Ghost in the Shell

[Christoffer Glans]

Fromt he trailer alone it's easy to say that it's one of the best looking features to come out next year. However, there's little info on what it's shot on. From the looks of it, many shots feel like Alexa 65mm based on aspect ratio and depth of focus, but it could very well be 8K VV. Colors however feels like F65 or Alexa so It's hard to tell, but in any case there are some striking imagery with a clean and not very "over-graded" look that I personally prefer over extreme stylized graded cinematography.

Thoughts?

 

[Nicholas Austin Skinner]

Per IMDB, it was shot on the Alexa 65

 

[Christoffer Glans]

Per IMDB, it was shot on the Alexa 65

There's been so much technical misinformation on imdb for some time now so I'm not putting my trust into it too much, but in this case it looks correct. In that case it's nice to see an entire movie shot entirely on 65, not like The Revenant which only used some shots. But at the same time IMDB states 2.35:1 as the format, which based off the trailer is incorrect.

 

[Alex Kiritz]

Also says so on Arri's website: http://arrirentalgroup.com/alexa65/

 

[Simon Dunne]

Turned down a job on this....still kicking myself

 

[sam karr]

Alexa still rules, even more heavily than before, in the MX times. In the theater downstairs there are 10 movies, 8 shot on Alexa, 2 on film. I wonder if Panavision will change things. Interesting times.

 

[Visar Sulejmani]

The movie sticks surprisingly close to Oshii's movie. Kind of surprised about that.
According to a clip on IGN they'll at least pay homage to Kenji Kawai's Score in the movie and Clint Mansell has been chosen to score the movie.

It still feels a bit weird to see Scarlett Johansson as Kusanagi though.

It looks surprisingly good and visually beautiful. Can't wait to see it and hear Mansell's Score. I love his work.

 

[Mike Finegan]

turned down Ghsot in the Shell? DUDE!!!!! LOL

 

[Christoffer Glans]

The movie sticks surprisingly close to Oshii's movie. Kind of surprised about that.
According to a clip on IGN they'll at least pay homage to Kenji Kawai's Score in the movie and Clint Mansell has been chosen to score the movie.

It still feels a bit weird to see Scarlett Johansson as Kusanagi though.

It looks surprisingly good and visually beautiful. Can't wait to see it and hear Mansell's Score. I love his work.

Yeah, I'm hyped for it, although it feels like they draw storylines from all over the place, the original, the sequel the series and so on. I would have loved if they stuck to the original story. I mean the puppet master isn't even in this one based off an interview a while ago.
But if they keep the atmosphere, the almost meditating style and not just "cool action" with some oddly placed forced philosophy it might do well. I for one have no problem with Scarlett as Kusanagi, she actually even looks like her, the anime, as many animes aren't really showing the team as asian.
Thinking of that, the criticism against Scarlett is even more odd when talking about what Ghost in the Shells story is actually about; Ghosts (identities) within Shells (bodies), so with that subject in mind, what would happen if you, your identity, would be put into the body of another ethnicity, would you consider yourself as your old ethnicity or your new? Complaining about Scarletts appearance and that she isn't asian is somewhat ignoring what the story is actually talking about.
Then again, Scarlett brings the broad audience, not because she's white but because she's one of the biggest movie stars at this time. I'm all for not whitewashing movies and series about history or when there's no real reason, not even a big star involved for it, but in this case I don't think it's a big deal. I think Scarlett is a good choice actually.

As for the cinematography I think it's stunning. I would love to know some of the setups

 

[Visar Sulejmani]

Yeah, I'm hyped for it, although it feels like they draw storylines from all over the place, the original, the sequel the series and so on. I would have loved if they stuck to the original story. I mean the puppet master isn't even in this one based off an interview a while ago.
But if they keep the atmosphere, the almost meditating style and not just "cool action" with some oddly placed forced philosophy it might do well. I for one have no problem with Scarlett as Kusanagi, she actually even looks like her, the anime, as many animes aren't really showing the team as asian.
Thinking of that, the criticism against Scarlett is even more odd when talking about what Ghost in the Shells story is actually about; Ghosts (identities) within Shells (bodies), so with that subject in mind, what would happen if you, your identity, would be put into the body of another ethnicity, would you consider yourself as your old ethnicity or your new? Complaining about Scarletts appearance and that she isn't asian is somewhat ignoring what the story is actually talking about.
Then again, Scarlett brings the broad audience, not because she's white but because she's one of the biggest movie stars at this time. I'm all for not whitewashing movies and series about history or when there's no real reason, not even a big star involved for it, but in this case I don't think it's a big deal. I think Scarlett is a good choice actually.

