Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

Director:

Jim Jarmusch

Writer:

Jim Jarmusch (written by)

Release Date:

6 October 1999 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

All assassins live beyond the law... only one follows the code

Plot:

An African American mafia hit man who models himself after the samurai of old finds himself targeted for death by the mob.

Plot Keywords:

Mob Violence | African American | Brooklyn New York | Cartoon | Philosophy

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

Forest Whitaker	...	Ghost Dog
John Tormey	...	Louie
Cliff Gorman	...	Sonny Valerio
Dennis Liu	...	Chinese Restaurant Owner
Frank Minucci	...	Big Angie
Richard Portnow	...	Handsome Frank
Tricia Vessey	...	Louise Vargo
Henry Silva	...	Ray Vargo
Gene Ruffini	...	Old Consigliere
Frank Adonis	...	Valerio's Bodyguard
Victor Argo	...	Vinny
Damon Whitaker	...	Young Ghost Dog
Kenny Guay	...	Boy in Window
Vince Viverito	...	Johnny Morini
Gano Grills	...	Gangsta in Red
Touché Cornel	...	Gangsta in Red
Jamie Hector	...	Gangsta in Red
Chuck Jeffreys	...	Mugger
Yan Ming Shi	...	Kung-Fu Master
Vinny Vella	...	Sammy the Snake (as Vinnie Vella)
Joseph Rigano	...	Joe Rags (as Joe Rigano)
Roberto Lopez	...	Punk in Alley
Salvatore Alagna	...	Punk in Alley
Jerry Todisco	...	Punk in Alley
Isaach De Bankolé	...	Raymond
Dreddy Kruger	...	MC in blue
Timbo King	...	MC in blue
Clay Da Raider	...	MC in blue
Dead And Stinking	...	MC in blue
Deflon Sallahr	...	MC in blue
Camille Winbush	...	Pearline
Gary Farmer	...	Nobody
Clebert Ford	...	Pigeonkeeper
José Rabelo	...	Rooftop Boatbuilder
Jerry Sturiano	...	Lefty
Tony Rigo	...	Tony
Alfred Nittoli	...	Al
Angel Caban	...	Social Club Landlord
Luz Valentin	...	Girl in Silver
Rene Bluestone	...	Club Couple
Jordan Peck	...	Club Couple
Jonathan Teague Cook	...	Bear Hunter (as Jonathan Cook)
Tracy Howe	...	Bear Hunter
Harry Shearer	...	Voice of Scratchy (voice) (archive footage)
Vanessa Hollingshead	...	Female Sheriff
Sharon Angela	...	Blonde with Jaguar
RZA	...	Samurai in Camouflage (as The RZA)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Scott Bryce	...	Accountant (scenes deleted)
Paul Diomede	...	Young Gangster (uncredited)

Directed by
Jim Jarmusch

Writing credits
Jim Jarmusch		(written by)

Produced by
Richard Guay	....	producer
Jim Jarmusch	....	producer
Diana Schmidt	....	co-producer

Original Music by
RZA

Cinematography by
Robby Müller

Film Editing by
Jay Rabinowitz

Casting by
Ellen Lewis
Laura Rosenthal

Production Design by
Ted Berner

Art Direction by
Mario Ventenilla

Set Decoration by
Ron von Blomberg		(as Ronnie Von Blomberg)

Costume Design by
John A. Dunn		(as John Dunn)

