Ghost in the Shell

Rating:
Summary: "Ghost": the Prophetic Pinnacle of Its Genre
Review: "Ghost in the Shell" parallels apocalyptic and lyrically haunting Sci-Fi films like "Blade Runner" and "Gattaca." Amidst its intense and visually stimulating animation lies the deeper theme of defining humanity in the context of a "modern" technological society. In a world drowning in a cold and infinite "sea of information," "Ghost," despite its thick techno-jargon, compels us to ponder the ever-blurring break point between what we perceive as life/self-consciousness, and artificial (i.e. computer age-spawned) life. While the complex sub-plot about the enigmatic "Puppet Master" may be difficult to follow, "Ghost" ultimately drives home basic yet deep questions regarding humanity. Have we humans underestimated the swiftly-growing power of technology, a monstrous power which could one day overpower and trivialize humanity itself? A stunning and meticulously crafted work of art, "Ghost in the Shell," despite its token imperfections, is at once thought-provoking and stimulating to even the most jaded Sci-Fi fanatic's palate. An instant anime classic, "Ghost" is, I feel, the crowning glory of the CyberPunk genre. END

Rating:
Summary: Not Enough Background
Review: "Ghost in the Shell" is a rather famous animated film- one which has influenced (and been influenced by) a lot of western science fiction. According to the Wachowski brothers, this film (and many other anime movies) greatly affected their ideas for "The Matrix".
This movie, like countless others before and since, ponders the questions of "what is reality?" and "what is the individual?". This is not new ground. The 1982 Ridley Scott film "Blade Runner" (the Director's Cut) covered all this same territory with considerably more style and drama.
The (mostly) good news:
For fans of animation, "Ghost" is not up to the standards of a Miyazaki movie, but it is a worthy purchase. There were some scenes in which the producers were clearly trying to save money, but they were few and far between. CG effects were used sparsely, but blended seemlessly into the cel animation.
The Japanese voice-over is solid but, as is often the case, the English version is just awful. I couldn't even watch the entire film in English a single time.
The bad news:
Like most anime, this movie is based upon a lengthy manga series and, at less than one and a half hours, it doesn't offer any help to those (like me) who aren't familiar with it. There just isn't much (or any) background information put into the film. In some cases, the uninitiated viewer won't find out some details they should know at the beginning until the movie is almost over. In other cases, it's apparent that important details are never covered.
This tendency to cater toward the manga fans also presents itself in the area of character development. Without background, I found it difficult to care about the characters or their mission. I never felt involved with the story or empathized with anyone in it. This is in stark contrast to, again, "Blade Runner", which clocked in at just about two hours but really wrapped me up in its world and characters long before the end.
From what I hear, this is generally considered a "deep" film, among fans of anime, at least. It certainly was not a mindless action film, but it covered ground that was well-tread 50 years ago, let alone in 1996. Most of the philosophy took the form of unrealistically lengthy conversations between characters. The second and third "Matrix" installments came under fire for doing what poor authors everywhere do: 'telling, not showing'. "Ghost in the Shell" was more guilty of that error than any other science fiction film I've seen yet, including the "Matrix" trilogy.
One could mention how unlikely/implausible the story was as well, but that's an issue that could be taken with fully half of the science fiction movies, books, and short stories out there.
In short, fans of the manga may find some enjoyment in seeing their favorite characters put into action. For those new to this world, however, "Ghost" is rather sparse and shallow.

Rating:
Summary: Best anime next to Akira!!
Review: This anime was revolutionary, well drawn, well animated, and highly philisophocal. I love how GITS intrigues the mind with how technology has created highly sophisticated robots with human brains to make them the best replication of humans. Also, it teaches how science will never be able to define life. Lots of action, some violence, bare female robot flesh, and sophisticated thought have created a masterpiece. This not only challenged minds, but was the first animation to combine celluloid and computer animation. By the way, Paul Duet outta be beaten to death with a mace for saying Akira and GITS suck and saying that Trigun and Tenchi Muyo rule!! I also think genner outta be shot in the face with a 20-gage shotgun loaded with phosphor shells. Watch this, it's alot better than Princess Mononoke and Trigun combined!!

