Ghost in the Shell
Release date: 1995-11-18
Votes: 3603
Genres: Action, Animation, Science Fiction
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.
Reviews
badelf
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).
CinemaSerf
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.
Movie Recommendation
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence2004-03-06Cyborg detective Batou is assigned to investigate a series of murders committed by gynoids—doll-like cyborgs, which all malfunctioned, killed, then self-destructed afterwards. The brains of the gynoids initialize in order to protect their manufacturer's software, but in one gynoid, which Batou himself neutralized, one file remains: a voice speaking the phrase "Help me."More...
Ghost in the Shell 2.02008-07-12In the year 2029, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster'. Ghost in the Shell 2.0 is a reproduced version of its original 1995 counterpart. Among a numerous enhancements, for the film's 2.0 release, were a number of scenes were overhauled with 3D animation, visual improvements, and soundtrack rerecorded in 6.1 surround sound.More...
Akira1988-06-10A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two teenagers and a group of psychics can stop.More...
Chinese Erotic Ghost Story1998-06-12Chu is a lowly debt collector for the local strongman Wang. Problem is that Chu is too nice/honest/dopey to be very good at the grubby collections job. Chu is treated badly by his boss Wang. Eventually Wang catches one of his twin daughters in the act of seducing the hapless bumpkin Chu. Wang naturally blames Chu rather than the daughter. For punishment Wang sends Chu on an impossible quest to Satan's Temple to steal a statue of Judge Lu.More...
Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie2015-06-20When a ghost-infecting virus known as Fire-Starter begins spreading through the system resulting in the assassination of the Japanese Prime Minister, Major Motoko Kusanagi and her elite team of special operatives are called in to track down its source.More...
Ghost in the Shell2017-03-29In the near future, Major is the first of her kind: a human saved from a terrible crash, then cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals.More...
Erotic Ghost Story1990-05-19After one thousand years, three vixens transform into humans. They seduce a poor young scholar who soon finds himself in a horrifying situation.More...
Paprika2006-10-01When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patient's dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist can stop it and recover it before damage is done: Paprika.More...
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie2001-09-01The year is 2071. Following a terrorist bombing, a deadly virus is released on the populace of Mars and the government has issued the largest bounty in history, for the capture of whoever is behind it. The bounty hunter crew of the spaceship Bebop; Spike, Faye, Jet and Ed, take the case with hopes of cashing in the bounty. However, the mystery surrounding the man responsible, Vincent, goes deeper than they ever imagined, and they aren't the only ones hunting him.More...
Appleseed2004-04-17In a utopian society created at the end of the third world war, a female warrior who has been plucked from the badlands begins to see cracks in this new facade. And what does this community have planned for the rest of humankind?More...
Erotic Ghost Story II1991-01-23Wutung a sex demon returns in another body where he falls for the mortal girl Hsiao-yen, but heaven thinks otherwise with the girl being burned at the stake and her soul being incarnated in the just born Fang Yu-yin. Anger fills Wutung, and to stop this vengeance the town near his lair promise to offer him a virgin girl at the end of every month to become his sex slave. Ya-Yin is selected; however her lover rescues her from the clutches of Wutung. So Wutung sends his demon concubine to get her back, and to cause havoc on the village for the interference.More...
Miracle: Letters to the President2021-09-15Dreaming of making a way station for his sister and the villagers who have no choice but to commute along the dangerous train tracks every day, Joon-kyung sends many letters to the President, but with no reply. Ra-hee, who has a crush on Joon-kyung, does everything she can to help him meet the President.More...
Psycho-Pass: The Movie2015-01-09Year 2116—The Japanese government begins to export the Sibyl System unmanned drone robots to troubled countries, and the system spreads throughout the world. A state in the midst of a civil war, SEAUn (the South East Asia Union), brings in the Sibyl System as an experiment. Under the new system, the coastal town of Shambala Float achieves temporary peace and safety. But then SEAUn sends terrorists to Japan. They slip through the Sibyl System and then attack from within. The shadow of a certain man falls on this incident. In charge of the police, Tsunemori travels to Shambala Float to investigate. The truth of justice on this new ground will become clear.More...
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man2005-09-23The year is 2030 and six years have passed since a criminal known only as "The Laughing Man" swept through top medical nanotechnology firms committing acts of cyber-terrorism, kidnapping, and espionage leaving no known suspects. New information is revealed, as Section 9 enters the hunt for a suspect capable of unfathomable actions in this compilation of Stand Alone Complex content.More...
Whisper of the Heart1995-07-15Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: 'Seiji Amasawa'.More...
Millennium Actress2002-09-14Documentary filmmaker Genya Tachibana has tracked down the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, who mysteriously vanished at the height of her career. When he presents her with a key she had lost and thought was gone forever, the filmmaker could not have imagined that it would not only unlock the long-held secrets of Chiyoko’s life... but also his own.More...
Berserk: The Golden Age Arc I - The Egg of the King2012-02-04Guts, an immensely strong sword-for-hire, has little direction in his life, simply fighting one battle after the next. However, this all changes suddenly when he meets and is bested by Griffith, a beautiful and charismatic young man who leads the Band of the Hawk mercenary army. After Guts joins the Band and the relationship between the two men begins to blossom, Casca, the tough, lone swordswoman in the Band of the Hawk, struggles to accept Guts and the influence he has on the world around her. While the two men begin to fight together, Griffith continues to rise to power, all seemingly in order to reach his mysterious, prophesied goals. What lengths will Guts and Griffith go to in order to reach these goals, and where will fate take the two men?More...
Castle in the Sky1986-08-02A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.More...
Perfect Blue1998-02-28Encouraged by her managers, rising pop star Mima takes on a recurring role on a popular TV show, when suddenly her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered.More...