Makeup Department
Clifford Booker	....	hair stylist (as Cliff Booker)
Judy Chin	....	makeup artist
Todd Kleitsch	....	assistant special makeup effects
Neal Martz	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Victor De Jesus	....	production supervisor
Lonnie Kandel	....	production supervisor
Gabrielle Mahon	....	post-production supervisor
Diana Schmidt	....	unit production manager
Stacey E. Smith	....	post-production supervisor (as Stacey Smith)
Karen L. Thorson	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Cindy Craig	....	second assistant director
Jude Gorjanc	....	first assistant director
Jessica Piscitelli	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Shirley Belwood	....	assistant property master
Jeff Butcher	....	property master
Bill Cassidy	....	key construction grip
Peter DeCurtis	....	set dresser (as Pete DeCurtis)
Susan Glod	....	second scenic
Mario Herrera	....	charge scenic artist
Richard S. Kamin	....	construction foreman (as Richard Kamin)
Nathalie Leslie-Cassergrain	....	art department coordinator
Louis Mucci	....	carpenter
Joseph Proscia	....	lead man (as Joe Proscia)
Danny Rovira	....	construction coordinator
Philip Saccio Jr.	....	on-set dresser (as Phil Saccio Jr.)
Philip Saccio	....	assistant lead man (as Phil Saccio Sr.)
Jennifer Snoeyink	....	scenic
Ken Sperling	....	stand-by construction grip
Steve Swanson	....	set dresser
Clayton Thomas	....	shop production assistant (as Clayton 'Massive' Thomas)
Roman Turovsky	....	on-set scenic

Sound Department
David Boulton	....	adr mixer
Jason Canovas	....	adr editor
John Chamberlain	....	adr recordist
Eric A. Christoffersen	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Anthony J. Ciccolini III	....	sound designer (as Chic Ciccolini III)
Anthony J. Ciccolini III	....	sound effects editor (as Chic Ciccolini III)
Ryan Collison	....	foley artist
Keith Culbertson	....	sound re-recordist
Joe Dohner	....	foley recordist (as Joseph Dohner)
Jeanne Gilliland	....	cable person
Thomas A. Gulino	....	dialogue editor
Ann Hadsell	....	adr mixer
Drew Kunin	....	sound mixer
Kevin Meehan	....	boom operator (as Kevin V. Meehan)
Yvette Nabel	....	foley editor
Daniel Pagan	....	sound effects editor
Alex Raspa	....	adr recordist
Lynn Sable	....	assistant sound editor
Dominick Tavella	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Dom 'The Dominator' Tavella)
Brian Vancho	....	foley artist
John Werner	....	assistant sound editor (as John Michael Werner)
Karl Wasserman	....	additional sound utility (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Drew Jiritano	....	special effects coordinator
John Stifanich	....	special effects assistant
Andrew Mortelliti	....	special effects assistant (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
John Furniotis	....	optical effects
Don Nolan	....	digital and optical effects
Trevor Bajus	....	digital artist (uncredited)
Dave Salter	....	animation cameraman (uncredited)
Mark Tureski	....	optical effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Norman Douglass	....	stunt coordinator
Manny Siverio	....	stunt coordinator
Jeff Ward	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Chris Beattie	....	grip
Katherine M. Butler	....	first assistant camera (as Kate Butler)
Christian Carmody	....	second assistant camera
Francesca Cobaco	....	electrician (as Francesca 'Max' Corbachio)
Jon Delgado	....	electrician (as John M. Delgado)
Ray Flynn	....	best boy electric
Abbot Genser	....	still photographer (as Abbott Genser)
Douglas C. Hart	....	first assistant camera (as Doug Hart)
Pedro Hernández	....	best boy grip
Chaim Kantor	....	camera operator
Tim Kelly	....	grip
Gary Lamantia	....	camera technician: Wescam camera (as Gary LaMantia)
Scott Maguire	....	camera loader
Rick Marroquin	....	dolly grip
Gary Martone	....	key grip
Michael J. Maurer	....	electrician (as Michael Maurer)
Tally Morse	....	dolly grip (as Talley Morse)
David Norris	....	camera operator: Wescam camera
Sean O'Brien	....	grip
Christopher Porter	....	gaffer (as Chris Porter)
Rick Raphael	....	steadicam operator
Mark Schwentner	....	gaffer
Josh Steinberg	....	grip
Nicolas L. Charuet	....	grip (uncredited)
Chaim Kantor	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)

Casting Department
Anthony Ortiz	....	extras casting (as Anthony 'Dust' Ortiz)
Jessy Terrero	....	extras casting
Ulysses Terrero	....	extras casting
Blythe Cappello	....	casting associate (uncredited)
Gayle Keller	....	casting associate (uncredited)
Jeanne McCarthy	....	casting: Los Angeles (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kevin Brainerd	....	assistant costume designer
David Davenport	....	wardrobe supervisor
Amy Habacker	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Amy S. Habacker)

