Ghost in the Shell Movie Soundtrack (Review)

From the pages of the original 1989 Japanese manga by iconic Masamune Shirow to the 2017 Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures and Reliance Entertainment’ big screen adaptation of Ghost in the Shell starring Scarlett Johansson as its heroine, this immortal tale seamlessly lends itself to the ebb and flow of electronic music. 2017’s official soundtrack album, Music Inspired By The Motion Picture Ghost In The Shell [Paramount Pictures via Kobalt Music Recordings]—due out on March 31--threads together 12 tracks elegantly befitting of Major’s unpredictable cybernetic war and personal journey to uncover the secrets behind her dark past.

Ghost in The Shell movie soundtrack captures the tone and spirit of the anime. The twelve track soundtrack features compositions from Kenji Kawai, Johnny Jewel, Boys Noize, DJ Shadow, Above & Beyond, IO Echo, Tricky, Ki-Theory and Gary Newman. The album opens up with a great remix of Kenji Kawai Ghost in The Shell main theme “Uta IV” from Steve Aoki. The song brings a more epic feel with the addition of drums and synths sound. The opening track is not only the best track but it is the stand out track on the album. From there we go to the track “The Hacker” by Johnny Jewel which builds the tone of tension and I feel that this is the main theme for the antagonist. Other tracks such as Aokigahra Forest, Escape and Enjoy the Silence and Free Fall are all good tracks. Each song really gives a mystery and cyberpunk feel that captures the spirit of Ghost in the Shell. The music has a consistent tone throughout the album which works very well. A soundtrack needs to capture the tone and feel of the scenes plus the atmosphere. All these artist did a stellar job of connecting the feel and tone of Ghost in the Shell. This is an album that fans of Ghost in the Shell will enjoy.

Top Five Tracks

Uta IV Reawakening (Steve Aoki Remix)

Scars

Escape

Enjoy the Silence

Surge

Tracklist

01) Kenji Kawai- "Utai IV Reawakening" (Steve Aoki remix)

02) Johnny Jewel - "The Hacker"

03) Boys Noize - "Cathryn's Peak"

04) DJ Shadow ft. Nils Frahm - "Scars"

05) Above & Beyond - "Surge"

06) IO Echo - "Aokigahara Forest" (Album Only)

07) Tricky - "Escape"

08) Ki: Theory - "Enjoy The Silence" (Album Only)

09) Johnny Jewel - "Free Fall"

10) Gary Numan - "Bed Of Thorns"

11) Johnny Jewel - "The Key"

12) Kenji Kawai- "Utai IV Reawakening"

Anime Ghost in the Shell Returns to Theaters for Limited Engagement

The “Ghost in the Shell” franchise has been entertaining audiences for more than 25 years and this February, Lionsgate and Funimation Films are partnering together to bring the 1995, groundbreaking anime film back to theaters for a two-day limited theatrical engagement.  The original “Ghost in the Shell” movie from acclaimed director Mamoru Oshii, will return to the big screen on February 7 – 8, 2017 in 110 theaters across the United States. Moviegoers will be able to enjoy both the original Japanese version with subtitles as well as the English dub of the film. Each will be available on separate days of the engagement, beginning first with the subtitled version.  Tickets are available beginning today and can be pre-purchased via the official movie website at funimationfilms.com/ghostintheshell.

Viewed as ahead of its time when it premiered in 1995, “Ghost in The Shell” quickly turned into a pop culture phenomenon and the inspiration for future mainstream movies. The movie became the first anime film to rank #1 on Billboard in video sales, which currently total more than 1.5 million copies across the franchise. With the release of “Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie” in 2016 and a new live action version of “Ghost in the Shell” set to release at the end of March, there has been a huge resurgence in fan interest for the franchise worldwide.

 “We’re excited to be partnering with Lionsgate to bring the original ‘Ghost in the Shell’ movie back to U.S. theaters,” said Gen Fukunaga, CEO and founder of Funimation. “’Ghost in the Shell’ is truly a seminal work in anime cinema and it helped firmly establish a market for the genre with U.S. movie audiences.”

’Ghost in the Shell’ is an iconic property and it is great that fans will be able to watch it on the big screen for the first time in 20 years,’ said Kevin Carney, VP Marketing Lionsgate. “Many fans will be seeing the movie in a theater for the first time and Funimation has been a terrific partner to help make this possible.”

Lionsgate will be releasing a new, deluxe collector’s edition of the remastered original on Blu-Ray with Digital HD.  This new edition will feature steelbook packaging and Mondo artwork and will be available in retail outlets beginning March 7, 2017.

 Synopsis

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, they embark on a high-tech race against time to capture the omnipresent entity. 

For more information on “Ghost in the Shell” visit funimationfilms.com/ghostintheshell