I mad randomly stumbled upon this new 2008 “re-imaging” of the original 1995 Ghost in the Shell feature film which was re-released to theaters this past Summer.
One of my favorite (if not all-time favorite) anime directors, Mamoru Oshii released his latest film, The Sky Crawlers in 2008. To help promote that film, they also released this updated version of Oshii’s former, worldwide breakout hit, Ghost in the Shell, with fully re-recorded dialogue, a 6.1 surround sound mix, updated coloring, “new scenes” (which I’ll get to in a sec), some audio support from Skywalker Sound, and a new voice actor for “The Puppet Master” (changed from Iemasa Kayumi to Yoshiko Sakakibara).
Regarding the new scenes…The introduction of the film with Major Kusanagi jumping off the building was entirely re-done in CG. The title sequence, also, which inspired The Matrix films’ “green rain” title sequences were also entirely re-done. There’s a bit of continuity jarring as the movie begins in 3D CG and then jumps back to the traditional 2D. It is in no way a slick transition, as seen in contemporary anime, such as that of Tekkon Kinkreet or even Ghost in the Shell: Innocence.
I haven’t watched the 2.0 update in its entirety yet, but apparently there are a few more changes: all helicopters in the film, for some reason (aside from looking dope?) are now represented in 3D, and all computer terminals are now an orange-redish hue, replacing their former green hue. This is perhaps to distinguish itself from, quite possibly, The Matrix films and to also bridge Ghost in the Shell 1.0 to its sequel film, 2004’s “Innocence” which used those colors predominantly.
Here are a few screenshot differences taken from the Bluray versions of the original Ghost in the Shell and it’s 2.0 update: