Ghost in the Shell

"It found a voice... now it needs a body."

1995 1h 23m JA

🙌

7.9

BANGER

🔥

95%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.9

IMDB

★7.9TMDB · 4,084🍅95%Rotten Tomatoes●76Metacritic★7.9IMDB · 171,829

ActionAnimationScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster' begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster.

“It found a voice... now it needs a body.”

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Cast

Atsuko Tanaka
Motoko Kusanagi (voice)
Akio Otsuka
Batou (voice)
Iemasa Kayumi
Puppetmaster (voice)
Koichi Yamadera
Togusa (voice)
Yutaka Nakano
Ishikawa (voice)
Tamio Ohki
Aramaki (voice)
Tessyo Genda
Director Nakamura (voice)
Masakazu Namaki
Dr. Willis (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mamoru Oshii
Writers: Kazunori Ito, Mamoru Oshii, Shirow Masamune
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

83 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.3× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Japan, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Ghost in the Shell Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mamoru Oshii, shot by Hisao Shirai. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Kenji Kawai. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mamoru Oshii directs. Hisao Shirai behind the camera. Kenji Kawai scores. Shuichi Kakesu cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Japan, United Kingdom. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Made its money back 3.3× over at the box office.
431 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
5International production across 2 countries: Japan, United Kingdom.
6Part of the "Ghost in the Shell Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
7Directed by Mamoru Oshii, shot by Hisao Shirai. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Original score by Kenji Kawai. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
9Editor Shuichi Kakesu shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
10Atsuko Tanaka and Akio Otsuka and Iemasa Kayumi carry the top of the cast.
11Marketing tagline: "It found a voice... now it needs a body.".
12IMDB entry: tt0113568 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
13Classified under 18 themes, including "android", "man vs machine", "artificial intelligence (a.i.)", "computer virus".
14Released under 20 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Hisao Shirai
Original score: Kenji Kawai
Editing: Shuichi Kakesu
Runtime: 83 min · 1h 23m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,000,000
Box office: $10,000,000
Return: 333% of budget
Original language: JA
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 76/100
IMDB rating: 7.9/10 · 171,829 votes
MPAA: TV-MA

Awards

5 wins & 7 nominations total

Animation Kobe Theatrical Film Award

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Ghost in the Shell Collection

Two animated films based on the original manga have been released, both directed by Mamoru Oshii and animated by Production I.G. Ghost in the Shell was released in 1995 and follows the "Puppet Master" storyline from the manga. It was re-released in 2008 as Ghost in the Shell 2.0 with new audio and updated 3D computer graphics in certain scenes. Innocence, otherwise known as Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, was released in 2004, with its story based on a chapter from the first manga.

Also by

Mamoru Oshii

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

badelf2023-03-26
★ 9/10
In the 1990s, Ray Kurzweil wrote about his "Singularity" theory - the future when man and computer are wholly merged. His predictions of AI are perhaps only now coming to fruit. This 1995 movie is the original Ghost In The Shell, which I finally watched. Mamoru Oshii's masterpiece, based on a manga by Shirow Masamune, is not only consistent with Singularity theory, but also remarkably prescient. This is the first film to broach the tough question of "what does it mean to be conscious?" in the context of AI (Artificial Intelligence).
CinemaSerf2024-02-04
★ 7/10
It's a society where humanity has been largely subsumed into a digital world; where cyborgs are a norm and where people are now, essentially, dependant on their own technology for just about all aspects of their survival. In this virtual environment, the "Puppet Master" is the kingpin of the criminal world. It knows that by accessing the minds of those connected to the internet, it can obtain lots of juicy information to facilitate a spree of lucrative and threatening crime. Our very thoughts and dreams are now susceptible - and so the government creates "Section 9". Their job is to reverse-engineer some of these hacks and to try and trace the mastermind before it becomes unstoppable. What now ensues is not the finest example of animation you will ever see - indeed some of the artistry is disappointingly basic and linear. What makes this work is a sold story that questions the very soul of what it is to be an human being. It probes what makes us, well, us... Our identity, our personality - all are vulnerable to manipulation here by something adept at capitalising on the flaws and failings of each of us. Once these flood gates are open, is it even possible to arrest it as global interconnectivity makes control nigh on impossible. There are emerging elements of apocalypse to the plot - but they serve to illustrate the dangers of walking into convenience eyes open, but not looking - and there's some potent dialogue here about our complicity in our what could potentially be our own downfall. Can we necessarily spot truth from fiction any more? What is real and what is not? It's not your typical animé, but it does get you thinking and is very much worth watching.