Atsuko Tanaka

Akio Otsuka

Iemasa Kayumi

Koichi Yamadera

Yutaka Nakano

Tamio Ohki

Tessyo Genda

Naruki Masahisa

Masato Yamanouchi

Shinji Ogawa

Mitsuru Miyamoto

Kazuhiro Yamaji

Shigeru Chiba

Hiroshi Yanaka

Ginzo Matsuo

Takashi Matsuyama

Sanryo Odaka

Masamichi Sato

Atsuko Hayashida

Yuji Ueda

Toshiki Kameyama

Atsushi Goto

Maaya Sakamoto

Mitsuo Iso

Hisao Shirai

Mitsuhisa Ishikawa

Mamoru Oshii

Kazunori Ito

Ken Iyadomi

Shuichi Kakesu

Hisashi Eguchi

Kouji Komurakata

Masahiro Ando

Andy Frain

Yuichi Tanaka

Manabu Tanzawa

Hideki Hamasu

Yoshiyuki Ito

Mamoru Sasaki

Kouichi Arai

Hiroyoshi Ôkawa

Masatsugu Arakawa

Miyako Yatsu

Takashi Hashimoto

Yasuhiro Oshima

Kazunobu Hoshi

Toshiyuki Inoue

Tetsuhito Saito

Kumiko Kawana

Yasushi Muraki

Toyoaki Emura

Masayuki Yoshihara

Yasushi Sukeof

Ken Matsumoto

Teruo Miyahara

Hiroshi Yamazaki

Hiromasa Ogura

Makiko Kojima

Shigeru Watanabe

Makoto Ibuki

Mutsu Murakami

Takashi Watabe

Shoji Kawamori

Kenji Kawai

Atsushi Takeuchi

Kazuhiro Wakabayashi

Hiroyuki Okiura

Seichi Tanaka

Hiroaki Hirabayashi

Motoaki Ikegami

Hirotsugu Kawasaki

Tensai Okamura

Mizuho Nishikubo

Kazutoshi Sato

Tsuyoshi Imai

Shuji Inoue

Ayako Koike

Takashi Mogi

Teruhisa Tajima

Ryuji Mitsumoto

Kazuchika Kise

Haruo Mizuno

Akira Yoda

Masatoshi Yokomizo

Shigeyuki Yamamori

Yayoi Otake

Yasumitsu Suetake

Akiharu Ishii

Yoji Takeshige

Shirow Masamune

Ghost in the Shell Collection

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Science Fiction

GHOST IN THE SHELL

Bandai Visual

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Kodansha

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United Kingdom

日本語

Ghost in the Shell

android

man vs machine

artificial intelligence (a.i.)

computer virus

cyborg

dystopia

implantat

fugitive

female protagonist

cyberpunk

based on manga

adult animation

tech noir

anime

In the 1990s, Ray Kurzweil wrote about his "Singularity" theory - the future when man and computer are wholly merged. His predictions of AI are perhaps only now coming to fruit. This 1995 movie is the original Ghost In The Shell, which I finally watched. Mamoru Oshii's masterpiece, based on a manga by Shirow Masamune, is not only consistent with Singularity theory, but also remarkably prescient. This is the first film to broach the tough question of "what does it mean to be conscious?" in the context of AI (Artificial Intelligence).

CinemaSerf

It's a society where humanity has been largely subsumed into a digital world; where cyborgs are a norm and where people are now, essentially, dependant on their own technology for just about all aspects of their survival. In this virtual environment, the "Puppet Master" is the kingpin of the criminal world. It knows that by accessing the minds of those connected to the internet, it can obtain lots of juicy information to facilitate a spree of lucrative and threatening crime. Our very thoughts and dreams are now susceptible - and so the government creates "Section 9". Their job is to reverse-engineer some of these hacks and to try and trace the mastermind before it becomes unstoppable. What now ensues is not the finest example of animation you will ever see - indeed some of the artistry is disappointingly basic and linear. What makes this work is a sold story that questions the very soul of what it is to be an human being. It probes what makes us, well, us... Our identity, our personality - all are vulnerable to manipulation here by something adept at capitalising on the flaws and failings of each of us. Once these flood gates are open, is it even possible to arrest it as global interconnectivity makes control nigh on impossible. There are emerging elements of apocalypse to the plot - but they serve to illustrate the dangers of walking into convenience eyes open, but not looking - and there's some potent dialogue here about our complicity in our what could potentially be our own downfall. Can we necessarily spot truth from fiction any more? What is real and what is not? It's not your typical animé, but it does get you thinking and is very much worth watching.

Official IMAX Trailer

Mark Kermode reviews Ghost in the Shell (1995) | BFI Player

Ghost in the Shell( 1995)

It found a voice... Now it needs a body.

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A review by badelf

Written by badelf on Sun Mar 26 2023

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