Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (US Blu-ray) - huh?

[SomethingMore]

Came across this at Best Buy today, and purchased it on impulse.

Here's the amazon.com listing:
http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Shell-Blu-ray-Steve-Davis/dp/B002NUULNG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1255818362&sr=8-1
which says the release date isn't until November 24th. Weird.

Anyway, upon inspection, the back cover says it has a 6.1 DTS-ES track. But, there's only a Dolby Digital logo... no DTS logo.

Does anyone else have this? Can you confirm if the audio is DTS, Dolby, or even better, a lossless DTS HD MA or Dolby TrueHD track? I haven't opened my copy and I won't be able to watch it until Friday at the earliest.

It does not show any indication of the original version of the film being included (like the Japanese import), but I'm (sort of) okay with that.

[GenPion]

Wow... I guess this arrived early at Best Buy. At least at yours. It doesn't have lossless audio? How much was it at Best Buy? I really want this.

[SomethingMore]

I won't be able to confirm the audio myself until Friday. :(
$19.99.

[WTK]

Wow... I guess this arrived early at Best Buy. At least at yours.
It's supposed to be released @ 10/20/09 (or so) @ Best Buy (B&M). It will be an exclusive for about a month and then it will be available elsewhere. Same thing can be said for the Blood: The Last Vampire (BD) release. It's not the first time that BB has handle exclusive early release from Manga Entertainment.

[GenPion]

It's supposed to be released @ 10/20/09 (or so) @ Best Buy (B&M). It will be an exclusive for about a month and then it will be available elsewhere. Same thing can be said for the Blood: The Last Vampire (BD) release. It's not the first time that BB has handle exclusive early release from Manga Entertainment.

I had no idea. Good to know.

As soon as you watch the film SomethingMore, could you share your opinion on it as well as give the audio specs? I wouldn't mind picking this up soon and watching it with my Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence Blu-ray. I don't mind waiting for your opinion either. Here's hoping that you'll enjoy it!

[SPIDERone]

Thanks! I've been looking forward to GitS2.0 and BtLV blu's - I didn't know BB had an early exclusive on them. I was just looking at their website earlier and say the late-nov. dates listed.

[SPIDERone]

Should be able to get this tomorrow, but some of the specs are a bit disappointing!

Sounds as if no dub (not a problem for most, but I prefer dubs), no original GitS (which it sounds like both the UK and JPN release of 2.0 include - I own the very old DVD, and the special edition is ~$20 (the same price as the 2.0 blu)).

As a fan of the series though, I'd like to check it out, so I'm going to give in to it.

[SPIDERone]

It feels like I'm talking to myself here! :p

Picked this and Blood: The Last Vampire (animated and live action) up today. Good and bad news on this -

GitS 2.0 DOES include the english dub, and includes the original GitS (why didn't they list this as an extra??) - on the bad side, the original GitS looks absolutely horrible (viewing on a 24" LCD Monitor) - While in HD, it appears to be interlaced, seems blurry (not much detail) and "jaggy" (as if you took a low-resolution video with sharp edges and blew it up to a high resolution), and the most annoying part to me: the flashes of color in contrasty areas (it looks like an old VHS tape, where you get flashes of color when theres a white/black combination.) I'll need to check the DVD, but I think that might even be more watchable than this (I still need to watch more though). Maybe thats why it wasnt listed as an extra!

[SomethingMore]

SPIDERone,

Thanks for the update! :)
That's crazy that they didn't list the original as an extra, but if it's really as bad as you say it is, then I can see why they "forgot" to list it.

Can you confirm what the Japanese audio track is? As mentioned in my first post, the back lists DTS-ES (which is lossy 6.1), but only has a Dolby Digital logo. I'm crossing my fingers for some sort of lossless format, which may be possible given the errors you've already found. It almost looks like everything on the back was meant for the non-existent DVD release...

[WEEDEDOUT]

Is this going to be a standard disc release as well?

