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Ringu (1998) is a japanese horror film directed by Hideo Nakata. It was the most highest movie budget in japan. It is based on Koji Suzuki's novel.

   

Ringu (1998) is a japanese horror film directed by Hideo Nakata. It was the most highest movie budget in japan. It is based on Koji Suzuki's novel.

Ring (リング Ringu) is a 1998 Japanese horror film by Hideo Nakata, adapted from the novel Ring by Kōji Suzuki, which in turn draws on the Japanese folk tale Banchō Sarayashiki. The film stars Nanako Matsushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Rikiya Ōtaka . The film follows TV-reporter and single mother Reiko who is caught up in a series of deaths surrounding a cursed video tape.

Cast[]

Plot[]

Intro[]

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The two teenagers

Two teenagers,

Masami (Hitomi Satō) and Tomoko (Yūko Takeuchi), talk about a videotape recorded by a boy in Izu which is fabled to bear a curse that kills the viewer seven days after watching. Tomoko reveals that a week ago, she and three of her friends watched a weird tape and received a call after watching. Tomoko is killed by an unseen force with Masami having the horror of watching. Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima), a reporter investigating the popularity of the video curse, discovers that her niece Tomoko, and her three other friends, mysteriously died at the same time, on the same night, with their faces twisted in fear. She also discovers that Masami became insane and is in a mental hospital.

Monday, September 13[]

Ringu-cap

Reiko, after watching the tape

After stumbling upon Tomoko's photos from the past week, Reiko finds that the four teenagers stayed in a rental cabin in Izu. Reiko goes to Izu and finds an unlabeled tape in the reception room of the teenager's rental cottage. Watching the tape, Reiko sees a series of seemingly unrelated disturbing images. As soon as the tape is over, Reiko sees a reflection in the television and receives a phone call.


Tuesday, September 14[]

Yoichi and his father Ryuji met up in the street during a rainy day then Yoichi passes by leaving his father without a word. Reiko enlists the help of her ex-husband, Ryūji Takayama (Hiroyuki Sanada). They take a picture of Reiko and find her face blurred in the photograph. Ryūji then watches the tape, against Reiko's objections. Ryūji asks Reiko to create a copy of the tape so that he will examine it.

Wednesday, September 15[]

Ringustill4

Ryuji and Reiko, analyzing the tape

Ryuji was sitting alone in a bench and a woman with a white dress and a white shoes approaches to him slowly, watching Ryuji writing hieroglyphics in his notebook. The girl suddenly disappeared. Ryuji arrives to his home and found Reiko waiting for him. They went inside to the house to analyze the tape. Suddenly, Ryuji's student or girlfriend, Mai Takano arrives. Later in the studio, they find a hidden message embedded within the tape saying "frolic in brine, goblins be thine".

Thursday, September 16[]

Ryuji phones Reiko that the message from the tape is in a form of dialect from Izu Ōshima Island. Later, they went to the library to research for the headlines about volcanic eruption until Reiko found one and the article is same as what seen in the video. The eruption in the video was reffering to the prediction of a young woman about the eruption of Mt. Mihara and it became true.

Friday, September 17[]

Reiko, together with her son takes a vacation at her father's house. That night, Ryuji phones Reiko that the woman in the mirror was Shizuko Yamamura. When they are asleep, Reiko encounters the towel man, pointing that her young son was watching the tape. Reiko catches her young son Yoichi, watching the videotape; claiming that Tomoko had told him to do it.

Saturday, September 18[]

Ringustill7

Towel man, as he appears in front of Reiko

Reiko and Ryūji sail for Ōshima and discover the history of the great psychic Shizuko Yamamura, who was accused of faking supernatural powers; and thus committed suicide. When they arrived to the Yamamura residence, they discovered the mirror in the video which is still there in the room. They met Takashi Yamamura. They ask questions about Shizuko but Takashi ignored. Later that night, Reiko was begging to Ryuji that she die in his arms but Ryuji didn't wanted to. 

Sunday, September 19[]

Ringustill6

Sadako, grabbing Reiko's arm

Ryuji found Takashi staring at the sea. Takashi told Ryuji that their family is afraid of the sea. One by one members of their family will die in the sea. Ryuji told Takashi that he has similar abilities to Shizuko and Takashi runs away from Ryuji because he didn't want to talk about it. When Ryuji was holding Takashi's hand, he suddenly saw a vision from the past during the ESP demonstration of Shizuko. Reiko runs to them and she was transported to Ryuji's vision. When Sadako kills the journalist, she ran away from her family and holds Reiko's hand. Reiko's arm has Sadako's mark. Later, they where unable to go home because there was a storm approaching to them. That night, Takashi drove Reiko and Ryuji back to Tokyo even if the waves are strong.

