Dreamworks' region 1 release of the highly acclaimed Ring, known as Ringu in the States. Not surprisingly, the DVD is being sold as a merchandise tie-in with the studio's own movie The Ring. To Dreamworks credit, though, the disc does have a great video and audio presentation, unfortunately the extras on this disc are pretty scarce and feel out of place.

Video:
The video quality found on Ringu is, for a lack of better words, superb. The colors on this release are very vibrant, displaying a wide array of colors which wouldn't have been possible on the VHS format. Digital inconsistencies are all but unnoticeable, as the film looks sharp with no signs of artifacting or digital compression. Unfortunately, the brightness is a little low on this DVD, and, as those familiar with the film Ring will know, the film itself is rather dark. This combination makes some scenes very hard to make out, as the black level is so strong. The print used for the transfer, though, is in excellent shape, with no scratches appearing anywhere through out the course of the film. The film's original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 is also maintained on this DVD.

Audio:
The audio presentation found on this disc is simply extraordinary, possibly the best of any DVD currently reviewed on this site. The film is presented here, with its original Japanese audio track, fawlessly in both stereo and surround. The disc makes good use of the surround presentation here, with sound effects panning through different channels making some parts, like the well scene, even more eerie. The audio is complimented here with three subtitle tracks, all removable, available in three languages: English, French and Spanish.

Extras:
Despite an impressive video and audio presentation, this disc is severally lacking when it comes to extras. Dreamworks has "generously" included four trailers for upcoming Dreamworks and Universal DVD releases. As one would expect, the trailers feel out of place here, with the exception of The Ring. It would have been nice if the Japanese theatrical trailer of Ring was included, or at least the American trailer for Ring which Dreamworks attached to their DVD release of The Ring, but no such luck. Furthermore, the menus feel out of place here, and rather upbeat as waves run in the background amongst rather soothing music. To say the least, the menus here are pretty generic.

Overview:
Bottom line is that this is an excellent transfer of Ring but includes un-enticing extras and menus, which make it a rather questionable purchase with its original retail price of $30; thankfully the title has been reduced down to a more resonable $20 after its initial release.

This disc is also featured in the DVD box set: Ringu Anthology of Terror.