Ghost in the Shell (1995) Kôkaku kidôtai (original title)

Director:

Mamoru Oshii

Writers:

Kazunori Itô
Masamune Shirow (comic)

Release Date:

29 March 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

It Found A Voice... Now It Needs A Body

Plot:

A female cyborg cop and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.

Plot Keywords:

Cyborg | Hacker | 2020s | Watermelon | Virtuality

Awards:

5 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Atsuko Tanaka	...	Major Motoko Kusanagi (voice)
Richard Epcar	...	Bateau (voice: English version) (as Richard George)
Akio Ôtsuka	...	Batô (voice)
Tamio Ôki	...	Section 9 Department Chief Aramaki (JPN) (voice)
Iemasa Kayumi	...	Project 2501 aka 'The Puppet Master' (voice)
Kôichi Yamadera	...	Togusa (voice)
Tesshô Genda	...	Section 6 Department Chief Nakamura (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steve Blum	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Roger Canfield)
Steve Bulen	...	Section 9 Staff Cyberneticist / Coroner (voice: English version)
Toni Burke	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Richard Cansino	...	Diplomat (voice: English version) (as Steve Davis)
Tom Carlton	...	Garbage Collector A (voice: English version)
George Celik	...	Old Man (voice: English version)
Shigeru Chiba	...	Garbage Collector B (voice)
Gina Connell	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Stephen Davis	...	Diplomat (voice: English version)
Dorothy Gabriel	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Dougary Grant	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Michael Porter)
Leo Gray	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Meg Hamilton	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Milton James	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Murray Williams)
Christopher Joyce	...	Togusa (voice: English version)
William Knight	...	Section 9 Department Chief Aramaki (voice: English version) (as William Frederick)
Namaki Masakazu	...	Dr.Willis (voice)
Joan Mason	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Takashi Matsuyama	...	Terrorist (voice)
Joe Michael	...	(voice: English version)
Mitsuru Miyamoto	...	Daita Mizuho (voice)
Gilbert Navarro	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Shinji Ogawa	...	Notorious Diplomat (voice)
Gloria Oldman	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Ben Parks	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Scott Prensor	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Simon Prescott	...	Section 6 Department Chief Nakamura (voice: English version) (as Ben Isaacson)
Debra Rogers	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as S.J. Charvin)
Joe Romersa	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Joe Michaels)
Maaya Sakamoto	...	Motoko (Girl) (voice)
Donald Salin	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Lia Sargent	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Sam Sheffer	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Michael Sorich	...	Ishikawa (voice: English version) (as Mike Sorich)
Peter Spellos	...	Bad Guy (voice: English version) (as David Conrad)
Skip Stellrecht	...	Minister (voice: English version) (as Hank Smith)
Doug Stone	...	Garbage Collector B (voice: English version)
Jimmy Theodore	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Stephen Platt)
Yûji Ueda	...	Assault-Unit Operator (voice)
Phil Williams	...	Dr. Willis (voice: English version)
Amy Wong	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Amy Wong)
Mimi Woods	...	Major Motoko Kusanagi (voice: English version)
Tom Wyner	...	Project 2501 / Puppet Master (voice: English version) (as Abe Lasser)
Kazuhiro Yamaji	...	Garbage Collector A (voice)
Masato Yamanouchi	...	Foreign Minister (voice)

Directed by
Mamoru Oshii

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kazunori Itô
Masamune Shirow		comic

Produced by
Andy Frain	....	executive producer
Laurence Guinness	....	associate producer
Makoto Ibuki	....	associate producer
Mitsuhisa Ishikawa	....	producer
Ken Iyadomi	....	producer
Ken Matsumoto	....	producer
Teruo Miyahara	....	executive producer
Yoshimasa Mizuo	....	producer
Takashi Mogi	....	executive producer
Yasushi Sukeof	....	associate producer
Shigeru Watanabe	....	producer
Hiroshi Yamazaki	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Kenji Kawai

Cinematography by
Hisao Shirai

Film Editing by
Shûichi Kakesu

Production Design by
Takashi Watabe

Art Direction by
Hiromasa Ogura

Production Management
Ryuji Mitsumoto	....	production manager

Art Department
Makiko Kojima	....	ink and paint: Production I.G.

Sound Department
Arman Boyles	....	sound mix assistant
Les Claypool III	....	additional sound effects (as Les E. Claypool)
Les Claypool III	....	post-production sound supervisor (as Les E. Claypool)
Sean England	....	foley recordist (2008 special edition)
Shuji Inoue	....	sound recording engineer
Kurt Kassulke	....	sound re-recording mixer
Hironori Ono	....	sound effects assistant
Paul Ratajczak	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kazutoshi Satou	....	sound effects
Kazuhiro Wakabayashi	....	sound director
Akira Yoda	....	sound associate
Masatoshi Yokomizo	....	sound associate

Special Effects by
Mutsu Murakami	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Tetsuo Kaneko	....	opticals
Masao Shibata	....	opticals

