‘Ghost in the Shell’ Goes Redux

There are two trends that have been washing over the
industry over the last several years that have drawn the ire of fans worldwide:
remakes and revisions. While the more vicious vitriol has been saved for the
often shameless remakes being peddled by every studio, reactions to the rereleasing
of a classic film with a spit-shine has been more mixed. Some are perfectly
fine, and often times happy, to see one of their favorite films remastered with
all the bells and whistles. The home video market wouldn’t be anywhere near as
big were it not for this focus on quality and making the old new again. You
like the Criterion Collection? Of course you do! Sure sometimes this
revisionist history trend can sometimes be a bit superfluous and unnecessary (the
original Star Wars trilogy anyone?), but if a filmmaker has the desire to take
another stab at one of their own films who are we to deny them?

That lengthy preamble aside, on to the actually news: The
seminal anime classic Ghost in the Shell will be rereleased on July 12 in Japan completely
remastered to bring it more inline with the 2004 sequel Innocence. Famed
director Mamorou Oshii supervised the update, aptly titled Ghost in the Shell
2.0, through Production I.G. The brainchild of manga legend Masamune Shirow,
first published in Young Magazine in 1989, the series is steeped in existential
philosophy and considerations on advancing technology and its affect on
humanity. Heavy themes to be sure, but the pill is made easier to swallow with its
cyberpunk style, gunplay, and sexy (often nude) heroin Major Kusanagi.

Fans will be happy to know that the story will remain
unchanged, with the major edits being cosmetic (new digital effects and 3D integration).
The sound mix will be completely reworked in 6.1 surround (supervised by Randy Thorn at Skywalker Sound) with a brand new dub.
No word on whether the original voice cast will return to reprise their roles,
though the press release makes mention that veteran voice actress Yoshiko
Sakakibara will be joining the cast in some capacity. Otakus will note that she
has provided voice work for both Innocence and the TV incarnation of the
franchise Stand Alone Complex as ancillary characters.

One thing that caught my eye was the bit about composer Kenji Kawai
providing new music for the film. Kawai’s original score is an absolute classic
with its dystopic chants and clunking percussions – hopefully he will just add
some addition pieces in the same theme instead of completely rescoring the
film.

Dreamworks, who released Innocence in the US, recently
announced plans for a live-action 3D remake of GiTS at the behest of one Steven
Spielberg. No details on the project have been released, but it is unlikely
that this redux will have any effect on the remake. Warners owns the rights to the original and distributing 2.0 in Japan, so expect them to be handling any US release the film may see. Given the
series’ popularity, a limited theatrical release is possible.

Ghost in the Shell 2.0 is the latest franchise to get the
redux treatment, following Gainax’s successful relaunch of the Neon Genisis Evangelion series last summer with Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone — the first in a five-film
reimagining of the acclaimed series that promises more than just cosmetic
upgrades (though Alone was mostly a cosmetic reintroduction). The film will
have a single screen release at the massive Shinjuku Milano as an amuse bouche for
Oshii’s latest, the highly anticipated (and highly budgeted) The Sky Crawlers to be released on August 2.

UPDATE: German blog AHT have posted a trailer for Ghost in the Shell 2.0 along with comparison shots between it and the original film. See them HERE.