Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) User Reviews

A big surprise that really works

[philip_vanderveken · 8/10 · 5 June 2005]

Jim Jarmusch isn't exactly a household name when it comes to Hollywood directors. I don't know about other people, but personally I had heard of his name before, but certainly couldn't name any of his movies. Now that has changed. Since I've seen "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" I'll try to see at least a couple of his other movies as well, because I really liked this one.

"Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" is a quite unique movie. It tells the story of an African-American mafia hit-man in New York who lives by the rules of the Samurai, in simplicity and alone with his pigeons, who calls himself Ghost Dog and who is always faithful to his master, a local mobster who has saved his life several years ago. When the daughter of the local mob boss witnesses one of Ghost Dog's hits, he must die himself. The first victims are his birds and in response, Ghost Dog goes right at his attackers. He is lethal, but does not want to harm his master or the young woman. And while his life is in constant danger, the only people he ever has contact with are a little girl, with whom he discusses books, and a Haitian ice cream man who only speaks French and doesn't understand a word of what Ghost Dog tells him.

I guess the best way to categorize this movie is to call it a mix of the movie "Léon", the Samurai code and hip-hop culture. Normally you would think that such a mix could never work, but this time it does. I admit that it certainly isn't a normal mix, but Jarmusch avoids the traps that would make this original and daring movie a complete waste of time and which would turn it into one unbelievable and unrealistic mess. I know it sounds strange, how can a movie that combines Italian, Japanese and hip-hop culture into one ever become one solid movie? Don't ask me, I don't even know how he came up with the idea, but it works and that's all that matters.

This movie has several strong points. One is the way everything is told and shown, which make this a sober, but powerful movie. Especially with the quotes that are taken from the Way of the Samurai and that are voiced by Forest Whitaker, a solid base is formed. This helps you to understand why the man does what he does, why he lives his life like that and why he will always respect his master. If this hadn't been in the movie, I would probably not have liked it a bit. The other strong point is the acting. The mobsters look a bit stereotypical, but are well portrayed by people like Cliff Gorman, John Tormey, Richard Portnow,... but the best performance definitely comes from Forest Whitaker. Normally Whitaker plays the role of a good guy, like for instance Jody in "The Crying Game" or Captain Ramey in "Phone Boot" and it has to be said, he really has some talent for that kind of roles. But, as he proves with this movie, he is capable of a lot more. He plays the role of the samurai hit man, doesn't look like he's fit for that role at all (at least, I would never think of him when it comes to that role), but does it really very well.

As a conclusion I would like to add that the sound track is also very nice. Normally I'm not too much a fan of hip hop in the movies, although I can appreciate it as a form of music on itself, but this time it really works. Add to this some nice acting, a cool and well-written story, some funny moments (like for instance a rapping mobster) and what you'll get is a movie that is fun and interesting to watch. I give it an 8/10.

Interesting and deep, but not as deep as it tries to be

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 8/10 · 23 June 2004]

This is a great film; it has pretty much everything a great film needs: a great score, great actors, great performances, etc. The film revolves around Ghost Dog, perfectly portrayed by Forest Whitaker. He is a assassin who lives by the code of the Samurai. Apart from him, we also follow the fate of several mafia men(though nowhere near as intimately as we follow Ghost Dog). These two very different groups, Samurai and mafia, are both depicted reasonably well, giving us insight to how the groups work, and, more importantly, their code. Both groups live and die by the code, and this is probably the most important thing in the movie, and it's shown with respect with both Samurai and mafia; I'm not entirely sure that it's correct all the way through, but that's not what's most important, anyway. The film has reasonably little action, but it's not supposed to be an action film, by any means. It's fairly slow throughout the film, but it never really bores you to the point of not watching any more; I've seen the film at least five times now, so believe me, I know. The film is very stylized and cool throughout, which definitely has some part in keeping you interested, but the theme and story/plot plays a bigger part, I think. The plot is pretty good, and though it keeps a fairly slow pace throughout the film, it also keeps your interest for the entire duration of the film. The acting is all good, though not everyone pulls off as excellent a performance as Whitaker. Isaach De Bankolé portrays Ghost Dog's best friend, and he does gives a great performance. So does Camille Winbush, who portrays a girl who Ghost Dog befriends and discusses books with. The characters are well-written and(mostly) credible. I'm not entirely sure that the film does provide a totally correct version of the Code of the Samurai. The soundtrack is great; it's made by the hip-hop artist RZA, but most of it will be enjoyable to people who aren't into hip-hop. Also, I guess it's more of a score than a soundtrack; there isn't any time where the music feels out of place in a scene. All in all, a great film, but not for all tastes. Don't go in expecting an action film; don't go in expecting a very deep an entirely intellectual film; don't go in expecting a regular movie; go in expecting to see a decent(if not good) representation of both the mafia code and the Samurai code. I've heard some people describe the ending as an anti-climax; I don't know what they were expecting... I won't say that I saw it coming, but I wasn't disappointed when it happened. It had to end it, and I think the director, Jim Jarmusch made a good decision on that. I recommend this film to people with an interest in Samurai, fans of Jarmusch and people looking for a reasonably deep film. I don't recommend this to fans of action movies, as there's fairly little action in the film. No matter who you are, if you're going to see this film, make sure you have the patience for it; it's worth sitting through the two reasonably slow hours for. 8/10