Monday, September 20[]

Ringustill8

Reiko, as she found the corpse of Sadako

With only a day left, Reiko and Ryūji discover that the videotape was made psionically by Shizuko's lost daughter, Sadako Yamamura, whose supernatural powers surpassed even those of her mother. The two go back to Izu with the assumption that Sadako is dead and her vengeful spirit (Onryō) killed the teenagers. They uncover a well underneath the cabin and through a vision see the circumstances of Sadako's murder by her father. They try to find Sadako's body in an attempt to appease her spirit. Minutes before her seven days are up, Reiko finds Sadako's corpse, and they believe that the curse is broken.

Tuesday, September 21[]

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Sadako, emerging from a television set

The next day Ryūji is at home and his TV switches on by itself, showing the image of a well. The ghost of Sadako crawls out of the well, out of Ryūji's TV set, and frightens him into a state of shock, killing him via cardiac arrest. Before dying, he manages to dial Reiko's number; she hears his last minutes over the phone and realizes the videotape's curse remains unbroken. Desperate to save her son, Reiko realizes that copying the tape and showing it to someone else saved her.

Wednesday, September 22[]

With a VCR and Ryūji's copy of the tape, Reiko travels with her son to see her father in an attempt to save him, realizing that this is a never-ending cycle: The tape must always be copied and passed on to ensure the survival of the viewers.

Gallery[]


List Of Deleted Scenes[]

Television Station[]

The conversation between Asakawa and Komiya the cameraman ends with Asakawa announcing that she will take the tape of that day's footage home in order to look it over.

Tomoko's Wake[]

Following the conversation with her aunt, Asakawa gazes over at the coffin of the late Tomoko, remembering her aunt's words: "They haven't once opened the casket to let us see the body. Don't you think that's strange?" Asakawa suddenly comes to, and notices that Yoichi is missing. She calls out to her father concernedly.

ASAKAWA: Where's Yoichi?

KOICHI: Huh. He was here just a second ago...

Television Station 2[]

  Asakawa stands looking up at a SHELF that holds row after row of
 VIDEOTAPES containing news footage. Suddenly from the doorway 
 comes a SHADOW in the shape of a man. The shadow belongs to 
 YOSHINO, a senior reporter.

YOSHINO Hey. Sorry to keep you waiting.

 Yoshino walks to the shelf, scans its contents.

YOSHINO (cont'd) Let's see... Ah, here we are.

 He reaches out and takes hold of one of the tapes.

YOSHINO (cont'd) I happened to be out in that area when we first got word. The footage never made it on the air, though.

ASAKAWA Why not?

 Yoshino pauses a beat.

YOSHINO You'll understand when you see it.

Oishi Household[]

Asakawa arrives at the house of her sister Ryomi. When Asakawa begins walking up toward Tomoko's room, there was originally a flashback to a younger Yoichi and Tomoko running down the hallway laughing, with a stern-faced Asakawa peering around the corner telling them to cut it out. The laughter, by the way, actually remains in the finished print -- if you turn up the volume, you can faintly hear it in the background.

The Rental Cottages[]

In the movie Asakawa opens the unlocked door and walks in, while the script makes reference to her opening the door with a key that she has somehow obtained.

Asakawa's Apartment[]

 The lights are off. In the darkness we can see Yoichi curled up 
 in a ball, having fallen asleep waiting for his mother to come 
 home. The DOOR opens now, and Asakawa creeps quietly in. She
 drops to her knees beside her son, face despondent as she regards
 him intensely. She reaches out and strokes his hair.

ASAKAWA I'm so sorry...

 INT. ASAKAWA'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
 Asakawa sits, TELEPHONE in hand.

ASAKAWA Ryuji? Look... Would you meet with me tomorrow? It's important.

 In the background, the sound of approaching thunder RUMBLES
 menacingly.

University Scene[]

 A number of STUDENTS are at their desks, glancing up at the CHALKBOARD
 and hurriedly taking down notes. The class, devoid of podium, echoes 
 with the SOUND of chalk furiously scratching out equations.
 
 Sitting amongst the students is Takayama Ryuji, his eyes focused on the 
 chalkboard. Behind him sits a pretty young student, TAKANO MAI, who looks
 up to sneak the occasional, furtive glance over at her teacher. Ryuji 
 suddenly rises to his feet, chuckling.

RYUJI OK, OK. Stop.

 He begins walking towards the blackboard.

RYUJI With this equation, we'll just have "0" extending on into infinity.