As for the cinematography I think it's stunning. I would love to know some of the setups

Yes, the cinematography looks stunning and I can't wait to take a look at the special features when they release it on BD, so that I can see some of the setups. Maybe they'll even have an Interview with Jess Hall on DP30 about it, would love to see that. Especially why they went for a 1,85:1 aspect Ratio, maybe to be closer to the Original.

They definitely borrowed aspects from the whole series (Innocence, Complex, Arise), not only the 1995 movie. I just hope that they can manage to keep the focus on the plot and don't stray to far into to many different directions.

No, I don't mind the casting of SJ as Kusanagi, I think she's the best choice Hollywood could have made for their interpretation of GITS. And criticizing the actor/actress for the casting is one of the most ridiculous things one can do.
What I meant is that I grew up with Oshii's GITS from 1995 and seeing anything other than that version takes a little getting used to (same thing with Kusanagi's look in Arise), especially when you see one of the most famous actresses on the planet take over the role.

vs.

vs

As for the topic of whitewashing Ridley Scott said it bluntly about Exodus: “I’m just not going to get it financed." if they would have done it differently. So it's a matter of doing it like this or not doing it at all.

I'm going to watch the movie in cinemas anyway, maybe even more than once. But they turned this movie into an "international" version that is simply set in Japan, and looking over the trailer one can see that they have very carefully used very different kinds of people in it to make sure everybody sees that. They are not even mentioning Kusanagi's name, she's only "The Major".

As for the characters themselves, If she would be playing Kusanagi not just "The Major" it would absolutely be whitewashing, she's a japanese character and her name is Motoko Kusanagi after all, heritage is heritage and it would be disrespectful. And they could have easily had a proper Japanese casting (they have a lot of incredibly gifted actors/actresses) for this movie. Rinko Kikuchi would have been absolutely perfect for this, especially if she would have put on some more muscle for the Role to come closer to the 1995 version as seen above.

I wouldn't be very surprised if her character in Pacific Rim was even influenced by GITS, especially as GdT is know to be a fan.

As for stars, some of the most successful movies ever didn't rely on big names to carry them through. People watched them anyway and word of mouth carried them to great runs at the box office.
GITS has all the ingredients to make an absolutely incredible and successful movie without having to make it more approachable (via cast or rating). Audiences have proven that their interests are not as stereotypical as Hollywood makes them out to be. If the audience is willing to watch blue aliens (Avatar) and chimpanzees (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) lead a big budget feature film why in god's name wouldn't they do the same thing with Japanese characters.

All I'm saying is: I understand the decision (not only for SJ, but the whole movie), but I don't think it was necessary in order to make it successful.
But it's easier and involves less risk if they do it the way they did. And that is ultimately what will keep most large budget movies in Hollywood from becoming truly great movies that will be remembered over they years.

But that's just my two cents to the whole thing.

 

[Christoffer Glans]

Yeah, Rinko would have been a good choice even on the terms of making it successful on a broader scale. I mean, Ghost in the Shell primarily lives on the success it's based on, not so much "newcomers". There are so many people saying it's a Matrix ripoff which is just too funny :tongue_smilie:

The images though are from the other versions of Ghost in the Shell. For me, I'm hardcore the original and the sequel. Her look in the first Ghost in the Shell is much more non-sexualized and she's looking much more as a mix of nationalities rather than asian, which was Mamoru Oshi's idea behind her looks in the original Ghost in the Shell. She was supposed to feel like an ambiguous character even by gender body type. So for me it doesn't really make sense for people to complain about it, even people in Japan and the creators of the anime and the original manga doesn't care about it, only white westerners care about it. I totally get why Exodus got the critique it received though; it's about real people set in a historical time (although the events aren't accurate) and all the slaves/servants are black while the main players in the story are white. I don't think that can be justified by them not getting finance if they'd gone with a more accurate cast. In terms of Ghost in the Shell the whole story makes the issue meta-ridiculous.

