Subject: REVIEW: GHOST IN THE SHELL (1996)

From: [email-masked] (Jeff Williamson)
Date: 19 Apr 1996 20:09:47 GMT

GHOST IN THE SHELL
                       A film review by Jeff Williamson
                        Copyright 1996 Jeff Williamson

I've been a backer of anime on the big screen as far back as AKIRA
(1989).  To me, there's an incredible difference between watching a
videotape or laserdisc on a small screen in your living room and
sitting in a darkened theater, staring up at a gigantic movie screen.

GHOST IN THE SHELL marks the first occasion on which I have seen anime
on the big screen *first*; that is to say, before seeing it in a home
video form.  Is it worth it?  Indeed.

Over a year ago, I had occasion to see a remarkable fan-subtitle of the
PATLABOR 2 movie.  It was my first conscious exposure to Mamoru Oshii's
work (I still haven't seen ANGEL'S EGG), though I've since realized I
have seen other Oshii films.  PATLABOR 2 may be the single best anime
movie I have ever seen; one which is fully deserving of a big-screen
treatment in America.  It is a profound political, philosophical, and
psychological statement.  For similar reasons, GHOST IN THE SHELL is
worth seeing.

Initial reviews had me blase about seeing the film; some folk were
apparently not too impressed.  "Too talky," I heard.  "The character
designs aren't anything like Shirow's."  "The story is nothing like the
manga."  All of these criticisms are true to one degree or another, but
whether they detract from or enhance the viewing experience is up to
the individual.

GITS is a very Oshii-esque film.  Replete with meaningful monologues
and multi-layered symbolism, it weaves subtle imagery to expound upon
Darwinian evolution, religion, the nature of life and sentience, and
man's role in relation to technology.  Oshii has taken Shirow's heavy
cyberpunk backdrop and melded it into a philosophical film which owes
more than a little nod to Ridley Scott's BLADE RUNNER.  Gone are most
of the one-liner interplays between the characters; instead, they make
intense intellectual speeches.  The dense city design is combined with
fascinating pieces such as the stitches from a tank's cannon ripping
up a mural which represents the evolutionary hierarchy...and stopping
just short of "HOMINIS" at the top of the chart.

Technically, the film is also excellent.  Kenji Kawai's haunting score
overlays the opening credits and an interior montage, recalling moments
in AKIRA.  The English voice actors deserve a great deal of credit for
what is one of the five best anime dubs I've seen.  The animation is
nothing short of superb.

The film has its flaws.  In an early scene, Kusanagi's speech to Togusa
on technology seems somewhat flat, or perhaps forced.  The points Oshii
has his characters make act as slower bridges between the action
sequences.  But each are entertaining to watch in their own right.

Some notable points:

o  The English voice of the Puppetmaster is amazing.  It gave me chills.

o  Bateau gets the best humorous lines.

o  Kusanagi's voice is potentially the weakest, although I found myself
   wondering if the flat delivery didn't fit the cyborg character better.

This is another triumph of Japanese animated cinema.

OVERALL GRADE:  A-

-- 
Jeff Williamson *** Lightfall Integrated Media *** Chicago, IL
E-mail: [email-masked]  *@_@*  http://www.mcs.net/~docangst/3w/ac/