Animation Department
Masahiro Andô	....	animator
Koichi Arai	....	animator
Shinji Arakawa	....	animator
Miho Asatani	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Hisashi Eguchi	....	animator
Toyoaki Emura	....	animator
Masumi Ezaki	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Satoi Fujiwara	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Keiko Hagimori	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Hideki Hamazu	....	animator
Takashi Hashimoto	....	animator
Sachiyo Hiraide	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Kazuya Hoshi	....	animator
Katsuki Ikeda	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Seong-kim Im	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Toshiyuki Inoue	....	animator
Akiharu Ishii	....	animator
Mitsuo Iso	....	animator
Yoshiyuki Itô	....	animator
Hiroyo Izumi	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Yûko Kami	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Shôji Kawamori	....	mechanical designer
Kumiko Kawana	....	animator
Hiroshi Kawasaki	....	animator
Moon-hee Kim	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Soon-ah Kim	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Yoon-sook Kim	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Kazuchika Kise	....	animator
Kazuchika Kise	....	key animation supervisor
Kôji Komurakata	....	animator
Yûko Koyama	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Jae-sook Lee	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Seok-min Lee	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Nobuko Mizuta	....	cel checker
Namiko Mori	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Yasushi Muraki	....	animator
Kayoko Nabeta	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Akiko Nagashima	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Mika Nakabayashi	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Rieko Nakai	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Tamaki Nakatsu	....	assistant to animation director
Toshihiko Nishikubo	....	animation director
Yasuhiro Ohshima	....	animator
Tensai Okamura	....	animator
Hiroyuki Okiura	....	animator
Hiroyuki Okiura	....	character designer
Hiroyuki Okiura	....	key animation supervisor
Tetsuhito Saitô	....	animator
Mamoru Sasaki	....	animator
Masahiro Satô	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Kanami Sekiguchi	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Mitsumi Shitani	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Itsuko Takeda	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Kyôko Taketani	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Atsushi Takeuchi	....	animator
Atsushi Takeuchi	....	mechanical designer
Yûichi Tanaka	....	animator (as Yuichi Tanaka)
Manabu Tanzawa	....	animator
Takashi Watabe	....	background designer
Keiko Watanabe	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Sawako Yajima	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Yayoi Yamashita	....	cel checker
Yoshio Yamazaki	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Miyako Yatsu	....	animator
Masayuki Yoshiwara	....	animator
Kumiko Yusa	....	color setter
Hiroyoshi Ôkawa	....	animator

Editorial Department
Hiroaki Hirabayashi	....	color timer
Takeshi Imai	....	assistant editor
Shigeyuki Yamamori	....	assistant editor
Yayoi Ôtake	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Mamoru Akimoto	....	production scheduler
Paul C. Halbert	....	translator: English
Nobuhiro Hayashi	....	translation coordinator
Mitsuo Iso	....	weapons designer
Naoki Kanazawa	....	video effects
Hirokazu Karasawa	....	weapons advisor
Yumiko Katayama	....	color section
Ayako Koike	....	title designer
Megumi Maeda	....	production scheduler
Yutaka Maseba	....	translation coordinator
Mary Mason	....	adr script
Haruo Mizuno	....	production coordinator
Toru Nozaki	....	advertising
Kikuo Nôtomi	....	weapons advisor
Shuichi Satou	....	color section
Kevin Seymour	....	adr script (as Quint Lancaster)
Kevin Seymour	....	voice director
Teruhisa Tajima	....	title designer
Shigeyuki Tsuchida	....	video effects
Taro Yoshida	....	translation coordinator
Taro Yoshida	....	translator: English
Tomio Yoshioka	....	international coordinator

Production Companies

• Bandai Visual Company
• Kodansha
• Production I.G.

Distributors

• Metrodome Distribution (1995) (UK) (theatrical)
• Palm Pictures (1996) (USA) (all media)
• Rapid Eye Movies (1996) (Germany) (VHS)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (1997) (France) (theatrical)
• Selecta Vision (2002) (Spain) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Castle Communications (1996) (Finland) (VHS)
• Emina (2005) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Flashstar Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Flashstar Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Manga Entertainment (1996) (UK) (all media)
• Manga Entertainment (2009) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Manga Video (1996) (USA) (all media)
• Millennium Storm (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• Nittere Plus & Science (2007) (Japan) (TV)
• Pan Vision Publishing Video (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• PolyGram Video (1996) (Sweden) (VHS)
• PolyGram Video (1996) (USA) (all media)
• Rai4 (2009) (Italy) (TV)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (Sweden) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• United Paramount Network (UPN) (2000) (USA) (TV)
• Universal Pictures (1999) (Italy) (VHS) (dubbed)

