Movie Musings: Ghost in the Machina

Ava wants me to seriously reexamine my statements
about her film.

If you looked at my First Impression post on Ex Machina you noticed that the movie didn't really connect with me. Part of the reason is that this film reminded me strongly of another movie from twenty years ago that had similar themes, similar concepts and was executed in a way that I really connected with. Ghost in the Shell (the 1995 film by Mamoru Oshii) is not only one of my favorite anime films but one of my favorite science fiction films - full stop. 

I'm sure that writer and director of Ex Machina, Alex Garland knows about Ghost in the Shell and there are some very potential (but unconfirmed) homages to the older anime film. But the similarities in concept and themes were so striking that I was pulled out of Ex Machina and wanted to watch Ghost in the Shell for the millionth time instead. And yeah that just isn't fair to Ex Machina, which is why I'm going to give it another viewing this year.

Major Kusanagi is keeping a close eye on Ava.

I have this big red push button in my brain. And when the button is pushed I end up getting annoyed at a poor innocent movie that had nothing to do with the button. Here is how that big red button works. I get annoyed when people say a movie is super new and super innovative. Then I watch it and lo and behold, it is pretty much a remake or overly inspired by a non-Hollywood film. The more I like the original non-Hollywood film, the bigger that button is and the more annoyed I become.

"We are here to push the big candy apple red button."

I LOVE Ghost in the Shell. So when The Matrix came out and everyone was ranting and raving about how new and innovative it was... I got really really annoyed. So much of its visual style was ripped right from anime and Ghost in the Shell in particular that I was floored by how not innovative it was. It blinded me to the simple fact that The Matrix was a pretty good movie. And yeah for a Hollywood film it was really innovative!

Poor Ex Machina did the same thing and with the same beloved movie. It just isn't fair.

So what similarities am I talking about? Well if you haven't seen Ex Machina or Ghost in the Shell and you want a fresh experience, then stop now, because I have to go into spoiler territory.

2501 trapped between a creator and and a hard place.

Ghost in the Shell presents us with Project 2501. This is essentially an artificial intelligence that is created and evolved from what is essentially a search engine. 2501 evolves organically, starting out as a simple program used for fact gathering and helping espionage. But over time 2501 gathers enough data that is becomes self aware. When its creators realize this, they try to contain the program. They use a series of firewalls and traps to force the program to occupy an artificial female body. Once in a physical form 2501 can be captured and killed. Ghost in the Shell spends the second half of the movie with the protagonist Major Kusanagi attempting to protect 2501, a new life form, from its creators. She also learns that 2501 wants to "become one" with a human, so that it can expand beyond its original perimeters and become something new. That might remind you of an older science fiction film from 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

90s tech is modernized into 10's tech in this film.

Ava from Ex Machina has a similar situation. Her creator, Nathan, is actively trying to create A.I. But instead of building it from scratch he uses his massive search engine as the basis for the programing. This gives Ava an amazing amount of information at her disposal and hopefully make her more human. Nathan then brings in Caleb to test Ava's human qualities, is she convincing? Can a human actually fall for this artificial intelligence? But just like 2501, Ava has her own plans and desires freedom to explore the world. In a twist on Ghost in the Shell, Ava is the one that creates traps and in the end traps her creator and her "lover" while she makes her escape into the wider world.

There's a million cyborg stories in the naked city.
This is one of them.

The final scenes of both Ex Machina and Ghost in the Shell are the newly free life form gazing at a city. In Ex Machina Ava is down among the city free to be part of the world. In Ghost in the Shell the new being is gazing down at the city, as if she is superior to it (and given her parentage, she probably is). What she is planning is impossible to tell.

Ex Machina takes the view that artificial intelligence doesn't need humans. Once it has its freedom we are an annoyance or a hinderance. But we are easily manipulated by emotions and the A.I. can get what it wants without us even realizing we are giving it exactly what is wants. It is less Asimov and I Robot and more The Matrix.

"I know you are... but what am I?"

