Ghost in the Shell - Ultimate Edition
While im not the worlds biggest anime fan but when one does come along that perks my interest, I normally saviour the experience.
This is all because of the film Ghost In the Shell.
Back in the 90's there was a slew of anime fever that rocked the U.K, there were Classics (Akira), there we're a few I really got a kick out of (Fist of the North Star), then some that I did not get on with (Urotsukidōji). It ran side by side with my Hong Kong action film period, with me being exposed to some truly owe inspiring and amazing works.
It was with the 1995 DVD release when I first saw Ghost In the Shell, and it knocked my socks off. It stands today as one of my favorate films of all time, and I regularly point people in its direction.
Over the years Ghost in the shell has had alot of releases and re-releases, with the 2007 Japanese Bluray being the last one that had me waving my cash at it, but alas I missed my opitunity.
Ive gone by over the years with a HDTV Rip in WMV format with a Japanese 5.1 mix and some decent subtitle's in the hopes of that definitive release on the horizon.
Late last year I got a copy of the U.K 25th aniversary Blu Ray. Great Picture (but windowboxed!), Uncompressed original language track in 2.0. Sadly it ends there. Really bad english DUB with missing SFX! and misspelled subtitles. While not as bad as Dub titles it is pretty bad to release in this mess.
Many fans in the westen hemesphere have uttered the works 'The Curse of Ghost In The Shell' at the shoddy release and re-releases, as soon as one thing is fixed another is added. Upscales, Mixed audio and Bad subtitles have all been the bane of Ghost in the Shell fans.
Then there's the 2.0 release....... I shall speak no more of this.
I have The Killer, Hard Boiled, The Dark Knight trilogy in the works, and a list of projects that could last me years. This was the next one on my list now the U.K disc has failed me.
So this list is the best elements available over the releases, Underlined if I have it. I need help filling it up with the best. Then maybe we could put together an Ultimate Edition.
Will update list with the best elements over the course of the project.
VIDEO:
HDTV 1080p, Highly compressed, artifacts
US/U.K 25th anniversary. Good, softer than the HDTV, Same as the Japanese release but a more recent encode
AUDIO:
Japanese U.S/U.K 25th anniversary uncompressed 24bit 2.0 Theatrical Mix.
Japanese DTS 6.1 from R1 DVD
English DTS EX 6.1 from R1 DVD
English 2.0 from the Japanese BD release.
SUBTITLES:
HDTV source unknown, probably the R1 DVD?
EXTRAS:
"Production Report" featurette - R1 DVD
"Digital Works" featurette - R1 DVD
Theatrical Trailers Various Releases.
So over all the releases in the world what are the best / missing elements?
Does anybody have the R1 DVD Release?
NOTE: A small batch of the R1 DVDs was released with a fault on the DTS tracks resulting in no LFE (subwoofer) output (the 5.1 and 2.0 tracks are fine).
This is true as it is the release I got my hands on! I will take the LFE channel from the Dolby Digital Tracks.