Rating:
Summary: It's lacking...but it's still good.
Review: "Akira" may have been confusing, but keep in mind that film's challenge of adapting 2,000 pages into 2 hours...right! And I still think that movie did remarkably well. Now we have the brainchild of Masamune Shirow, the current cyberpunk manga genius adapted for the screen. And in spite of the endless praise this film gets for its action and its skillful blending of computer graphics and tradition cel animation, I have to say that this film is lacking. Don't get me wrong, it is still my #2 favorite anime of all time, and my #4 favorite sci-fi film of all time ("Blade Runner," "Akira," and "2001" being the first three). However, in reading the comic, I have to say that the script-writer for this film (even the original Japanese script, which always tends to be better translated in subtitles than dubbed) made the mistake of taking a series of 6 storylines, cutting 2 or 3 of them out, and cramming the rest, even though not all of them were related. Elaboration: almost each issue of the original manga had its own storyline, connected only by characters. Not ALL of them had to do with the Puppet Master. However, cut a few unnecessary stories out, add the Puppet Master in place of the badguy, and blend it all in...you got the plot of the movie. In spite of that, the film did a rather good job of adapting the original comic, but because of the cramming of storylines, there is a sense of the film being rushed. Hell, it doesn't even clock in at 90 minutes, which tends to be the animated film standard. Now, with that aside, let's get to the real point. The movie itself. It is fantastic! Without this film, "The Matrix" would not exist, or it simply would not have been as good or as interesting, because 90% of that movie (plot, stunts, special effects, etc...) came as a result of the innovations of this movie. The story is very well thought out and brilliantly executed. Because of its shortness, there is a sense of something missing or being lost, but the action in the main gunfight scenes make up for this. The animation is wonderful. The set designs are remarkably well-crafted to recreate a Hong Kong-style city, and the integration of computer-generated 3-D virtual cityscapes is exceedingly well-done. The character designs and their personalities are given their just attention, and while the unbelievably pale white skin of the characters might blind the viewer, the use of transparent eye colors give the cyborg populace of this film a soul all their own. That is the entire point of the movie...the soul. The computer effects are wonderful, and the music score by Kenji Kawai is soothing, ambient, eerie, and beautifully compliments this shadowy virtual world. Of course, the Japanese dialogue is better suited to the characters (especially since they really tend to go all out and pour their souls into it...heh, souls again!), but the English voice cast holds its own. Somehow the bland and almost monotone nature in which Mimi Woods delivers her interpretation of the character of Major Kusanagi compliments the quandary of the cybernetic femme fatale's ghost. The voices of Bateau, Togusa, and Chief Aramaki are well-suited as well, but the dark voice given by Abe Lasser to the Puppet Master is almost frightening. Overall, this film is one of the best animated films to be released in a long time, not to mention one of the highest ranking sci-fi films of all time. Flaws and all aside, this is not to be missed!

Rating:
Summary: Both DVDs are missing the original ending song...
Review: FYI, both the original DVD and the Special Edition are missing the original ending song. Also, I have seen pictures comparing these two version. They look exactly the same, and I mean exactly.

So in the end, I would recommend buying the Special Edition over the original if you dont already own this film, otherwise the original DVD is just fine.

The movie itself is great. Short and sweet with some beautiful visuals and gun battles. Defintely not for young kids though as there is pervasive nudity, but absolutely no sex.

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENCE
Review: alot has been said and written about this great anime film.you know why ? because it diserves it.and all the good reviews you heard about it are true.so go a head,buy it.
full of amazing and unforgettable scenes .like the one after the opening credits when motoko wakes up in her apartment.took my breath away .in a story about cyborgs questioning their humanity,and a virus trying to become one.
the dvd features are your typical making of video and trailers .there is also a production report and a guide to ghost in the shell.you have to read them though.
like akira, the plot isn't that great,but you can't resist watching the film.
great anime.average dvd.
unrated.suggested 17. means R rated then.alot of artistic nudity.

Rating:
Summary: Mangled Anime
Review: I was really excited about Ghost In the Shell Special Edition. I am a fan of the movie which covers similar ground as Blade Runner. Unfortunately Manga, which a lot of fans refer to as Mangled got the rights to this title.

The Special Edition is much much better than their original release. The menus are very well done keeping the green terminal like computer motif represented within the film, and makes effective use of the score as background music. Too bad the content is where the disc starts to go downhill.

First, the transfer and audio well done, except that for some lame brained reason, they decided to replace the closing song. This totally throws the flow of the ending off balace. This is a big thing in my book. Who do these people think they are, overriding the original song? Do they think they have more artistic talent than the creators? They also included only english credits, while this isn't anything big, they could have taken the extra step an made a multiangle disc like what disney did for Princess Mononoke. These are pretty glaring considering this is supposed to be a "Special Edition"

The new release comes with a few more extras and on a second disc. There is the production report that was included in the first release of the DVD, but they did not include the Japanese audio track as they did with the original disc. A new feature has been added showing the computer production techniques they used on the move, but this only has a Japanese language track. This time around they also included a few more trailers, but are in one long single sequence showing each of the three trailers back to back.

The packaging is very nicely done. The discs come in a tri-fold that is becoming more comon with dvd's these days. That in itself comes in a clear plastic sleve with graphics printed on it. If you own the original disc, you're just getting fancier packaging, a new extra, good menus, and multi-channel Japanese tracks (a big plus), but still with the messed up ending (a big minus).

Rating:
Summary: 399th Review...
Review: Being the 399th review, what more can be said? The animation was really good but the voice over in english sucked- I recommend watching it in english with the subtitles on (of course, after watching it in japanese) to see what they're really supposed to be saying. It was also sooo much better than the book. if you didn't like the manga, you probably will like this. Not so much politics (and they explain those confusing future terms so you know what they're talking about). The music is the worst part. It's kind of scary. You can't even turn it down, risking missing something said. :( Well, its great other than that.

Rating:
Summary: you've got to be kidding
Review: I watched this movie and didn't much like it. Based on the reviews here, I watched it again. I'm Japanese and proud of it, but I've got to say this is just not a good movie. It's not as good as the Matrix (sci fi); nor is it as good as Shrek (animation). It is for anime geeks, which until I saw this movie, I thought I might be one. But for you anime geeks, can you honestly tell us this movie -- which most claim to be the standard in anime -- has better animation than the Incredibles? better effects than Spiderman 2? better story line than Terminator? Not even close. With all due respect to the work put into this film, the animation is reminiscent of the Speed Racer cartoon, and it makes the "adult plot" hard to appreciate.

Rating:
Summary: Still one of the Best!
Review: After watcheing the second movie, I still think this is the better one. Feels like there will be at least another one out, maybe the second movie suffer the middle child syndrome. This is definately the one that will blow you away, sort like the first time you see Matrix. Superb sound track, and editing.