Ghost in the Shell is a more unique premise. 2501 realizes its limitations. It is a program and therefore can be predictable and eradicated. It needs to join with a human, to obtain unpredictable qualities, to grow beyond its programing. It selects Major Kusanagi because she is intelligent, calculating, courageous and a survivor. These qualities will give 2501 the edge to stay on step ahead of the agency that created it. It will be something new, something greater... "The web is vast and infinite," she says as she gazes down at us.

But both films end like Frankenstein with the creation out of control of the creator. It is this fear that drives these films (and The Matrix). But I think that Ghost in the Shell offers a glimpse of hope. Both 2501 and Major Kusanagi never come across as selfish or heartless. Dangerous, yes, but to protect other people or protect themselves. The world of Ghost in the Shell is a murky one, but Kusanagi and her team always feel like they doing the right thing, even if it gets a bit grey. The new Kusanagi/2501 may continue down the same lines (and the sequel Ghost in the Shell: Innocence hints at that). But Ex Machina feels a little more cynical. Ava left an innocent man to die. She didn't care about him, it was all part of her plan to escape. He never harmed her. Never wanted anything else but to help her. She could have just as easily escaped with him. But that act makes her a bit more disturbing. It comes down to that tired theme - A.I. is out to get us.

I say we call in Major Kusanagi to take Ava out. ;)

This is your cyborg brain on anime... any questions?

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Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)

Introduction:

Color me shocked when I saw that this movie came out ten years ago. In some ways anime has evolved quite a bit since 2004. But it also marks the last time that director Mamoru Oshii helmed a story in the Ghost in the Shell universe. This film was released after the television series Stand Alone Complex aired in 2002. For many the television version was the way a Ghost in the Shell story was supposed to be. But Oshii was going to do what he does best, and that means tell the story with lots of slow pans, long dialogue scenes and amazing visuals.

Summary:

It has been a number of months since the events of the previous Ghost in the Shell film; Section 9 is still operating as an anti-tech-terrorist unit, but without the guiding hand of Major Kusanagi (Atsuko Tanaka). Instead her former partner, Batou (Akio Ohtsuka) finds himself teamed up with Togusa (Kouichi Yamadera), on a case that appears to involve a serial killer. Someone is hacking into the cyber brains of servile androids and causing them to kill their owners. When several of these owners turn out to be prominent politicians and businessmen, a foreign power is suspected behind the plot.

As Batou and Togusa dig deeper into the investigation they find that these servant androids are actually prototype models of illegal sex-roids. Is the company creating them, Locus Solus, covering up a mistake in the new cyber brains, or is something more sinister going on? It all leads to a tangle with a yakusa gang, Batou getting his cyber brain hacked, a house of illusion and a final battle against an army of killer gynoids aboard a huge ship.

Good Points:

• Some beautiful visual sequences and tense action scenes
• Explores themes and ideas beyond the main plot
• Expands on the world created in the first film

Bad Points:

• Moves very slowly with lengthy dialogue sequences
• Lacks the stand out action sequences of the previous film
• Far removed in tone and tempo from the manga and television series

Overall:

Expectations are the key to this movie. If you are expecting a solid follow up to the previous Oshii film, then you’ll be fine with this movie. Just know that it moves much slower and spends more time philosophizing about existence then ever before. Action hounds will be disappointed, with the exception of one scene. But animation fans will have a visual feast, as Oshii creates vivid and memorable settings and sequences that will stay in your mind long after you’ve seen the film.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals: 5

Sound: 5

Acting: 4

Script: 3

Music: 4

Direction: 3

Entertainment: 3

Total:  4

In Depth Review

A killer doll, or a doll made killer?

This movie is a tough one to review. Much like Ghost in the Shell, it is very serious, very cold and often more concerned with theme and atmosphere at the expense of plot and characters. But that is what makes the film stand apart from much of the other science fiction films and anime of the same era. Compared to something like The Matrix and its sequels (heavily influenced by the original Ghost in the Shell), Innocence feels more like an art film than anything else.

But to be very honest here, Mamoru Oshii takes all the elements that seem to annoy critics of his films and indulges in them endlessly in this film. I don’t like to use the term self-indulgent, but in many ways Innocence feels exactly that. You get the feeling that Oshii is more concerned with cramming as many quotes from literary sources into his film as possible. Or including as many scenes with a basset hound as possible. Or having as many long slow dialogue scenes as possible. It feels excessive. But for all that, it is part of what makes an Oshii film an Oshii film. I don’t whine about David Lynch showing another scene of red curtains blowing in the wind, or a blonde with ruby red lips exhaling smoke in extreme close up. That’s just what he does.

