GKIDS TO BRING NEW 4K RESTORATION OF CULT-CLASSIC FOLLOW UP
TO “GHOST IN THE SHELL” TO CINEMAS NATIONWIDE
FOR 20TH ANNIVERSARY RE-RELEASE
GKIDS, the Academy Award®-winning producer and distributor of acclaimed and artist-driven animation from around the world, announced today it has acquired the theatrical distribution rights for North America to Mamoru Oshii’s animated masterpiece GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE. In celebration of the film’s 20th anniversary, GKIDS will release an all new 4K restoration of the film in cinemas nationwide this summer. Prior to the film’s nationwide release, the new 4K restoration will premiere this May at the Chicago Critics Film Festival, held at the historic Music Box Theatre.
First released in 2004, the film is director Oshii’s follow up to his epoch-making 1995 feature Ghost in the Shell, based on the comic series created by Shirow Masamune. Imagined as a standalone return to the world of Ghost in the Shell, the story is a cyberpunk mystery centered on the character Batou from the original film. Like with the 1995 Ghost in the Shell, GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE has been lavishly crafted by legendary animation powerhouse Production I.G, and features a powerful and haunting score by returning composer Kenji Kawai. The film is produced by Production I.G co-founder Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, producer of the original 1995 feature, who is joined by Academy Award®-winning producer and Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki. Featuring mind-bending visuals that demanded five years in production, GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE celebrated its international debut in competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, thus becoming the first and only anime in history to compete for the Palme d’Or.
The deal was negotiated between Rodney Uhler of GKIDS and Francesco Prandoni of Production I.G, marking yet another collaboration between the two companies. The studio’s features A Letter to Momo (2011), Giovanni’s Island (2014), Miss Hokusai (2015), and The Deer King (2021), are also distributed by GKIDS.
“We’re honored to be working with the team at Production I.G in bringing this visionary film, from a true auteur, to theatrical audiences in North America,” said GKIDS Director of Acquisitions and Development Rodney Uhler. “Mamoru Oshii was and remains, in many ways, a filmmaker ahead of his time so we’re thrilled to be able to share his film, with a beautiful, 4K remaster, with new and old audiences alike.”
Synopsis:
In the year 2032, the line between humans and machines has been blurred almost beyond distinction. A string of murders perpetrated by a prototype android model has drawn the attention of Public Security Section 9, a unit specializing in counter cyber-terrorism. With none of the victims’ families pressing charges, suspicions arise regarding the nature of the androids and their production company. In the course of the investigation, the almost entirely cyber-bodied agent Batou, and his still human partner Togusa embark on a journey through a technological dystopia, taking on ferocious Yakuza thugs, devious hackers, government bureaucrats, and corporate criminals to uncover the shocking truth behind the crime.
Acclaimed director Mamoru Oshii pushes further into the world and concepts first developed in his groundbreaking film Ghost in the Shell, considered one of the most important and iconic anime films ever made. With its thought-provoking speculations on artificial intelligence, which have only become more relevant in our present world, GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE celebrates its 20th anniversary returning to cinemas in a lustrous new 4K restoration.
© 2004 Shirow Masamune/KODANSHA・IG, ITNDDTD