Ghost in the Shell 2.0

Firstly, I will say that the new material accounts for roughly 10% of the total length, possibly less. Much of it is subtle, but the total re-renders in 3D are very obvious. The re-renders remind me of Innocence, but the overall visual production values of Innocence suited the 3D better. I think I still prefer the original hand-drawn render of Ghost in the Shell, however 2.0 still makes for amazing viewing, especially in context with Innocence, and the digitally restored (for the second time) visuals are stunning. The remastered and re-recorded soundtrack are out of this world.
Lastly as I purchased this from Japan, I finally have a cut of this film with Reincarnation as the music for the end-titles. Don’t get me wrong, I adore U2 and Brian Eno’s One Minute Warning, recorded under the moniker Passengers, it suited the western release, but as a purist I’m glad to have both versions.
I am also glad that the limited edition 3 disc Blu-Ray box contains 2.0, a special features disc and the original film all in HD. This is the very first film in my experience that I deem worthy of high-definition, it is visually glorious, with hand-drawn art particularly in mattes that remains unparalleled in any work before or since from Japan, North America or anywhere else. The only other film that comes close is of-course Jin-Roh which shares the same roots in Mamoru Oshii’s visual expression.

Of significant note is that the Puppet Master’s voice has been changed and is now voiced by Yoshiko Sakakibara who voiced Harraway in Innocence. This makes a significant difference in the intended symbolism of the Puppet Master now choosing a female voice, and I find is quite welcome. I had to quickly verify this against my other copies of the film, and overall I actually like 2.0 better. All the re-rendered GUIs are much improved, much of the audio has been re-recorded and replaced aside from the core dialogue, and the new soundtrack has much more subtlety and has some of the slightly dated synth samples removed. If one new element stands out as questionable it’s that in the early frames of the film, Motoko has been rendered in 3D, which is slightly out of place with her beautiful hand-drawn face and body which we see for the remainder of the film. Also one single frame has been removed that I love from the original, when Motoko surfaces from the depths of the sea, the original film contains a moment where we view an orange cloud-speckled sky with droplets of water on the surface of the diving mask as we see it from Motoko’s view. This was the only significant one of my favourite frames that seems to have been omitted.

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I was going to liveblog this film but didn’t for two reasons. Firstly, there is no way I would pause it to drop even the briefest of entries. Secondly, there would be no point.
I have tried and repeatedly failed to express in words my experience of this film. To say it is singularly one of the most beautiful things I have seen and experienced would be woefully insufficient. The more I try and express it, the more I fly immediately away from linear language and immediately into the abstract, the way I express most of my deepest emotions and experiences.
Briefly I will say that it’s difficult to quantify my response to Motoko Kusanagi – is she god or is she mother? Both at the same time and neither – something more. Whatever you’ve read about it, whatever people have told you, I respect it, but it is simply more to me, and the more I reflect on it, the more I’m certain I will never be able to express how I respond to and identify with this film. The narrative, the socio-politics, the philosophy… that’s only half, less, small parts of what Ghost in the Shell is. You may find it hard to believe, but for me Ghost in the Shell is emotional to the extreme, it’s spiritual and it has everything to do with humanity, identity and yes – love. Scoff if you wish, but I cannot explain it to you. It would take a lifetime, and you would have to know and love me very much to talk to me for that long about one subject.

There is a reason this is one of only eleven films I have ranked 10/10. Perfect. Flawless. Indescribable. Every time I watch this film there is more for me. More for my mind, more for my heart, and more for my soul.

This entire entry is meaningless.

Enough words.