Set in the fictional Newport City, a female cyborg and elite assault team leader, Major Motoko Kusanagi, is sent by the Public Security Section to track down a hacker known as the Puppet Master, who “ghost hacks” other people’s minds and manipulates them. When the security team captures him, a rival government agency also lays claim to the body in which the Puppet Master was operating. To trace its origins, Kusanagi “dives into” the other shell and their two personalities merge ... The plot of Ghost in the Shell uses lyrical and philosophical passages to configure a love story between an electronic mind and a prosthetic body. Hugo Gernsback defined the genre as “a charming romance intermingled with scientific fact and prophetic vision”. The film also examines the consequences for human identity of a global data network and the potential for new life forms within that “world wide web”. Critics in Japan called the film an “expression of the Japanese search for identity in a time of crisis”. In the US, it inspired the Matrix trilogy, although as a political thriller with a cyberpunk attitude, it is more in tune with Blade Runner.
by Mamoru Oshii Japan 1995 Japanese 83’ Colour Rating R16

Crew

Director Mamoru Oshii
Screenplay Kazunori Itō based on the manga “Kōkaku Kidōtai” (1989/91) by Masamune Shirō
Cinematography Hisao Shirai
Editing Shûichi Kakesu
Music Kenji Kawai
Sound Kazuhiro Wakabayashi
Special Effects Takashi Murakami
Art Director Hiromasa Ogura
Animation Toshihiko Nishikubo
Producer Yoshimasa Mizuo, Ken Matsumoto, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa

Additional information

DCP: Manga Entertainment, London