 A few CHUCKLES arise from the audience. The STUDENT at the chalkboard
 ceases writing, looks down shamefacedly.

RYUJI Hang on a minute, though.

 Ryuji halts before the chalkboard, gleaning possibility. He makes a 
 small adjustment to the equation.

RYUJI There now.

 The students in the room sit at attention, taking notes in earnest as 
 Ryuji begins scratching out an elaborate string of equations. Of the
 students only Mai sits motionless, regarding Ryuji intently.

Asakawa Apartment 2[]

 EXT. ASAKAWA'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
 Asakawa emerges from her CAR, looking tired. She drags herself up the
 stairs to her apartment.
 INT. ASAKAWA'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
 Asakawa walks in, immediately assailed by NOISE. Though no one is in 
 the room the TV has been left on, volume up at full blast. Asakawa,  
 frowning,leans over to turn the TV off. She turns, calling her son's 
 name concernedly.	

ASAKAWA Yoichi?

 Asakawa takes a few steps. She sees Yoichi seated on the floor in the 
 next room, absorbed in play. A multitude of TRUCKS and other small toys 
 cover the floor of the room. Asakawa walks towards her son.

ASAKAWA Was someone here?

YOICHI (Distractedly) Nope.

 Asakawa leans over, begins picking up some of the toys.

ASAKAWA You shouldn't just leave your things lying all over the place, Yoichi. Have you eaten yet?

YOICHI I'm not hungry.

 Asakawa straightens, her face angry.

ASAKAWA Is it too much to ask that you take care of things when I'm not around? I don't exactly have a lot of free time, in case you haven't noticed!

 Yoichi looks up, startled at his mother's anger. Wordlessly he stands,
 begins straightening up the room. Asakawa, her face a mixture of anger
 and regret, turns her back and makes for the kitchen.
 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
 Yoichi is sound asleep in his futon. Asakawa stands in the doorway, 
 eyes fixed intently on her son. She enters the room and slides into 
 bed next to him, arm around him protectively. She shuts her eyes only 
 briefly, and soon they are again open and staring wide and unblinking 
 into the darkness.

Oshima Island[]

Upon hearing Ryuji's explanation of why Yamamura Shizuko killed herself, Hayatsu pipes up that the only one knowledgeable on the history of the Yamamuras is Shizuko's cousin, Yamamura Takashi...and that he is hardly the talkative type.

Yamamura Villa[]

Kazue the inkeeper hands Ryuji a faded photograph of Shizuko and Professor Ikuma

RYUJI What does Mr. Yamamura usually do in the mornings?

KAZUE Mornings? He always goes for a walk along the beach...

RYUJI Thanks.

The Demonstration[]

This scene is slightly different from the scene as it appears in the film, beginning with the epithets that are being hurled. "We didn't come here to see trickery!" shouts one reporter. "You're being fooled, Professor!" shouts another. "Either that, or you're in on this whole charade." Also, Shizuko's line when the young Sadako makes her appearance is rather more ambiguous: instead of asking "Sadako! Was it you?!" Shizuko merely cries, "Sadako! Sadako!"

Ryuji's Apartment[]

 Ryuji is busy scribbling away at his notes again. His hand suddenly 
 ceases, cheeks draining of color as the faintest of sounds reaches his 
 ears and fills him with dread.

RYUJI No.

 Just then his hand jerks into life, moving with a will of its own. 
 Ryuji watches, shocked, as a series of jagged, spiky letters forms on
 the page.

RYUJI H... E... L... L...

 When the hand finally ceases writing, Ryuji sits a moment in stunned
 silence. He then spins around to face the TELEVISION SET, where the
 last scene from the videotape -- the shot of the well -- has appeared
 onscreen.

Outside Ryuji's Apartment[]

Asakawa arrives in time to see a squad car pull up, and the covered form of a body being hauled away. She races forward, breaking free of those that would stop her and rushing up toward the cadaver. She yanks the sheet back...and stands, rooted to the spot. The face of Takayama Ryuji is staring back at her.

The Hallway of Ryuji's Apartment[]

 Mai is there, slumped against one wall. Asakawa comes running up, 
 dropping to her knees and grasping Mai by the shoulders.

ASAKAWA What happened?

 Mai shakes her head dreamily.

MAI When I got here he was just lying there...

ASAKAWA Did he say anything to you? About a videotape?

 Mai shakes her head again, shakes it harder until the breath 
 catches in her throat.

MAI His face...

 Mai falls into silence, curls up on herself. Asakawa leaves her, 
 begins walking towards the door to Ryuji's apartment when Mai 
 suddenly pipes up from behind.

