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GHOST IN THE SHELL

“It Found A Voice… Now It Needs A Body.”

THE YEAR: 1995

THE DIRECTOR: Mamoru Oshii

THE WRITER: Kazunori Ito (screenplay), Masamune Shirow (manga)

THE CAST: Atsuko, Tanaka, Akio Otsuka, Koichi Yamadera

THE INTRO:

The first anime film to hit theatre screens worldwide on the same day. A landmark piece of science fiction that has influenced numerous Hollywood directors. Based on a comic series by manga royalty, Masamune Shirow. But despite the huge splash that it made, and the influence it continues to have, how much does it owe to its source material? And how well does it hold up today?

So let’s plug in and hit the rewind button…

THE TRAILER:



THE BREAKDOWN:

We’ve talked a few times now on The Rewind about how not being true to something’s source material can negatively impact a film. It is something that seems to be true so often that it is almost a rule. But as they say, there is an exception to every rule. So is Ghost in the Shell one of those exceptions?

For casual fans of the film, the original manga series by legend Masamune Shirow is actually quite, well, silly. For as much as it does deal with many of the same deep themes of identity and defining life, it is oft times very… silly. The readers sees almost every anime/manga trope and trademark that is so often spoofed over here in western culture. The teardrops. The large-mouthed, chibi freakouts. All while telling an inherently deep story.

When director Mamoru Oshii developed the film, the humor was the first thing stripped away. And I mean gone. I think there is one whole joke left in the theatrical movie. The remaining film comes close to suffering from it because what is left can sometimes read as being slow or dry, even bleak. Okay, it possibly comes across a little pretentious at times too, especially in retrospect. However, it made up for this by being fascinating both in its visuals and in depth of story. Either way, Ghost in the Shell left a mark in a fairly big way, connecting with science fiction fans who weren’t normally into anime.

Would it have had the same success if it had stayed truer to Shirow’s original work? At the risk of turning this into a giant “What If?” section prematurely, I think its a fair question. The film is very much Oshii’s work, not Shirow’s. However Shirow did have a hand in the development of the Ghost in the Shell television series Stand Alone Complex, which was quite successful in its own right. And that series, while still being a fair amount more serious than its original manga, did retain some humor and more so, a sense of fun.

But as successful and well-received as Stand Alone Complex may have been, it didn’t break through barriers and crossover the way that the movie did. So, I leave it to you the reader to make of that what you will.

The next question is: Does the landmark movie hold up still after nineteen years? Again, that depends on what angle you are looking at it from. In terms of the story, yes. Without question. As I had stated, it can still read a little slow and pretentious, but it is challenging in all of the best ways. The themes are difficult and multi-faceted. It presents (hopefully somewhat like this column) questions, provides context for all sides of an argument and allows the viewer to draw their own conclusions. Nothing is spoonfed.

Visually, is a bit of a different story. While the art isn’t weak by any means, its age is starting to show. Ghost in the Shell was ahead of the curve when it was made, but 2D animation has made a number of advancements since then. This is even truer in the movie’s 3D CGI shots. It can dampen the impact of the film on a modern audience who are used to a bit flashier of a presentation.

That has ironically led to the George Lucas Special Edition-esque treatment that Ghost in the Shell received in 2008 prior to its North American Blu-Ray release (re-titled confusingly as Ghost in the Shell 2.0). The original cel animation was remastered and re-colored, the sound was re-recorded and remixed and the 3D elements were re-done with current high definition tecniques. In all honesty, all of those aspects do look and sound incredible. It was definitely a needed upgrade. The North American Blu-Rays have the original DVD version of the film as a bonus feature and it is a stark difference.

Unfortunately, I didn’t drop the George Lucas bomb for nothing. That wasn’t the only change. Some of the film’s key visual moments, two or three of the most iconic scenes of the movie weren’t just enhanced or remastered. They were outright remade from scratch in full 3D animation. 3D animation that was nearly out of date by the time the disc was released. It plays like a passable video game cutscene, and when intercut with the original 2D animation (as it is in the opening scene), it sticks out like the sorest of thumbs.

So as a viewer, we are left with a flawed remaster or a grungy original. Enjoy your dilemma.

THE IMPACT:

For almost a whole generation of anime fans, this was their first. Not since Akira before it had there been such a commercially available introduction to what anime had to offer an audience, and there was a huge boom in the industry to follow. And Ghost in the Shell rubbed off big on that generation. People will always immediately point to the Wachowskis and their juggernaut The Matrix as being the biggest thing that Ghost in the Shell influenced, and that is a hard point to argue. However, while it was the biggest, it was far from the only. You couldn’t shake a cyberpunk stick for the past two decades without seeing a nuance of Ghost in the Shell.

THE WHAT-IF?:

A live action Ghost in the Shell has been the topic of discussion since the day the original movie premiered. Believe it or not, this is one of the few cases where I whole-heartedly would lobby for a live action remake. Effects are at the right point to match and exceed the spectacle of the original. Plus with our current leaps in day-to-day use technologies, many of the themes are more relevant than ever. I have said before that anime is sometimes near impossible to translate, but in the case of Ghost in the Shell, it nearly screams for the live action treatment.

THE RECOMMENDATION:

While the film may show its age in a number of respects, it is hailed as a classic for many valid reasons and it is absolutely worth a look. In fact, it is a film that should be mandatory in everyone’s collections.

That said, if you are looking for something a little truer to the books that inspired the film (and something a bit more on the fun side), the two seasons of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex come with high recommendations as well.

THE BIG QUESTION:

Who would you like to see play Major Kusanagi in a live action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell?

Let us know in the comments below!

THE EXTRA:



NEXT WEEK: Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence!

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