Special Effects

• Marix

Other Companies

• A-I-C  paint and trace
• Animaze  English voice recording
• Ashi Productions Co. Inc.  inbetweens
• Aube Studio  music production
• Aube Studio  music recording studio
• BMG Victor  music release: Japan
• Beijing Xie Le Art Co. Ltd.  paint and trace
• DR Movie  inbetweens
• Damson Studios  titles
• Daybreak Ltd.  music production
• Doumu  inbetweens
• Edit 90  advertising staff
• Ground Control Studios  english language version: final re-recording
• Group Donguri  inbetweens
• I.G Niigata  inbetweens
• Imagica  film processing
• Jay Film Company  post-production
• Kodak Japan  film stock supplied by
• MI  paint and trace
• Magnitude 8 Post  English voice recording facility
• Maki Pro  titles
• Marine Studio  music recording studio
• Mit Studio  sound recording studio
• Oh Production  inbetweens
• Omnibus Japan  computer animation
• Omnibus Promotion  sound production studio
• Otaya  mixing engineers
• Otaya  recording engineers
• Phoenix Entertainment  inbetweens
• Prisms  computer animation
• Production I.G.  inbetweens
• Production I.G.  paint and trace
• Shima Studio  paint and trace
• Sound Valet  music recording studio
• Studio Cosmos  camera operators
• Studio Junio  inbetweens
• Studio Killy  paint and trace
• Studio Moy  paint and trace
• Studio Takuranke  inbetweens
• Studio Targi  paint and trace
• Studio Wombat  inbetweens
• Tack Cheong Company  coverage co-operation
• Tezuka Production Company Ltd.  paint and trace
• These Days  titles
• Toei Company  film scanning
• Tokyo TV Center  sound recording studio
• Weekly Manga Magazine  planning association
• White Lilly Company  music release coordination
• Woodstock Karuisawa Recording Studio  music recording studio
• World Guns  coverage co-operation
• ZRO Limit Productions  English adr production

Also Known As:

"Kôkaku kidôtai" - Japan (original title)
"Ghost in the Shell 2.0" - International (English title) (restored version)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color | Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 (re-rating) | Finland:K-12 (video rating) | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Netherlands:12 | Germany:16 (video rating) | Italy:VM14 (video rating) | South Korea:12 | Italy:T (re-rated) (video rating) | Canada:14+ (TV rating) | Japan:PG-12 | Ireland:15

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Trivia:

In ordinary anime, characters would at least blink to create the feeling of "being animated", but in this movie, Motoko's eyes intentionally stayed unblinking many times. Director Mamoru Oshii's intention was to portray her as a "doll".

Quotes:

Batô:Chief, you ever question the ethics of the neurosurgeons who monkey around inside your brain?
Section 9 Department Chief Aramaki:They undergo psychiatric evaluations, especially those in security. They're subjected to a stringent screening of their personal lives. Of course, the ones who check are only human.
Batô:I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it.

Movie Connections:

References Total Recall (1990)

Soundtrack:

See You Everyday

A stunning and complex cinematic warning

Ghost in the Shell is a masterpiece. I would go so far as to say that it's the second best science fiction film I've ever seen (behind 2001, of course), but no one knows about it. I find it terribly unfortunate that the only American viewers familiar with Ghost in the Shell are anime fans, many of whom overlook the film's complexity and see only its nudity and violence. The movie kind of gets in its own way-- within the first five minutes we see the heroine's nude body as well as a very messy head-exploding scene, and many of the viewers who would otherwise end up enthralled by the film's abundant style and intelligence immediately dismiss it as exploitative anime trash. Every time I show this movie to non-anime fans I have to explain beforehand that Ghost in the Shell is a serious work of science fiction and that everything in it, including the adult content, is part of the point the movie makes about where our society is headed.

The film is stylish, artistic, and beautiful. Masamune Shirow's stunningly believable vision of the future makes the jump from manga to anime remarkably well. As brilliant as the comics are, I really prefer the film version, which eliminates the nearly pornographic T&A (the film has nudity but it's clearly not meant to be titillating) and all of the exaggerated comic relief which only detracted from the manga in my opinion. The film's action sequences are strikingly different from the overly stylized symphonies of destruction seen in most action films. Gunfire, martial arts combat, and car chases are depicted exactly as they would occur in the real world-- without fast music or Armageddon-style hyper-editing or any of the needless cinematic baggage we've come to expect. But it's the movie's ideas that make it great, particularly in the last half hour, when thoughtful viewers learn what this story is all about-- the emergence of a new kind of life form, an intelligent and self-aware intelligence that can live indefinitely without ever inhabiting a physical body. The film argues that this will occur within the next thirty years, and the superbly ambiguous ending inspires us to come up with our own ideas of what will happen to humanity once this new life form begins to reproduce. This is filmmaking that should be seen and discussed.

And now the disclaimer. All of the above comments refer to the subtitled Japanese version of the film, NOT the English dub. Simply put, the dub ruins everything. A good example is Kusanagi's wry comment at the very beginning of the film. An officer who is communicating with Kusanagi through a kind of electronic telepathy tells her there's a lot of static in her brain. In the original Japanese version (as well as in the manga) she replies that "It's that time of the month," but in the dub her comment is inexplicably changed to "Must be a loose wire." It's completely insane-- do they think that, in a film with considerable nudity and graphic violence, people are going to be offended by a PMS innuendo? The whole movie is filled with such intelligence-insulting changes; please do yourself a favor and watch the subtitled version.