Rare Chance to See Angel’s Egg on the Big Screen — Director‑Approved 4K Remaster Hits Theaters Nov. 19
Angel’s Egg, the 1985 science-fantasy anime by Mamoru Oshii and artist Yoshitaka Amano, is getting a new, director-approved 4K remaster and will return to theaters this November. Distributor GKIDS will roll out the restoration — which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May — across North America on November 19, marking the film’s 40th anniversary and its first wide theatrical screenings in the region.
- What’s coming: a director-approved 4K remaster from GKIDS.
- When and where: Cannes debut, screenings at Fantastic Fest and New York Film Festival, then North American rollout on Nov. 19.
- Why it matters: the film was originally released directly to home video in Japan and hasn’t been widely shown theatrically in North America until now.
- Background: creators Mamoru Oshii and Yoshitaka Amano, plus GKIDS’ previous 4K work with Oshii.
Release details
GKIDS will release the new 4K remaster of Angel’s Egg in theaters across North America on November 19. The distributor describes the version as director-approved. Importantly, this rollout will be the first time the film is screened widely in North America, since the original 1985 release was sent directly to home video in Japan.
Restoration and festival screenings
The restoration premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival in May. Additionally, GKIDS has scheduled screenings at Fantastic Fest and the New York Film Festival ahead of the November theatrical run. Previously, GKIDS and Oshii worked together on a fresh 4K restoration of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, so this release continues that partnership.
Film background
Angel’s Egg is an early film from director Mamoru Oshii, who later became best known for Ghost in the Shell. Artist Yoshitaka Amano, credited on the film, later worked on Vampire Hunter D and served as character and logo designer for the Final Fantasy game franchise. The pair reportedly repurposed ideas from a scrapped Lupin the Third project when creating this film.
Official synopsis
In an underwater city, a young girl takes care of a large egg she holds carefully in her arms – a treasure that she believes is an angel’s egg. A boy with a gun arrives in search of a bird he saw in his dream. At first it seems as if feelings of sympathy are developing between the two. Then, one night, the boy crushes her precious egg.
