Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £4.99 a month
Ghost in the Shell
Mamoru Oshii's beautifully animated and disturbingly prophetic anime classic about the hunt for a supreme hacker in a transhumanist dystopia.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1995 83 mins
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Overview
Mamoru Oshii's beautifully animated 2029-set anime classic centres on Public Security Section 9’s hunt for supreme hacker The Puppet Master. This is a world where governments are dependent on computer controlled systems, and cyber terrorists pose the biggest threat to global stability.
Part-funded by UK's Manga Entertainment in response to the runaway success of Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira (1988), Ghost in the Shell remains one of the most influential anime films of all time, inspiring a continuing franchise and a Hollywood live-action remake with Scarlett Johansson. Yet it's Oshii's original vision that remains the most powerfully prophetic, raising philosphical questions around transhumanism that are more relevant than ever. The film is presented here in its English dub, as it was seen when originally distributed in the UK.
strong violenceRelated
Animation & Artists Moving Image
The Fabulous Baron Munchausen The Fabulous Baron Munchausen
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1961 85 mins Director: Karel Zeman
Karel Zeman’s wildly inventive and comic take on the surreal adventures of the bragging Baron explodes on to the screen in a riot of colour, visual wit and poetic verve.
The Whalebone Box The Whalebone Box
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2019 83 mins Director: Andrew Kötting
On their latest jaunt, Iain Sinclair and Andrew Kötting set out to return a whalebone box to its place of origin in the Outer Hebrides.
Bronco's House Bronco's House
Drama 2015 44 mins Director: Mark Jenkin
A young man strives to provide a home for his pregnant girlfriend and their unborn child, in Mark Jenkin's mid-length precursor to Bait.
David Bowie Is Dead David Bowie Is Dead
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2018 17 mins Director: Mark Jenkin
Mark Jenkin (Bait) undertakes a stream-of-consciousness road trip through London in the turblent wake of David Bowie's death.
Enough to Fill Up an Eggcup Enough to Fill Up an Eggcup
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2016 36 mins Director: Mark Jenkin
Transcending a portrait of place, the quiet, eternal rhythms of the small fishing cove Penberth are caught, landed and served up in this stark and gentle handcrafted celluloid poem from Mark Jenkin (Bait).
Last and First Men Last and First Men
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2020 70 mins Director: Jóhann Jóhannsson
Two billion years ahead of us, a future race of humans finds itself on the verge of extinction. Tilda Swinton narrates this visually stunning lament for humanity by acclaimed composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (Sicario, Arrival).
Anime
Summer Wars Summer Wars
Science Fiction 2009 115 mins Director: Mamoru Hosoda
A student sets in motion a series of events that could result in the earth colliding with the parallel world.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2006 100 mins Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Breathtaking, multi-award-winning feature about a girl with a special power… Makoto Konno's life changes after a brush with death, when she discovers she has the ability to jump backwards in time.
Wolf Children Wolf Children
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2013 118 mins Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Single mother Hana must bring up her wolf children away from the prying eyes of the neighbours in this stunning anime.
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2004 100 mins Director: Mamoru Oshii
Mamoru Oshii's stunning sequel to the 1995 anime classic explores issues around identity, existence and what exactly defines our humanity.
Directed by Mamoru Oshii
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2004 100 mins Director: Mamoru Oshii
Mamoru Oshii's stunning sequel to the 1995 anime classic explores issues around identity, existence and what exactly defines our humanity.
New
A Jester's Tale A Jester's Tale
Period drama 1964 85 mins Director: Karel Zeman
Karel Zeman's astonishing fantasy mixes live-action and animation to tell the adventures of a ploughman and a mercenery during the Thirty Years War.
The Fabulous Baron Munchausen The Fabulous Baron Munchausen
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1961 85 mins Director: Karel Zeman
Karel Zeman’s wildly inventive and comic take on the surreal adventures of the bragging Baron explodes on to the screen in a riot of colour, visual wit and poetic verve.
Cure Cure
Crime 1998 111 mins Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Kiyoshi Kurosawa's a nerve-shredding thriller about the hunt for a serial killer in a bleak and decaying Tokyo.
The Mourning Forest The Mourning Forest
Drama 2007 97 mins Director: Naomi Kawase
A beautiful and contemplative portrait of grief from Cannes-winning filmmaker Naomi Kawase (Sweet Bean, Still the Water).
Journey to the Shore Journey to the Shore
Drama 2015 128 mins Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
The living and the dead coexist in Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cannes-winning meditation on love and loss.
Harmonium Harmonium
Drama 2016 120 mins Director: Koji Fukada
Kôji Fukada's mixture of slow-burn thriller and off-kilter family drama won Un Certain Regard Jury prize at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.