Editorial Department
Jennifer Apel	....	assistant editor
Héctor Cordero	....	apprentice editor
Tony Grocki	....	first assistant editor
Ricardo Olivero	....	color timer
Catherine Rankin	....	negative cutter
Peter Phillips	....	post-production coordinator (uncredited)

Music Department
Jay Rabinowitz	....	music editor

Transportation Department
John Arena Jr.	....	driver
Ralph Astarita	....	driver
Bill Buckman	....	driver
Tom Buckman Jr.	....	driver
Christopher Cilento	....	driver (as Chris Cilento)
Danny Houghton	....	driver
Joe Irwin	....	driver
Bob Lansing	....	driver
Leonard Luizzi	....	driver (as Lenny Luizzi)
John Lynch Jr.	....	driver
Joe Mallon	....	driver
George Moran	....	driver
John Raffone	....	driver
Ed Stewart	....	driver
Francis Volpe	....	driver (as Francis Volpe Jr.)
Louis Volpe	....	transportation captain (as Lou 'Sonny' Volpe)
Ralph Volpe	....	transportation co-captain

Other crew
Carl Archibald	....	location assistant
Cynthia Bauer	....	intern
Jesse Bodine	....	office production assistant
Brian Cantaldi	....	set production assistant
Jen Cox	....	payroll accountant
Ged Dickersin	....	location manager
Aaron Douglas	....	accountant
Sara Driver	....	story consultant
Jennifer Ehman	....	intern
Joe Facey	....	craft service
Orlando Ferreyra III	....	intern
Kathleen Gallagher	....	intern
Mara Galus	....	set production assistant
Jill Goldstein	....	legal services
Ariel Greene	....	intern
Joe Guest	....	intern
Tucker Hartsorne	....	assistant animal wrangler
Richard Heller	....	legal services
Vanessa Jacobs	....	assistant production coordinator
Tom Jarmusch	....	location scout
Paul Johnson	....	security officer
Chiemi Karasawa	....	script supervisor
Damon Keller	....	intern
Stefanie Koseff	....	assistant: Stacey Smith
Brian Lampf	....	office production assistant
Susan Lawlor	....	production secretary
Nemo Librizzi	....	spirit balance
Gabrielle Mahon	....	assistant: Richard Guay
Suk Yi Mar	....	assistant location manager
Alfredo Martinez	....	gun consultant
Steve McAuliff	....	animal wrangler
Tony McKray	....	security officer
Kelly Mearkle	....	office production assistant
Macho Mendez	....	security officer
Kevon Murphy	....	location assistant
Chris O'Brien	....	legwork
David Phillips	....	parking coordinator
Jennifer Pietzryh	....	set medic
Reid Rosefelt	....	publicist
Christa Saredi	....	world sales
Kate Schultz	....	location scout
Jeffrey B. Seymann	....	intern (as Jeffrey Seymann)
Harris Smith	....	intern
Stacey E. Smith	....	assistant: Jim Jarmusch (as Stacey Smith)
Michele Soddano	....	assistant accountant
Jim Sotet	....	philosophical consultant
Demond Stafford	....	location assistant
Thea St. Omer	....	intern
Eliza Thomas	....	intern
Daira Torres	....	intern
Alfonso Trinidad	....	key set production assistant
Mimi Turner	....	location scout
Dana Wisher	....	set production assistant
Heathar Wynne	....	set medic
Randall Balsmeyer	....	title designer (uncredited)
Al Cerullo	....	helicopter pilot (uncredited)
Michael K. Reynolds	....	chef (uncredited)

Thanks
Akira Kurosawa	....	personal thanks
Jean-Pierre Melville	....	personal thanks
Mary Shelley	....	personal thanks
Bart Walker	....	very special thanks

Production Companies

• Pandora Filmproduktion (in association with)
• Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (ARD) (in association with)
• Degeto Film (in association with)
• Plywood Productions
• Bac Films
• Canal+
• JVC Entertainment

