Ghost in the Shell (Spec Sub) [VHS]

Ghost in the Shell (Spec Sub) [VHS]
by Mamoru Oshii

Ghost in the Shell (Spec Sub) [VHS]

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Category: VHS Video
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Product details

Actor: Akio ?tsuka, Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Richard Epcar, Tamio ?ki
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Producer: Andy Frain
Producer: Hiroshi Yamazaki
Producer: Ken Iyadomi
Producer: Ken Matsumoto
Producer: Laurence Guinness
Writer: Kazunori It?
Writer: Masamune Shirow
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language); Japanese (Original Language), Analog; Spanish (Original Language)
Format: Animated, Color, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled
Running Time: 82 minutes
Release Date: 1997-07-29
Publisher: Palm Pictures
Studio: Palm Pictures

VHS Movie Reviews of Ghost in the Shell (Spec Sub) [VHS]

Movie Review: TEN stars for the film itself, but 3 1/2 for this special edition dvd
Summary: 4 Stars

I am not going to review the movie itself here, perhaps I'll post that separately. I am going to comment on the quality of the video and audio.
I am a professional photographer and consider myself an addicted videophile, being quite obsessive with the accurate representaion of film, still photography, digital art, and animation on any kind of home display (theater or pc).
The reason I got this edition of GITS (one of my all-time favorite films) is that the untouched 1996 version included in the new GITS 2.0 blu ray is genuine crap in terms of picture quality, which is to be expected since it's included as an extra on the same disc as the rest of the material, showing lotd of nasty color aberrations on the edges of objects and characters and TONS of noise, artifacting, and flicker. It was sadly not included in a separate disc with a little more room to breathe for higher bitrate nor a multi-channel audio track (although it has a high quality 2 channel PCM track which is great). The only way to get the HD version of the original 1996 GITS in PROPER 1080p AVC MPEG-4 video and a high quality PCM stereo track is by importing the japanese blu ray, and doing that is quite costly, so until I do that, I ordered this special edition DVD for now.
Even considering this is not a blu-ray disc and judging it fairly as one should judge a SD dvd transfer, I am somewhat dissapointed, or rather, QUITE dissapointed by the video quality. The picture is just TOO soft and with an "out of focus" feel to it and it is PLAGUED with digital noise, distracting flickering and artifacting. All these flaws are most definetly not inherent to the film itself, but rather to the transfer, an I can be sure of this since I once owned the single disc dvd edition released in the late 90s, and although that one had more spots and scratches here and there appearing during the film, it did not have the "out of focus" look and exagerated softness this special edition shows. Using an upscaling dvd player surely helps with the situation, but only to a certain degree, and in the case you do not have an upscaling player, making fine adjustments to sharpness can also help, but not that much, since you may define the lines and edges of the cel animation a little more but creating an artificial, forced and akward look to the whole film. I've seen and read comparisons all over the internet and the japanese edition is widely considered a better transfer, it's brighter with a little more detail in the blacks and a sharper overall image, so I believe there is simply no excuse for Bandai/Manga with this american release. I've watched tons of cel animation films on SD DVD and even older (a lot older) films with a proper remaster (Disney, Studio Ghibli) look sharper and more vivid than this.
As for the audio, the Dolby 5.1 EX track is really good, either the english one or the japanese. I obviously prefer the japanese track due to the content and setting of the film itself. In some other cases, when animated films are not set in a particular country or portraying a specific culture, I don't mind listening to a good dub (FF: Advent Children, for example). The dissapointment in the audio department is that the DTS ES tracks (both the english and the japanese) feel very thin and un-powerful. One reviewer even mentioned that there was no actual signal for the .1 subwoofer channel, that it was simply missing, making it an incomplete and flawed "6.0" track, which, if true, its another unexcusable flaw by the people at Bandai/Manga Video.
In conclusion, you may or may not like the new GITS 2.0 (I for one loved it), but If you (like me) also love the original 1996 version of Ghost in the Shell, get this set ONLY if you have a VERY GOOD upscaling dvd player with good video circuitry and processing, or a HTPC with a good video card. As for the audio, I believe the 5.1 EX track will satisfy.
The other option (and the better one) is to import the japanese blu-ray.
The extra documentaries on this set's second disc are really interesting and still amaze me with the technical innovations made back then to create the film and it's hybrid animation techniques, they also offer some fascinating filosofical insight concerning the evolution of digital art and technology and it's fast but difficult race against traditional celluloid filmmaking.
Good luck and let's hope that great cinema like this gets proper visual treatment in the future. Cheers.

