Kôkaku kidôtai (1995)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Mamoru Oshii

Writers:

Kazunori Itô (writer)
Masamune Shirow (comic)

Release Date:

29 March 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Sci-Fi | Fantasy | Thriller

Tagline:

It Found A Voice... Now It Needs A Body

Plot:

A female cyborg cop and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.

Plot Keywords:

Cyborg | Hacker | Anime | Crime Fighter | Paranoia

Awards:

5 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Atsuko Tanaka	...	Major Motoko Kusanagi (voice)
Richard Epcar	...	Bateau (voice: English version) (as Richard George)
Akio Ôtsuka	...	Batô (voice)
Tamio Ôki	...	Section 9 Department Chief Aramaki (JPN) (voice)
Iemasa Kayumi	...	Project 2501 aka 'The Puppet Master' (voice)
Kôichi Yamadera	...	Togusa (voice)
Tesshô Genda	...	Section 6 Department Chief Nakamura (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Barnes	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Murray Williams)
Steve Blum	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Roger Canfield)
Steve Bulen	...	Section 9 Staff Cyberneticist / Coroner (voice: English version)
Toni Burke	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Richard Cansino	...	Diplomat (voice: English version) (as Steve Davis)
Tom Carlton	...	Garbage Collector A (voice: English version)
George Celik	...	Old Man (voice: English version)
Shigeru Chiba	...	Garbage Collector B (voice)
Gina Connell	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Stephen Davis	...	Diplomat (voice: English version)
Dorothy Gabriel	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Dougary Grant	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Michael Porter)
Leo Gray	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Meg Hamilton	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Christopher Joyce	...	Togusa (voice: English version)
William Knight	...	Section 9 Department Chief Aramaki (voice: English version) (as William Frederick)
Namaki Masakazu	...	Dr.Willis (voice)
Joan Mason	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Takashi Matsuyama	...	Terrorist (voice)
Joe Michael	...	(voice: English version)
Mitsuru Miyamoto	...	Daita Mizuho (voice)
Gilbert Navarro	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Shinji Ogawa	...	Notorious Diplomat (voice)
Gloria Oldman	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Ben Parks	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Scott Prensor	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Simon Prescott	...	Section 6 Department Chief Nakamura (voice: English version) (as Ben Isaacson)
Debra Rogers	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as S.J. Charvin)
Joe Romersa	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Joe Michaels)
Maaya Sakamoto	...	Motoko (Girl) (voice)
Donald Salin	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Lia Sargent	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Sam Sheffer	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Michael Sorich	...	Ishikawa (voice: English version) (as Mike Sorich)
Peter Spellos	...	Bad Guy (voice: English version) (as David Conrad)
Skip Stellrecht	...	Minister (voice: English version) (as Hank Smith)
Doug Stone	...	Garbage Collector B (voice: English version)
Jimmy Theodore	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Stephen Platt)
Yûji Ueda	...	Assault-Unit Operator (voice)
Phil Williams	...	Dr. Willis (voice: English version)
Amy Wong	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Amy Wong)
Mimi Woods	...	Major Motoko Kusanagi (voice: English version)
Tom Wyner	...	Project 2501 / Puppet Master (voice: English version) (as Abe Lasser)
Kazuhiro Yamaji	...	Garbage Collector A (voice)
Masato Yamanouchi	...	Foreign Minister (voice)

Directed by
Mamoru Oshii

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kazunori Itô		writer
Masamune Shirow		comic

Produced by
Andy Frain	....	executive producer
Laurence Guinness	....	associate producer
Makoto Ibuki	....	associate producer
Mitsuhisa Ishikawa	....	producer
Ken Iyadomi	....	producer
Ken Matsumoto	....	producer
Teruo Miyahara	....	executive producer
Yoshimasa Mizuo	....	producer
Takashi Mogi	....	executive producer
Yasushi Sukeof	....	associate producer
Shigeru Watanabe	....	producer
Hiroshi Yamazaki	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Kenji Kawai

Cinematography by
Hisao Shirai

Film Editing by
Shuichi Kakesu

Production Design by
Takashi Watabe

Art Direction by
Hiromasa Ogura

Production Management
Ryuji Mitsumoto	....	production manager

Art Department
Makiko Kojima	....	ink and paint: Production I.G.

Sound Department
Arman Boyles	....	sound mix assistant
Les Claypool III	....	additional sound effects (as Les E. Claypool)
Les Claypool III	....	post-production sound supervisor (as Les E. Claypool)
Sean England	....	foley recordist (2008 special edition)
Shuji Inoue	....	sound recording engineer
Kurt Kassulke	....	sound re-recording mixer
Hironori Ono	....	sound effects assistant
Paul Ratajczak	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kazutoshi Satou	....	sound effects
Kazuhiro Wakabayashi	....	sound director
Akira Yoda	....	sound associate
Masatoshi Yokomizo	....	sound associate

Special Effects by
Mutsu Murakami	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Tetsuo Kaneko	....	opticals
Masao Shibata	....	opticals

