"Actor: Maki Miyamoto"

• Ghost In The Shell 4K - Limited Edition Steelbook | Blu Ray | (27/09/2021) from £42.05   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Exclusive Art by Matt Ferguson Celebrate one of the most critically acclaimed anime films of all time in 4K Ultra HD! 2029: A female cybernetic government agent, Major Motoko Kusanagi, and the Internal Bureau of Investigations are hot on the trail of The Puppet Master, a mysterious and threatening computer virus capable of infiltrating human hosts. Together with her fellow agents from Section 9, Kusanagi embarks on a high-tech race against time to capture the omnipresent entity. Director Mamoru Oshii's award-winning cyber-tech thriller, based on the comic book by Shirow Masamune, is lauded as one of the leading Japanese animation films of all time. Brand new special features include: Full-length audio commentary of GHOST IN THE SHELL. Participants include: Mary Claypool (Animation Writer and English Language Scriptwriter of GHOST IN THE SHELL), Eric Calderon (Animation Producer and Writer), Richard Epcar (Voice of Batou in the GHOST IN THE SHELL franchise), Charles Solomon (Animation Historian and Critic) Accessing Section 9: 25 Years into the Future Featurette Landscapes & Dreamscapes The Art and Architecture of GHOST IN THE SHELL Featurette Box Set Includes: Steelbook with 1x UHD Disc and 1x Blu-ray disc Envelope containing 6x Artcards and 1x Matt Ferguson's Ghost in the Shell Poster All packaged in a rigid box Special Features Audio Commentary - Full length audio commentary of GHOST IN THE SHELL. Participants include: Mary Claypool (Animation Writer and English Language Scriptwriter of GHOST IN THE SHELL), Eric Calderon (Animation Producer and Writer), Richard Epcar (Voice of Batou in the GHOST IN THE SHELL franchise), Charles Solomon (Animation Historian and Critic) Accessing Section 9: 25 Years into the Future - Featurette (18:41) Landscapes & Dreamscapes The Art and Architecture of GHOST IN THE SHELL Featurette (10:49) Production Report Trailers Digital Works

• Ghost In The Shell (Animated) (Special Edition) | DVD | (22/09/2003) from £6.30   |  Saving you £11.69 (185.56%)   |  RRP £17.99

  The skilful blending of drawn animation and computer-generated imagery excited anime fans when this science fiction mystery was released in 1995: many enthusiasts believe Ghost suggests what the future of anime will be, at least in the short term. The film is set in the not-too-distant future, when an unnamed government uses lifelike cyborgs or "enhanced" humans for undercover work. One of the key cyborgs is The Major, Motoko Kusanagi, who resembles a cross between The Terminator and a Playboy centrefold. She finds herself caught up in a tangled web of espionage and counterespionage as she searches for the mysterious superhacker known as "The Puppet Master." Mamoru Oshii directs with a staccato rhythm, alternating sequences of rapid-fire action (car chases, gun battles, explosions) with static dialogue scenes that allow the characters to sort out the vaguely mystical and rather convoluted plot. Kusanagis final quote from I Corinthians suggests that electronic evolution may compliment and eventually supplant organic evolution. The minor nudity, profanity, and considerable violence would earn Ghost in the Shell at least a PG rating. --Charles Solomon

• Ghost In The Shell - Stand Alone Complex | DVD | (27/09/2004) from £9.37   |  Saving you £13.61 (213.32%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The skilful blending of drawn animation and computer-generated imagery excited anime fans when this science fiction mystery was released in 1995: many enthusiasts believe Ghost suggests what the future of anime will be, at least in the short term. The film is set in the not-too-distant future, when an unnamed government uses lifelike cyborgs or "enhanced" humans for undercover work. One of the key cyborgs is The Major, Motoko Kusanagi, who resembles a cross between The Terminator and a Playboy centrefold. She finds herself caught up in a tangled web of espionage and counterespionage as she searches for the mysterious superhacker known as "The Puppet Master." Mamoru Oshii directs with a staccato rhythm, alternating sequences of rapid-fire action (car chases, gun battles, explosions) with static dialogue scenes that allow the characters to sort out the vaguely mystical and rather convoluted plot. Kusanagi's final quote from I Corinthians suggests that electronic evolution may compliment and eventually supplant organic evolution. The minor nudity, profanity, and considerable violence would earn Ghost in the Shell at least a PG rating. --Charles Solomon

• The Geisha House | DVD | (11/11/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A moving and entrancing exploration of a culture that has fascinated the Western world for centuries, Kinji Fukasaki's Geisha House was released in 1998, presaging a flurry of literature and memoirs that have helped to broaden our understanding of the geisha's role in Japanese society. Set in the late 1950s, when geisha culture was threatened by moral crusades, it tells the story of Omacha (Miyamoto Maki), a young girl who sees the geisha life as a way to lift her poverty-stricken family from their hand-to-mouth existence. Through her eyes, we see the protocols and complex financial relationships which dictate the running of the geisha house. Fukusaki's film is a work of great delicacy with moments of hypnotic beauty, and his tender direction, often touched with a sense of wonder, fills the screen with lovingly constructed scenes. At its heart is the poignant situation of the women who must sacrifice their normal relationships to live an ambiguous life in which they are a key part of society while being kept, for the most part, on its periphery, like perpetual mistresses. On the DVD: Geisha House is presented with subtitles in widescreen anamorphic format. The string-laden Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack is occasionally overpowering. The only extra is a short, text biography of Fukusaki. --Piers Ford

• Yakuza Box Set | DVD | (17/04/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Three tough thrillers from the acclaimed director of 'Battle Royale'. Graveyard Of Honour: Rikio Ishikawa is a brutal street thug who is drawn into the powerful Kawada gang in 1946 Tokyo. His insubordination and rebelliousness encourage him to start his own Yakuza family but he decides the easiest way would be to challenge his own Godfather whom he brutally attacks. This disrespect to his boss brings the ultimate form of disgrace upon himself and his 'family'. For his own