In the Aftermath Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.0

In the Aftermath Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 11, 2019

If you were simply too tired to really pay attention to your professor in whatever college Philosophy course you were required to complete to get your degree, take heart: simply fire up Ghost in the Shell 2.0 , Mamoru Oshii’s complex (some might argue opaque) science fiction entry that deals with all sorts of metaphysical hoohah (a technical term) as it depicts a future world running amok, and with an ever thinning line between what is considered “human” and “machine”. Despite a long and rather venerable career, it’s at least arguable that Oshii is still best remembered for Ghost in the Shell, which has spawned a rather large number of sequels and/or tie-in properties, not the least of which was the largely savaged live action version starring Scarlett Johannson. Probably unsurprisingly, Oshii had significant credits before he hit the “big time” with the first animated Ghost in the Shell, and among his early works is a surprisingly little known effort called Angel's Egg, which appeared in 1985, a decade before the first Ghost in the Shell. Given Oshii’s understandably outsized reputation, it’s maybe a little unexpected that Angel’s Egg has yet to see the Blu-ray light of day on this side of the pond, though it does appear that a Japanese release came out several years ago. Interestingly, if Angel's Egg has been missing in action on domestic Blu-ray, this odd hybrid film which includes sections of Oshii's anime had a previous Blu-ray release a couple of years ago, so some fans may be aware that In the Aftermath provides at least a peek or two at Oshii's film.

That previous release was Code Red's release, and for those wanting a bit of a plot recap, I refer you to my colleague Brian Orndorf's In the Aftermath Blu-ray review of that version. I'll only add that some of the supplements included on this Arrow release repeatedly mention how a lot of people found Angel's Egg incomprehensible, which was one of the inspirational sparks leading to this film, one which was supposedly meant to help "explain" elements in Oshii's film. All I'll say in that regard is that perhaps some enterprising filmmaker someday can make a "new, improved" film utilizing elements of both Angel's Egg and In the Aftermath to explain In the Aftermath, which my hunch is just about as many people are going to find equally as incomprehensible.

In the Aftermath Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

In the Aftermath is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:

In the Aftermath was exclusively restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with 2.0 stereo sound.

An original 35mm low-con print was scanned in 2K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director at EFilm, Burbank. The film was graded and restored at Dragon DI, Wales. Picture grading was completed on a Pablo Rio system and restoration was completed using PFClean and Revival software. The original audio mix was remastered by Lakeshore Entertainment.

I don't have the Code Red release to do a side by side comparison, but judging solely on screenshots (sometimes a risky gambit), this release doesn't look substantially different from the earlier release, with the possible exceptions of the slightly wider aspect ratio on this release and also of grain thickness, which does appear to be somewhat grittier looking on the Arrow release, as probably befits the source element utilized for this transfer. The live action footage is often pretty brown looking (even beyond some of the dusty and drab locations utilized), and detail levels can tend to be fairly variable and dependent on the amount of light. Both the animation and live action footage have occasional minor damage like dirt and white specks.

In the Aftermath Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Brian didn't give great marks to the Code Red audio presentation, but while there's really not much to "write home about" in terms of the sound design of this feature, I found the LPCM 2.0 track on this release to sport reasonable fidelity. Dialogue and sound effects are both rendered cleanly, and there are no issues with distortion, dropouts or other damage.

In the Aftermath Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Path to Aftermath with Tom Dugan (1080p; 11:17) is an interesting interview with the film's producer, who gets into some of the background of the Corman connection and how Oshii's original anime ended up serving as the basis for this one.


• Apocalypse Then with Tony Markes (1080p; 14:26) is an often rather funny reminiscence by the star of the film.


• Before the Aftermath: The Influence of Angel's Egg (1080p; 19:21) is billed as an "appreciation" of the Oshii offering by Andrew Osmond, who wrote Arrow Books' Ghost in the Shell. This has some really interesting insights, but for some reason it frequently features Osmond staring up over and to the side of the camera, which struck me as a little odd and distracting.


• Still and Poster Gallery (1080p; 3:50)

I'm assuming licensing issues kept Arrow from offering Angel's Egg as a standalone on this release, as that would have seemed to be an obvious pairing. That said, this release comes with Arrow's typically nicely appointed insert booklet.

In the Aftermath Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Oshii fans who have never seen Angel's Egg and who can't (or don't want to) play the Japanase Blu-ray release may find this a curio of sorts, but the film itself is often odd and almost intentionally disjunctive due to the weird "combo platter" of animation and live action. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplementary package very enjoyable, for those considering a purchase.