"Actor: Junko Takahata"

• The Ring Collection | Blu Ray | (10/06/2019) from £26.79   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In 1998, director Hideo Nakata (Dark Water) unleashed a chilling tale of technological terror on unsuspecting audiences, which redefined the horror genre, launched the J-horror boom in the West and introduced a generation of moviegoers to a creepy, dark-haired girl called Sadako. The film's success spawned a slew of remakes, reimaginations and imitators, but none could quite boast the power of Nakata's original masterpiece, which melded traditional Japanese folklore with contemporary anxieties about the spread of technology. A group of teenage friends are found dead, their bodies grotesquely contorted, their face twisted in terror. Reiko (Nanako Matsushima, When Marnie Was There), a journalist and the aunt of one of the victims, sets out to investigate the shocking phenomenon, and in the process uncovers a creepy unrban legend about a supposedly cursed videotape, the contents of which causes anyone who views it to die within a week - unless they can persuade someone else to watch it, and, in so doing, pass on the curse... Arrow Video is proud to present the genre-defining trilogy - Ring, the film that started it all, plus Hideo Nakata's chilling sequel Ring 2, and the haunting origin story, Ring 0 - as well as the 'lost' original sequel, George Iida's Spiral, gathered together in glorious high definition and supplemented by a wealth of archival and newly created bonus materials. Special Edition Content: Brand new 4K restoration of Ring from the original camera negative, approved by director of photography Junichiro Hayashi High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations Lossless Japanese DTS-HD master audio 5.1 and PCM 2.0 soundtracks Optional English subtitles Bonus feature: Spiral, George Iida's 1998 sequel to Ring New audio commentary on Ring by film historian David Kalat New audio commentary on Ring 0 by author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas The Ring Legacy, a series of new interviews from critics and filmmakers on their memories of the Ring series and ints enduring legacy A Vicious Circle, anew video interview with author and critic Kat Ellinger on the career of Hideo Nakata Circumnavigating ring, a new video essay by critic Jasper Sharp on the J-horror phenomenon The Psychology of Fear, a newly edited archival interview with author Koji Suzuki Archival behind-the-scenes featurette on Ring 0 Ring 0 deleted scenes Sadako's video Multiple theatrical trailers for the Ringt series

• Ring 0 | DVD | (25/02/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Ring 0 is the prequel to the successful Japanese ghost/horror movie Ring which has already spun off a conventional follow-up (Ring 2) and inspired a host of Far Eastern imitations, with a US remake in development. Opening with some tiny scene-setting to remind you of the urban legend of the cursed videotape, the film skips back to "30 years ago" and dramatises the hitherto-only-hinted-at tale of how the witchlike Sadako ended up in a well from which her melancholy, malign spirit spread her curse. Strange young woman Sadako (Yukie Nakama) leaves her island home to become an apprentice in a theatre company, where her ambiguous psychic powers, several deaths and an outbreak of madness complicate the production. Nakama is fine as the spooky, Carrie-like heroine, as much a victim of her psychic abilities as those who drop dead around her, and there are several creepy sequences: a first night plagued by apparitions, a mob struck down one by one as they chase Sadako through a wood, and the inevitable, foreshadowed waking-up-in-a-well climax.The original filmmakers have departed and the new team don't quite have the material to work with, which means Ring 0 plays better to initiate newcomers but can't hope to duplicate the stand-alone chills ofRing. Series fans will enjoy the filled-in back-story, but others should be warned that the film takes a bewildering amount of plot information for granted. --Kim Newman

• X | DVD | (31/12/2000) from £9.11   |  Saving you £8.88 (97.48%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Tokyo is the city where the final battle between the Dragon of Earth and the Dragon of Heaven will take place in the Japanese anime film X, directed by Taro Rin and written by the all-woman writing team Clamp. The Dragon of Earth wants to wipe out humankind because of the damage people have inflicted on the Earth, while the Dragon of Heaven is fighting to protect civilisation. At the centre of all this is Kamui, the chosen one, who must pick a dragon to fight for.Full of dreams and flashbacks that pop up out of nowhere, the structure of X could be considered confusing and needlessly complex if the story weren't so simple. Obviously, we are supposed to root for the Dragon of Heaven to win and save mankind, but the funny thing is, the Dragon of Earth has the better argument. If it were a debate, humanity would lose. But it's not a debate, it's an action film, and many of Tokyo's most famous buildings get destroyed in the battles. As with most anime, the women are either girlishly cute or slutty, but luckily in X, there are no graphic rapes; the love interest is merely crucified three or four times. It may not be the greatest anime film out there, but at least it's never boring. --Andy Spletzer