringu series. You even get a bit of insight about Ju-on aka The Grudge. Interesting insights include Kalat’s assertion that Ring is NOT the apex of J-Horror. It’s a great fascinating track.
The Ringu Legacy (27:32) – is an archival featurette (from the Blu-ray release from Arrow) about the history and impact of The Ring Series. Andrew Kasch (filmmaker, Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy), Rebekah McKendry (Ph.D., Professor, Filmmaker, and Podcaster extraordinaire), and Alyse Wax (author and journalist) contribute comments to the proceedings. The group discusses the Novels, the historical context for the story, the non-supernatural nature of the book, the huge differences between the film and the book (which is very different), the really bad first iterations of the book (one that was a softcore porno), and they dissect how Ring and Japanese horror influence not only US filmmaking but filmmaking the world over. Note that they do discuss both the original and the sequels including Rasen/Spiral. They also discuss in detail what happened with the implosion of Rasen/Spiral but how Ring was a monster hit. The group really does a great job of truly discussing the legacy and what specifically makes the series so powerful. Stay for beyond the credits as there’s a postscript with Kasch that mirrors some of the sentiments said by Kalat in the commentary.
Vicious Circle (21:10) – is an archival interview (from the Blu-ray release from Arrow) with critic Kat Ellinger on the director Hideo Nakata and the Ring Series. Ellinger’s video essay discusses the director and his origins in moving into horror filmmaking (something he was very hesitant to do) to the various movies in his career and how much Ringu and the series impacted his career as a whole.
Circumnavigating Ringu (24:54) – is an archival interview (from the Blu-ray release from Arrow) with critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas. The video essay charts the origins and ongoing series that is Ring. Heller-Nicholas begins with the plot, the critic moves to how the plot and story were copied over and over again in all media remakes. She goes into the TV Series, TV Movies, Movies, Mangas, Novels, and Videogames are covered. The critic doesn’t just discuss the history, she gives context to the themes, cultural relevance, and storytelling that have been produced so many times in so many countries and so many media. It’s a fascinating critique that gives more heft to this series. Note one will want to see this just for the clips of the various other versions of Ringu that show up.
Spooks, Sighs, and Videotape (37:29) – is an archival video easy (from the Blu-ray release from Arrow) by Jaspar Sharp where he dives into the J-Horror phenomenon. Beginning with the troupes of Japanese Ghost Stories of a certain ilk. Sharp gets into the various cultural touchstones in Japan. The essay goes through the release of Ring but also goes back and looks at the Kakidain films during the 50s – 90s, going into Kabuki and the Yurei, the amazing film Kwadian (by an English Greek author of all people), Cat Women and so much more. Anyone who has a passing interest in not just J-Horror but Japanese Cinema as a whole will want to check this out. He even discusses Haus!!!
Sadako’s Video (0:48) – is just that. The infamous Ring video. Are you brave enough to watch all 50 seconds of it? In the dark. By yourself.
Ring/Spiral double bill trailer 1 (1:09) – is a 1-minute teaser more than it is a full-on trailer. The footage is there but is only shown glimpses. The teaser is very late ’90s with its Techno soundtrack. In Japanese with English Subtitles.
Ring/Spiral double bill trailer 2 (2:03) – is a 2-minute trailer giving more of a better idea of what people were in for. The style is still in that late ’90s Techno soundtrack. In Japanese with English Subtitles.
UK Trailer (0:53) – is less than a minute but does an effective job of being artfully obtuse about the specifics of what the film is actually about.
The Image Gallery – 6 behind-the-scenes photos of Nakata and actress Matsushima doing press for the film.
The Final Thought
Arrow Video continues its upgrades to its titles to the 4K UHD format. Ringu has been handled with care. Highest Possible Recommendations!!
The original J-Horror classic Ringu gets a new 4K UHD upgrade. The Arrow Video Disc comes with an all-new 4K Restoration and is filled with special features.
The Film
There is something powerful in the fact that more than 25 years later a film still possesses the power to frighten and has the power to cast a spell of dread until its final moments. The original J-Horror classic still holds a potency that even the US remake will never hold. Ringu or Ring is as much a meditation on our relationship with technology as it is a bold intelligent existential horror film that changed horror worldwide at a time when every entry appeared to be teenage slasher films.
Hideo Nakata’s adaptation of Koji Suzuki’s horror novel is the same kind of serious horror that The Exorcist is. That is to say that Nakata’s film takes a serious approach to horror giving the scares you would want but also giving you the creeping dread that stays with you well after you have seen the film. Ringu isn’t designed for shock. This is a noose that slowly creeps around your neck until the final wringing of the rope going taut against your neck snaps it cleanly in two.
Part of the brilliance of the film is the sense of finality, like a procession march, the film is built around. Reiko (Nanako Matsushima) a journalist and Ryūji (Hiroyuki Sanada) her ex-husband team up to solve the mystery of the Urban Legend come true of a cursed videotape. Nakata and screenwriter Hiroshi Takahashi create a narrative that cleverly mirrors a Noir where a Reporter is investigating a soon-to-be wrongly executed man. The difference here is that Rieko and Ryūji are trying to stop the death of their young son. As the mystery unfolds to them the audience understands things are going to end badly but how that plays out is one of the true joys of Ring.
