Ghost in the Shell
December 19th 2007 00:45
Category: Videos
Creator: Masamune Shirow (Appleseed & Dominion Tank Police).
Director: Mamoru Oshii.
Screenplay by: Kazunori Ito.
Producers: Yoshimasa Mizuo, Ken Matsumoto, Ken Iyadomi & Mitsuhisa Ishikawa (Production I.G).
Starring: Richard Epcar (Bataou), Mimi Woods (Motoko Kusanagi), William Frederick (Aramaki), Christopher Joyce (Togusa), Abe Lasser (The Puppet Master) and Mike Sorich (Ishikawa).
Produced by: 1995 Kodansha in association with Bandai Visual & Manga Entertainment.
Released by: Madman Entertainment.
Running Time: 82 minutes. Rating: M 15 .
This is the movie that spawned the whole Ghost franchise, from a sequel to a televisions series, Stand Alone Complex, that went for two seasons and then finally a movie based on the series Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society. Confused? Don’t be; just continue reading as I talk about this the first incarnation and beginning of the whole Ghost in the Shell saga, in a way what it as if what has resulted from this film in the way of sequels and TV series is mimicking the ultimate aim of the movie’s antagonist; the Puppet Master. When I first saw this film way back when I was really impressed, a couple of months ago I was wandering around the local mall and came across a boxed set of three DVDs labelled Anime Classics. Within the box were three DVDs that were said to have been the inspiration for the Matrix and required viewing for Laurence Fishburne in preparation for the filming of that movie. It was certainly a catchy spiel but I have to admit the fact that Ghost was amongst the selection and the price were the major reasons for me purchasing this box set.
Interestingly Ghost in the Shell along with Masamune Shirow’s other works, Appleseed and Dominion Tank Police are all set in the same world just at different time periods within that world’s history. Judging by that aspect Ghost is likely to be at the earliest point in this world’s history; before things start to go pear shaped and collapse into outright global conflict. The story opens in the sprawling cityscape of Newport City circa 2029 AD, an industrial metropolis whose precise geographic location is never specified in the story. Our first glimpse of this place is via a computer diagram showing various traffic flows and the movement of certain vehicles over the airspace of the city, from this informational diagram the action then moves to a shot of the film’s primary protagonist, Major Kusanagi atop a building listening to various transmissions, moving through the data of various conversations until at last she focuses in on one in particular. It seems that a computer programmer, Mr Daita is planning to defect. He is currently involved in talks with a foreign diplomat in a plush hotel room, a hotel that the Major is currently standing atop. The diplomat, Mr Daita and the various security operatives in the room are completely unaware that the game is up until it is far too late.
On the surface it would seem that Ghost is a straight political thriller set in a cyberpunk style context, but it is much more than just that. Like an exquisitely made club sandwich Ghost in the Shell has numerous layers that comprise its story along with various leitmotifs that add a little spice to the makeup. From the scene in the hotel the actions moves swiftly onto a member of the ministry of Foreign Affairs whose brain is being hacked into by an individual known as the Puppet Master. It would initially seem that things have move onto a different track from the initial minutes of the movie, but that it the beauty of the film, this is but one of several facets that are being woven into the tale, the opening moments are laying down the various strands that will slowly be woven into a complete whole. The woman whose ghost is being hacked into is an aide to the minister and is involved in talks with members from the government of the Gavel Republic. It seems that the former deposed head of the Gavel Republic, Colonel Malice has been given diplomatic asylum in Newport City and this has become something of a contentious issue between the authorities and the Gavel Republic. Colonel Malice is suspected of possibly hiring the Puppet Master to have an influence on the talks via the hacking attempt on the aide’s ghost.
So political intrigue, action and mega hackers but these are not all the ingredients, not by a long shot and they are still only part of the story. The nature of self, the definition of sentience and that of humanity itself after all when one is essentially a cyborg with very little flesh and blood can one be defined as being human? This is an issue that the Major grapples with over the course of the film along with the nature of self, of identity. Is she really an individual person who has a definable existence and self or is this simply a construct that is purely defined on the way others, including her fellow Section 9 operatives, treat her? There is a scene where she is standing on a ferry moving along the various canals of Newport City and as she travels she notices various copies of herself, a department store mannequin, a woman in a high class restaurant. The other interesting aspect of this particular scene is is it an actual physical journey or is this some dream that the Major is having? It strays into the realms of post modernism here but it is all part of the greater whole.
