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- Ghost in the Shell 2017: Lean & Mean Edition
Ghost in the Shell 2017: Lean & Mean Edition
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Faneditor Name:
Original Movie Title:
Genre:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
2017
Original Running Time:
106
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
91
Time Cut:
15
Available in HD?
Additional Links:
Brief Synopsis:
The theatrical cut was full of lines which were very on the nose. Additionally, there was a subplot, involving Motoko's mother, that went nowhere. These issues have been addressed in the Lean & Mean cut. Moreover the beginning of the movie was re-edited to mimic the way the original animated movie starts. To this purpose, the credits scene was rescored using Kenji Kaway new rendition of the original main theme. Scenes from the very beginning of the movie have been used to create a flashback sequence that now appears much later. Multiple scenes where shortened, lines of dialogues were either deleted or altered or used in different contexts. The cemetery scene was restored to its original state and purpose. As far as I can tell, in the theatrical cut it was sliced in 2 to accomodate for the character of Motoko's mother, which I presumed was added at a later time to address the whitewashing controversy and to make up for the deleted scenes which included the character of Paz.
Intention:
The purpose of this fanedit was that of making the movie closer in spirit to the original animated movie from 1995. The plot was made more interesting by eliminating all those lines that over-explained the lore of the Ghost in the Shell universe. The pace was made much brisker by eliminating an entire subplot and by shortening many of the scenes. The tone was altered as much as possible to make the movie feel more serious and grounded.
Other Sources:
Additional music used in the fanedit:
1) Enjoy the Silence by Ki:Theory
2) Utai IV_ Reawekening by Kenji Kaway
1) Enjoy the Silence by Ki:Theory
2) Utai IV_ Reawekening by Kenji Kaway
Special Thanks:
Thanks to TM2YC for taking the time to review the fanedit multiple times and for the suggestions that helped improving it.
Release Information:
Digital
Editing Details:
Firstly, I started with the major changes: The beginning of the movie was altered to replicate the way the animated movie starts. The credits scene was rescored and the character of Motoko's mother was deleted. Finally, a flashback sequence was added in the middle of the movies using scenes that were cut from the very beginning. Then I moved on to systematically delete every single line that I deemed too on the nose, especially instances of the "I give my consent" catchphrase, or lines that mentioned the words "Ghost" and "Shell". Also, every line including the new name of the Major, Mira, was eliminated. Now she's simply known as "the Major". Every detail that did not add to the plot and that could be easily deleted was sacrificed to improve the pace of the movie.
Cuts and Additions:
1) Early scenes are cut. Now the movie begins with the Major on the top of a skyscraper.
2) Early apparition of the villain was deleted to add suspense.
3) The scene with the geishas was shortened to eliminate Batou's silly lines.
4) Credits scene was rescored using Kenjy Kawai music. Also, now the title of the movie appears only once during the sequence.
5) Debriefing scene was edited and shortened.
6) Scene with the Major and Aramaki was deleted.
6) Scene with the Major and Oulet was heavily altered to eliminate silliness.
7) Scene with the Major, Batou and Dr. Dhalin was altered to eliminate, once again, silly lines (ex. "She's being hacked!").
8) Action scene in the nightclub was heavily edited so that the Major always appears in control of the situation.
9) Scene with the Major and Oulet was heavily edited to eliminate instances of lines of dialogues deemed too on the nose or that referenced the name "Mira".
10) Scene in which the Major meets a prostitute has been eliminated.
11) Fight scene in the pool of water has been shorted. Also, the chase sequence that comes before has been shortened too.
12) Interrogation scene briefly shortened to eliminate the suicide of the prisoner from the cut (needlessly edgy).
13) The Major's explanation of the villain's objective has been eliminated, to add suspense. Also, the villain himself explains what he's doing just a few minutes later.
14) Dialogue between the Major and Kuze lightly trimmed.
15) Flashback sequence added using scenes cut from the beginning of the movie. These too were altered to eliminate the name Mira.
16) Dialogue between Batou and the Major on the boat slightly edited to eliminate silly line ("You are a corporate man").
17) Dialogue between Oulet and CEO of Hanka heavily altered to eliminate, yet again, on the nose lines.
