The year is 2029, the world is made borderless by the net; augmented humans who live in virtual environments. Watched over by law enforcement agents that are able to download themselves into super-powered, crime busting mecha. The ultimate secret agent of the future is not human, has no physical body and can travel freely through the information highways of the world. Hacking and manipulating whatever, whomever and whenever required...
In my recent review for Akira, I claimed that it set a sci-fi benchmark that Hollywood has failed to match. It wasn't a one-off though and it is a point anime has continued to prove, especially with Ghost In The Shell to the point of a specific example. Released in 1995, the theme of the story bears some resemblance to 1999's The Matrix. And so this film has always been my favourite stick to beat the overrated Wachowski's with! If you like pure action, there are few films better than The Matrix, but a lot of people held it up as brilliant sci-fi to rival Bladerunner, especially as the producers weren't shy about Ghost being an influence. Actually, in comparison to the challenging and sublime Ghost, The Matrix is nothing more than a clumsy gimmick.
It's a political story, with perhaps very vague echoes of Robocop. The main character, Major Kusanagi is a cyborg and a brilliantly effective agent, but she contemplates the possibility of having a soul, or a "ghost" and worries how much of her is natural or just a result of AI programming. She works for Section Nine who are investigating The Puppet Master. Although they argue about how it's possible, it is likely he is just a ghost with no physical form himself, hacking into various shells and networks as a form of cyber terrorism.
While it isn't as epic as the ambitious Akira, nor animated quite so brilliantly (it does have its moments though), it does share that earlier films skill for balancing gorgeous, wide open cinematic action with an incisive sci-fi plot. In fact, this focused, tightly plotted story is arguably better. It has a nostalgic poignancy that gives the film a soul, smartly mirroring the story of cyborgs wrestling with a conscience. The haunting theme adds another layer. And I was being picky about the animation only to demonstrate the difference with Akira, but actually the attention to detail is incredible, something only recently matched by people like Pixar. On the DVD there is a feature about how they made sure even the bullets sparked correctly!
It can't match Akira's confident pacing. A couple of scenes are a bit talky and suffer from the static anime style Akira avoided, but there are several moments that are achingly beautiful. Especially when the Major goes diving and drifts weightlessly to the surface, embodying the emotional struggle she has with being whatever it is she is. Another example is the frequent nudity, from the Major or even the damaged cyborg "shell" they find. It sounds strange to point it out, but it's done with a tasteful obvious quality that live action could never pull off and it suits the story without being in any way gratuitous (the Major's partner, also almost all cyborg, claims he doesn't understand why she wishes to do things like diving, but then ironically catches himself staring at her body, revealing his own very human qualities).
There is a sequel, but I haven't seen it yet. However even the cover reveals something about this first film I hadn't noticed before: a beagle dog! He pops up several times in an enigmatic sequence. It's just one more subtle detail that obviously means... something. I have no idea what, but this is a story that refuses to obey convention or hold the viewers hand. As such it is a wonderful experience that I doubt will ever date.
It is very difficult to describe the atmosphere of this brilliant film and give it justice. It amused me when I watched this again that there is a quote from James Cameron on the sleeve, rightly praising Ghost for its "literary excellence" and another from the original Empire review, saying that this is "the kind of film Cameron would make if Disney let him" (indeed he has often mentioned another manga, Battle Angel Alita, on his wishlist). Ironic that now, some years later, Cameron's Avatar is The Matrix of its day with most people agreeing the story is derivative. Sounds exactly like the film Disney would have made! I wonder if Avatar's Japanese poster has got quotes from Mamoru Oshii on it?
To The Last Man (1933) Directed by Henry Hathaway Cast: Randolph Scott, Esther Ralston, Noah Beery, Larry "Buster" Crabbe, Barton MacLane
This is an early sound western and, like many westerns of the time, it is almost totally devoid of music except for the opening titles and a bit at the end. The credits are unlike I've seen in any movie...they give the title of the music, wrier and director and all that but don't show the cast credits right away. What they do is when each person makes his or her first appearance, then their credit is shown with them...thus, at 28 minutes into the movie when Randolph Scott finally appears, you finally get to see his name on screen.
The film is based on a Zane Grey story and deals with two feuding families who come from Kentucky and wind up the same region out west. The Colbys, angered because the father spent 15 years in prison after the Hayden patriarch went to the law instead of the usual feuding alternative, go to work rustling all the Hayden livestock. It's at this point that Lynn (Randolph Scott) comes home and he winds up falling for the daughter of the evil Colby (the daughter played by the fetching Esther Ralston). While the film moves rapidly along (it's only about 70 minutes long), it has the old type western fights with lots of apparently sped-up action which seems even more odd with no accompanying music. Also of note is that this movie features the film debut of Shirley Temple as one of the grandchildren of the Hayden patriarch. It has an overall familiar cast and most, including Scott, do well for this 76 year old film.
This was a Paramount film but apparently the movie has fallen into the public domain as there are a lot of copies out there by different companies. My own copy is from VCI Entertainment and it's a pretty decent copy...a nice sharp print with clear sound...but, as is usual with such cases, no extras to speak of.
The Dick Van Dyke Show: Season 2 A Surprise Surprise is a Surprise Rob finds out about Laura's plans to surprise him for his birthday.
My Thoughts: This is an excellent episode of a great classic TV Series. I literally laughed out loud several times through-out this episode. It was hilarious seeing Rob sneaking around figuring out his wife's plans for his birthday... and just as hilarious to see his reaction when he realizes he got surprised by a Surprise Party that he knew was coming. I really loved every minute of it... not only a great birthday episode... but a great episode period.
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May 22, 2024, 03:12:01 AM