Animation Department
Masahiro Andô	....	animator
Koichi Arai	....	animator
Shinji Arakawa	....	animator
Miho Asatani	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Hisashi Eguchi	....	animator
Toyoaki Emura	....	animator
Masumi Ezaki	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Akiyo Fujiwara	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Keiko Hagimori	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Hideki Hamazu	....	animator
Takashi Hashimoto	....	animator
Sachiyo Hiraide	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Kazuya Hoshi	....	animator
Katsuki Ikeda	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Seong-kim Im	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Toshiyuki Inoue	....	animator
Akiharu Ishii	....	animator
Mitsuo Iso	....	animator
Yoshiyuki Itô	....	animator
Hiroyo Izumi	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Yûko Kami	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Shôji Kawamori	....	mechanical designer
Kumiko Kawana	....	animator
Hiroshi Kawasaki	....	animator
Moon-hee Kim	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Soon-ah Kim	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Yoon-sook Kim	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Kazuchika Kise	....	animator
Kazuchika Kise	....	key animation supervisor
Kôji Komurakata	....	animator
Yûko Koyama	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Jae-sook Lee	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Seok-min Lee	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Nobuko Mizuta	....	cel checker
Namiko Mori	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Yasushi Muraki	....	animator
Kayoko Nabeta	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Akiko Nagashima	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Mika Nakabayashi	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Rieko Nakai	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Tamaki Nakatsu	....	assistant to animation director
Toshihiko Nishikubo	....	animation director
Yasuhiro Ohshima	....	animator
Tensai Okamura	....	animator
Hiroyoshi Ôkawa	....	animator
Hiroyuki Okiura	....	animator
Hiroyuki Okiura	....	character designer
Hiroyuki Okiura	....	key animation supervisor
Tetsuhito Saitô	....	animator
Mamoru Sasaki	....	animator
Masahiro Satô	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Kanami Sekiguchi	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Mitsumi Shitani	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Itsuko Takeda	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Kyôko Taketani	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Atsushi Takeuchi	....	animator
Atsushi Takeuchi	....	mechanical designer
Yuichi Tanaka	....	animator
Manabu Tanzawa	....	animator
Takashi Watabe	....	background designer
Keiko Watanabe	....	inbetween artist: DR Movie
Sawako Yajima	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Yayoi Yamashita	....	cel checker
Yoshio Yamazaki	....	inbetween artist: Production IG
Miyako Yatsu	....	animator
Masayuki Yoshiwara	....	animator
Kumiko Yusa	....	color setter

Editorial Department
Hiroaki Hirabayashi	....	color timer
Takeshi Imai	....	assistant editor
Yayoi Ohtake	....	assistant editor
Shigeyuki Yamamori	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Mamoru Akimoto	....	production scheduler
Paul C. Halbert	....	translator: English
Nobuhiro Hayashi	....	translation coordinator
Mitsuo Iso	....	weapons designer
Naoki Kanazawa	....	video effects
Hirokazu Karasawa	....	weapons advisor
Yumiko Katayama	....	color section
Ayako Koike	....	title designer
Megumi Maeda	....	production scheduler
Yutaka Maseba	....	translation coordinator
Mary Mason	....	adr script
Haruo Mizuno	....	production coordinator
Kikuo Notomi	....	weapons advisor
Toru Nozaki	....	advertising
Shuichi Satou	....	color section
Kevin Seymour	....	adr script (as Quint Lancaster)
Kevin Seymour	....	voice director
Teruhisa Tajima	....	title designer
Shigeyuki Tsuchida	....	video effects
Taro Yoshida	....	translation coordinator
Taro Yoshida	....	translator: English
Tomio Yoshioka	....	international coordinator

Production Companies

• Bandai Visual Company
• Kodansha
• Manga Video
• Production I.G.

Distributors

• Metrodome Distribution (1995) (UK) (theatrical)
• Palm Pictures (1996) (USA) (all media)
• Rapid Eye Movies (1996) (Germany) (VHS)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (1997) (France) (theatrical)
• Selecta Vision (2002) (Spain) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Flashstar Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Flashstar Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Manga Entertainment (1996) (UK) (all media)
• Manga Video (1996) (USA) (all media)
• Millennium Storm (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• Nittere Plus & Science (2007) (Japan) (TV)
• PolyGram Video (1996) (USA) (all media)
• Universal Pictures (1999) (Italy) (VHS) (dubbed)
• Warner Bros. (2008) (Japan) (all media) (remastered "2.0" edition)