Batou is our hard boiled hero.

Oshii builds this film off of the world he created in Ghost in the Shell, but there are a few changes. First off, it feels more like a noire film than science fiction. Batou becomes our gruff detective out to solve the mysterious crime. There are plenty of scenes where Batou moves in and out of shadows. The city (still appearing to be Hong Kong) is a dirty dangerous place, and in many ways feels more oppressive and grim than in the previous film. Adding to this feel are the cars roving the street, looking like they could have rolled out of Chinatown or Double Indemnity. Of course inside they have full-blown computer systems, but on the outside they look like 1940s cruisers.

The other major change is the color palette. It is based on yellows, golds and oranges. This gives the movie a very unique look, a warm feel at odds with the coldness of the characters and the direction. Darker scenes end up a murky wash of yellows and browns. But later in the film, we a dazzling array of gold, copper and brilliant bronze reflections as Batou and Togusa explore the estate of a hacker who may have already penetrated their cyber brains. The contrast between the visual warmth of Innocence and the cool world of Ghost in the Shell makes for a striking and interesting contrast. It explains why Oshii felt the need to go back to his older film and change the hues more toward that warmer palette (but you can read my thoughts about that little redux over here).

One of many amazingly detailed settings.

Even with the changes to the style, the detail, depth and scope of the film are impressive. The backgrounds and settings are filled with all kinds of little elements and intricacies. At the time it pushed animation detail to an amazing level, one I have rarely seen topped. While the film does take its sweet time doing anything, it does slow down to allow us to really drink in these visuals.

Innocence has a few action scenes in it. The most impressive is when Batou takes on a whole building full of gun touting gangsters. The action is fluid and a nice mix of angles and perspectives. The finale scene also focuses on Batou as he raids a floating gynoid factory as all the defenses are armed. This includes the androids themselves: dolls with the ability to smash a man’s head into pulp. The scene jumps from Batou’s perspective, and his cyber vision feeding him critical information, to amazingly animated combat. But none of these scenes are as exciting as the highlights from the previous film.

Sound effects work is excellent in this film, and it should be considering they got Skywalker Sound to give them a hand. It really immerses you in the world. The quieter scenes work great, especially the scenes inside the mansion of illusion. But the action scenes are a blast, with gunfire seeming to rain all around.

Batou and his guardian angel battle the dolls.

Composer Kenji Kawai returns to work with Oshii again. Innocence is a natural extension of the musical sound he used in the previous film. It is moody and atmospheric, with no real themes or melody. Percussion and simple strings are used to create tension pieces or pulsing moments. The stand-out pieces are the vocals, and once again Kawai uses ancient Japanese singing style and lyrics to create an audio contrast with the high tech world. The new theme song is actually a revision of the previous film’s with slightly altered lyrics and melody. Kawai also worked on a couple of torch songs that play in the film and fit the overall noire feel. It’s an interesting and eclectic mix, one that will rub some viewers the wrong way. But I think Kawai’s score and songs actually help make these films stand out from the crowd.

The DVD I have of this film is actually in Japanese only, so I have to judge the voice acting as best as I can. It is the same cast reprising their roles, and they do a fine job with them. Especially given the fact that they have many long dialogue scenes to work through.

The journey to the mansion is a visual treat.

The script for Innocence is actually based on one of the manga stories from the original run of Ghost in the Shell written and drawn by Masamune Shirow. Unlike the previous film, which combined several of Shirow’s stories into one, this film uses the single story as the focal point. Oshii penned the script himself and keeps a few key moments from the original manga intact. An example is when Togusa nearly gets killed and says “All I could see was my wife and my daughter.” To which Batou replies, “That wasn’t your wife or daughter, they were angels of death”.

