James Cameron called it “a stunning work of speculative fiction . . . the first to reach a level of literary excellence”. The Wachowskis used to take a DVD of the movie to pitch their project The Matrix to producers, telling them, “We want to do that — for real.” Ghost in the Shell was the first anime feature to make an impact in North America, and it clearly made a strong impression on American filmmakers. But more than that, it’s a remarkably prescient story which anticipated how AI blurs the lines between man and machine.
2029: Cybernetics are encroaching on what used to be the exclusive domain of human intelligence. When a rogue hacker known as “The Puppetmaster” brings brain-hacking into the political arena, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster.
Staff Pick: Juan
Thirty years ago, Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell didn’t just debut as a cyberpunk masterpiece; it cracked open the future, peering into a world where identity, consciousness, and technology fused in unsettling ways. As we stand in 2025, submerged in the age of generative AI and biometric surveillance, Oshii’s vision feels less like fiction and more like prophecy.
Wael Khairy, rogerebert.com
This is a work of profound and melancholic beauty; every bit as essential in the 21st century as it was in the 20th.
Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph
Media Partner
Mamoru Oshi
Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Ôtsuka, Iemasa Kayumi, Kôichi Yamadera
Japan
1995
In Japanese with English subtitles
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Credits
Producer
Yoshimasa Mizuo, Ken Matsumoto, Ken Iyadomi, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa
Screenwriter
Kazunori Itō
Cinematography
Hisao Shirai
Editor
Shūichi Kakesu, Shigeyuki Yamamori
Original Music
Kenji Kawai
Production Design
Takashi Watabe
Art Director
Hiromasa Ogura
90s, Baby!
Ten years. 11 weeks. 90 films from the 1990s. This summer, 90’s Baby! takes a deep dive into a defining decade of cinema.
The Blair Witch Project
The rushes of a student-made documentary investigating the legend of the Blair Witch in Burkittsville, Maryland, a quest that led the three filmmakers deep into the Appallachian woods. Easy to get lost in there...
Lessons of Darkness
Werner Herzog's unforgettable documentary reveals the unfolding disaster of the Kuwaitian oil fields in flames in 1991 as a sweeping inferno of mesmerizing power.
Beau Travail
Inspired by Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Claire Denis' transfixing Beau Travail is set in East Africa. Sgt Galoup (Denis Lavant) reflects on his time in the French Foreign Legion, and the impact of the handsome Sentain (Gregoire Colin).
Three Kings
George Clooney headlines David O Russell's bold, brazen attempt to get to grips with the immediate aftermath of Operation Desert Storm, as 4 US soldiers try to liberate a missing shipment of gold amidst the chaos and carnage.
But I'm a Cheerleader
Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is the perfect All-American Girl, or so she thinks. That is until she’s shipped off to conversion therapy. This pitch black comedy is wrapped in a saccharine bow, featuring the icon herself, RuPaul, as a conversion counsellor.
Magnolia
This deeply personal 1999 California opus is ripe for rediscovery. Mapping the emotional traumas of half-a-dozen major characters as they crisscross the San Fernando Valley in search of either recognition or reconciliation, it's PTA's riskiest gamble.
Election
Tracy Flick (Reece Witherspoon) is running for Student President, but Mr. McAllister (Matthew Broderick) has other ideas... This remarkably sour millennial comedy from Alexander Payne (The Holdovers; Sideways; The Descendents) hits twice as hard today.
Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai
Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker) is an assassin, but he's also an existential loner who adheres to his personal code. Despite the thriller trappings, this is really a lampoon of that genre, and a melancholy reverie for the cultural melting pot we call home.
The Straight Story
David Lynch goes a different direction in this linear Midwestern about a septuagenarian (Richard Farnsworth) who drives nearly 400km on a lawnmower to visit his ailing brother (Harry Dean Stanton).
90s Surprise Film
The 90s movie we have all been missing... Join us for a celebratory wake for this year's 90s, Baby series! What you will be seeing is top secret (no, not Top Secret!, that was 1984) but it will be at least 26 years old and it will be new to this series.
The Wind Will Carry Us
Kiarostami's dry comic masterpiece follows a Tehrani film team's thwarted attempts to document a traditional Kurdish funeral... Trouble being, there's no one to bury, and, worse, virtually no cell service...
Fight Club
1999 was a very good year for movies, but nothing captured millennial angst quite so vividly as David Fincher's bruising black comedy about what it means to be a man today. This modern classic does everything short of rattling your seat to get a reaction.