Out of Character For Jarmusch

[brainofj72 · 7/10 · 8 January 2006]

Ghost Dog certainly is an intriguing film. It breaks some new ground for writer/director Jim Jarmusch, who usually creates simple, funny, and heartfelt black and white films with many underlying themes. Ghost Dog is one of his few color films, and it is also the most out of character picture he has made to date. Instead of a slow-paced comedic drama, Ghost Dog is a slow-paced bloody crime film.

The plot deals with Ghost Dog (Whitaker), an expert mafia assassin living in present-day New York City who lives his life according to the ancient code of the Samurai.

Jarmusch somewhat reverses what Akira Kurosawa did in Throne of Blood by bringing Eastern culture to a Western setting. It's a rather fascinating idea, but I can't help but feel that Jarmusch kind of falls into a trap he teeters on almost constantly in his films: while he's so busy creating a slow, brooding atmosphere and interweaving subtle underlying themes, he occasionally forgets that this is still a movie. He still needs to keep the audience entertained. Ghost Dog sometimes moves so slowly that one becomes a little bit bored and anxious.

Another thing that doesn't work particularly well in Ghost Dog are Jarmusch's signature scenes of off-beat humor that often just come completely out of nowhere. They usually work quite well, such as Iggy Pop's and Billy Bob Thornton's blackly funny scene in Dead Man, but they just feel awkward here. E.g., Jarmusch develops a very peculiar group of gangsters in Ghost Dog, gangsters who think they're straight out of GoodFellas but are so incompetent that they can't even pay their rent nor figure out who they're trying to "whack". This is often quite amusing, but sometimes Jarmusch just goes over the top, such as when he makes one of the fifty-something Italian gangsters begin going on about how he loves rap and even start rapping his favorite verses right in the middle of a meeting of criminals. It's just uncomfortable.

Still, there's plenty to like here, and there are quite a few homages for avid film-lovers to spot, such as a cool little nod to the butterfly scene in Seijun Suzuki's Branded To Kill. Also, the acting is often spot-on. Forest Whitaker is absolutely perfect as Ghost Dog - detached, subtle, nuanced, and, most importantly, human.

Still, I hesitate to recommend this film. Jim Jarmusch is most definitely an acquired taste, but even his fans may find their patience tried during Ghost Dog.

a fascinating, strange hybrid of black, Japanese and Italian culture, with a perfectly detached, somber lead in Forrester

[Quinoa1984 · 9/10 · 9 July 2004]

Jim Jarmusch is one of the few filmmakers in Hollywood able to make bodies of work that are challenging, thoughtful, and with a distinctive voice. Like the Coen Brothers, it's hard to make his films accessible to the public like many other films at the cineplexes, and that's part of the joy in watching a film such as Ghost Dog. It's such a strange kind of story, but it's a story that extremely well crafted, even when some of the characters aren't developed enough past a certain point. While I can't really say that it's a great film, there are plenty of great things about it.