Special Effects

• Marix

Other Companies

• A-I-C  paint and trace
• Animaze  English voice recording
• Ashi Productions Co. Inc.  inbetweens
• Aube Studio  music production
• Aube Studio  music recording studio
• BMG Victor  music release: Japan
• Beijing Xie Le Art Co. Ltd.  paint and trace
• D.R. Movie  inbetweens
• Damson Studios  titles
• Daybreak Ltd.  music production
• Doumu  inbetweens
• Edit 90  advertising staff
• Ground Control Studios  english language version: final re-recording
• Group Donguri  inbetweens
• I.G Niigata  inbetweens
• Imagica  film processing
• Jay Film Company  post-production
• Kodak Japan  film stock supplied by
• MI  paint and trace
• Magnitude 8 Post  English voice recording facility
• Maki Pro  titles
• Marine Studio  music recording studio
• Mit Studio  sound recording studio
• Oh Production  inbetweens
• Omnibus Japan  computer animation
• Omnibus Promotion  sound production studio
• Otaya  mixing engineers
• Otaya  recording engineers
• Phoenix Entertainment  inbetweens
• Prisms  computer animation
• Production I.G.  inbetweens
• Production I.G.  paint and trace
• Shima Studio  paint and trace
• Sound Valet  music recording studio
• Studio Cosmos  camera operators
• Studio Junio  inbetweens
• Studio Killy  paint and trace
• Studio Moy  paint and trace
• Studio Takuranke  inbetweens
• Studio Targi  paint and trace
• Studio Wombat  inbetweens
• Tack Cheong Company  coverage co-operation
• Tezuka Production Company Ltd.  paint and trace
• These Days  titles
• Toei Company  film scanning
• Tokyo TV Center  sound recording studio
• Weekly Manga Magazine  planning association
• White Lilly Company  music release coordination
• Woodstock Karuisawa Recording Studio  music recording studio
• World Guns  coverage co-operation
• ZRO Limit Productions  English adr production

Also Known As:

Ghost in the Shell (International: English title)
Shell Mobile Force

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

Japan | USA

Language:

Japanese | English | Spanish

Color:

Color | Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Italy:VM14 (video rating) | South Korea:12 | Italy:T (re-rated) (video rating) | Canada:14+ (TV rating) | Japan:PG-12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-11 (re-rating) | Finland:K-12 (video rating) | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Netherlands:12 | Germany:16 (video rating)

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Trivia:

The lyrics to the title song "Making of a Cyborg" were written in ancient Japanese. The romanized Japanese lyrics are as follows: A ga maeba, kuwashime yoini keri A ga maeba, teru tsuki toyomu nari Yobai ni kami amakudarite Yoha ake, nuedori naku. Tôkamiemitame (x4). English translation: When you are dancing, a beautiful lady becomes drunken. When you are dancing, a shining moon rings. A god descends for a wedding And dawn approaches while the night bird sings. God bless you (x4).

Quotes:

Major Motoko Kusanagi, Puppet Master: When I was a child, my speech, feelings, and thinking were all those of a child. Now that I am a man, I have no more use for childish ways.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kôkaku kidôtai: Stand Alone Complex Solid State Society (2006)

Soundtrack:

One Minute Warning

It found a voice... and a following

"Ghost in the Shell" is an intricate masterpiece of cyber-punk fiction and storytelling, successfully melding intriguing philosophical ideas with a coherent, well thought-out (albeit) confusing plot.

Even more, it's a nightmarish vision of a society that's dominated by cyberspace and looking back now, is eerily prescient of today's computerized times. Many of the characters in the film are enhanced, someway or another by machines, to help them get the advantage in a vastly changing society.

I'll avoid going real deep into the plot simply because there's a whole lot to grasp and even I got more than a little confused trying to follow it. The story is that a team of high-level government operatives are hot on the trail of a notorious computer hacker called the "Puppet Master," who is wanted for various crimes in cyberspace and has taken a particularly fond interest in the team's tough, female cyborg leader.

Not surprisingly, as with the stigmas surrounding Anime', "Ghost in the Shell" is not short of nudity and graphic violence. But it's far from being gratuitous, and does not slow down the movie at all.

"Ghost in the Shell" was one of the first Anime' films to skillfully blend traditional drawn animation with computerized imagery. This helps to give the film a surreal, yet beautiful look. And the dialogue helps sometimes too, with helping to sort out the confusing plot and many of its mythical ideas about personal identity and human evolution.

This film is also even more revered today, in 2004, since some of this film's core themes helped to develop the plot basis of the insanely popular "Matrix" films, and some scenes from "Ghost in the Shell" were even homaged to in the first "Matrix" movie. The Wachowski Brothers certainly do owe a lot to this movie for the success of their work in America.

I think that to understand "Ghost in the Shell," it would help to accept that Anime' is much more complex and daring than traditional American animation. Most Japanese animation films, like this one, "Akira," or Mayazaki's "Spirited Away," are on a level of sophistication that will never be matched in America.

It has been said that the majority of American audiences would be afraid of Anime' because of the many stereotypes surrounding it, but that's why it's boundless - it's been given free reign to use those stigmas to its advantage in developing truly remarkable pieces of art that have gone largely ignored here in the U.S. "Ghost in the Shell" could very well be a mere reflection or a parable of a doomed society that's probably already accepted its dark fate. Most American animation would never touch up on this sort of subject matter.

"Ghost in the Shell" is my #3 choice Anime' film (behind "Spirited Away" and "Akira") because it's so full of ideas and is masterful in telling a dark story about our times.

10/10