--- product_id: 255259406 title: "Ghost in the Shell Special Edition" price: "A$44" currency: AUD in_stock: true reviews_count: 10 url: https://www.desertcart.com.au/products/255259406-ghost-in-the-shell-special-edition store_origin: AU region: Australia --- # Ghost in the Shell Special Edition **Price:** A$44 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Ghost in the Shell Special Edition - **How much does it cost?** A$44 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.au](https://www.desertcart.com.au/products/255259406-ghost-in-the-shell-special-edition) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description NOTICE: The disk has English audio and subtitles. A cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master. Review: Anyone else have wierd sound? - Bought this DVD on desertcart from a seller a while back, thought id buy the updated DVD version as opposed to having to dig out a VHS player for my older copy =)however, has anyone else got this or is it just me, but the sound is a little off, the DVD isnt a copy it legit, its just the sound is a few seconds off. Sometimes its hardly noticable and im not to fussed, its just a pain SEEING the gunshot, and THEN hesring it =) I did read something about odd sound on a few sites, but just wondering if anyone else has this problem? Apart from that, AMAZING anime movie, a true classic and a must have for EVERYONE who's into science-fiction stuff. Review: Philosophy and big guns - There are plenty of half-baked (and fully baked) analyses of the deeper meanings behind this film (and its associated series, the Stand Alone Complex 1st and 2nd Gig/Solid State Society etc) that aren't really worth reprising. Suffice to say that the GitS milieu is a future world with national rivalries still going on while society itself is ever more merged by connected cybersystems and modified individuals capable of tapping into the big data that underpins society, all the while questioning what it means to be human to an ever greater degree. In amongst this there are individuals intent on everything from petty crime to grand criminal acts, who are unafraid to subvert and exploit systems and people (to the extent of "hacking" individuals) to pursue their schemes. A crack team of modified intelligence operatives is directed by a task force (Section 9, that perhaps occupies a similar space to MI6 but without the subtlety) to engage a criminal mastermind known as the Puppet Master, and this process eventually reaches a showdown in a deserted part of town. Part of the fun of the journey through the plot is all the tech that is used, from thermal masking to the cyber-implants grafted into the team themselves, as well as into the back-office staff who run operations in real-time (fabulous modified hands, etc). This all adds to a sense that tech really is taking over, and a lot of the team's more philosophical interludes focus on this tension between the biological/spiritual and the tech. Nevertheless it is all used to make progress in the investigations into hackings, killings, and betrayals. A key attraction of anime to me is the sense of observation that goes into the animation. The best anime will incorporate details that seem obvious but which are phenomenally easy to overlook if you were trying to recreate a cartoon scene for yourself (such as rain running along cables and dripping from the low points). The result is often deceptively simple scenes that feel real and which you feel you're inhabiting, and when the story stops itself for a moment and launches into a scene that re-immerses you into the city, or setting up for a key moment such as interception of a vehicle and setting up the snipers and road blocks, there's a tremendous sense of place. It takes a gutsy director to stop the action for a five-minute tour of a city (to some tremendous music by Kenji Kawaii) that is so utterly immersive that it creates a spell of its own, or to show the minutiae of establishing a road block and the teams moving into position. This is where I think GitS scores big - it sets convention aside and tells its story in its own distinctive style. If you get along with that style you'll be thrilled (you must like detail, and prepare to be confused for a while until things become clear), but it isn't for everybody. It is moderately "grown up" anime, and while it isn't especially cerebral along the lines of later anime productions, it does make some interesting concepts about human/machine integration come to life, as well as telling a rapid-fire story of espionage and intrigue as it goes. This film was given a mild makeover years later, to appear as Ghost In The Shell 2.0 Redux [DVD ] which was a better buy since it contains not only the made-over movie, but this original version too. There have been some complaints about the transfer of the old movie in the Redux set, but my copy looked okay to me, with the (extremely minor) anime glitches showing up in both versions. Moving on to the second movie, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence [DVD ] is not such a great idea plot-wise. The animation is superb, as usual, but the plot is at once pointless and flat while in parts it is actually ludicrously overblown. For me, the best part of the GitS system of films and episodes (the Stand Alone Complex sets) is this very first movie, either in its original form or with the mild makeover. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | ASIN | B0002RQ2T4 | | Actors | Atsuko Tanaka, Kôichi Yamadera, Masato Yamanouchi, Tesshô Genda, Yutaka Nakano | | Aspect Ratio | 16:9 - 1.85:1 | | Best Sellers Rank | 87,272 in DVD & Blu-ray ( See Top 100 in DVD & Blu-ray ) 2,449 in Anime (DVD & Blu-ray) | | Customer reviews | 4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars (1,752) | | Director | Mamoru Oshii | | Is discontinued by manufacturer | No | | Item model number | Relay Time: 120 min | | Language | English (DTS ES 6.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX), French (Dolby Digital 2.0), German (Dolby Digital 2.0), Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0), Japanese (DTS ES 6.1), Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0) | | Media Format | DVD-Video, PAL | | Number of discs | 2 | | Product Dimensions | 1.78 x 19.05 x 13.72 cm; 77.11 g | | Release date | 11 Jan. 2005 | | Run time | 82 minutes | | Studio | GHOST IN THE SHELL | | Subtitles: | English | ## Product Details - **Format:** DVD-Video, PAL - **Genre:** anime - **Language:** English, Japanese - **Runtime:** 82 minutes ## Images ![Ghost in the Shell Special Edition - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81CGFyikjlL.jpg) ![Ghost in the Shell Special Edition - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81Y2lCsrQqL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Anyone else have wierd sound? *by Z***N on 31 August 2009* Bought this DVD on Amazon from a seller a while back, thought id buy the updated DVD version as opposed to having to dig out a VHS player for my older copy =)however, has anyone else got this or is it just me, but the sound is a little off, the DVD isnt a copy it legit, its just the sound is a few seconds off. Sometimes its hardly noticable and im not to fussed, its just a pain SEEING the gunshot, and THEN hesring it =) I did read something about odd sound on a few sites, but just wondering if anyone else has this problem? Apart from that, AMAZING anime movie, a true classic and a must have for EVERYONE who's into science-fiction stuff. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Philosophy and big guns *by R***D on 25 October 2016* There are plenty of half-baked (and fully baked) analyses of the deeper meanings behind this film (and its associated series, the Stand Alone Complex 1st and 2nd Gig/Solid State Society etc) that aren't really worth reprising. Suffice to say that the GitS milieu is a future world with national rivalries still going on while society itself is ever more merged by connected cybersystems and modified individuals capable of tapping into the big data that underpins society, all the while questioning what it means to be human to an ever greater degree. In amongst this there are individuals intent on everything from petty crime to grand criminal acts, who are unafraid to subvert and exploit systems and people (to the extent of "hacking" individuals) to pursue their schemes. A crack team of modified intelligence operatives is directed by a task force (Section 9, that perhaps occupies a similar space to MI6 but without the subtlety) to engage a criminal mastermind known as the Puppet Master, and this process eventually reaches a showdown in a deserted part of town. Part of the fun of the journey through the plot is all the tech that is used, from thermal masking to the cyber-implants grafted into the team themselves, as well as into the back-office staff who run operations in real-time (fabulous modified hands, etc). This all adds to a sense that tech really is taking over, and a lot of the team's more philosophical interludes focus on this tension between the biological/spiritual and the tech. Nevertheless it is all used to make progress in the investigations into hackings, killings, and betrayals. A key attraction of anime to me is the sense of observation that goes into the animation. The best anime will incorporate details that seem obvious but which are phenomenally easy to overlook if you were trying to recreate a cartoon scene for yourself (such as rain running along cables and dripping from the low points). The result is often deceptively simple scenes that feel real and which you feel you're inhabiting, and when the story stops itself for a moment and launches into a scene that re-immerses you into the city, or setting up for a key moment such as interception of a vehicle and setting up the snipers and road blocks, there's a tremendous sense of place. It takes a gutsy director to stop the action for a five-minute tour of a city (to some tremendous music by Kenji Kawaii) that is so utterly immersive that it creates a spell of its own, or to show the minutiae of establishing a road block and the teams moving into position. This is where I think GitS scores big - it sets convention aside and tells its story in its own distinctive style. If you get along with that style you'll be thrilled (you must like detail, and prepare to be confused for a while until things become clear), but it isn't for everybody. It is moderately "grown up" anime, and while it isn't especially cerebral along the lines of later anime productions, it does make some interesting concepts about human/machine integration come to life, as well as telling a rapid-fire story of espionage and intrigue as it goes. This film was given a mild makeover years later, to appear as Ghost In The Shell 2.0 Redux [DVD ] which was a better buy since it contains not only the made-over movie, but this original version too. There have been some complaints about the transfer of the old movie in the Redux set, but my copy looked okay to me, with the (extremely minor) anime glitches showing up in both versions. Moving on to the second movie, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence [DVD ] is not such a great idea plot-wise. The animation is superb, as usual, but the plot is at once pointless and flat while in parts it is actually ludicrously overblown. For me, the best part of the GitS system of films and episodes (the Stand Alone Complex sets) is this very first movie, either in its original form or with the mild makeover. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good film, DVD a bit of a let down. *by E***Y on 10 November 2001* This is one of the key anime films around (or at least one of the key ones released in the west), it's a classic sci-fi anime with lots of great action backed up with a complex but solid plot. It's very nice to see a film which is both intelligent and exciting. It is however, quite short for a full length film, which is understandable, this is often the case with animated films because of the amount of work which goes into them (and the work that went into this shows), but the pacing seems a bit odd to me whenever I watch it, for example, it seems to reach a climax too soon. This also leaves little room for characterisation, but then that isn't the real point of the story. What there is is a very complicated but incredibly intruiging plot which leaves you thinking long after you've seen it. I really wish there were more films like this but unfortunately they're a rarity. The film, I would say, is a must-watch, and most probably one you will want to watch again. But there is the problem, as mentioned before, of the DVD's sound being out of sync with the picture. I did notice this a lot through the film and I found it distracting, some people might not be bothered, you'll have to decide for yourself wether to get it on DVD or not. It didn't totally ruin the film for me, although I had seen it before on VHS. The extras are ok, it gives you the option of the sub or dub, I always prefer subs since the translation is usually more accurate but it's interesting to compare, which you can only really do on DVD. The making-of documentary is perhaps becoming out of date as far as the technological info but there's some interesting facts about the film. The ROM content isn't that interesting. I do hope a DVD without the sound syncing problem is available sometime, but I doubt that'll happen. If that won't get to you then I'd reccomend this. ## Frequently Bought Together - Ghost in the Shell (Special Edition) - Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Complete Collection - Ghost In The Shell - Solid State Society --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.com.au/products/255259406-ghost-in-the-shell-special-edition](https://www.desertcart.com.au/products/255259406-ghost-in-the-shell-special-edition) --- *Product available on Desertcart Australia* *Store origin: AU* *Last updated: 2026-05-16*