Distributors

• Bac Films (1999) (France) (theatrical)
• Arthaus Filmverleih (2000) (Germany) (theatrical)
• BIM Distribuzione (2000) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Stadtkino Verleih (2000) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Vértigo Films (2000) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Artisan Entertainment (2000) (USA) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2000) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Channel Four Films (1999) (UK) (theatrical)
• New Vision Films (2000) (Australia) (theatrical)
• TransEuropa Films (2000) (Chile) (theatrical)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (2000) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Latina Films (2001) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Canal+ (1999) (worldwide) (all media) (worldwide sales)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (1999-2000) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2000) (Germany) (video)
• Lions Gate Films (2003) (USA) (DVD) (North America)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (New Zealand) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2000) (Argentina) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Effects House, The
• Film Effects

Other Companies

• Balsmeyer and Everett  titles
• Camera Service Center  camera and electric equipment
• Canal+  foreign sales agents
• Coast to Coast Catering  catering
• Entertainment Partners  production payroll
• Epic Records  soundtrack
• Film Effects  title opticals
• Frankfurt, Garbus, Kurnit, Klein & Selz  legal services
• Great Northern Brokerage Services  insurance
• Magic Lantern  publicist
• On Location Education  tutoring: Camille Winbush
• Post Production Playground  post-production services
• Premiere Catering  catering
• RPM Group  promotion and marketing
• Republic National Bank of New York  production bank
• Rick Bruck's Motorworks  camera car
• Ru-Bear Security Inc.  security
• Sony Music Soundtrax  soundtrack
• Sound One Corporation  post-production facilities
• T n T Casting  extras casting
• Wescam USA  wescam provided by

Also Known As:

Ghost Dog (Australia)
Ghost Dog - Der Weg des Samurai (Germany)
Ghost Dog, la voie du samouraï (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and language.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

France | Germany | USA | Japan

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Australia:MA | Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | Canada:14A | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Jersey City, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Pandora Filmproduktion

Trivia:

Ghost Dog shoots Handsome Frank first in the stomach, then in the chest, then in the head. These shots follow the same pattern as seppuku, Japanese ritual suicide, in which the first cut with a sword or knife is made across the belly, the second cut up towards the sternum, and finally the suicide dips his head and is decapitated by his assistant.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Pit Bull that always follows Ghost Dog around is referred to as a "He" when in fact it is a she.

Quotes:

Ghost Dog: Even if one's head were to be suddenly cut off, he should be able to do one more action with certainty. With martial valor, if one becomes like a revengeful ghost and shows great determination, though his head is cut off, he should not die.

Movie Connections:

Spin off from Dead Man (1995)

Soundtrack:

Armagideon Time

I live by a code

The movie is about codes of conduct, with 2 main codes that are dying out or are dead.

One is the code of the Mafia the other is the Samurai.

The basic plot is this. One of the Mafia wiseguys must be killed as he is having an affair with the daughter of the Mafia Don.

The person they get to do it is an African American who lives by the code of the Samurai and goes by the name of Ghost Dog. To be honest, I have met many Japanafiles so this is not so unbelievable.

But the code of the Mafia means that if you kill a wiseguy then you must be killed or the Mafia person who hired him must be killed.

Jim Jarmusch makes movies where the characters close relations based on only very small things. The Mafia wiseguy saved Ghost Dogs life, so now he must be his retainer. He lives off the land (lives on a roof, steals the cars and equipment he needs to do a job). There is also a friendship between 2 people who don't speak the same language. It is the connection between people that is so important here.

If you saw Dead man and like it, then you will love Ghost Dog. It is funny, serious, dark, tragic and beautiful all at the same time. Dead man missed the mark with some similar themes (though the DVD of Dead man has some deleted scenes that would have made the movie much better and reflected better the idea of small connections being strong connections).

I loved this movie, and I don't expect everyone else to. Art house movies have small audiences for this exact reason. I know a lot of people who avoided this movie because they thought it was cheesy. The answer is, yes it is, and most of the bad reviews reflect this same idea.

Also I love the sound track, with lots of Phat beats, and uses Hip Hop (African American culture) to reflect Japanese culture.