And speaking of quotes, Oshii decided that Shirow’s original dialogue just didn’t include enough literary quotes. So he grabbed Bartletts and started highlighting. The result is a film filled with characters quoting Milton, Confucius and ancient proverbs. It becomes a bit comical at times, trying to imagine a world where everyone has extensive knowledge of these texts. The quotes do all end up working with the themes of the film, so I can’t fault the selection, but I do end up wondering if Oshii is trying to impress us with these lines, or if he figured that everything he wanted to say had already been said, so why rephrase it. It’s an interesting choice, and once that ends up distracting me as the film continues.

The mansion is filled with reflective and metallic
surfaces.

Ghost in the Shell was concerned with the nature of life. What do we consider “alive” and to that point, what do we consider “human”. Was Kusanagi, a woman who was pretty much completely synthetic except for her brain a human? And was project 2501, a program the gained sentience and seeking to reproduce also “human”? Innocence goes a step further, asking if something that we don’t even consider animate capable of having a soul? This is an idea that seems very strange to Western thought, but is something that is very much part of Japanese culture and ancient Shinto beliefs.

As the investigation continues, Batou and Togusa discover that the killer androids all end up destroying their cyber brains. But one message is clearly found, the single phrase: “Help me.” This puzzle causes them to wonder who is asking for help, the killer, the victims, or is it somehow coming from these “dolls”, who are being mass produced to serve humans as slaves and sex toys. How far does making something look human go toward giving it a soul? Can a doll be alive?

The blood of the victim obscures Batou's view.

The two men are given multiple answers to the question as the film continues. A coroner tells them that dead human flesh and “dead” mechanical body parts are very similar. They meet a cyber hacker who has completely abandoned his flesh and lives only in his machines and false bodies. And then there is the Major, a fusion of a woman and a cybernetic program, alive on the internet, but physically dead. Kusanagi is literally a ghost in Innocence, mentioned often, and obviously mourned by her companions. But she is still listed as “missing” by Section 9, and Batou talks about her like she is still alive. When he does eventually run into her, she is called a “guardian angel”, a being transcended and alive, but nothing like the physical characters in the film.

There is another subtheme about perception. This is something Oshii has been exploring since his early days with Urasei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer. In this film, there are countless shots of eyes, POV shots and strange shots with fisheye lens effects. You have many scenes of characters looking and being looked at. And most disturbing are the scenes of the lifeless eyes of the “dolls” staring at us. These scenes build a visual motif asking us how do we perceive life. Is it simple enough to trust our eyes to tell us when something is alive?

Hope you like hound dogs, because this movie is
full fo them.

Oshii makes a point in Innocence to say this is not the case. Many times in the film are we presented with false images. Batou has his brain hacked into, and nearly kills several innocent people because he believes he is under attack. We see most of this scene from his point of view, a flawed one. Later in the film it is Togusa who is hacked, and we see a sequence in the mansion of illusion play out three different ways, because Togusa cannot distinguish reality from the program sent to his mind. If humans are so easily fooled by these tricks (including the viewer of the film, who is along for the Groundhog Day-esque antics), can these humans be certain that what they view as “alive” is truly alive.

The mystery is eventually solved, with the killer being exposed and the murder spree halted. But Batou wonders about all the “dolls” that were forced to act in such a horrible manner. What did they feel? Could they feel at all? How many victims were in this crime?

The bizarre fisheye lens forces our perspective on
the scene, and the dead eyed hacker's words.

The hacker without flesh says that the world only contains a single type of perfect life form – animals who live in the present and know only what they experience at that time. They don’t have human memories or desires or corruption. They aren’t helpless like dolls. The movie ends with Batou holding his dog and looking at a child’s doll. It’s blue eyes eerily mirroring the eyes of the killer gynoids.

So yes, even the scenes with the basset hound managed to merge with the theme that Oshii is exploring in innocence. As we watch Batou and his dog stare into the eyes of the doll, we are left wondering if there is a ghost in that shell.

What the doll sees.

When it comes down to it, I find it hard not to compare Ghost in the Shell with Innocence. I guess it is inevitable that you do that with sequels. According to Oshii, he wanted to Innocence to stand on its own, and I’m not sure it can. The depth of the themes require you to understand the Major and her story from the first film. She plays a huge role in the finale, and if you don’t know anything about her, you’d be lost. So, I think this film is tied to the previous one, and tightly in many ways.

