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Ghost in the Shell 2 - Innocence Actors: Akio Ôtsuka, Atsuko Tanaka, Tamio Ôki Director: Mamoru Oshii Number of Items: 1 Format: Animated, Color, Widescreen, Dolby Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Running Time: 100 minutes Studio: Umvd/Dreamworks Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2004-12-28 Buy from Amazon |
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From Amazon.com Mamoru Oshii's landmark Ghost in the Shell (1995) largely defined the cyberpunk genre and influenced the Matrix films in the U.S. The long-awaited sequel continues the adventures of Batou, Major Kusanagi's former assistant, who was left behind when she disappeared into the cyber-realm of the Net. With his new human partner, Togusa, Batou investigates a series of bloody murders involving gynoids, robots with sexual functions. The case leads them to the headquarters of the Locus Solus company, where Batou uncovers the evil secret behind the creation of the gynoids. Innocence includes some staggeringly beautiful CG images, especially a parade depicting characters from Chinese mythology. Oshii contrasts this glittering beauty with a Blade Runner-esque dystopia. But even his skill as a director can't disguise the fact that the underdeveloped story and flat characters are far less interesting than the opulent visuals. (Rated PG-13: graphic violence, violence against women, brief nudity, profanity, alcohol and tobacco use.) --Charles Solomon |
 "An anime masterpiece"I must come clean, I am a huge fan of Mamoru Oshii's works. Since his early years directing Rumiko Takahashi's wonderful sitcom Urusei Yatsura, through his masterpiece Angel's Egg, to his work on the Patlabor franchise and Ghost in the Shell - I have been hooked. This is a director with rare gifts. With Innocence, Oshii has created his most visually stunning work to date. The visuals are of course the star of the show, and what a show they are. Sumptuous CG work is everywhere, virtual sets springing to life in 3D and layer after layer of wonder composited over the backgrounds. Production IG, the studio behind this work, have raised the bar. The cell work is also highly accomplished, and by and large matches the CG pretty well. Innocence is without a doubt the prettiest anime movie to date. Fortunately beneath these wondrous visuals Oshii, who wrote the story for Innocence as well as handled the directorial duties, comes up with thought provoking and intelligent tale. The essence of story - that living creatures have a 'ghost' which defines who they are regardless of their current body - is, as with the first movie, the underlying motif. On top Oshii layers philosophy and wisdom in some hugely articulate dialogue, and of course delivers some fantastic action sequences too. Certainly Innocence is an indulgence, for Oshii himself, for Production IG, and for Oshii fans, and so for many will be a hard work to enjoy. It lacks the immediacy of Ghost in the Shell, as this is a much deeper tale, but give it a chance, and some repeat viewings, and perceptions will change. Innocence is truly one of the finest anime movies made to date, both for it's extraordinary production values and for it's highly intelligent and well crafted storyline, which makes the poor US DVD release all the more difficult to accept. Fortunately there is now an 'international' Innocence DVD available in Japan, which comes complete with English sub-titles and lovely packaging. Innocence is a must watch, but just not with this shoddy and insulting US DVD.  "A LACK OF LUXURY ."ghost in the shell ,the sequel . batou is back , gloomier than before and twice as ugly.this time he's investigating cases of robots committing suicide - a story surprisingly taken from the first volume of shirow masamune's manga of the same name,chapter 6,robot rondo- while motoko's ghost still roaming around . oshii does it again , and delivers another groundbreaking anime full of art ,philosohy-a little too much this time-entertainment and gabriel the dog. finally. yes ,dreamworks showed no respect for this dvd.but i read on an anime news site, that the uk branch of manga entertainment is planning a dubbed version of the film.i hope it's true and i hope they make it soon. the extras.normal.commentary with oshii and the producer, toshio suzuki-miyazaki's sidekick-,the making of and some trailers. "ghost in the shell 2 innocence"This is an extraordinary film. One of my fav's "Needs better subtitles and a dubbed English version - like the first one"Great movie but the subtitles were for the hearing impaired. Which is ok but they really need subtitles for people who can hear but don't speak English. Those subtitles need to be written by people for whom English is their first language. I read in a forum that customers can send the DVD to the studio for replacement but that offer seems to be only availale for residents of America. Bad bad bad - don't they know that there are other customers who live outside that country?!!!!  "Movie=Masterpiece, DVD=Hogwash..."Look at that cover art. Look at it! What the hell? With all the great art associated with this movie, some imbecile chose THAT as the cover! No dub AND no sub! I'm sorry but CC does not count. I didnt understand why everyone complained about the subtitled sound effects until I watched it myself. When you watch subtitles, you train yourself to quickly read whatever pops up at the bottom and then quickly go back to the image on the screen. I don't want to take my eyes off the awesome image of a futuristic helicopter landing, so that I can read (HELICOPTER NOISES) at the bottom of the screen. All the painstaking work that these animators put into the movie and Dreamworks takes a piece of the pie without dignifying this work of art with a proper subtitle! Dreamworks should be ashamed. What a shotty DVD! If I see Steven Spielberg on the street I'm going to break this DVD over his stupid head! |