So influential of a film that many an audience who have never seen the film will be familiar with its rhythms. No matter though, Ring is still an expertly executed horror film that you will be thinking about long after the pale imitations fade from memory. Ringis the real deal and should be respected and received accordingly.
The Transfer
This all-new, exclusive 4K restoration from the original camera negative by Arrow Films presented in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) is an improvement to the already masterful Blu-Ray from 2018. Arrow has treated Ringu with the same kind of respect they have with any of their other 4K UHD upgrades and new releases. The work done here is simply jaw-dropping. The film literally looks like it was filmed yesterday. The transfer is sharp, and clean without any hints of scratches or blemishes on the negative. The color reproduction and contrast levels because of the Dolby Vision encoding are deeper in its details giving us a darker luminous and far more textured and beautiful image. There isn’t a scratch, blemish, or issue with the picture. It is free of any sort of digital artifacting or DNR to remove grain. Ringu in its 4K UHD iteration is near a perfect mirroring of its 35mm origins.
The Extras
They include the following;
The archival audio commentary by David Kalat critic and historian gives an informative commentary track. Beginning with a discussion of why it should be called “Ring” instead of “Ring” because the author of the original novel wanted to use the English word but there was no Japanese equivalent of the word and having to add a vowel because of Japanese Characters. Kalat discusses the history of Japanese Horror, how it evolved into the Japanese Horror genre, the production of the film, the novel, and just about everything and anything you’d really want to know about Ringu and the Ringu series. You even get a bit of insight about Ju-on aka The Grudge. Interesting insights include Kalat’s assertion that Ring is NOT the apex of J-Horror. It’s a great fascinating track.
The Ringu Legacy (27:32) – is an archival featurette (from the Blu-ray release from Arrow) about the history and impact of The Ring Series. Andrew Kasch (filmmaker, Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy), Rebekah McKendry (Ph.D., Professor, Filmmaker, and Podcaster extraordinaire), and Alyse Wax (author and journalist) contribute comments to the proceedings. The group discusses the Novels, the historical context for the story, the non-supernatural nature of the book, the huge differences between the film and the book (which is very different), the really bad first iterations of the book (one that was a softcore porno), and they dissect how Ring and Japanese horror influence not only US filmmaking but filmmaking the world over. Note that they do discuss both the original and the sequels including Rasen/Spiral. They also discuss in detail what happened with the implosion of Rasen/Spiral but how Ring was a monster hit. The group really does a great job of truly discussing the legacy and what specifically makes the series so powerful. Stay for beyond the credits as there’s a postscript with Kasch that mirrors some of the sentiments said by Kalat in the commentary.
Vicious Circle (21:10) – is an archival interview (from the Blu-ray release from Arrow) with critic Kat Ellinger on the director Hideo Nakata and the Ring Series. Ellinger’s video essay discusses the director and his origins in moving into horror filmmaking (something he was very hesitant to do) to the various movies in his career and how much Ringu and the series impacted his career as a whole.
Circumnavigating Ringu (24:54) – is an archival interview (from the Blu-ray release from Arrow) with critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas. The video essay charts the origins and ongoing series that is Ring. Heller-Nicholas begins with the plot, the critic moves to how the plot and story were copied over and over again in all media remakes. She goes into the TV Series, TV Movies, Movies, Mangas, Novels, and Videogames are covered. The critic doesn’t just discuss the history, she gives context to the themes, cultural relevance, and storytelling that have been produced so many times in so many countries and so many media. It’s a fascinating critique that gives more heft to this series. Note one will want to see this just for the clips of the various other versions of Ringu that show up.
Spooks, Sighs, and Videotape (37:29) – is an archival video easy (from the Blu-ray release from Arrow) by Jaspar Sharp where he dives into the J-Horror phenomenon. Beginning with the troupes of Japanese Ghost Stories of a certain ilk. Sharp gets into the various cultural touchstones in Japan. The essay goes through the release of Ring but also goes back and looks at the Kakidain films during the 50s – 90s, going into Kabuki and the Yurei, the amazing film Kwadian (by an English Greek author of all people), Cat Women and so much more. Anyone who has a passing interest in not just J-Horror but Japanese Cinema as a whole will want to check this out. He even discusses Haus!!!
Sadako’s Video (0:48) – is just that. The infamous Ring video. Are you brave enough to watch all 50 seconds of it? In the dark. By yourself.
Ring/Spiral double bill trailer 1 (1:09) – is a 1-minute teaser more than it is a full-on trailer. The footage is there but is only shown glimpses. The teaser is very late ’90s with its Techno soundtrack. In Japanese with English Subtitles.
Ring/Spiral double bill trailer 2 (2:03) – is a 2-minute trailer giving more of a better idea of what people were in for. The style is still in that late ’90s Techno soundtrack. In Japanese with English Subtitles.
UK Trailer (0:53) – is less than a minute but does an effective job of being artfully obtuse about the specifics of what the film is actually about.
The Image Gallery – 6 behind-the-scenes photos of Nakata and actress Matsushima doing press for the film.
The Final Thought
Arrow Video continues its upgrades to its titles to the 4K UHD format. Ringu has been handled with care. Highest Possible Recommendations!!
Arrow Video’s 4K UHD Edition of Ringu is out now.
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