Kôkaku Kidôtai (1995)

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

Director:

Mamoru Oshii

Writers:

Shirow Masamune (based on the manga by) (as Masamune Shirow), Kazunori Itô (screenplay)

Stars:

Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Ôtsuka

5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Atsuko Tanaka	...	Kusanagi Motoko (voice)
Akio Ôtsuka	...	Batô (voice)
Kôichi Yamadera	...	Togusa (voice)
Yutaka Nakano	...	Ishikawa (voice)
Tamio Ôki	...	Aramaki (voice)
Tesshô Genda	...	Nakamura buchô (voice)
Namaki Masakazu	...	Urisu hakase (voice)
Masato Yamanouchi	...	Gaimu daijin (voice)
Shinji Ogawa	...	Gaikôkan (voice)
Mitsuru Miyamoto	...	Daida Mizuho (voice)
Kazuhiro Yamaji	...	Seisô kyokuin (voice)
Shigeru Chiba	...	Seisô kyokuin (voice)
Hiroshi Yanaka	...	Kenshi-kan (voice)
Ginzô Matsuo	...	Ossan (voice)
Takashi Matsuyama	...	Jikkô-han (voice)

Storyline

It is the year 2029. Technology has advanced so far that cyborgs are commonplace. In addition, human brains can connect to the internet directly. Major Motoko Kusanagi is an officer in Section 9, an elite, secretive police division that deals with special operations, including counter terrorism and cyber crime. She is currently on the trail of the Puppet Master, a cyber criminal who hacks into the brains of cyborgs in order to obtain information and to commit other crimes.

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Plot Keywords:

cyborg | hacker | cyberpunk | anime | philosophical | 

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Taglines:

Mamoru Oshii's animated thriller

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

14A

Did You Know?

Trivia

The writer, Shirow Masamune, named his manga "Ghost in the Shell" to pay homage to a book about philosophical psychology by Arthur Koestler, "The Ghost in the Machine".

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Goofs

In the third act of the film, when Batou rams his car into the decoy car, the animators didn't draw the license plate on the back, as it was seen in previous shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: In the near future: Corporate networks reach out to the stars, electrons and light flow throughout the universe. - The advance of computerisation, however, has not yet wiped out nations and ethnic groups.
Dispatcher: [on radio] To all units: Code 2-0-8 in district C-13, Newport City. Air space is closed. I repeat...

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Alternate Versions

The movie was released in Germany on VHS by Manga Video. The version was uncut, though it was rated 16. There was a second release by Ascot, the movie, the package design and everything was exactly the same, except that this version was rated 18, but the disclaimer at the beginning still showed the 16 rating. Further more Ascot replaced the Manga Entertainment logo at the beginning of the movie and the credits scroll down to their full length where Manga cut them a bit. It seams like the Ascot-Video was intended for rental-use only.

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Connections

Referenced in Scary Movie (2000)

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Soundtracks

The Shell
By Silicon Sound

User Reviews

Don't Listen to koryanpiora

This is single handedly one of the best animated films I've ever seen. You can definitely tell how far the animation genre has gotten in the last half-century. It's pretty much flawless in my opinion. The story, audio, and especially visuals are excellent. This is definitely one of the most pretty films i've ever seen. The philosophy really made me think too, the matrix tried this idea and failed horribly with it's sequels. This one isn't just for hipsters, if you're a sci-fi fan I couldn't recommend this more. If you liked this, I also recommend Akira, The Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series, and the upcoming Steamboy

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Japan UK

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

18 November 1995 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Kôkaku Kidôtai

Box Office

Budget:

JPY600,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,736, 4 February 1996

Gross USA:

$515,905

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$516,540

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kôdansha, Bandai Visual Company, Manga Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (Original Japanese) Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1