Ghost in the Shell

Originally released in 1995 and hailed as one of the most striking anime titles ever produced, Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell, based on the manga by Masamune Shirow, has since spun off both the feature sequel Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (VL-1/05) and a fine new TV series called Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (VL-9/04). Presented here in a handsome double-disc special edition, the original is set in the year 2029 and follows the efforts of female cyborg government intelligence agent Major Motoko Kusanagi and other members of the Section 9 team to track down the mysterious "Puppet Master," a sentient computer virus capable of "brain-hacking" and therefore steering various human subjects to do its will. As in some of the best science fiction films (Blade Runner, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, etc.), the narrative here continually comes back to the question of what it means to be human. Of course, the philosophical aspects are not necessarily what captured anime fans' interest when this was first released: the animation is cutting edge for its time, the fight scenes are both violent and graphic, and Major Motoko--transistorized or not--is one hot babe, who (somewhat implausibly) occasionally fights in the buff, all of which make the 17-up rating accurate. Boasting a beautiful new digitally remastered transfer, coupled with DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo sound options, the DVD extras on this dual-language release include a pair of half-hour-shy behind-the-scenes featurettes, as well as text character dossiers and a director's biography. Highly recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray Review—Mar. 7, 2017—Anchor Bay, 82 min., not rated, $34.99—Making its latest appearance on Blu-ray, 1995's Ghost in the Shell features a fine transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. There are no extras but this release is housed in a Mondo steelbook. Bottom line: since this is basically a re-release with new packaging, libraries should be fine with the earlier Blu-ray edition of this anime classic.]