Marble Halls

Backgrounds from Ghost in the Shell (1995)

While Masamune Shirow's original manga remains one of my favorite depictions of the Ghost in the Shell universe, Mamoru Oshii managed to imbue the story with an artistic dignity and philosophical depth it simply did not have before. Thoughtful, quiet, contemplative, melancholic; this film never fails to put me in a genuine trance in its moments of greatest reflection, and the backgrounds, together with the choral chants forming the film's soundtrack, play a significant role in that.

Ghost in the Shell (1995) - Background 01
New Port City, resembling the physical manifestation of a digital network.
Ghost in the Shell (1995) - Background 02
A closer look.
Ghost in the Shell (1995) - Background 03
The sprawl is also vertical.
Ghost in the Shell (1995) - Background 04
Feeling life in the depths of the water.
Ghost in the Shell (1995) - Background 05
An unnatural city.
Ghost in the Shell (1995) - Background 06
Surreal, almost like a virtual recreation of a real place.