Movie Review: Robot cartoon
Summary: 5 Stars

The DVD extras: making of, in japanese with subtitles, loads and loads of text information on various topics related to the feature, the feature trailer, and a rather caffeinated preview of other products from Manga-video.

The DVD has two languages: Japanese with subs being default, but the subs can be removed, or the film played with the english dub.

The film:

The protagonist is a cybernetic denizen of the uncanny valley who is working for the government looking for hackers. These are not the sort of hackers that invade company home-pages and replace them with random images, and turn out to be overweight 14 year old kids when they are caught. These have a much cooler evil scheme.

The story goes about in the future, which happens to be rusty and used up, but unlike so many live action cyberpunk films the sun does shine in this one. Which is how we can see the rust. Then the sun goes down sowe can see the neon. Can't have cyberpunk without neon. Or at the very least a creepy guy called Neo.

Creepy things happen, stuff blows up, there is spectacle.

In the oriental style, the film states its message and ends. That makes the film feel cut off at the end, but it actually said what it came to say, and didn't bother going into fireworks or other showmanship to do it. It is more of an idea movie than an action movie - on the bright side it is an amusing idea you may have considered yourself or seen it on Star Trek. In which case this can add something new, or just a different point of view. Afterwards you could watch the series. They are good, if different in many ways.

Movie Review: Same merits and flaws as 'Akira'
Summary: 3 Stars

I saw this film around the same time as 'Akira', and was struck by the similarity between the two. 'Ghost In The Shell' has a similar sci-fi/cyberpunk atmosphere, and features outstanding animation and artistic quality. But there is also the same sense of style overcoming substance, and the whole experience left me feeling a bit flat.

First off, the animation: it was some of the best of its time, with a seamless integration of hand-drawn and CG elements. The anime really succeeds at bringing to life this futuristic, AI-dominated world. Just a pity it couldn't make a story to go with it.

Like 'Akira', 'Ghost In The Shell' is a compression of a very long manga, and again it feels too rushed and sketchy to satisfy. Apparently the story was taken from the very first and very last part of the manga, meaning the film has a first and third act but not a second. It really does feel as if the movie jumps straight from the set-up to the conclusion without much substance in between. At under 90 minutes, this film simply cannot do justice to its very complex, detailed story.

In a similar vein, the characters are given little room for development; they're all cold, ruthless, determined types, and the heavy focus on the Major means the remaining members of Section 9 are given cameo roles at best. Why does the Major look so different from her manga appearance? And all that nudity is just distracting.....yes, we GOT the point the first time....they overdid that concept to the point of it being gratuitous.

It's probably better to view the various television series first, or even better, to read the manga. Both of these do a much better job of fleshing out the story, environment and characters of this world. The film makes far more sense as an extension or conclusion to these series than as a stand-alone piece.

Movie Review: Truly Visionary
Summary: 5 Stars

This is the Movie that got me to pay serious attention to Anime. Although the voice acting, especially of the major sounds a little wooden sometimes, the movie is truly stunning.
As with many of these movies the thought and detail that goes into the cyborgs, robot think tanks etc is simply amazing.
Highly recommended, this one I would say you should own and not just rent.

The TV anime series Ghost in the Shell SAC is also extremely good :-)

Movie Review: such a surreal, and stunning animation.
Summary: 5 Stars

Such Beautiful animation, and a great story as well, one of the best Animes out there that I have seen so far.

I would like to see more from the director..or any of the animators, I will have to check out the IMDB.

Write your own review

Summary of Ghost in the Shell (Spec Sub) [VHS]

The skillful blending of drawn animation and computer-generated imagery excited anime fans when this science fiction mystery was released in 1995: many enthusiasts believe Ghost suggests what the future of anime will be, at least in the short term. The film is set in the not-too-distant future, when an unnamed government uses lifelike cyborgs or "enhanced" humans for undercover work. One of the key cyborgs is The Major, Motoko Kusanagi, who resembles a cross between The Terminator and a Playboy centerfold. She finds herself caught up in a tangled web of espionage and counterespionage as she searches for the mysterious superhacker known as "The Puppet Master."

Mamoru Oshii directs with a staccato rhythm, alternating sequences of rapid-fire action (car chases, gun battles, explosions) with static dialogue scenes that allow the characters to sort out the vaguely mystical and rather convoluted plot. Kusanagi's final quote from I Corinthians suggests that electronic evolution may compliment and eventually supplant organic evolution. The minor nudity, profanity, and considerable violence would earn Ghost in the Shell at least a PG rating. --Charles Solomon

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