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There's a reason much of the footage from the "unrated" cut looks terrible: Dreamworks has done little more than drop raw, unfinished footage back into this version of the film.
No final processing seems to have been done on any of the "new" scenes, and I was shocked to hear that no ADR work or foley have been done either. Listen carefully during some of the shoddy looking passages and you'll get a taste of audio straight from the set with all those pesky real world sounds still very apparent; rustling clothing, microphone noise, etc.
I'm not an expert on what is done to give a finished print its sheen and crisp definition--especially in the digital age--but I do know that at one time or another, all rough footage shot looks pretty lackluster. It takes time and money to get it color-timed and polished for the finished print, and that's exactly what Dreamworks didn't want to spend here, based on what a horror this half-baked dvd turned out to be.
For an example of how to really clean footage up for inclusion in an alternate cut, check out the "Director's Cut" of ALIEN; none of the originally deleted material went back into the final film until it matched--perfectly--the look and quality of the rest of the film, and that includes careful attention to sound mixing. A meticulous, loving job...even if the theatrical cut still rules.
The Ring Two may not be a masterpiece, but it deserved better than this most cynical treatment from the studio (I doubt very much if Hideo Nakata was consulted about this; something tells me he won't be pleased). And for what? Well, to overcome the bad buzz, to be able to sell it for being something other than what it is: The Ring Two. Trouble is, they've only made it worse. But as long as Dreamworks makes money with this strategy, expect to see more films meet with disrespectful treatment from the studios that spawned them.
Of all the disturbing trends in dvd marketing, this one is the most disquieting.
--Jack
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