[WTK]

It feels like I'm talking to myself here! :p

Picked this and Blood: The Last Vampire (animated and live action) up today. Good and bad news on this -

GitS 2.0 DOES include the english dub, and includes the original GitS (why didn't they list this as an extra??) - on the bad side, the original GitS looks absolutely horrible (viewing on a 24" LCD Monitor) - While in HD, it appears to be interlaced, seems blurry (not much detail) and "jaggy" (as if you took a low-resolution video with sharp edges and blew it up to a high resolution), and the most annoying part to me: the flashes of color in contrasty areas (it looks like an old VHS tape, where you get flashes of color when theres a white/black combination.) I'll need to check the DVD, but I think that might even be more watchable than this (I still need to watch more though). Maybe thats why it wasnt listed as an extra!
I picked up this and Blood: The Last Vampire as well. It's kind of curious of why the original movie wasn't listed on the back. I may try to watch both over the weekend...

[WTK]

Is this going to be a standard disc release as well?
That's a no (at least for now). Manga Ent. don't do release much in terms of anime anymore.

[SPIDERone]

SPIDERone,

Thanks for the update! :)
That's crazy that they didn't list the original as an extra, but if it's really as bad as you say it is, then I can see why they "forgot" to list it.

Can you confirm what the Japanese audio track is? As mentioned in my first post, the back lists DTS-ES (which is lossy 6.1), but only has a Dolby Digital logo. I'm crossing my fingers for some sort of lossless format, which may be possible given the errors you've already found. It almost looks like everything on the back was meant for the non-existent DVD release...

2.0:
DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete ENGLISH
DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete JAPANESE
PCM 2.0 ENGLISH
PCM 2.0 JAPANESE

Original:
Stereo 2.0 ENGLISH
Stereo 2.0 JAPANESE

[van der graaf]

I picked up this and Blood: The Last Vampire as well. It's kind of curious of why the original movie wasn't listed on the back. I may try to watch both over the weekend...

It probably wasn't listed because it looks like utter shiit...think Manga's Wings of Honneamise.

[SomethingMore]

2.0:
DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete ENGLISH
DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete JAPANESE
PCM 2.0 ENGLISH
PCM 2.0 JAPANESE

Original:
Stereo 2.0 ENGLISH
Stereo 2.0 JAPANESE

Very disappointing!
I'm tempted to just return it and order the japanese disc from YesAsia... but it's SO expensive. Dammit.

[SomethingMore]

well, I kept my copy :)
Threw it into the PS3 today just to verify the audio. The menu does indeed list that the audio tracks are DTS-ES 6.1, but when actually playing the movie, I brought up the PS3 display menu, and lo and behold...

DTS HD Master Audio 6.1! This is for both the Japanese and English audio. Looks like Manga pulled an "Alliance" on the specs on this one.

The original version of the film looks about as bad as SPIDERone said. The audio for this one is only 2.0 PCM; both for English and Japanese.

I'll try to watch the entire film today (2.0 version, that is), but so far, my only major complaint is that the subtitles are HUGE!

[Ralph Jenkins]

The are a lot of mistakes on the case. It doesn't mention the original version of the film, but it does state there is an audio commentary by Mamoru Oshii and a "making of 2.0" feature, neither of which are on the disc.

I'm selling my copy. I don't care for the 2.0 version of the film, the original version looks poor, and the advertised extras are nowhere to be found. I'll stick with the Japanese release of the original version, even though the audio is only PCM 2.0.

[SomethingMore]

Pretty sure the 'Making Of' is actually on there. I remember seeing it in the menu... but I'll double-check.

I don't mind the 2.0 version at all, actually. It's not nearly as big of a change as I was expecting. I would never watch the original version on this disc again (the SE DVD is good for that until I find a good-enough copy on Blu-ray).

To summarize, for those who are still on the fence...
- Version 2.0 has 6.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (Japanese and English) and very good video quality.
- Original Version has 2.0 PCM Audio, but video quality is very bad.
- No Commentary on the disc, despite the packaging stating otherwise
- Making of 2.0 feature may be there... I'll update this post once I've confirmed.

