Ghost in the Shell (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 & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Atsuko Tanaka	...	Motoko Kusanagi (voice)
Akio Ôtsuka	...	Batou (voice)
Kôichi Yamadera	...	Togusa (voice)
Yutaka Nakano	...	Ishikawa (voice)
Tamio Ohki	...	Aramaki (voice)
Tesshô Genda	...	Director Nakamura (voice)
Namaki Masakazu	...	Dr. Willis (voice)
Masato Yamanouchi	...	Minister of Foreign Affairs (voice)
Shinji Ogawa	...	Diplomat (voice)
Mitsuru Miyamoto	...	Mizuho Daita (voice)
Kazuhiro Yamaji	...	Garbage Collector A (voice)
Shigeru Chiba	...	Garbage Collector B (voice)
Hiroshi Yanaka	...	Coroner (voice)
Ginzô Matsuo	...	Old Man (voice)
Takashi Matsuyama	...	Terrorist (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 Kasunagi 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:

anime | cyborg | policewoman | hacker | philosophical | 

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Taglines:

Who are you? Who slips into my robot body and whispers to my ghost?

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Genres:

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

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Japan UK

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

29 March 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ghost in the Shell

Box Office

Budget:

JPY 600,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£7,493 (United Kingdom), 14 December 1995, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,736, 4 February 1996, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$515,905

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$583,393, 21 December 1995

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kôdansha, Bandai Visual Company, Manga Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (Original Japanese) Dolby Digital (5.1 surround) (English Dub)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

If you live in Britain, there are two versions on VHS but with the same cover. There is the dubbed version and there is another one with two tapes featuring the original Japanese audio and the Production Report. Akira did the same but in so many versions.

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Goofs

When Kusanagi is fighting the ghost hacked man, the orientation of the signs in the background changes between 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 Dorks & Damsels (2007)

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Soundtracks

One Minute Warning
Passengers (Brian Eno and U2)
Featuring vocals by Holi
Engineering by Dave Danton Supple
Assisted by Rob Kinwan
Published by Blue Mountain Music (UK), Mother music (Rep. of Ireland), Taiyo Music (Japan)
Polygram Music International Music Publishing B.V.
(R.O.W)/Opel Music except in North America by Upala Music Inc./BMI
P 1995 Polygram International Music B.B.
Holi appears courtesy of Resurgence and Funhouse Inc., Japan
Licenced courtesy of Records Ltd.

User Reviews

Excellent.

I liked everything about this film. Much has been made of the artwork, and with good reason. Voltron, this isn't. I am not an anime fan and haven't seen a lot of anime films. Most plot descriptions of anime films sound boring to me. I'm not into monsters and tentacles or cute wide eyed little girls fighting evil. (Not that cute wide eyed little girls shouldn't fight evil, I mean, I'm all about fighting evil, aren't we all?) Ghost in the Shell, on the other hand, represents the best of its genre and the best of any genre is worth a watch. This movie ought to appeal to anyone who enjoys cerebral films. It addresses interesting philosophical questions about identity, some of which we will no doubt be pondering in the not too distant future. (I'm perhaps foolishly optimistic when it comes to AI).

I should add as well that this is definitively in the cyberpunk genre. If you liked the old Max Headroom television series or movies like Wargames, this will no doubt appeal to you. Even the English dubbing isn't bad, even if it is a little bit fast (to keep up with Japanese).

Darken the room, sink low in your chair, turn the volume up (the soundtrack is spectacular), and fall into this movie. I wish there were more like it. The artwork is incredible (if you don't consider animation art, you should take a look at Ghost) and the plot and dialogue are three dimensional and thought provoking. Two thumbs up. As I say, best of genre.