I have viewed all versions of Ring and it seems my very unpopular opinion is that this version is the best choice. Why? The story unfold at a much better pace and relies less on 'mysterious insight' and the random exposition that sometimes clutters the Japanese 'psychic horror/mystery' films...you know the kind of scenes: two characters walk up to a piece of string and one looks at it and starts telling the other (and the viewer) the events leading up to the string's appearance. And no, I don't dislike that style completely, it does save a lot of time (and money for the crew) and advances the story rather quickly...it's just that I found slower building story of the Korean version to be far more interesting - and as far as my investigations have found, truer to the novel these films are based on. A good example is the omission of the distorted photographs (which are in both the US and Japanese versions) - I am told that was not in the book.
The scary, more straight horror aspect of the Japanese (and even more so with the gore injected U.S. version) have been toned down to an almost non-existent state...one of the reasons why most people probably don't like this version. The video itself is a definite improvement. The fact that it doesn't 'cut off' abruptly but rather, taped over before the solution could be given - that is brilliant! Especially in light of current urban legend interest.
Simple version: See Ring Virus if you want a more detailed, story-driven version (some say 'boring') - more of a creepy drama. The Japanese version if you want a mysterious psychic-powered ghost film. The US version if you want a hyperactive, steroid injected retelling of the Japanese version, in English.
In the end, it just depends which method you like best.
The scary, more straight horror aspect of the Japanese (and even more so with the gore injected U.S. version) have been toned down to an almost non-existent state...one of the reasons why most people probably don't like this version. The video itself is a definite improvement. The fact that it doesn't 'cut off' abruptly but rather, taped over before the solution could be given - that is brilliant! Especially in light of current urban legend interest.
Simple version: See Ring Virus if you want a more detailed, story-driven version (some say 'boring') - more of a creepy drama. The Japanese version if you want a mysterious psychic-powered ghost film. The US version if you want a hyperactive, steroid injected retelling of the Japanese version, in English.
In the end, it just depends which method you like best.