18) Subsequent scene involving drugged Motoko and Oulet heavily edited to add suspense. Now it truly seems like Oulet is killing the Major by injection of a fatal substance.
19) Cutter's (CEO of Hanka) line deleted.
20) Entire subplot involving Motoko's mother deleted. Last scene from the movie, in which the Major visits her own tomb, moved here.
21) Dialogue between Kuze and Motoko lightly trimmed.
22) Cutter's line shortened (eliminated the part where he says "You freak!").
23) Death of Cutter re-edited to, you guessed it, eliminate unwanted silliness ("I give my consent").
24) Last apparitions of Motoko's mother eliminated from the movie.
2) Early apparition of the villain was deleted to add suspense.
3) The scene with the geishas was shortened to eliminate Batou's silly lines.
4) Credits scene was rescored using Kenjy Kawai music. Also, now the title of the movie appears only once during the sequence.
5) Debriefing scene was edited and shortened.
6) Scene with the Major and Aramaki was deleted.
6) Scene with the Major and Oulet was heavily altered to eliminate silliness.
7) Scene with the Major, Batou and Dr. Dhalin was altered to eliminate, once again, silly lines (ex. "She's being hacked!").
8) Action scene in the nightclub was heavily edited so that the Major always appears in control of the situation.
9) Scene with the Major and Oulet was heavily edited to eliminate instances of lines of dialogues deemed too on the nose or that referenced the name "Mira".
10) Scene in which the Major meets a prostitute has been eliminated.
11) Fight scene in the pool of water has been shorted. Also, the chase sequence that comes before has been shortened too.
12) Interrogation scene briefly shortened to eliminate the suicide of the prisoner from the cut (needlessly edgy).
13) The Major's explanation of the villain's objective has been eliminated, to add suspense. Also, the villain himself explains what he's doing just a few minutes later.
14) Dialogue between the Major and Kuze lightly trimmed.
15) Flashback sequence added using scenes cut from the beginning of the movie. These too were altered to eliminate the name Mira.
16) Dialogue between Batou and the Major on the boat slightly edited to eliminate silly line ("You are a corporate man").
17) Dialogue between Oulet and CEO of Hanka heavily altered to eliminate, yet again, on the nose lines.
18) Subsequent scene involving drugged Motoko and Oulet heavily edited to add suspense. Now it truly seems like Oulet is killing the Major by injection of a fatal substance.
19) Cutter's (CEO of Hanka) line deleted.
20) Entire subplot involving Motoko's mother deleted. Last scene from the movie, in which the Major visits her own tomb, moved here.
21) Dialogue between Kuze and Motoko lightly trimmed.
22) Cutter's line shortened (eliminated the part where he says "You freak!").
23) Death of Cutter re-edited to, you guessed it, eliminate unwanted silliness ("I give my consent").
24) Last apparitions of Motoko's mother eliminated from the movie.
User reviews
38 reviews
Overall rating
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
9.7(38)
Audio Editing
9.7(38)
Visual Editing
9.8(38)
Narrative
9.3(38)
Enjoyment
9.2(38)
Overall rating
8.6
Audio/Video Quality
7.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
8.0
Enjoyment
8.0
Image quality is fine for the most part, though I noticed a bit of banding in the dark areas: noticed nothing amiss with regards to audio, and could not tell where the new cuts took place, though I wasn't specifically hunting for any issues.
Have seen the anime film a couple of times, but never the live-action adaptation that this edit is sourced from so cannot comment on any possible improvements. My initial impressions were better than anticipated, while the basic story remains the same and certain elements are reproduced (not always in the same place) it did not feel like a slavish remake, but it hasn’t got the same timeless qualities and I don’t think any further re-editing could solve this.
Thanks fairfriend for getting me to give this film a go in the first place though, now just need to decide if it is worth watching the unedited version!
Have seen the anime film a couple of times, but never the live-action adaptation that this edit is sourced from so cannot comment on any possible improvements. My initial impressions were better than anticipated, while the basic story remains the same and certain elements are reproduced (not always in the same place) it did not feel like a slavish remake, but it hasn’t got the same timeless qualities and I don’t think any further re-editing could solve this.