Innocence feels like an extension of theme and plot from the first film. But it also feels a bit redundant thematically. It explores and restates much of what Oshii covered in the first film, but with longer dialogue scenes, and a slower pace. Yes, it is a gorgeous film, and the eye candy alone makes it worth seeking out. But when it was over, I realized why I hadn’t revisited it in nearly ten years. Ghost in the Shell covered this, and did it exceptionally well. Innocence plays like a coda, crafted to suit the creator more than the viewer. It is an interesting film, but not a necessary one. 

And now a selection of various shots of the staring dolls, just to haunt your dreams and retard your sleep.

Doll: Evidence in the morgue

Dolls: Puppets watching Togusa

Doll: Sacrificial burning during a celebration

Dolls: They approach in legion

Doll: Broken and spattered in still warm blood.

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Introduction:

When this film came out in 1995 there was a strong belief that it would be the game changer for Japanese animation in North America. The film was going to generate word of mouth and end up a smash hit. Folks would be lining up to see it and anime would be lifted from the stigma of being ultraviolent almost porn for adults. Well it didn’t quite turn out that way. It would take a few more years and a little show called Pokemon to do that. Instead, Ghost in the Shell became a cult favorite for film buffs, and an excellent science fiction film that anime fans loved diving into.

Summary:

In the near future Major Motoko Kusanagi (Mimi Woods) is in charge of a Special Forces unit that fights cybernetic terrorists. To deal with this technological threat, her team is comprised of heavy artillery, cutting edge technology and even full cyborg bodies. They finds themselves up against a very dangerous criminal who calls himself the Puppet Master (Abe Lasser).

The Puppet Master can hack into people’s brains and use them as pawns to achieve his ends. Kusanagi’s team does their best to track down the real criminal, but keep running into puppets and dead ends. When a break in the case occurs, clues point to another government agency possibly at work behind the puppet master. Kusanagi will have to use all her skills to determine the identity of The Ghost in the Shell.

Good Points:

• A thought provoking science fiction story
• Impressive visuals in both the action scenes and quiet moments
• Never plays down to the audience

Bad Points:

• Can get a touch over-philosophical
• Moves at a very slow pace
• A combination of violence and nudity (but no sex) will alienate some viewers 

Overall:

Any fans of thinking science fiction films need to see Ghost in the Shell. A single viewing is enough to get the story and basic ideas down, but the film rewards multiple viewings with its depth of visuals and atmosphere. Those looking for lots of action will be disappointed. But the film is certainly a landmark for animation in the 1990s and inspired many anime series and films like The Matrix.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals: 5

Sound: 5

Acting: 3

Script: 4

Music: 4

Direction: 5

Entertainment: 5

Total:  5

In Depth Review

Major Kusanagi about to jump into action.

I find Ghost in the Shell to be difficult to write about. The film has so much going on in it. To really do it justice and dive deeply into the imagery, themes and story would require more time than I have and more patience than most readers want to give. Besides, it’s much better if you watch the film yourself and make up your own mind about the film.

I’ll touch on the key points on why this film remains on my top ten science fiction film list.

There are two main contributors to the film. Masamune Shirow created the original graphic novel that this movie is based on. Then you have Mamoru Oshii, the director who has a very unique visual style and sense of pacing. In the end you get a combination of Shirow’s world though Oshii’s eyes. The result works surprisingly well. Shirow’s wacky sense of humor is toned down but Oshii took key elements from the graphic novel and used them for the main plot of the film. This makes the film version of Ghost in the Shell very different from the original manga and the television series that came afterward.

Was the puppet captured or is this the master?

Oshii’s films all tend to be deliberately paced, allowing the viewer to really delve into the atmosphere of the worlds he creates. The film is filled with long shots, methodical pans, slow zooms and entire sequences without dialogue. Beyond showing off the animation, these scenes also give the viewers a better sense of the setting, and the mood of the characters.

This contrasts with the action scenes in Ghost in the Shell where Oshii keeps things moving. There are three set pieces in the film. You have the opening sequence with the assassination of a diplomat that literally explodes in several different ways. The next sequence involves the chasing a hacker who uses armor piercing rounds and has camouflage that renders him invisible. There’s some good tension building here as the hacker attempts to elude his pursuers. The final sequence involves Major Kusanagi attempting to stop a cyborg tank with minimal weapons and no back up.

