Hi, Tim,

I have seen both "Ju-On" and "Ringu"

Here's my bias: I'm studying Japanese and on a tight budget, so I don't bother
with
American remakes of anything Japanese.

As far as making an esthetic judgment on either of these movies as movies, I
liked
"Ju-On" much better than "Ringu," but I'll put up with a lot to see Hiroyuki
Sanada in
ANYTHING.

Here's why I liked "Jo-On more," the scary stuff was mostly in the the corners
of the
frame, and built up until it got up in your face in close-up in the middle of
the frame.
This was done sparingly and with good pacing. "Ringu" was more in your face and
not
well-paced. It could have been a much better movie, but it didn't have any of
the
things I think of as great story telling in the Japanese mode. That's an
acquired taste
and comes off as not too polished to a Western eye. I'm not sure if I can
explain this
properly, but I think it has a lot to do with different world view. Anybody else
notice
this?

You have small kids? Great, start 'em out young. I was into monster movies from
the
age of 7 on, which coincides with the arrival of the Raymond Burr-ized version
of
"Godzilla" in the U.S. I finally saw the original Japanese "Gojira" last year,
and it was
won-der-ful! I can only imagine what Sarah Michelle Geller does to the "Grudge"
or
Richard Gere and J-Lo do to "Shall We Dance?" Uh, no thanks.

Here is one remake I would consider seeing... How about a Japanese version of
"Lost
In Translation" set in New York and somewhere to stand in for Kyoto, starring
Koji
Yakusho and Erika Oda the actress who played Shiori in "After Life"
( www.imdb.com/title/tt0165078/combined )?

I tend to rent or borrow from the library. Blockbuster has a good deal that you
can
can get two for the price of one Mon.-Wed. My Blockbuster has a large selection
of
Japanese movies. I've been told that the Blockbuster in a different neighborhood
has a
large collection of other Japanese movies but that other Blockbusters don't have
any.
What's up with that? The library I borrow from only has VHS, but they're old
classics
that neither of the Blockbusters has, and worth it... and free.

If you must buy and not rent. Buy and then trade or sell. I'll buy used DVDs.
I'm sure
others would too.

thanks for starting this group.

mimi

--- In japan_kfss@yahoogroups.com, "Tim Stubbs" <firstuniversal@c...> wrote:
> ... I have not seen 'the Ring' or 'The
> Grudge'.... or the US rip-off copies. Mostly cos I tend to buy rather
> than rent and I'm not sure I'll like them enough to want to keep
> them. Also I have small children in the house.
>
> Which is better? Are the US versions any good? Are the plots the same
> in the US versions, or are they quite different?