Thanks fairfriend for getting me to give this film a go in the first place though, now just need to decide if it is worth watching the unedited version!
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
P
Overall rating
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
8.0
Visual Editing
8.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
10.0
This is great! I actually liked the original movie a bit, so it's nice to have a cut down version minus the junk. There were a couple of places I thought could be smoothed out, but I really enjoyed everything.
It needs subtitles, and I'm hoping I can edit the original SRT to match this without too much hassle. If so this will become my go-to version to watch. Good job, FairFriend! Thank you for your hard work!
It needs subtitles, and I'm hoping I can edit the original SRT to match this without too much hassle. If so this will become my go-to version to watch. Good job, FairFriend! Thank you for your hard work!
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
T
Overall rating
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
go to way to watch this movie
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
D
(Updated: April 30, 2023)
Overall rating
8.2
Audio/Video Quality
8.0
Audio Editing
8.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
7.0
It's been a long time since I've seen the theatrical cut. I was not a fan at all, but with some time now passed, I was curious how this edit might come across since the aims seem to fit with what I'd want out of the film.
Quality is good. I saw mention of compression artefacts in dark areas. The overall edit seemed a bit dark to me, but maybe that's the look of the film. I didn't see any actual blockiness on my end, personally, even though it can look a bit soft at times.
I'm sure there were many cuts throughout and the edit largely flies by with transitions unnoticed. I did pick up on a handful of moments though, some worse than others:
- 12:16 - sounds like a subtle dip in audio from crossfade
- 13:44 - audio and visual cut is rushed
- 16:58 - music suddenly fades in and the dialogue is out of sync with the major's lips
- 39:25 - this transition doesn't work at all IMO. It's very odd to have the audio fade out and have dialoguee start part-way through an action sequence
- 1:21:08 - rushed audio fade
- end credit music is a lot louder than the rest of the film mix
The only narrative issue I picked up on is at 1:09:30 - Batou is about to be attacked, but when we cut back he's suddenly driving. Feels like an odd jump. Otherwise, pacing feels fine and I did not miss any cut subplots.
I would say I actually enjoyed the film less this time around. I'm sure this has little to do with the edit, because I know that some of what bothered me before has been removed. I think it's just certain aspects hammering home for me on a rewatch. The edit itself is largely well put together and I would say it is a definite improvement over the original - there are things I remember annoying me before which are mercifully absent - but for me, it only turns a bad film into a mediocre one. The goals were to bring this more in line with the spirit of the 1995 anime but I think more could have been done to achieve this. The opening was a good choice and numerous changes to dialogue have been made to help, but there still remain a lot of forced moments. Equally, by its nature, the narrative of the theatrical cut is watered down and derivative, and I'm not sure that's something that can be fixed. The "it's what you do that defines you" is also such a trite and Hollywood theme that is hardly needed, let alone to be repeated explicitly more than once in the film (which is kept in this edit). It's kind of astounding how so much can be removed in this version and yet the film still comes across as over-explained and simplistic, especially compared with the more philosophical and meditative nature of the original.
The theatrical cut feels like such an odd product to me, deriving its visuals and story from different anime incarnations of GITS (and Innocence) as well as Blade Runner (most likely inspiration for the original GITS as well). There are a handful of aesthetically pleasing moments, but everything has the clumsy feel of a youtube fan film with a decent budget. The way people walk, the way people talk, the way the action is executed. It just falls very flat. I do think there is more room for improvement in "lean and mean" - more dialogue that can be removed, and further tweaks to how some of the action is edited, but at the end of the day, I don't think the original film can be "fixed". Or at least, you can't change its essential nature. It feigns substance, drawing from other more significant films but watering down their themes, and bringing nothing new to the table.
Do I recommend this? If you liked the original in spite of some flaws, yes, I absolutely do. You will likely find this an improvement (and clearly a lot of people have enjoyed it a lot more than me). If, like me, you were sorely unimpressed by the theatrical cut, I would guess this edit won't change your mind too sharply.
