I remember seeing it in 96 or maybe 97. It blew my mind and it was my first experience with cyberpunk and a "sci-fi" movie that really clicked with me. It was the first that modeled the future the way I was seeing it from my corner of the planet. I was annoyed and angry at all the happy-go-lucky variants that were presented almost all the time, I was tired of this oppressive optimism regarding technology and this was a breath of fresh air to my young mind.
A lot of things from it made their way to The Matrix for me visually and thematically and I was so sad that the movie never got the recognition it deserved. It felt the closest it would get to something that had that negative feeling and vibe that I get whenever I watch Ghost in the Shell again. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to this black and white edition!