7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
A mysterious video has been linked to a number of deaths, and when an inquisitive journalist finds the tape and views it herself, she sets in motion a chain of events that puts her own life in danger.
Starring: Hitomi Satô, Yűko Takeuchi, Hiroyuki Sanada, Nanako Matsushima, Miki NakataniHorror | 100% |
Foreign | 82% |
Supernatural | 28% |
Mystery | 26% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Japanese: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Note: This release is available as this standalone disc, as well as being available as part of Ringu Collection. That collection features white covers (as opposed to this disc's
black cover, as seen above), but the disc contents are
the same. This release has an insert booklet with an essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas; that essay, along with several others, is available as part
of what is more of a pamphlet included in the box set.
J-Horror.
What do you think of when someone mentions this “national” genre? If you’re like any number of fans, and as both commentator David
Kalat and even the back cover verbiage of this release mention, the Ring* series will no doubt be at the top of the list. Interestingly, the
back cover
states that the original Ring film “launched the J-horror boom in the West”, though Kalat takes at least some issue with that assertion in
his appealing
analysis of the film. Kind of interestingly (and maybe just a bit peculiarly) given this series' outsized reputation, none of the Ring films
has evidently been released on Blu-ray for the domestic American market before this, but Arrow, long the curator of niche items for some devoted
collectors, has once again come to the rescue with both a standalone release of Ring, as well as a boxed set including four films.
*Kalat makes a cogent case that the coinage Ringu is due to the transliteration of Japanese orthography, and that the film's director
himself
told Kalat the name of the film was Ring, so this review will utilize that name.
Ring is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:
Ringu has been exclusively restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with stereo and 5.1 audio.This is another great looking transfer from Arrow of a film that I suspect has been on some fans' "wish lists" for a while. The film intentionally doesn't really traffic in visual "pop", offering a kind of dour, often gray or slightly blue, look that is nonetheless represented here accurately and with at times rather surprising amounts of fine detail, considering the dark lighting conditions of certain scenes. Shadow detail is generally above average, even in the setting of the film's climax, which won't be spoiled here. Detail levels are quite appealing across the board, with fibers on outfits clearly discernable, and even some slightly better levels of detail (admittedly still pretty minimal) in the "cursed" video. There are just a couple of moments where clarity can falter a bit and grain is noticeably grittier looking (see screenshot 19 for one example), but one the whole things look nicely organic and there are no compression anomalies that I noticed.
The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution at Imagica, Tokyo. The film was graded on Digital Vision's Nucoda Film Master and restored at R3Store Studios in London. The stereo and 5.1 mixes were reamstered from the original audio files at Deluxe Audio Services.
All materials for this restoration were made available by Kadokawa Corporation.
The grading was supervised and approved by Director of Photography Jun'ichirō Hayashi.
Ring 's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is alternately subtle and overpowering, and as such will probably delight a lot of audiophiles. The film's sound design is peppered with fun and at times spooky ambient environmental effects, and there are bursts of both LFE to encourage "startle" reactions and some high frequency "whines" that will almost inherently cause an unsettling feeling. There's a really good accounting of things like ambient reverb in settings like the cloistered environment of the film's climax. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout this problem free track.
It may not seem like it now due to so many sequels and/or remakes, but Ring really was kind of sui generis when it first appeared in 1998, and it's still a uniquely unnerving film in several regards. Arrow's release sports solid technical merits and appealing supplements. Highly recommended.
Ring 2
1999
Ring 0 / Ringu 0: Bâsudei
2000
Rasen / らせん
1998
Ju-on
2002
Ju-on 2
2003
着信アリ / Chakushin ari
2003
仄暗い水の底から / Honogurai mizu no soko kara
2002
着信アリ2 / Chakushin ari 2
2005
Quella villa accanto al cimitero
1981
2009
Standard Edition
1985
Follia omicida
1981
2008
Profondo rosso
1975
2002
回路 / Kairo
2001
Tutti i colori del buio
1972
Remastered | 2-Disc Special Edition
1977
オーディション | Ôdishon | Special Edition
1999
着信アリFinal / Chakushin ari: Final
2006