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DVD Review
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| Director |
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Hideo Nakata
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| Cast |
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Nanako Matsushima
Hiroyuki Sanada
Rikiya Otaka
Miki Nakatani
Yukie Nakama
Seiichi Tanabe
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| Distributor |
| Tartan Video |
| Running Time |
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Ring
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91
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Ring 2
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95
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Ring O
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99
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Sleeping Bride
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100
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| Certification |
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15
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Reviewed By
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Vaughan Dyche
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Buy this film
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THE RING TRILOGY: COLLECTORS EDITION (2004)
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Look around the internet or thumb through one of the better genre based publications and it will soon become clear that decent horror doesn’t always come from the country with the biggest purse strings. Truly terrifying and creative shocks can come on a shoe string given the talent of those involved, and to keep ones eyes firmly focused on US territory as the only location for your next fright fix would be a terrible mistake. The discerning genre lovers amongst us have known for some time that one of the most influential regions for original and down right terrifying material is Japan and in 1998 a little known director by the name of Hideo Nakata proved this with his subtle yet chilling supernatural film conversion of the Kôji Suzuki novel, Ringu. The story told of a cursed videotape that, when watched, gave the viewer only 7 days to live after which time they would literally die from fear. To avoid the fate, the doomed watcher had to pass the tape to somebody else before their 7 days ended in the hope that the recipient would view and ‘contract’ the cursed from them.
The Ring legacy had begun and in 1999 an equally petrifying sequel called Ring 2 was released again directed by Nakata. This was followed in 2000 with Ring O: Birthday, a prequel to the events in the first Ring and directed by Norio Tsuruta. The film trilogy had such an influence that the original Ring spawned a fat budgeted US remake in 2002 which will itself be followed up in 2005 with a remake of Ring 2. Any questions as to the credibility of this second sequel could perhaps be quashed on the realisation that original Ring series director Nakata will direct the US remake.
So, with almost expert timing, along come genre experts Tartan Video with a gorgeous new release on its UK Asian Extreme label containing all three Ring movies and a little gem for all Hideo Nakata fans in the form of his little known film Garasu no nou (AKA The Sleeping Bride) from 2000. Refreshing their own existing back catalogue presentations of all three films, this all new 4 disc compilation offers THE best digitally remastered transfer yet seen, with bright and vibrant anamorphic visuals, a rich and crisp DTS Surround Sound track and a flashy presentation fit for such a revered series.
The overall image quality is superb and displays a solid image which is high in contrast whilst maintaining rich dark shadows where necessary. The exception to this is perhaps Ring O which is a much darker affair often displaying poor contrast levels and appearing very dull in comparison to its predecessors. Accompanying the generally polished visuals comes the Dolby 2.0, Dolby 5.1 and, the best of the bunch, a nerve jangling DTS Digital 5.1 Surround track which transports those spine chilling sound effects with so much efficiency, you might have to wear two pairs of pants just to ensure you don’t stain the couch. The special features are a little on the frothy side with the first two disks (Ring and Ring 2) containing just their original Japanese trailers respectively. The third disk featuring Ring O is a little more juicy and holds a behind the scenes documentary, 6 deleted scenes and the original Japanese trailer. The fourth and final disk containing Sleeping Bride features a bunch of Hideo Nakata trailers including Dark Water, Chaos and the UK Ring + Ring 2 trailers.
Missing from our review copy were the Kim Newman film notes and the flashy packaging which I believe accompanies the retail copy, but even without these nuggets, this is a fantastic purchase for anyone even remotely interested in fresh modern cinema and a vital purchase for the serious horror freak. If there were ever a time to get over that irrational fear of subtitles, this is it, after watching this beauty, you’ll have a whole new fear to contend with. VHS is almost dead….perhaps it’s for the best.
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| 8 / 10 |
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