Directed by: Hideo Nakata
Starring: Miki Nakatani, Hitomi Sato, Nanako Matsushima, Yuko Takeuchi
Revealing mistake: Near the end (DVD), when Sadako comes out of the TV, you can see where her finger extensions have been placed (you can see the join between her real finger and the fake one). (01:22:50)
Suggested correction: She's not wearing finger extensions. There are small prosthetics to make it look like her fingernails are missing, but her fingers are normal length.
Continuity mistake: When the two girls are on the floor, just as the phone rings, Tomoko (the girl in green) has her right hand on Masami's (girl in red) shoulder. Cut to a different angle but now, Tomoko has her hand on Masami's arm instead of her shoulder.
Yoichi Asakawa: Tomo-chan told me to.
Trivia: During the climax, Sadako's unnatural movement was accomplished with a very simple in-camera effect - the actress performed the scene backwards. The footage was then reversed, which gave her movements an uncanny feeling, since they weren't quite "right." In addition, to further aid in giving her an uncanny appearance, the closeup of her eyeball in the final scenes of the film were actually shot with a male actor's eye... again to subtly make it feel not quite "right."
Question: Can anyone tell me exactly how much the American remake follows the original Japanese film? I have seen all of the Japanese movies, but only a bit of the American remake, and for some reason, I am having trouble finding it at local video stores.
Answer: It follows it fairly closely, but removes some Japanese cultural references. All of the names are changed, the psychic powers of some characters are removed, and all references to "sea goblins" are gone. Samara is a young girl (not a grown woman like Sadako) and speaks to victims on the phone, rather than the phone call only having strange noises. The lead character is more heroic and investigatory and there are more special effects (for example, the victims' bodies are deformed).