Phantom in the command line interface

[rtil]

i'm not saying the exposition is part of what makes is special, i actually think it's a problem with the movie. i do think it is a masterpiece but that's partly because of its place in history. from the perspective of filmmaking though i do think it has some issues, nothing glaring enough to take away from how special it is, but problems nonetheless. the beginning and end are weighed heavily with dialogue to explain a plot that doesn't quite fit in the running time of the movie. it could have been another 20 minutes longer maybe. but that's just me.

[Bamyasi]

Ah yeah I see what you mean. I like the length personally. Fits very well into the jo-ha-kyu dramatic structure: gets in, gets out, doesn't overstay its welcome and leaves you in post-coital afterglow. I'm more of a gist-focused person so all the jargon-filled exposition just sets the tone for me I think. That's what I meant by the writing not being "what makes it special." Not that it was great scripting, just that it didn't really detract and fulfilled its meager purpose. 2501's monologues I thought were beautiful but you're right they could have done with more illustration. Still contend everything important was shown and most of what was told was just there to supplement it.

The best movies share more in common with comics than theater imo. 2001, Ringu, Hausu, Totoro, etc. don't have amazing structuring either but they're all about leaving you in a different state than the one you went in with. GitS '95 definitely achieves that I think, better than a lot of movies with better scripting and more satisfying conclusions.

[rtil]

i don't read many comics so i'll take your word for it. the ending monologue is a great cap to what is one of the best animated action sequences of all time that's so iconic i can't believe it hasn't been ripped off more. thanks, akira.

[Bamyasi]

Oh dang yeah I see the visual parallels with Tetsuo's transformation but do you really think it's a ripoff? Or were you implying something else.

[rtil]

i was implying Akira gets all the ripoffs instead of GITS

[Bamyasi]

Oh yeah. What specific movies are you thinking of?

[rtil]

uh no specific ones really but first one that comes to m ind is tetsuo the iron man. really any movie that involves cyberpunk freakshows. i mean how many times have we seen one of these

after akira. the most popular example i can think of is anakin skywalker

[rtil]

also memes like tetsuo/kaneda, the pill iconography, the motorcycle poster, recreations like bartkira - GITS really doesn't have anything like that. i think the closest thing was SAC's laughing man logo amongst anime circles back when it was airing. the next gen of memelords don't know what that shit is though

[Bamyasi]

Yeah you're right, though I guess both had hands in inspiring The Matrix.

[Bamyasi]

Kojima weighs in.

One of the core themes of both the manga and the anime was the dissection of the dualistic theory of body and mind, and the philosophical exploration of the notion of human free will. They each posed the question, "What is it to be human?" However, this new movie replaces that theme with a far simpler question: "who am I?" Without spoiling the plot, it's basically The Bourne Identity in a futuristic world connected by a vast information network. It's a story of the heroine played by Scarlett Johansson on a quest to find her identity.

[Ayyyyy]