HN Theater @HNTheaterMonth

⬐ masters3d

This trailer is not that good which makes me feel like the movie is low budget. Too bad. The went too dark and over futuristic. The whole point of the original was that even though people choose to be cyborgs, they still want to be human. The city was still Asian looking. Lots it's lost by making this futuristic. Major never looked Asian to me. Even Lucy looked better than this.

⬐ piva00

I think you are judging too much (or being too hyperbolic) by watching a single 2 minutes cut made to be "marketable".

⬐ serf

I wonder if any of the philosophy elements that made the franchise worthwhile (to me) will be present in the Hollywood adaptation.

My jadedness towards Hollywood makes me doubt it, but I hold hope.

⬐ corysama

I can't expect the Hollywood adaptation to live up to the original. But, what I've seen in the trailers looks good and I plan on watching the movie when it comes out. It looks like it will be a very fun romp through the theme.

For those looking for a heavily philosophical take: obviously watch the original movie, then GITS:2 Innocence and the TV series GITS: Stand Alone Complex.

The 2nd movie is more a work of art than a film. If you watch it, you'll need to have the patience to appreciate that.

The TV series was written by people who wanted a cop drama that happened to feature cyborgs. Not the other way around. Appreciate that and you'll find a lot of interesting ideas presented in a cartoon. I still hold that GITS:SAC presents a better understanding of the Anonymous phenomenon than most techies have today.

⬐ FrankenPC

GITS 2 took some patience. Totally different movie. GITS 1 blew my mind like Akira did.

⬐ kriro

I really like GITS: Stand Alone Complex. It's probably the best animated series I have watched (the other one that comes to mind, while quite different, would be Batman The Animated Series).

Edit: I'd love some cyberpunk-style recommendations (comic books, series). What I really want is some sort of corporate dystopia, similar to the Android:Netrunner universe (I've read those books they were decent but not great) or close to Blade Runner. Ideally with some noir elements. Where's that semantic search engine when you need it :D

⬐ locopati

Appleseed - the manga, not the movie (which tries to compress too much story into too little time)

⬐ yrro

Bubblegum Crisis!

⬐ vex

Here's a bad-quality version of the opening; the original composer came back to make a new version of the iconic song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5amv-vqUFo

⬐ Leynos

That gives me a little bit more confidence in the film. I'm still sceptical about how it will play out plotwise, given the trailer, but I think they have captured the visual feel of the anime film well.

The original soundtrack feels really important to me, as I listened to it dozens of times as a teenager. Knowing that it will be part of this adaptation/remake make me think it will be handled with a reasonable degree of competence.

There does seem to be a trend in film trailers where they have, on several occasions, nearly put me off seeing a film that I actually enjoyed in the end.

⬐ andreapaiola

Well... I don't know... There isn't much in this trailer... Can be a good movie, but I don't bet on it.

⬐ legohead

Major doesn't seem herself. she seems confused, and weak. the real Major we know is straight badass, with some natural, intelligent introspection that would come from being a full-body cyborg.

I don't like what they've done to the flesh. she should appear more anatomically human, without breaks in the flesh, with nipples, etc. it adds more to Major being comfortable with herself. this is minor in the scheme of things, I suppose. but it is quite a big decision to make, and if they didn't see this through correctly, it makes me wonder about the rest of the film.

and as someone pointed out, when an official trailer[1] opens up with the main actor saying how much they enjoyed making the movie, that's never a good sign.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTaLafAFrmE

⬐ gpderetta

I don't think that's supposed to be her flesh in the movie, it is just the optical camouflage suit (which in the anime/series was embedded in her skin).

⬐ viraptor

GitS 2 suggested sex with full body cyborgs is possible, so yeah, it seems like the body is just censored in this movie.

⬐ andreapaiola

For me nipples doesn't matter... probably it's rated PG-13.

In USA animations aim for G and PG... so not so bad as possible...

⬐ None

None

⬐ mjevans

The film actually looks like it's exploring an alternate timeline / prequil period.

If you've seen the recent OVAs (GitS Arise) this could be an alternate view of what 'the major' looked like before she became the team lead we're more familiar with in other movies and series from this fictional universe. In a time when she is still a slave of 'the system' (I mean that more in the military/industrial/political greed context).

Having made that speculation, I'm not sure that's where this movie actually is. I hope the trailer is simply trying to convey the genera, art-styles, and beginning of the plot (without too many spoilers); but I'm used to trailers that pretty much spoil everything except the culmination of the film.

⬐ wodenokoto

People who are complaining about the trailer being too mainstream, maybe you can find solice in the teaser trailers.

wellhttps://youtu.be/cxRwc8Lp7XU

⬐ grzm

And where are the fuchikoma?

⬐ None

None

⬐ eth0up

2017 and that cursed unwind/bass sound is still being used: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B97jnPsOPZw

I can't help but perceive it as the archetypal 'Daddy' sound, a modern, universally obeyed cue of something formidable in force or size. It would have been the perfect sound for that moment in American Pie when the kid is caught in the act: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82oPNXUf0Ks

But not at every display of force. Please find another sound.