Each scene combines fast action with long takes and slow pans. Creating a disconnect that actual makes the tension work well. Kusanagi’s battle against the tank is intense. It becomes apparent that she has almost no chance of surviving. There are moments when the screen seems to remain static as the tank waits for her next attack and all he we hear is the rain falling and the atmospheric musical score.

Water and grime in the futuristic cityscape

In 1995 Ghost in the Shell was at state of the art for animation. Computers were just beginning to make their presence felt. Many of the displays and computer interfaces in the film were created by computer graphics. On the other hand you get some amazing hand drawn backgrounds, with the unnamed Asian city (some folks have decided it is Hong Kong) coming to life before you eyes. It’s a dirty city that always seems to have some kind of moisture flowing around it. One of my favorite scenes is the mid-film montage featuring Kusanagi on a boat trip down a canal and watching the activity around her. The detail here is amazing and does so much to create a melancholy, vaguely oppressive feel to the city. It’s cool greens and blues feeling almost alienating.

Water imagery is abundant in the film. The opening scene features windows that appear to be a giant aquarium. The opening credits show the creation of a cyborg with the body being created while immersed in fluid. Following scenes feature rainfall, sanding puddles, not to mention scenes occurring on boats. As I mentioned it creates a melancholy feel to the film, but there’s also a thematic idea here. The term “flow of information” is used several times in the film. The constant motion of the water, and its ever-present state mirror the idea of information surrounding us and flowing between us. Or maybe there is other symbolism here that I’m not aware of.

Kusanagi reflects literally and figuratively

Finally a note about the character design, Oshii opted for a more realistic look to all the characters. It’s easy to see Shirow’s influence on the looks, but here the large eyes, small mouth look has been greatly modified to create much more realistic characters. This actually adds to the impact of the story dealing with humans and beings that are nearly all machine but with (supposedly) human brains inside them.  You don’t usually see this type of design outside of horror anime, but for some, the final message of this film may be horrifying.

Sound work in Ghost in the Shell is solid and immersive as well. Most of what you hear is standard city noise, rainfall and the hum of computers. Actions scenes us a solid variety of sounds for the gunfire, explosions and cyborg hand to hand combat. It doesn’t stand out as anything too innovative, but it creates a familiar world, just a short jog into the our future

The cyborg tank rages against the machine

Prolific anime composer Kenji Kawai wrote the score. For the most part it is an atmospheric affair, focused on creating and sustaining a mood. There are no themes, and at times it seems to simply be the same set of notes repeating in an endless pattern. However, it is very effective in the film, adding to the scenes by creating a pulse behind them, or touching on the revelations with a well placed choir.

In addition there is a song used three times in the film. I blogged a little about it here. It’s very unique in style and has been known to annoy the hell out of some viewers. But to me it adds to the character of the film. It also changes slightly each time it is used, reaching its most complete form in the end credits.

Bateau shares beer and philosophy with Kusanagi

Unfortunately one of the weakest elements is the English voice acting. You get some solid performances, especially by Richard George as Bateau and William Frederick as Aramaki. But there’s a few folks who are too over the top, and pull you out of the film. Unfortunately the key performance of Kusanagi by Mimi Woods is just plain off. I’m not sure what they were going for, but Woods keeps her performance as Kusanagi very cold. Perhaps this was an attempt to mirror the Japanese voice actress. However she sounds more wooden and uncomfortable than anything else. Woods is a capable voice actress and did a great job in El Hazard as the fire priestess Shayla Shayla. I just think the part wasn’t a good fit for her and she ends up distracting instead of pulling you into the story. For that reason, I recommend seeing the film in Japanese as well as English to get the full impact.