Angel's Egg1985-12-22In a desolate and dark world full of shadows, lives one little girl who seems to do nothing but collect water in jars and protect a large egg she carries everywhere. A mysterious man enters her life... and they discuss the world around them.More...
Similar Movies
Fureru
2024-10-04Childhood friends find a creature with mysterious powers that pushes them to discover the bonds that tie the three students together.Resident Evil: Afterl...
2010-09-09In a world ravaged by a virus infection, turning its victims into the Undead, Alice continues on her journey to find survivors and lead them to safety. Her deadly battle with the Umbrella Corporation reaches new heights, but Alice gets some unexpected help from an old friend. A new lead that promises a safe haven from the Undead takes them to Los Angeles, but when they arrive the city is overrun by thousands of Undead - and Alice and her comrades are about to step into a deadly trap.Marquis
1989-04-26On the eve of revolution, French activist and author Marquis and his talking penis, Colin, await judgment in the Bastille for allegedly plotting against the state. While Marquis dedicates himself to his art and Colin longs for action, the provocative pair unwittingly rouse the interest of competing ideological factions.More
1998-09-01A factory worker in a dark, gray world assembles devices that promise happiness. In his spare time he tinkers to create something better, and finally succeeds in perfecting his invention, which allows people to see life through rose-colored glasses, but he has to pay a price for his success.Shyness Machine Girl
2009-01-01Ami's friend, Yoshie, was murdered and desecrated by the Kimura Gang. She was saved and, like Ami in the previous film, received modifications from the same mechanics. Remembering her past, Yoshie decides to avenge herself and Ami.Pattenrai!! - Minami ...
2008-11-05The film is based on the true story of Yoichi Hatta (1886-1942), a civil engineer who traveled to Japanese-ruled Taiwan in 1910 to build a complex irrigation system in the barren southwest. Hatta manages to overcome the initial doubts of local farmers, but a tragic tunnel accident eventually halts the project and shakes his confidence.Boogie
2009-10-22Hoping to make some money, Boogie, a violent and ruthless assassin, kidnaps a witness a mafia boss wants dead.Max Headroom: 20 Minu...
1985-04-04While trying to expose corruption and greed, television reporter Edison Carter discovers that his employer, Network 23, has created a new form of subliminal advertising (termed "blip-verts") that can be fatal to certain viewers.Student Council Staff...
2017-07-21The work of Ousai Private Academy's student council is never done. This time, Takatoshi, Shino, Aria and Suzu are back with their very own movie! From TV interviews to a new teacher, there's even more potential for misunderstandings as the double entendres, innuendos and euphemisms reach critical mass.1984
1956-03-06In a totalitarian future society, a man whose daily work is rewriting history tries to rebel by falling in love.Lara Croft: Tomb Raid...
2001-06-11Orphaned heiress, English aristocrat and intrepid archaeologist, Lara Croft, embarks on a dangerous quest to retrieve the two halves of an ancient artifact which controls time before it falls into the wrong hands. As an extremely rare planetary alignment is about to occur for the first time in 5,000 years, the fearless tomb raider will have to team up with rival adventurers and sworn enemies to collect the pieces, while time is running out. But, in the end, who can harness the archaic talisman's unlimited power?Lara Croft: Tomb Raid...
2003-07-21Off the coast of the volcanic island of Santorini, the intrepid archaeologist Lara Croft makes the unexpected discovery of a pulsating golden orb able to guide its holder to the mythical Pandora's Box. As the legendary artifact contains ancient mysteries of unfathomable power - said to contain one of the deadliest plagues on Earth, Lara is tasked by MI6 to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. With the aid of former Marine turned mercenary Terry Sheridan, she travels the world in pursuit of the precious item in a race against time; she must beat the unscrupulous Nobel Prize-winning scientist turned bioterrorist, Jonathan Reiss, to it.Persepolis
2007-06-27In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Satrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own.I, Robot
2004-07-15In 2035, where robots are commonplace and abide by the three laws of robotics, a technophobic cop investigates an apparent suicide. Suspecting that a robot may be responsible for the death, his investigation leads him to believe that humanity may be in danger.Terminator 2: Judgmen...
1991-07-03Set ten years after the events of the original, James Cameron’s classic sci-fi action flick tells the story of a second attempt to get rid of rebellion leader John Connor, this time targeting the boy himself. However, the rebellion has sent a reprogrammed terminator to protect Connor.Strange Days
1995-10-13Former policeman Lenny Nero has moved into a more lucrative trade: the illegal sale of virtual reality-like recordings that allow users to experience the emotions and past experiences of others. While they typically contain tawdry incidents, Nero is shocked when he receives one showing a murder.Terminator 3: Rise of...
2003-07-02It's been 10 years since John Connor saved Earth from Judgment Day, and he's now living under the radar, steering clear of using anything Skynet can trace. That is, until he encounters T-X, a robotic assassin ordered to finish what T-1000 started. Good thing Connor's former nemesis, the Terminator, is back to aid the now-adult Connor … just like he promised.Catwoman
2004-07-22Liquidated after discovering a corporate conspiracy, mild-mannered graphic artist Patience Phillips washes up on an island, where she's resurrected and endowed with the prowess of a cat — and she's eager to use her new skills... as a vigilante. Before you can say "cat and mouse", handsome gumshoe Tom Lone is on her tail, fascinated by both of her personas.Alien
1979-05-25During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.Battlefield Earth
2000-05-12In the year 3000, man is no match for the Psychlos, a greedy, manipulative race of aliens on a quest for ultimate profit. Led by the powerful Terl, the Psychlos are stripping Earth clean of its natural resources, using the broken remnants of humanity as slaves. What is left of the human race has descended into a near primitive state. After being captured, it is up to Tyler to save mankind.