Ghost in the Shell (1996) – U.S. English dub release
Running time: 83 minutes (1 hour, 23 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: Mamoru Oshii
WRITER: Kazunori Ito, based upon the graphic novel by Masamune Shirow
PRODUCERS: Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Ken Iyadomi, Ken Matsumoto, and Yoshimasa Mizuo
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Hisao Shirai (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Shuichi Kakesu
COMPOSER: Kenji Kawai
ANIME/SCI-FI/ACTION
Starring: (English dub voices) Mimi Wood, Richard Epcar, Christopher Joyce, William Frederick, Ben Isaacson, Abe Lasser, and Hank Smith
Kokaku kidotai is a 1995 sci-fi, cyberpunk, and action-thriller anime film from director Mamoru Oshii. It is best known by its English title, Ghost in the Shell. This animated film is based on the manga, Ghost in the Shell, from creator, Masamune Shirow. Ghost in the Shell the film follows a cyborg policewoman and her partner as they hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called “the Puppet Master.”
Some aficionados consider the film, Ghost in the Shell, to be the second greatest anime (Japanese animation) film of all time behind the venerable Akira. However, at the time of its release, Ghost in the Shell so stunned audiences with its futuristic look and dazzling blend of traditional and computer animation that some people considered it to be the future of anime and also the top achievement in the history of anime.
Ghost in the Shell opens in the year 2029. A female cyborg cop, Major Motoko (Mimi Woods), and her partner, Batou (Richard Epcar), hunt a mysterious and powerful computer hacker called “The Puppet Master” (Abe Lasser). In the year 2029, society is information driven, and humans are connected on a mass basis to an omnipresent interactive information network.
Sophisticated criminals are hacking into the network, so the government forms “Section 9,” which is led by powerfully advanced cyborgs like Motoko, who hunt the hackers. But in order to discover the secrets of the Puppet Master, Motoko will have to unravel the secrets of “Project 2501.”
Ghost in the Shell's story can get a little confusing at times. The writer of the manga upon which this movie is based put a lot of thought and research into his project. The “ghost” of the title is a soul or psyche, and the “shell” of the title is the body of the cyborg. I would suggest, dear readers, that you pay close attention and follow the dense social, political, and philosophical ideas of the film. In fact, this Ghost in the Shell anime was one of the smarter, science fiction movies of its time, granted that it does occasionally get ahead of itself and spews too many ideas.
As good as the story and script are, the grand achievement of this film is its animation. Anime filmmakers have been ahead of everyone else in animating the human figure in a dramatic context. No one really approaches the grace and the artistry of movement in the animated humans in Disney film, but Japanese animators have done excellent work in creating animated figures that move with fantastic bursts of energy during action sequences that depict sword duels, gunfights, martial arts and hand to hand combat, and wielding great arcs of eldritch and magical energy.
The quality of Ghost in the Shell’s car chases and gunfights rival those found in big, budget live action films, which makes this film feel bracing and invigorating. The beauty of both the hand rendered animation and computer animation totally captures the power of action and movement. Ghost in the Shell is explosive eye candy; imagine the artistry of Disney matched with the intensity of a James Cameron action flick.
Fans of anime and of science fiction love this film, but it is something special, So it should be enjoyed by people who love film and spectacular cinematic achievement.
A
★★★★ out of 4 stars
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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