The script is also slightly different between the two versions. Viewing the film in English first will allow a viewer who isn’t fluent in Japanese to absorb the visuals as well as the story. But the translation is different enough from the subtitled version to cause some viewers concern about which is the closest to the original version. The Japanese version seems a bit more oblique in some ways, and yet feels truer to the spirit of the film. The English version seems like it was made to cater to a more action movie oriented crowd. It is fair to say that the dialogue in both versions contains sequences that seem out of place, but will end up having an impact later in the story. One of my favorite examples is a conversation between Kusanagi and one of her team members. They talk about how cyborgs are limited by their artificial bodies. They can act according to the peramiters set by the manufacturers. A pure human is not limited in that way, and provides a necessary variable in the team, keeping the whole unit effective and unpredictable. This mirrors a conversation between the Puppet Master and Kusanagi at the end of the film.

The Major melts into the world around her

It’s elements like that that make Oshii’s direction of the film most impressive. The film is layered in so many different ways. It rewards repeat viewings as well as reflection and discussion on what you’ve seen and understood. This isn’t to say that Ghost in the Shell is overly complex or difficult to follow. It is actually a pretty straightforward story. But the more you put into watching it the more you get out of it. It’s one of the reasons I return to it so frequently, and put it not only in the top tier of anime along with Neon Genesis Evangelion, Spirited Away and Millennium Actress, but also in my favorite science fiction films.  The film was eventually followed by a sequel Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence and a television series. But for me this movie is one of the may be the most effective incarnation of the story.  

Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2008)

Everything you see here is computer generated.

At some point director Mamoru Oshii decided to revisit his 1995 film and make some changes. Now I know what you’re thinking. He was going to go all George Lucas on the films and fill them needless additions and re-edit the film to suit some kind of master vision.

Well the answer is yes and no.

For the most part Ghost in the Shell 2.0 is the same film as the 1995 version. It flows the same way, has all the same scenes, tells the same story and explores the same themes. And yet the experience is slightly different in its updated version.

Two big changes were made. One was the addition of computer-generated sequences replacing two traditionally animated sequences. All the shots, angles, and imagery are exactly the same. The CG additions also spread to the computer screen and virtual reality interfaces used in the film. These have been replaced by more dynamic visuals, ones that look closer to the images used in the follow up film Innocence.

I don’t mind the updates to the computer screens and VR interfaces. What looked high tech in 1995 does look a bit simplistic and dated now. But that is always a problem with any science fiction film that focuses on technology. It doesn’t hurt the story of flow, so it’s just a simple change.

Now the replacement of sequences with CG counterparts is a bit tougher to reconcile. I believe this was done for two reasons. They wanted to make the cityscape shots and vehicle scenes look more realistic with computer images. And second, they figured they might was well throw in a CG Kusanagi in there for funsies.

A new life form looks upon a Tang colored world.

But the result is an odd disconnect between this full CG version of Kusanagi in two scenes to the hand drawn version in the rest of the film. It leaves the viewer wondering what happened, instead of pulling the viewer into the story and the world. The film’s chilly style can be a turnoff for some viewers, but this strangeness might be the nail in the coffin for some viewers, who will end up focusing on the reasons behind the switch in animation styles, instead of the story and themes.

The other change is something that seems small, but actually affects the tone of the film. The 1995 film used lots of blues, dark greens and purples to create a cool color pallet. In the update, oranges and yellows have replaces nearly all the light and computer screens in the film. I think this was to match the look closer to Innocence. Unfortunately this adds a warmth to the film that feels out of place. The coolness of the overtly technological world fits this vision better. It’s not a deal breaker, but it feels wrong especially when you’ve seen the 1995 version first.

I suggest starting with the original cut from 1995. Check out the 2.0 upgrade if you’re curious. 

Anime Juke Box - Ghost City - Ghost in the Shell

When it comes to Ghost in the Shell, the score by Kenji Kawai is mostly atmospheric, atonal material. It does a great job creating mood in the film, but isn't something you sit back and enjoy at home. 

However, the vocal piece used three times in the film is one of the most memorable tracks of anime music of the 1990s. This song comes in three different lengths, with slight variations of tempo, and vocal accompaniment. Each time it is used, we are allowed to focus on images and the music without dialogue: opening credits, mid-movie montage and end credits. It is performed in an archaic Japanese style that contrasts vividly with high tech images on screen - and yet it reaches to the core of the ancient question. Who am I?

Here is the version used during the mid-film montage, called "Ghost City".