Kôkaku kidôtai (1995)

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 | Helicopter | Soldier | Market

Awards:

5 wins & 2 nominations

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)

Also Known As:

Ghost in the Shell (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
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 following dialogue from the film is a direct quotation from the Bible (I Corinthians 13): "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. What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete as complete as God's knowledge of me".

Quotes:

Puppet Master: We have been subordinate to our limitations until now. The time has come to cast aside these bonds and to elevate our consciousness to a higher plane. It is time to become a part of all things.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Soundtrack:

One Minute Warning

Excellent.

I liked everything about this film. Much has been made of the artwork, and with good reason. Voltron, this isn't. I am not an anime fan and haven't seen a lot of anime films. Most plot descriptions of anime films sound boring to me. I'm not into monsters and tentacles or cute wide eyed little girls fighting evil. (Not that cute wide eyed little girls shouldn't fight evil, I mean, I'm all about fighting evil, aren't we all?) Ghost in the Shell, on the other hand, represents the best of its genre and the best of any genre is worth a watch. This movie ought to appeal to anyone who enjoys cerebral films. It addresses interesting philosophical questions about identity, some of which we will no doubt be pondering in the not too distant future. (I'm perhaps foolishly optimistic when it comes to AI).

I should add as well that this is definitively in the cyberpunk genre. If you liked the old Max Headroom television series or movies like Wargames, this will no doubt appeal to you. Even the English dubbing isn't bad, even if it is a little bit fast (to keep up with Japanese).

Darken the room, sink low in your chair, turn the volume up (the soundtrack is spectacular), and fall into this movie. I wish there were more like it. The artwork is incredible (if you don't consider animation art, you should take a look at Ghost) and the plot and dialogue are three dimensional and thought provoking. Two thumbs up. As I say, best of genre.