Ghost in the Shell 2017: Lean & Mean Edition

Let's be honest. Rupert Sanders (Director, Snow White and the Huntsman) and the writers (check their filmography) were never going to make a version of Ghost in the Shell that comes close to, let alone attempt to address and further any of the philosophical underpinnings of the original anime.

This edit takes the strengths of the movie that was made and jettisons the rest. What is left is a Ghost in the Shell movie in name only, but I don't think that's an issue.

Instead of attempting everything in half measures, the movie is now a lean (not sure about the mean part), police procedural, action-thriller, with a cyberpunk aesthetic and a lot of fun.

Constructive criticism:
A more ambiguous ending would be great. Lose the end VO. Have Major not address Kuze's question about going with him into the net.

I also think there is time and space to insert, through stock imagery, one of my favorite sections of the original anime. The 'interlude.' Here is a YouTube video digging into it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXTnl1FVFBw&ab_channel=Nerdwriter1

That said, maybe it doesn't have a place in this edit.

Regardless. This edit by FairFriend is worth your time and a lot of fun. The chance of getting another big-budget cyberpunk film anytime is slim - this film is partially to blame. So it's nice that this movie can now be enjoyed, casually, for what it is.

As a big fan of the original anime movie, I was somewhat disappointed by the original live action Ghost in the Shell release, which I saw in theatres. The main criticisms I had were around the dumbing down of the material, significant changes to the overall visual style, lack of story coherence, and the score. Nerdwriter does a very insightful comparison of the visual elements here, which really resonated with me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2soHxEN79c&feature=youtu.be

This edit does a fantastic job at fixing these issues, as much as possible in a fanedit, while also improving the pacing. I think removing some of the 'on the nose' explanations helps the viewer focus on exploring core cyberpunk elements themselves. Trimming sub plots to focus on the main story arc works really well, and gives more relative time to the core Major experiences.

Thoroughly recommend over the main theatrical cut.

Definitely the go-to version of the film. Big fan of GITS here, and upon watching the theatrical version thought that the sequence of the story, mother subplot, extraneous scenes, lack of expositional restraint, cheesy 'on the nose' dialogue etc etc really detracted from and bogged down the kick-ass postcyberpunk film that could've been. Ever since that first viewing in the cinema, I've been waiting for a faneditor to craft the film I knew was in there somewhere. This is that fanedit. Though the film is by no means perfect, what FairFriend has done here is focus and ground the characters and story (as much as one could, given the material available) and eliminate the expositional overload (which deprived the audience's imagination any mysterious elements to explore) and the cheesy/pandering/on-the nose aspects to create a tight, immersive cinematic experience of the GITS world, ensuring that all the neonoir/cyberpunk/postcyberpunk themes of identity, memory, technology, transhumanism, corporate greed and corruption, the exploitation of marginalized sectors of society, and the procedural whodunnit mystery are intact. The 'lean and mean' approach of cutting everything except the essential elements of the story adds to further bolster and highlight the key strengths of the film: the production design, cinematography, effects, and amazing electronic score, creating a cult classic that should be shared w all fans of GITS who were disappointed by the original theatrical cut, and, as mentioned, should be the go-to version for those who haven't seen the original. Well done, FairFriend!

*Like digmodification, I too noticed the aforementioned audio/video sync at 16:58 and the sudden cut re Cutter's death; also, apparently in earlier test screenings there was a whole different scene involving Cutter's death that involved a geisha and Aramaki, a pity we don't have access to it.

As much as I enjoy the unfairly maligned 2017 film adaptation of the Ghost in the Shell manga, this leaner and tighter fan-edit outdoes it in my opinion. Every change made is 100% smart and justified, it really improves the pacing -- which is kind of amazing since the original cut is an already well-paced film -- and somehow even manages to better capture the spirit of the original source material. Really great stuff.

I was very impressed by this edit. The pacing was really good and it flowed very well. I enjoyed this far better than the theatrical cut. It felt more faithful to the source material than the original cut. The movie itself is gorgeous and I feel like less = more which was shown by your cut. The didn't hate the original cut, but I came away cold and it felt too dumbed down. I'm glad this was rectified with this cut.