MAI (cont'd) He never even tried to touch me, you know. Not once.

 Asakawa turns back around to face her.

MAI (cont'd) He said, it was because he could see inside people's hearts...

 Asakawa pauses, feeling herself becoming overwhelmed with guilt.  With
 an effort she shakes it off. There is work yet left to do. She heads 
 toward the door to Ryuji's apartment, where a GUARD posted at its 
 entrance has already moved to intercept her.

ASAKAWA (determinedly) I'm his wife!

 She muscles her way past the guard and through the front door to Ryuji's
 apartment.

The Inside[]

 The front DOOR opens wildly, noisily forward. Asakawa comes 
 rushing in, eyes darting about the apartment. She thinks 
 frantically to herself.

ASAKAWA (VO) Ryuji... Why? Does this mean that Yoichi will die, too? Is the curse not broken yet? Why am I the only one saved?

 Asakawa's gaze falls to the desk, taking in the stack of looseleaf
 papers atop its surface. Ryuji's thesis. She suddenly stops dead in
 her tracks, eyes fixed on one sheet in particular.
 Scribbled on its surface in large, spidery letters is the message:
   HELL IS REAL
 She continues to stare at that message, feeling her body ripple with
 an involuntary shudder. Asakawa turns away.
 And finds herself face to face with Ryuji's television set.  
 The set has been turned off, but its presence hangs heavy, ominous 
 somehow. Asakawa suddenly dives forward, pressing the eject button 
 on the VCR. Sure enough, the TAPE is still in the deck. She takes 
 the tape and leaves.

Certainly[]

The identity of the figure with the towel over its head is revealed in the original script. In the scene where Asakawa returns to her apartment, she looks up to find this person standing half-hidden in the shadows, "its clothes the same as those last worn by Ryuji" (screenplay, p. 141). She even addresses this figure by name, crying out "Ryuji!"

Sequels and Adaptions[]

There are two sequels shot in Japan: Rasen (also from 1998, aka Spiral) and Ring 2 (from 1999, and which was not based on Suzuki's works), as well as a prequel, Ring 0: Birthday (2000). There was also a Korean remake (called Ring in Korea and The Ring Virus abroad). A video game, known as The Ring: Terror's Realm in the U.S., was also released in 2000 for the Dreamcast. In 2002, an American adaptation was created, The Ring and gained a sequel, The Ring Two. The first film follows the original's closely although plot elements are altered or added in and Sadako Yamamura is reformed into Samara Morgan. A third film, titled The Ring 3D has been announced. {C}Some scenes in the Hong Kong film A Wicked Ghost are similar to it[citation needed]. {C}The international success of the Japanese films launched a revival of horror filmmaking in Japan that resulted in such pictures as Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2001 film Pulse (known in Japan as 回路 (Kairo), meaning "circuit"), Takashi Shimizu's The Grudge (2000) (呪怨 (Juon)), Hideo Nakata's Dark Water (仄暗い水の底から (Honogurai mizu no soko kara), literally From the Depths of Dark Water, also based on a short story by Suzuki), and Higuchinsky's Spiral (2000) (うずまき (Uzumaki), meaning Spiral or Vortex, based on the Junji Itō horror manga of the same name). {C}Sadako 3D, based on Kōji Suzuki's 2012 follow-up novel S, was released on May 12, 2012.

Trivia[]

  • Ring is the highest grossing horror film in Japan.
  • The close-up of Sadako's eye near the end of the film was performed by a male crew member.
  • In the scene where Sadako comes out from the well was shot in reverse. First, they shot the Kabuki Theater actress Rie Ino walking backwards in a jerky, exaggerated motion. They then played the film in reverse to portray an unnatural-looking walk for Sadako.
  • The 2001 UK DVD release back cover carries a disclaimer, stating that the distributor accepts no responsibility "for any injuries or fatalities that may occur during or after the viewing of this videocassette".
  • The American trailer for Ringu pronounces the word as "ring-oo".
  • As seen in the photos of the teenagers, it was captured in August 29, 1997. It means the year in the movie was in 1997.
  • The footage of the ESP demonstration was shown coloured in the trailer.
  • There are 10 date captions appeared.
  • In Rasen after Ryuji's death, he was seen lying on the floor with his eyes open instead his face was deformed.
  • The poster features Reiko or an American woman (likely a mannequin) inside a ring or the circle part of the videotape with waters on it.
  • In a Filipino movie entitled White Lady, the appearance of Christina is similar Sadako; her outfit is almost the same as Sadako's, her face is covered with long hair, and the way she walks is also similar.
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