Customer Reviews

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

5 star:		(89)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(34)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(77)

 

 

The Blu-Ray of this movie is awesome, they have fixed the mistakes of the orginal DVD version, and should be rated overall five stars, the problem, Amazon, has mixed the reviews from the old dvd with the blu ray, skewing the star results and reviews, Amazon, needs to keep the review for DVDs and Blu rays seperate, even if its the same movie the format is different an offers different things, and I would like to see reviews for the blu ray not the old dvd. If you agree Let your voices be heard..

The movie is worth the money alone, an amazing sequel from another amazing movie. definitely the best anime movie i've ever seen.

However, the dvd sucks. sucks alot.

Dreamworks put no effort at all into this. let me list the cons

-bland, boring artwork
-no real special features, simply imported from the jap. dvd release
-no english track (how stupid can you be?)
-the subtitle option is quite annoying, implying that the audience must all be deaf because they feel the need to subtitle every little sound you hear... we're not deaf we just can't understand japanese!!

its clear that dreamworks simply wanted to put this out as fast as they possiby could to cash in on the hype. it shows simply from the fact that the japanese got their dvd in november.. now how often does an anime come out here 1 month after the japanese release? usually it takes a year.

i bought this because i love the movie, but i wish someone else would have gotten the rights to it. if dreamworks acquires another good anime.. i will cry.

there is no doubt in my mind that within a year or two from now there will be a "special" version that will have REAL special features, better artwork and packaging, and OH MY GOD an english track.

Basically it will be the version that should have been from the get-go.

Screw you dreamworks, you don't know what the fans want. you're anime distrubiting ways sicken me. why couldn't you just let bandai/manga get the rights to this seeing how THEY HAVE THE REST OF THE FRANCHISE UNDER THEIR BELT. bandai would have made this the way it should have been.

I do not know who at Dreamworks was responsible for this travesty of a DVD, but I would like to meet them so that I could tell them in person what a total hash they have made of the best anime (and one of the best films PERIOD) of the year. Never mind the imbecilic cover art (which in no way reflects the breath-taking art in the film) - WHAT is the rationale for HEARING IMPAIRED subtitles?? I always use subtitles - but as so many other people have written, I don't need to be informed of the sounds in the background. The theatrical release didn't have such intrusive subtitles - why are they here?!?! And let's face it - dubbing is not exactly a novelty on ANY foreign DVD: why not make it available here? I can only assume that, as usual, the corporate honchos at Dreamworks didn't actually SEE this, and handed it off to some hack who got their job because of knowing someBODY, not because they were competant. I will be waiting for Dreamworks (or maybe someone else with more intelligence) to re-release this. In the meantime - DON'T waste your money on THIS DVD - rent it if you want to see it, but DENY Dreamworks any more dough until they get their act together and put out a quality DVD that this film so richly deserves.

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I am amazed by the terrible transfer(SOUND OF MAN BREATHING IN) this impressive film has (SOUND OF MAN BREATHING OUT) received. At first i thought this dvd was
a winner; original japanese mix in 5.1, directors commentary. This is more than most foreign films offer on dvd.(SOUND OF MAN SHIFTING IN CHAIR) But oh the dissapointment when I played the movie. It plays english captions not english
subtitles. The very first scene in the film starts with the caption(HELLICOPTER APPROACHING). At first I figured it was my dvd player not the dvd, why would
they sell a dvd stricly for those fluent in Japanese and the english speaking hearing impaired. (SOUND OF RAPID TYPING) After about an hour of tampering with my dvd
player settings(MAN COUGHS) I realized that this dvd was in fact made to drive its viewer into a minor hysteria(MAN SCREAMS WOOP WEEEEHAA). But the menu is pretty cool(BREAKING GLASS LOUD YELLING)

First of all the guy who gave the one star review doesn't know what the heck he's talkin about. This is a re-release from Bandai Entertainment/Bandai Visual USA. Since Bandai Visual has the rights to GITS this release is as authentic as you get. The fact the disc will come with retranslated subtitles (Subtitles, not captions for the hard of hearing), three Dolby 5.1 audio soundtracks (Japanese, the English dub produced for the UK R2 DVD, and a new commissioned English dub) and Directors commentary makes this release ten times better than the pitiful Dreamworks release.