⬐ in_cahoots

Not only is it still being used, it's made its way into tv trailers as well. I can only hope that one day it will go viral in some comedic scenario and be killed off once and for all.

⬐ scotty79

I don't hear it. All the mentioned trailers sound completely different and chaotic to me.

⬐ basch

I swear it came from Transformers, where it sort of made sense. It predates Inception. https://vimeo.com/3037247

⬐ chillacy

I'm personally refusing to support a movie which continues a long legacy of poor representation of asian americans in Hollywood movies (e.g. the last airbender, aloha, along with some others which removed asian secondary characters). Though I can't deny it looks like it might be a decent adaptation.

Hollywood doesn't really like asians to be their main characters, though we're starting to see some good side characters like Glenn from the walking dead.

⬐ vex

It's ironic that you care about race here as people have transcended race in the works of Ghost in the Shell (people can easily inhabit a completely different body, even a non-humanoid one). I hope this world comes about soon so we don't have to worry about racial crap anymore.

⬐ grzm

I'm sure we'll find something else to divide us. It's part of human psychology. It's not as if race is our only divisive issue.

⬐ chillacy

It'll be the square robots vs the round robots!

This is an interesting study on the subject. (kind of messed up, like the stanford prison experiment on schoolchildren). A teacher designates kids with blue eyes as superior to those with brown eyes in their all caucasian class. Resulting in:

> Those who were deemed "superior" became arrogant, bossy, and otherwise unpleasant to their "inferior" classmates. Their grades on simple tests were better, and they completed mathematical and reading tasks that had seemed outside their ability before. The "inferior" classmates also transformed – into timid and subservient children who scored more poorly on tests, and even during recess isolated themselves, including those who had previously been dominant in the class. These children's academic performance suffered, even with tasks that had been simple before

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/class-divided/

⬐ chillacy

Ah, glad they have their society sorted out, but its definitely a pattern for Hollywood at this point: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/23/opinion/why-wont-hollywood...

GitS follows a handful of other movies recently which could have had a more asian cast but did not. Very frustrating to see the same decision made in movies like The Last Airbender, Aloha, Cloud Atlas, Dr Strange, etc.

> worry about racial crap anymore.

Great, maybe when a brown actor can as easily get roles for the main character instead of the taxi driver, we'll be past that. Till then, the game's stacked.

⬐ internaut

Race is one of those overloaded words. I think the right word here is heritage.

Motoko's heritage as a Japanese is an important part of the story that gives it richer context. This is because many of her dialogues are about ideas that are unique to her Asian culture. The concept of a marriage between the natural and the artificial (instead of man vs machine). The concept all things have sentience. There is even mention of deliberately selecting a member of Section 9 with a similar rationale to the Toyota way. These are not ideas strongly present in European cultures. Kusangi's holistic thinking is one of the most interesting things about the Major.

Can you picture Sarah Connor from Terminator having these dialogues that Motoko has? Evolution theory, philosophic musings?

I cannot. It is not because I think a westerner would have nothing to say. It is that I think they would say something different because they think differently.

⬐ lake99

> Hollywood doesn't really like asians to be their main characters

Rather than racism, I chalk it up to Hollywood's tendency to spend millions of dollars on people who they consider marketable. For example, I read reviews of "The Man from UNCLE" recently, and noticed Germans talking about the bad German accent of the lead actress, Russians talking about the bad Russian accent of the "Russian" lead. I'll throw in my own complaint of the unnatural Indian accents I have seen from "Indian" characters of Hollywood. Can't they find real Russians or Germans or Indians to play these roles?

⬐ lj3

It wouldn't matter. One particular episode of Leverage featured an Irish loan shark. Everybody complained that the attempted Irish accent of the actor was terrible and couldn't they get an actual Irishman to play the role? The twist: the actor is Irish and he wasn't doing an accent, that's how he normally talks.

⬐ glandium

On the other hand, in the original 1995 animation movie, the Major had big blue eyes...

⬐ foxhop

I had the same feel when the trailer was hoisted on my eyeballs.

⬐ grzm

Did you mean foisted? Then again, I imagine hoisting would be much more painful.

⬐ foxhop

Ah yes, foisted. (today I learned)

⬐ ianai

Well, I'll support it because it's not Yet Another Super Hero Movie and maybe will lead to more cross overs.

⬐ sosuke

Do you have any good write ups on why Major isn't Asian? Was there some reason?

⬐ holyjaw

This is one of my favorite pieces on the matter, though it doesn't directly address your question: http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/9/11612530/ghost-in-the-shell...

⬐ chillacy

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/23/opinion/why-wont-hollywood...

The most convincing I've heard is that there are no big shot asian movie stars to draw viewers in, and Hollywood doesn't want to take risks.

The reason is there are no big shot asian movie stars is that asian actors don't land big shot movies.

This might arise from the way roles are cast by race in Hollywood.

⬐ TheCoreh

> Hollywood doesn't really like asians to be their main characters

Sort of an odd statement considering Jackie Chan just won an honorary Oscar today.

