henrypaulmerklein
Never has a film that inspired or been referenced so much been so boooooring.
dokuz10
It feels bad for me to say this, because I love the cyberpunk genre, but if you've read the Neuromancer before seeing Ghost in the Shell it wouldn't be as satisfactory as seeing it before reading it. It isn't fair to compare a book with a film, as they are different mediums and we should not compare the two, because of the difference in strengths and weaknesses. In this case the idea of the story is close enough that you can't keep your mind off it. Ghost in the Shell is not structured to be able to keep up with the depth of the portrayed concepts. Either, you would need to have more screen time (83 minutes is not enough) or have different volumes of one story rather than sequels. The other option would be to simplify the story, which in this case Mamoru Oshii tried to do and failed to an extent. But, I loved the atmosphere and the music in the film. If only it were written in another way, this would have been one of my favourite anime films.
Anssi Vartiainen
One of the first anime feature films to gain a foothold in the Western world, Ghost in the Shell has since gone to influence a whole generation of science fiction with its sleek visuals and heavy themes of machine versus humanity.And yeah, the film definitely holds up even today. The animation, groundbreaking on its day, is still really impressive and near flawless. The characters are identifiable and varied, with no unneeded soul to be seen. The music and storytelling are both professional and haunting in quality.But it's the story that people talk about and what made this film such a hit. And the story is... complicated. Personally I do think it jumps around a bit too much and ends more then bit abruptly, but I can also see that its themes and style have more than enough depth to pull people in and make this into a cult classic. What it means to be human? Can someone at some point stop being a human and become something more? Or something less? Are we defined by our memories or the other way around?Personally I have the problem of already having examined most of these questions through other films and stories, many of them drawing influence from this very franchise. Thus the original film itself didn't have as much to offer. Nevertheless, it's still an impressive film by any measure and well worth a watch for all.
Eric Stevenson
I am glad to say that this was the best film I have seen for Anime Month so far! The best part is probably how gorgeous the animation is. Honestly, I don't know if I've ever seen anime that looked more realistic than this. They got the facial expressions and body movements about as authentic as you can get. The colors and everything else are so beautiful in this. I saw a dubbed version, but am glad the one I saw didn't omit any Japanese writing or anything. Yeah, it's not much, but I can always appreciate versions like that. This movie tells the story of a cyborg woman on a police force.I have always been fascinated by this film if only because on the surface, it seemed to be the most adult oriented animated film ever made. It's hard not to notice the sexual overtones. I mean, the main character is in a robot body resembling a naked woman! I guess there's no reason for this, but it creates perfect atmosphere. I saw the live-action version and I'll cut it some slack because it would be impossible to make any other version on the same level as this film. We get great dialogue all the time. The film is fairly short, but the pacing is simply fantastic.My favorite part is probably when she's trying to rip the top off of the tank, but her metal tendons actually burst through her skin and even off her body. It's so powerful to see the diligence in her. I love hearing the conversations about the idea of creating a soul and what it means to be truly human. It's pretty unique for the genre and it has a really nice unexpected ending too. It certainly felt epic even with its short running time. It's still based on a manga, but feels original. ****
AD