Despite her status as a top grade security operative the Major is not simply a mindless automaton who unthinkingly obeys the mandate of her job, and it is this seeking in her character, her desire for some kind of definition and meaning to her existence that gives her depth. If anything it could be said that it is her very act of seeking, of inquiring that makes her a quantifiable individual. Woven into this seeking is the understated love of Bataou for the Major, a romance that even while it is a feature of the relationship between these two characters is very low key, there is a depth of feeling between the two but it certainly isn’t a thing of fireworks and soliloquies of undying love for each other. What’s even stranger is that it is a kind of love that motivates the actions of the film’s antagonist, the Puppet Master.
So along with intrigue, action, mystery, romance and philosophical questions Ghost in the Shell certainly sets a high standard in story telling in addition to its animation, the thermoptic camouflage is a neat piece of animation as is the various scenes of gunfire, explosions and ricochets that are spread throughout. Ghost is a fine movie and definitely does deserve being called an anime classic, released ten years ago it still stands up well, perhaps though this has a lot to do with its plot and action more than animation and effects. After all if your movie is purely relying on gimmickry and glamour then there is a good chance it’ll be a flop, fortunately Ghost in the Shell is a film with substantial depth in story and characters.
Director: Mamoru Oshii.
Screenplay by: Kazunori Ito.
Producers: Yoshimasa Mizuo, Ken Matsumoto, Ken Iyadomi & Mitsuhisa Ishikawa (Production I.G).
Starring: Richard Epcar (Bataou), Mimi Woods (Motoko Kusanagi), William Frederick (Aramaki), Christopher Joyce (Togusa), Abe Lasser (The Puppet Master) and Mike Sorich (Ishikawa).
Produced by: 1995 Kodansha in association with Bandai Visual & Manga Entertainment.
Released by: Madman Entertainment.
Running Time: 82 minutes. Rating: M 15 .
This is the movie that spawned the whole Ghost franchise, from a sequel to a televisions series, Stand Alone Complex, that went for two seasons and then finally a movie based on the series Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society. Confused? Don’t be; just continue reading as I talk about this the first incarnation and beginning of the whole Ghost in the Shell saga, in a way what it as if what has resulted from this film in the way of sequels and TV series is mimicking the ultimate aim of the movie’s antagonist; the Puppet Master. When I first saw this film way back when I was really impressed, a couple of months ago I was wandering around the local mall and came across a boxed set of three DVDs labelled Anime Classics. Within the box were three DVDs that were said to have been the inspiration for the Matrix and required viewing for Laurence Fishburne in preparation for the filming of that movie. It was certainly a catchy spiel but I have to admit the fact that Ghost was amongst the selection and the price were the major reasons for me purchasing this box set.
So political intrigue, action and mega hackers but these are not all the ingredients, not by a long shot and they are still only part of the story. The nature of self, the definition of sentience and that of humanity itself after all when one is essentially a cyborg with very little flesh and blood can one be defined as being human? This is an issue that the Major grapples with over the course of the film along with the nature of self, of identity. Is she really an individual person who has a definable existence and self or is this simply a construct that is purely defined on the way others, including her fellow Section 9 operatives, treat her? There is a scene where she is standing on a ferry moving along the various canals of Newport City and as she travels she notices various copies of herself, a department store mannequin, a woman in a high class restaurant. The other interesting aspect of this particular scene is is it an actual physical journey or is this some dream that the Major is having? It strays into the realms of post modernism here but it is all part of the greater whole.
Despite her status as a top grade security operative the Major is not simply a mindless automaton who unthinkingly obeys the mandate of her job, and it is this seeking in her character, her desire for some kind of definition and meaning to her existence that gives her depth. If anything it could be said that it is her very act of seeking, of inquiring that makes her a quantifiable individual. Woven into this seeking is the understated love of Bataou for the Major, a romance that even while it is a feature of the relationship between these two characters is very low key, there is a depth of feeling between the two but it certainly isn’t a thing of fireworks and soliloquies of undying love for each other. What’s even stranger is that it is a kind of love that motivates the actions of the film’s antagonist, the Puppet Master.
So along with intrigue, action, mystery, romance and philosophical questions Ghost in the Shell certainly sets a high standard in story telling in addition to its animation, the thermoptic camouflage is a neat piece of animation as is the various scenes of gunfire, explosions and ricochets that are spread throughout. Ghost is a fine movie and definitely does deserve being called an anime classic, released ten years ago it still stands up well, perhaps though this has a lot to do with its plot and action more than animation and effects. After all if your movie is purely relying on gimmickry and glamour then there is a good chance it’ll be a flop, fortunately Ghost in the Shell is a film with substantial depth in story and characters.
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