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Funimation, Lionsgate to Screen 1995 Ghost in the Shell Anime Film in U.S. Theaters in February
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Funimation announced on Monday it is partnering with Lionsgate to screen Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell anime film in theaters in the United States on February 7 and 8. The February 7 screening will have the original Japanese audio with English subtitles, while the February 8 screening will have the English dub. Tickets for 110 theaters are available via Funimation's website.
Lionsgate will release the film on Blu-ray Disc with Digital HD on a collector's edition with Steelbook packaging on March 7. Anchor Bay Entertainment released the film last year on a 25th anniversary Steelbook edition Blu-ray Disc. Lionsgate has since acquired Anchor Bay Entertainment.
Funimation describes the film:
In the year 2029, 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 is capable of infiltrating human hosts. Working closely with her fellow agents from Section 9, the Major embarks on a high-tech race against time to capture the omnipresent entity.
Oshii and Production I.G's 1995 film is based on Masamune Shirow's manga of the same name. Manga Entertainment released the film in the United States on VHS in 1996, and Anchor Bay Entertainment released it on DVD in 1998. Manga Entertainment re-released the film on Blu-ray Disc in 2009, and Anchor Bay Entertainment also re-released the film on Blu-ray Disc in 2014, and again in 2016. Oshii directed the Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence 2004 film as a sequel to the film.
The movie is serving as one of the visual inspirations for DreamWorks and Paramount's upcoming live-action Hollywood Ghost in the Shell film adaptation, and Oshii himself has visited the film's set. The film will open on March 31.
[Via WTK]
