Directed by:
Mamoru OshiiScreenplay:
Kazunori ItouCinematography:
白井久男Composer:
Kenji KawaiCast:
Akio Ōtsuka, Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Kōichi Yamadera, Tamio Ōki, Shigeru Chiba, Tesshō Genda, Yūji Ueda, Maaya Sakamoto, Hiroshi Yanaka, Ginzō Matsuo (more)VOD (1)
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Set in the year 2029 and following World Wars III and IV, a Japanese-led Asian block dominates world affairs. The alliance maintains its international supremacy through its elite security force whose cybernetically enhanced operatives tackle an array of hi-tech terrorists and other threats to international security. These augmented agents can "ghost hack" (i.e., download their consciousness) via the now omnipresent internet into other machines and human/machine cross breeds. Major Motoko Kusanagi, a cybernetically augmented female agent, has been tracking a virtual entity known as the Puppet Master with her crack squad of security agents. The shape-shifting Puppet Master, a rogue creation of a rival agency of the security apparatus, has concluded that it is a life form in its own right, "born in sea of information," and requested political asylum and true physical existence in defiance of its creators. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (7)
Sorry, Scarlett, but you also failed to bring the American remake to even a slightly competitive level compared to the original Japanese version. I wrote about the remake lacking the cyberpunk soul, and Mamoru Oshii was able to give the film both a cyberpunk appearance and philosophy. There are only a handful of films that can present the cyberpunk world with honor, and Ghost in the Shell holds an honorable place among them. I have no problem with giving it four stars, I just don't want to give it the fifth one because I always had a little problem with the artistic interpretation of manga. Overall impression: 85%.
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For how short it is and how relatively little they talk in it, Ghost in the Shell has a surprising amount to say. A good idea in a good presentation is something always welcome, and this is one of those few select sci-fi films that have somehow managed not to get old (like Blade Runner, Alien, Akira, The Matrix, Back to the Future II...), even though reality has overtaken or almost caught up with them in terms of years. If I had to single out one thing, it would be a completely amazing five-minute long scene in the middle, in which nothing substantial happens at all, it’s "just" the haunting atmospheric music and alternating shots of a neon futuristic city. It draws you in perfectly.
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A legendary Japanese sci-fi that still deserves attention, and it doesn't even have to be the restored version from 2008. An interesting story, with intriguing characters, bold scenes, and excellent ideas that become almost iconic - such as the man typing on the keyboard. A beautiful example of what Japanese sci-fi can look like. Still, it didn't affect me that much.
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Visually a really spectacular flick, which is something the Japanese are really good at in similar films. It is more complicated with the story, as it certainly does not belong among the simpler ones. And the form of narration does not help that either. I had troubles concentrating on the story about cyborgs, when I was staring at that incredible precision in the animation. And it was not helped by the fact that after the less talkative half, the second half began, which somehow started to explain everything. You would expect some top-notch shocking finale, which in reality is pretty quiet and thought-provoking. So much that during the beautiful meditative music accompanying the end credits (which, after all, was playing throughout the whole film) I was just staring speechlessly, thinking about the meaning of the whole thing.
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A film that confuses you then leads to dead ends and suddenly, in that moment of understanding, the viewer is left with nothing but a gape of bewilderment and a vain effort to contain their enthusiasm. As a result, Ghost in the Shell is an incomprehensible, yet at the same time incredibly captivating anime, which with a bit better character work could lose the impression of a colder spectacle and therefore easily reach the highest levels.
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Gallery (86)
Photo © Bandai Visual Company
![Ghost in the Shell - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/160/157/160157666_9f587e.png)
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