Quality is good. I saw mention of compression artefacts in dark areas. The overall edit seemed a bit dark to me, but maybe that's the look of the film. I didn't see any actual blockiness on my end, personally, even though it can look a bit soft at times.
I'm sure there were many cuts throughout and the edit largely flies by with transitions unnoticed. I did pick up on a handful of moments though, some worse than others:
- 12:16 - sounds like a subtle dip in audio from crossfade
- 13:44 - audio and visual cut is rushed
- 16:58 - music suddenly fades in and the dialogue is out of sync with the major's lips
- 39:25 - this transition doesn't work at all IMO. It's very odd to have the audio fade out and have dialoguee start part-way through an action sequence
- 1:21:08 - rushed audio fade
- end credit music is a lot louder than the rest of the film mix
The only narrative issue I picked up on is at 1:09:30 - Batou is about to be attacked, but when we cut back he's suddenly driving. Feels like an odd jump. Otherwise, pacing feels fine and I did not miss any cut subplots.
I would say I actually enjoyed the film less this time around. I'm sure this has little to do with the edit, because I know that some of what bothered me before has been removed. I think it's just certain aspects hammering home for me on a rewatch. The edit itself is largely well put together and I would say it is a definite improvement over the original - there are things I remember annoying me before which are mercifully absent - but for me, it only turns a bad film into a mediocre one. The goals were to bring this more in line with the spirit of the 1995 anime but I think more could have been done to achieve this. The opening was a good choice and numerous changes to dialogue have been made to help, but there still remain a lot of forced moments. Equally, by its nature, the narrative of the theatrical cut is watered down and derivative, and I'm not sure that's something that can be fixed. The "it's what you do that defines you" is also such a trite and Hollywood theme that is hardly needed, let alone to be repeated explicitly more than once in the film (which is kept in this edit). It's kind of astounding how so much can be removed in this version and yet the film still comes across as over-explained and simplistic, especially compared with the more philosophical and meditative nature of the original.
The theatrical cut feels like such an odd product to me, deriving its visuals and story from different anime incarnations of GITS (and Innocence) as well as Blade Runner (most likely inspiration for the original GITS as well). There are a handful of aesthetically pleasing moments, but everything has the clumsy feel of a youtube fan film with a decent budget. The way people walk, the way people talk, the way the action is executed. It just falls very flat. I do think there is more room for improvement in "lean and mean" - more dialogue that can be removed, and further tweaks to how some of the action is edited, but at the end of the day, I don't think the original film can be "fixed". Or at least, you can't change its essential nature. It feigns substance, drawing from other more significant films but watering down their themes, and bringing nothing new to the table.
Do I recommend this? If you liked the original in spite of some flaws, yes, I absolutely do. You will likely find this an improvement (and clearly a lot of people have enjoyed it a lot more than me). If, like me, you were sorely unimpressed by the theatrical cut, I would guess this edit won't change your mind too sharply.
User Review
Format Watched?
Digital
T
Overall rating
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
The beginning works better like this, it was a good idea to change it.
There’s a lot less dialogue in the edit, and the film improves because of it. It’s almost an introspective experience now, between the action scenes. Also, it does look closer to the anime version, which is a masterpiece in itself.
Motoko's mother is definitely not needed, I agree with that change. And good riddance to the “I give my consent" phrase said so many times in the original, just for the silly realization that it was not needed at all…
And, wow, what a great improvement in the Major and Oulet “injection” scene, this is the way it should have been done in the first time.
Everything else, in terms of AV quality and AV editing, seemed flawless to me.
This edit improves and replaces the original, for sure!
Thanks for this.
There’s a lot less dialogue in the edit, and the film improves because of it. It’s almost an introspective experience now, between the action scenes. Also, it does look closer to the anime version, which is a masterpiece in itself.
Motoko's mother is definitely not needed, I agree with that change. And good riddance to the “I give my consent" phrase said so many times in the original, just for the silly realization that it was not needed at all…
And, wow, what a great improvement in the Major and Oulet “injection” scene, this is the way it should have been done in the first time.
Everything else, in terms of AV quality and AV editing, seemed flawless to me.
This edit improves and replaces the original, for sure!
Thanks for this.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
G