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Sarah Michelle Gellar - "The Grudge : Director’s Cut" DVD - About.com Review

Staci Wilson

Thursday 24 November 2005, by Webmaster

DVD: "The Grudge, Director’s Cut"

One of the things that makes this film unique is that it is a remake of critically-acclaimed Japanese film, called Ju-On: The Grudge, and is directed by Takashi Shimizu, the same writer/director of the original. Reprising their roles as the angry, drowned ghosts are Takako Fuji (the slinky, sylphlike dark lady) and Yuya Ozeki (the little boy with eyes as big saucers and a scream to make the alley cats scatter). The black feline phantom is back as well, and so is the muddled plot.

* The commentary is excellent
* The added and deleted scenes really fill in a lot of blanks
* It’s still only a so-so movie

Description

* Additional release material? Yes, quite a bit even aside from commentary
* Directed by Takashi Shimizu
* Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, KaDee Strickland, Takako Fuji

Guide Review - DVD: "The Grudge, Director’s Cut"

That stuff is all well and good, but the real piece de resistance is the feature commentary from director Takashi Shimizu, producer Taka Ichise, and actor Takako Fuji.The Grudge is only the second DVD I can think of where I actually liked the commentary better than the movie, and hence came to like the movie itself better as a result (Auto Focus is the other one). Although the commentary is all in Japanese and subtitled, I was riveted from start to finish - and to be perfectly honest, I never would have thought I could sit through that whole movie again.

The director, producer and actress all have such a fun, easy camaraderie and not only are they very funny (Shimizu jokes about what a mess the little ghost boy makes, and then Ichise says, “He’s probably looking for the checkbook of a rich American!”) but they also explain an awful lot about the story, filmmaking in general, and their experience working in the Hollywood system for the first time.

This commentary is truly fascinating. If you are a fan of The Grudge movies, or even if you’re not and want to be a convert, The Grudge Director’s Cut is definitely worth buying for the “extras” alone.