This is a re-release of the Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. If you've seen the originally released DVD, you know that it wasn't available with an English soundtrack- it was Japanese only with English subtitles. I'll buy the re-released with the hope that the English dub does justice to the dialogue, which tends to wax philosophical. In the event the English doesn't do the trick, it can still be watched in Japanese with English subtitles. If you haven't seen this amazing film I strongly suggest you do-- it's visually !STUNNING! The storyline is complex, yet compelling.

This may be hard to believe, but I can think of no anime/CGI film I've seen since Ghost in the Shell that has anything like the impact of Innoncence. This is certainly one of the best of its kind. Unfortunately, lacking the sexiness and high energy of Ghost, it has gone largely unnoticed. I can only point out that the deep layering of not only the visual work, but music, dialog, and plot, demonstrate an almost infinite level of detail. In many ways, this reflexion is what Mamoru Oshii was striving for - a film that challenges not only the viewer's definition of reality, but stretches the meaning of human beyond all comfortable boundaries.

Three years have passed since Major Motoko Kusanagi entered the Net, leaving Batou, her partner, alone in a world where few have the mental cognates to understand what life as a 'ghost' really means. A series of horrific killings spread across Tokyo. Violent, arbitrary slayings by a new series of 'dolls' - robot toys for men. Aramaki assigns Batou and Togusa to the investigation as partners. Togusa is uncomfortable in this role because he is a full human. 'I have a daughter back at home,' he says.

The story ranges from bloody crime scenes to a Yakuza showdown as Batou allows himself to be hunted in an effort to find the threads of the crime. Lurking in the shadows are the manufacturers of the dolls, but Togusa and Batou must visit an eerie city that resembles a Hong Kong straight out of Bladerunner and a trip to a hacker's mansion where death, rebirth, and illusion are the stock in trade. In the end it is not clear if they are searching for proof or for a deeper truth.

The artwork and animation are so brilliant, and one can miss the a level of dialog where quotations from the Bible, Milton, and Japanese philosophers are commonplace, and Batou's interrogations are essays in the real subjects of the film. The problem with dolls is not that, unlike the life they reflect, they can reach perfection. The only thing that might spoil their mechanical grace and attention is the injection of a human consciousness. Dolls, dogs, and children, director Oshii suggests, are our toys - made to imitate what we like best in ourselves.

This is a dark film. It frightens because the acts that open the layers if the case are unbound by human considerations. Even when the motivations are good. When Kusanagi's consciousness makes its appearances she can only offer Batou hope if he is willing to leave his human framework behind. Only then can she be with him.

Available only as subtitled Japanese, with a brilliant 'making of' and a full length commentary by Oshii as extras, this is still a DVD you will want to own. Wherever you look there is more to seen, a brilliant script with interlocking references, and music that is a further refinement of what was done in Ghost in the Shell. The more you watch it, the better it gets.

If your like me your copy of GIS 2 come with the Hearing Impair subtitles track. But, no regular subtitle track. That is a mistake DreamWorks made. It suppose to have a regular subtitle track too. What DreamWorks is doing is replacing the faulty DVD's. Just type in the link below. It will take you to the GIS 2 replacement form page.( http://recp.rm05.net/servlet/SignUpForm?f=2318 ) Just follow the instructions. I just mail my DVD back and got an email saying they got the DVD and the corrected DVD will be mail to me in a few weeks. I'm giving the disc 4 stars because DreamWorks dealt with the problem instead of ignoring it.

I've just this morning recieved this DVD (I live in the UK and my local stockist of American DVD's got it in early) and there is a BIG mistake with the subtitles.

It only has subtitles for the hearing impaired! (IE as well as the dialogue you get bracketed titles saying Helicopter Noises, Gunfire, Crashing Sound, Singing In Japanese etc).

Usually there would be 2 English tracks - 1 with just dialogue and another with dialogue + sound descriptions - but the only other English subtitle track on the disc is for the commentary.

Quite why this is I have no idea but I just thought I'd let everyone know this in case they were thinking of buying it.

The sound effect descriptions are VERY distracting and spoil the film completely.

Innocence is a great film but I believe fans should boycott this disc until another version with correct subtitles is released.

Do not purchase this DVD. It is absolute trash. The only subtitles they have are closed-captioned for the hearing impaired, so you get captions like "person walking, someone singing in japanese, etc...." This is completely inexcuseable, and ruins the film. It is beyond annoying. I recommend staying as far away as possible from this release. Hopefully a proper version will be put out in the future, as such as terrific film definitely warrants one.