 

[Visar Sulejmani]

Yes, I've already started to prepare myself for the "Nope, this is not a Matrix rip-off because..." and then I hit them with the Original.
It's a real shame actually, there are so many Anime that I've been preaching about for as long as I can remember, but many people still can't get over the fact that it's animated, which to them means that it's for "children". They are really missing out.

Jin-Roh, Grave of the Fireflies, Perfect Blue, Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers, Akira, Ninja Scroll, etc...

Btw. I don't know if anyone saw this, but I thought I'll share it:

I really hope they keep it this way in the movie. I would loose my sh*t and nerd out if they do.

 

[Christoffer Glans]

Yes, I've already started to prepare myself for the "Nope, this is not a Matrix rip-off because..." and then I hit them with the Original.
It's a real shame actually, there are so many Anime that I've been preaching about for as long as I can remember, but many people still can't get over the fact that it's animated, which to them means that it's for "children". They are really missing out.

Jin-Roh, Grave of the Fireflies, Perfect Blue, Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers, Akira, Ninja Scroll, etc...

Btw. I don't know if anyone saw this, but I thought I'll share it:

I really hope they keep it this way in the movie. I would loose my sh*t and nerd out if they do.

I understand the confusion and lack of knowledge among regular people, but among filmmakers and film enthusiast, if you don't know, understand or have seen any Anime at all, you might wanna rethink your profession. Anime is a part of film history just as everything else and the influences are seen in films like The Matrix. Ghost in the Shell is the bare minimum to have seen, Akira is not my cup of tea, mostly because the story is so rushed... there's so much in it that should have been there to really flesh out the story but it feels like the movie is rushing on a gear to high.

For cinematography though, Anime is I think something essential to study. The imagery, composition and ideas that Anime has are unbound by the real world limitations for cinematography, which means it's possible to get more inspiration from Anime than other works of photography.

 

[Visar Sulejmani]

I understand the confusion and lack of knowledge among regular people, but among filmmakers and film enthusiast, if you don't know, understand or have seen any Anime at all, you might wanna rethink your profession. Anime is a part of film history just as everything else and the influences are seen in films like The Matrix. Ghost in the Shell is the bare minimum to have seen, Akira is not my cup of tea, mostly because the story is so rushed... there's so much in it that should have been there to really flesh out the story but it feels like the movie is rushing on a gear to high.

For cinematography though, Anime is I think something essential to study. The imagery, composition and ideas that Anime has are unbound by the real world limitations for cinematography, which means it's possible to get more inspiration from Anime than other works of photography.

One thing that I have sadly come to understand is that many people define "open minded" very differently and that there is a very big difference between accepting and understanding. James Cameron talked quite a lot about this before Avatar was released because it was partially thrown into the "it's (mostly) animated, so it has to be for kids" category. The same thing applies to Tintin and Beowulf as well, which I consider to be absolutely ridiculous, especially for the latter.
Many of the people that I've heard talk about this topic in interviews didn't even bother to try understanding that "animated" (whether drawn or CG) does not equal "for kids". The "Art" of "What makes a movie?" goes only as far as they want it to. Everything else will be accepted as part of it, but now acknowledged as a useful contribution to this art-form. Comic book, Video Game and Sci-Fi/Fantasy movies often fall into this categorization too, taking "The Dark Knight" as an example. The Academy Awards show this kind of thinking quite perfectly. But I hope this changes quite a bit with the upcoming generations as those, due to the internet and social media, are forced to be quite a bit more open minded about most things.

As for the topic of cinematography in animes I agree a 100%. Most people, even professionals, could learn quite a few things from animes and mangas in terms of composition, lighting, atmosphere and symbolism. Ninja Scroll, Grave of the Fireflies, Paprika and much of Miyazaki's wok (but especially Princess Mononoke and The Wind Rises) are some I would really like mention here, as they do an especially very wonderful job.

I also can't wait to see how Battle Angle Alita will be handled, but I'm very positive about it as James Cameron is producing and guiding it.