[dad1153]

Got this from Amazon on Black Friday weekend. No 'Making of 2.0' new documentary, just a rehashed half-hour 'making of' documentary of the initial "GITS" back in '95 (from an American POV). The back of the box has corrected the mistakes and doesn't list the non-existent director's commentary and '2.0 making of' documentary anymore. Guess those misleading bullet points were only for the copies shipped to BB the month before the actual release.

Never seen anything "GITS" in my life so I watched it for the first time over the weekend and yes, I went with the 1080i untouched version first to get the 'pure' experience of the original right out of the bat. WOW, what a freaking great flick! A thinking man's action movie (doesn't hurt that it has lotsa cybernetic boobies! :p) with the best elements from "Blade Runner" and "Robocop" mixed into a socio-political plot that makes sense. I had heard Kenji Kawai's "GITS" song before but out of context; to hear it within the movie (loved to see those rusty Honk Kong canals/boat scene while hearing it) was a freaking revelation. The first "Ghost in the Shell" TV series is next because, after seeing this movie (along with "Appleseed E.X." on HD-DVD) I'm just dying for more Masamune Shirow-inspired anime goodness. Is "Innocence" worth tracking/seeing or does it s*** over the "GITS" legacy from the first movie?

Checked a few minutes on selected scenes of the 2.0 version and (a) the 1080p transfer is stellar and a huge jump in detail over original "GITS," (b) the DTS sound kicks butt (in clarity, not sure about accuracy compared to the original) and (c) the CG/orange tints seemed distracting but not deal-breakers. Then again, what do I know? I'm a "GITS" noob still reeling over just seeing it, instead of a 14 year veteran of the movie's phenomenon (like most folks around here). :)

[visitor Q]

If you treat Innocence as a very good crime thriller with plenty of action then you won't be disappointed. I don't think the film is as balanced as the original Ghost in the Shell (gets a little confusing in parts through the first run through), or as well thought out; and some find the degree of philosophical ramblings pretentious. On the flip side it's another interesting "thinking man's" action film with a strong degree of engaging visual and aural elements.

The concept of "Ghost Dubbing" was a first for me as I saw Innocence before the S.A.C. series - which broke the time line. So, the concept may not have had the same affect on me if that knowledge prefaced my viewing. This will be lost to you at the moment, but it may affect your viewing order decision. I'd be curious if others might recommend seeing the two films back to back and then the S.A.C. series afterwards - which I highly recommend.

ps - nice to see another blooming fan of the original Ghost in the Shell film. It's my third favorite film ever made - and that's coming from a 37 year old.

[dad1153]

I finally got around to checking out the new CG paint job Oshii-san slapped on his 1995 baby. Ouch! :( I can live with the new orange tint since it's consistent with the sequel (which I haven't seen) and the enhanced CG tinkers pay off at the end with that helluva final shot that is much more powerful and imposing than the original ending (I felt chills). Shame that the CG during the opening scenes, credits (horrible, plus the typewriter sound effects are missed) and most of the helicopter shots feel either misplaced, unnecessary or just plain wrong (did we really need the shattered glass from the helicopter bullets to be CG?). The HD transfer itself is aces and shows off the movie's still-impressive cinematography and artwork at the service of a deep philisophical plot masquarading as an animated action flick. Sound is crystal-clear and stunning (Kenji Kowan's music and the machine gun battles stood out) but I only made it to the 15 min. mark with the English dub before switching over to Japanese and Eng. subtitles. :p

[dad1153]

Saw "GITS 2.0" on DVD at the shelves of a local BB this afternoon, so it's no longer a BD exclusive. Got "Grave of the Fireflies" 2-Disc DVD for 'mua.' :)

[dad1153]

"GITS 2.0" is $10.99 at amazon.com right now: http://go.avsforum.com/?aid=5336055023&bid=3136390&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2FB002NUULNG%3Ftag%3Dbluray-033-20