Such as a pulsing, rhythmically engaging soundtrack (I'm not a big fan of rap and hip-hop, but the artists on here are better than expected) with the RZA behind the seat. Delicate, finite cinematography by Robby Mueller (who's other superb collaboration with Jarmusch was on Down By Law). A performance from Forrest Whitaker, as the dedicated, un-hinged-from reality 'samurai' known as Ghost Dog, which ranks among his best and shows in plain sight that he can carry an action film with patience and cool. And the film also carries a fine sense of humor to many scenes - the fact that these gangsters (one of which Dog's boss) watch more cartoons than take care of business is as funny as the way they interact sometimes. While it tends to streak on parody, in the characters there's still the fascinating Jarmusch has in mixing the cultures.

It's a hard film to classify, for even though it's a martial-arts movie, the only sight of a sword is used for practice and not a blood-bath in Kill Bill. It's a gangster movie, but every five minutes or so there's philosophical notes on the way of the samurai that seems more in place in a (good, thematically engaging) art film than a (good, shoot-em-up) Hollywood actioner. It's a movie about urban-life, yet the only signs of Urbana are shown from a distance, where the only two who will talk to Ghost Dog are a Haitian ice cream guy (who provides a wonderfully weird scene on the roof with Ghost Dog), and a little girl who likes to read. But it's this mixture that can keep a viewer on his or her toes, especially once you realize the psychological state of the lead as much as his spiritual state.

Parts of the film might turn off one group, but the other parts of the film might keep the same group enthralled. In fact, it's as interesting a comparison to be made to Kill Bill (itself a hybrid) as it is in the spiritual and stylistic parent, Le Samourai by Melville. Like those films, at the least, Jarmusch's film asks to be looked at more than once...Anyway, three cheers for Garry "Nobody" Farmer!

One of the most unique and daringly good films in years

[bmfilmdude · 10/10 · 31 May 2001]

Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai

* * * * Stars

Forest Whitaker stars in this amazingly good character driven film. Whitaker is Ghost Dog, a New York hitman who lives by the code of the ancient samurai. When a job for the mob goes wrong they decide to cut their losses and put a hit out on him. But since he's a samurai and not just a normal hitman this proves to be a huge mistake for them.

This film really works on three levels. First is the duality of the film's coolness factor and the strength of Whitaker's performance. Whitaker radiates cool in this film. In every scene and every frame, through both action and inaction we know he is being of awesome power. His performance is note perfect. There's one scene where a grievous wrong has been done and we see Whitaker absorb the devastation, then he narrates that when a making decision it should be done in the space of seven breathes. Once that decision is made and we realize Whitaker's full fury will now be unleashed upon his enemies, it sends a tingle up the spine of the viewer. Whitaker's resolve shines through the screen and through his subsequent acting the pace builds until we reach the film's ultimate battle, which is a really, really good fight scene-one of the most satisfying ever filmed.

Furthermore we have the film's philosophy. This aspect of the film is the most important of all even more so than Whitaker's superb performance. As the film's tale unfolds we do need learn about the Way of the Samurai through the eastern philosophy Whitaker espouses as he narrates the film. Often times the film breaks from the action just to linger on the narration and let in sink in. It's a technique that helps set the tone of the film and makes it a completely absorbing experience.

The third thing that the film does really well is it is character and not plot driven. At least just as much time is spent following Whitaker through his day to day life as he interacts with people in his community as is spent on the action parts of the plot. In many ways the film works as commentary on the values of modern society. The scenes with Whitaker and his best friend, a Haitian ice cream vendor provide this film with true heart and soul. We see repeatedly that the two friends can understand each other because they are at peace with the world and in tune with their surroundings, so that their bond transcends mere language. Ghost Dog also has a touching relationship with a young girl that he hopes to impart his code to so that she may one day have the tools of knowledge necessary to escape life in the inner city. These are characters that would have been interesting a two-hour film just living their lives without the samurai and hitman aspects of the film. However both aspects work exceptionally well, the effect taken as a whole make this one of the best films of the past few years.

Besides Whitaker and his friends, one other great performance is given by Tricia Vessey as Louise Vargo, the young girl that sets all that happens in motion. It's a small part but a key one that she does an admirable job with.

