Finally watched this last night. One thing I really appreciate about this series (and I'm sure I'm not the only one of your readers for whom this is true) is it's really pushed me to finally check out so many classics for the first time that have always been on my list, but I've always thought, "eh, maybe later."
In my head I've written pages upon pages of a comment. But on accident I stumbled on some other idea and decided I'm going to think on it more and spare you.
There are movies that arrive in a perfect moment. GiTS was that movie for me. An world changing mix of being cool, smart-seeming, obscure (to mainstream), a spectacle in both visuals and music, talking the language of computers I was deeply into (but not as a gamer, as a hacker (MIT definition)) and Bible quotes I know rather well (some people assumed I'm going to be a priest).
I don't even know if it's a good movie or a bad one. For me, it's just is. I don't even rewatch it that often, it's buried deep in my body, radiating its poison/cure for decades now.
I watched the live action Ghost in the Shell in a nearly empty theater. As soon as we got to the water fight scene, an old man stood up, mumbled something angrily in French, and walked out. He was right!
I've only ever seen this movie once, back in the 90's, and at the time, I couldn't get over the differences with the manga. The movie's art style is more realistic, it leaves out a lot of the comedy, and even though Masamune Shirow can get incredibly horny, he does not have the Major getting naked to use her stealth camo.
I should probably revisit it one of these days, though to be honest, I've always felt pretty content with Stand Alone Complex. I feel like it's the series' true form: a police procedural with cyborgs (the Japanese title is "Mobile Armored Riot Police: The Ghost in the Shell," so I figure that's a decent enough explanation for what Section 9 is for). On the other hand, the new series from Science Saru looks like it's going to re-adapt the Puppet Master story, so it might be interesting to compare.
I wouldn't be surprised if this movie was the direct inspiration for the Stealth Camo item from Metal Gear Solid. Oshii and Kojima are friends who admire each other's work, after all.
Yeah, I've never read the manga—I'm just not much of a manga reader. I did find myself wondering what Stand Alone Complex is like and might watch it but I feel like I'd probably treat it and the manga as their own thing and Oshii's movies as a separate thing. But it would be harder to do coming to the movie after reading the manga!
If I were to do a Ghost in the Shell taxonomy, I would say that the two Mamoru Oshii movies are obviously their own sequence, and heads and shoulders above the rest in terms of basically single-handedly pushing cyberpunk forward in a new transhumanist dimension, if you think it even counts as cyberpunk anymore.
The original manga is a much more traditional cyberpunk cops and robbers deal, with an amount of graphic sex which will take you by surprise if you are coming from any of the other media, but not if you are generally familiar with the work of Shirow Masamune.
I think you would enjoy Stand Alone Complex as its own thing, it elevates the police procedural elements into something that I think is honestly like X-files or Fringe quality, complete with an overarching seasonal myth for each of its two seasons. The first one is the only reason I know that JD Salinger wrote things that are not Catcher in the Rye. I rewatched it recently and for something that came out in the early 2000s it is shockingly prescient about where internet culture is headed, the titular "Stand Alone Complex" is basically fancy academic speech for "what if people started acting out memes in real life?"
I've seen this movie countless times, but only recently watched Stand Alone Complex and read the manga. The latter two have SO much exposition (and footnotes in the manga), I was honestly surprised that the movie had more exposition than I remembered.
And you're 100% right: Standalone Complex works best because it's basically a police procedural.
Finally watched this last night. One thing I really appreciate about this series (and I'm sure I'm not the only one of your readers for whom this is true) is it's really pushed me to finally check out so many classics for the first time that have always been on my list, but I've always thought, "eh, maybe later."
In my head I've written pages upon pages of a comment. But on accident I stumbled on some other idea and decided I'm going to think on it more and spare you.
There are movies that arrive in a perfect moment. GiTS was that movie for me. An world changing mix of being cool, smart-seeming, obscure (to mainstream), a spectacle in both visuals and music, talking the language of computers I was deeply into (but not as a gamer, as a hacker (MIT definition)) and Bible quotes I know rather well (some people assumed I'm going to be a priest).
I don't even know if it's a good movie or a bad one. For me, it's just is. I don't even rewatch it that often, it's buried deep in my body, radiating its poison/cure for decades now.
I watched the live action Ghost in the Shell in a nearly empty theater. As soon as we got to the water fight scene, an old man stood up, mumbled something angrily in French, and walked out. He was right!
it’s so embarrassing to watch. The guy playing Batou just looks like an above-average cosplayer too!
> There are many touches in this film that are meant to make you think about cyborg physicality.
And she never blinks!
Oh wow I didn’t even notice that one and I even rewatched some of it.
I never noticed before either until it was pointed out to me during a recent re-watch
you do notice there's something very intense about her eyes but I thought it was the color
I'm so hyped to read this… but there's a game on TV, Japan faces Brazil, and it's a doozy.
If GiTS would do nothing more than giving me Floating Museum it would be enough.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFhraWXnp7E
the score is sooooo good
I get the chills every time I hear the soundtrack. So good!
I've only ever seen this movie once, back in the 90's, and at the time, I couldn't get over the differences with the manga. The movie's art style is more realistic, it leaves out a lot of the comedy, and even though Masamune Shirow can get incredibly horny, he does not have the Major getting naked to use her stealth camo.
I should probably revisit it one of these days, though to be honest, I've always felt pretty content with Stand Alone Complex. I feel like it's the series' true form: a police procedural with cyborgs (the Japanese title is "Mobile Armored Riot Police: The Ghost in the Shell," so I figure that's a decent enough explanation for what Section 9 is for). On the other hand, the new series from Science Saru looks like it's going to re-adapt the Puppet Master story, so it might be interesting to compare.
I wouldn't be surprised if this movie was the direct inspiration for the Stealth Camo item from Metal Gear Solid. Oshii and Kojima are friends who admire each other's work, after all.
Yeah, I've never read the manga—I'm just not much of a manga reader. I did find myself wondering what Stand Alone Complex is like and might watch it but I feel like I'd probably treat it and the manga as their own thing and Oshii's movies as a separate thing. But it would be harder to do coming to the movie after reading the manga!
If I were to do a Ghost in the Shell taxonomy, I would say that the two Mamoru Oshii movies are obviously their own sequence, and heads and shoulders above the rest in terms of basically single-handedly pushing cyberpunk forward in a new transhumanist dimension, if you think it even counts as cyberpunk anymore.
The original manga is a much more traditional cyberpunk cops and robbers deal, with an amount of graphic sex which will take you by surprise if you are coming from any of the other media, but not if you are generally familiar with the work of Shirow Masamune.
I think you would enjoy Stand Alone Complex as its own thing, it elevates the police procedural elements into something that I think is honestly like X-files or Fringe quality, complete with an overarching seasonal myth for each of its two seasons. The first one is the only reason I know that JD Salinger wrote things that are not Catcher in the Rye. I rewatched it recently and for something that came out in the early 2000s it is shockingly prescient about where internet culture is headed, the titular "Stand Alone Complex" is basically fancy academic speech for "what if people started acting out memes in real life?"
I've seen this movie countless times, but only recently watched Stand Alone Complex and read the manga. The latter two have SO much exposition (and footnotes in the manga), I was honestly surprised that the movie had more exposition than I remembered.
And you're 100% right: Standalone Complex works best because it's basically a police procedural.