Think of it this way: Ghost in the Shell is an anime adaption. Do you see the anime studios in Japan going out of their way to hire american voice actors whenever a character is american? If they don't, then why should US movie studios?

This notion that for whatever reason an actor can't play someone of a different ethnicity is a very recent sensitivity. Besides her obvious acting talent, they most likely picked Scarlet Johanson in the hopes that she'll bring a larger audience considering how popular she is among their intended audience.

⬐ chillacy

> If they don't, then why should US movie studios?

Because not all americans are white, and if there ever was a chance to see someone who looked like me in a movie being cool, I would hope it's the anime adaptation. GitS is merely the latest in a long line of movies to re-cast asian roles for caucasian actors. Some more: Avatar the last airbender, Aloha, Cloud Atlas was especially cringeworthy since caucasian actors had prosthetic eyelids... imagine if robert downey jr's character's blackface was played non-ironically.

I wouldn't mind if it just happens sometimes, but it happens almost every time... They could easily find american actors who speak perfect english, that's supposed to be one of the advantages of being a country of immigrants no?

I understand the financial motivations of a casting decision, but its somewhat of a catch 22. It's difficult to find minority actors who have lots of experience. It's difficult to get a lot of experience as a minority actor since you end up getting typecasted for a few roles.

⬐ sosuke

Did you see Armitage III? Ross was voiced by Kiefer Sutherland.

⬐ mjevans

That entire series was really well done. It does not surprise me at all that they hired good actors too.

⬐ Tharkun

If ever there was a character where it wouldn't matter, it'd be the one of Major Motoko Kusanagi. Her lack of a human body makes it entirely irrelevant what race she is portrayed as.

The fact that the movie is largely about "what's on the inside" makes it a really poor target for anger about the actors' heritage.

⬐ chillacy

I heard that reasoning forever:

* It's fine that Hugo Weaving used prosthetic eyelids to look asian, the movie is about reincarnation across different ethnicities

* Emma Stone can play a half-asian half-white character since the character is half-white anyways.

* Ang and the other 3/4 principals can be white in The Last Airbender, since...???

* Mickey Rooney was being funny in Breakfast at Tiffany's, don't take it so seriously

Imagine being an asian-american actor and losing a role for Motoko Kusanagi to a caucasian actor, when the industry already has a long history of preferentially casting caucasian actors in at least the past 20-30 years, and before that basically always hired caucasian actors to play other ethnicities, not always very respectfully.

⬐ internaut

I cannot agree. That Motoko is a Japanese woman is not irrelevant. What makes GITS interesting to many Westerners is precisely that it is a Japanese take on humans and technology. Instead of Hollywood's man vs machine it is a complex, deep marriage between the natural and the artificial.

Kusangi has the ghost of a Japanese woman even if the shell she has is a mass manufactured generic. I'd prefer Motoko to be a Japanese woman because that is just more interesting.

⬐ None

None

⬐ None

None

⬐ sn9

It's not just the Major, it's the entire cast, which seems to be largely devoid of Asian actors in prominent roles.

It's disgusting and incredibly disrespectful. I don't know how they can continue to make these insane casting choices.

Why bother even pretending its set in Japan if the characters all seem to want to distance themselves from even the appearance of being Japanese?

⬐ None

None

⬐ None

None

⬐ viraptor

> Her lack of a human body makes it entirely irrelevant what race she is portrayed as.

I get the "what's on the inside" idea - it could be irrelevant. But there are also reasons why it does matter. She's specifically using a generic-looking body to not stand out and the setting is Japan. Americans do stand out from a crowd in Japan. (although in the anime nobody else seemed to use the same model...)

⬐ icanhackit

The original soundtrack by Kenji Kawai, like Vangelis' Blade Runner soundtrack, is what helped make the film a timeless classic. I really hope the music in this clip was to merely engage people who aren't familiar with the original film by Mamoru Oshii. An excellent soundtrack can make a passable film a really enjoyable experience - case in point: Solaris (2002).

⬐ _0ffh

The original soundtrack was as awesome as they come! I just fear it will be perceived as "too artsy", or something like that, for Hollywood.

⬐ toyg

They casted a load of Western actors into a film based in Japan. I don't think respect for the source material is exactly high on their list.

⬐ Xophmeister

Wasn't the original Ghost in the Shell based in Hong Kong?

⬐ toyg

Per wikipedia:

"Primarily set in the mid-twenty-first century in the fictional Japanese city of Niihama, Niihama Prefecture (新浜県新浜市 Niihama-ken Niihama-shi), otherwise known as New Port City (ニューポートシティ Nyū Pōto Shiti)"

There are episodes where they operate abroad, but the overall setting is clearly Japanese.

⬐ gpderetta

The first GItS movie is actually set in Hong Kong (although never explicitly stated, IIRC). There is no shared continuity between the manga, the two anime series and the movies. The new live action movie is probably also in its own continuity.

⬐ Xophmeister

Yes, sorry, I meant "original" to mean the 1995 movie. I remember watching a documentary about GitS which pointed out that you can identify the setting as Hong Kong by the low flying aircraft over the city, which also dates it to before Kai Tak Airport was closed and HK got its new international airport on reclaimed land.