If there is a flaw with this film it is that the gangster villains are unnecessarily racist. These scenes are somewhat jarring on first viewing, but are at least consistent with the film's ultimate tone that the gangster's way of life is dying, while the code of the samurai is timeless. It is no coincidence that all the mobsters are much older than Whitaker. Both characters note numerous times that the world is changing, the difference is the gangsters say it with fear and trepidation, while Whitaker notices it as observation. Like the changing of the wind the changing of time and circumstance is neither good nor bad when weighed against his code.

While Whitaker deserves infinite praise for his performance, almost just as much praise must be given to director Jim Jarmush. His directing of this film is quite daring and even more skillfull. His approach to the narration is unusual and yet it works on multiple levels and lets us this is a film more about tone than action. The character driven film is a rare commodity. Most films are plot driven moving from point A to point B with no more creativity than a child connecting a dot-to-dot. Here we have a film that starts with its characters and lets them live the lives they've always lived before the central plot elements invaded their existence. The plot is addressed in a timely enough manner, but we see the characters have their own commitments to fulfill too. It's a hard trick to make a character driven film really work without seeming disjointed or slowly paced but Jarmush succeeds masterfully. Jarmush also fills the film with other references in the background that emphasize the character's natures-such as book on bears or the dialogue of a few cartoons here and there. Many films of try to do this, but few films I have ever seen do it as well as Ghost Dog does.

A final note, the ending of this film that is one that will be very divisive. People will either love it or hate, personally I loved it. It is an ending that is true to all that his come before for both the characters and their conflicting codes but also one that is both surprising despite being adequately foreshadowed.

I live by a code

[flingebunt · 19 November 2004]

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.

In a film that stands out in his work for its high budget and ambitious scope, Jarmusch riffs on cinema classics, hip-hop, and Japan

[crculver · 6/10 · 6 August 2016]

The eponymous protagonist of Jim Jarmusch's 1999 film GHOST DOG is an African-American hit-man (Forest Whitaker) working for an Italian mafia in New Jersey and living according to the Hagakure, Japan's samurai code. After a hit goes wrong through no fault of the assassin's own, his mafia liaison Louie (John Tormey) is sympathetic, but explains that his superiors now want Ghost Dog dead. The film follows Ghost Dog's revenge and depicts a clash between two ancient tribes that both seem out of date in this modern world: Ghost Dog's samurai code and Italian mafia ideas of loyalty.

Jarmusch has always been open about the fact that he soaks up a huge number of inspirations from earlier films, books, and music and then lets them reflect in his own work. Any cinephile will instantly recognize Jean-Pierre Melville's 1967 film "Le Samouraï" as the point of departure for GHOST DOG. In Meville's classic, a Parisian hired assassin lives according to a strict code. But Melville didn't really know much about Japan, and even the quotation from a samurai text at the beginning of his film was just made up by Meville himself. Jarmusch seems to have decided, "OK, I'll show you a hired-assassin film that's *really* rooted in the code of the Samurai". Forest Whitaker quotes from Hagakure throughout the film, and there are also references to the work of Akira Kurosawa.

But GHOST DOG is not a remake, and Jarmusch takes the basic premise in a very individual direction. There's a lot of humour here, something missing from the serious Melville inspiration. In casting for the mafia dons, Jarmusch chose faces as brutal and distinctive as Dick Tracy's rogues gallery: Henry Silva as the don, and Cliff Gorman and . But Jarmusch then gives them the occasional zany line that cracks that chilling façade. Isaach de Bankole plays a supporting role as a French-speaking Haitian immigrant and Ghost Dog's best friend, a role that is pure comic relief because the man doesn't speak English and Ghost Dog doesn't understand French, but they always manage to understand each other.

Until the late 1990s, Jarmusch had mainly been known as a fairly low-budget independent filmmaker writing cute little stories about personal relationships in low-key American life. Jarmusch's America was consistently depicted as run-down neighbourhoods and overgrown vacant lots. With its generous budget, large cast and special effects, GHOST DOG marked a huge leap forward in Jarmusch's work. Still, it maintains Jarmusch's interest in America as a land of urban blight and seedy underbellies: most of the film takes place in an ugly New Jersey urban setting. Furthermore, instead of being glamorized, the Italian mafia is depicted as a spent force, mainly elderly men who can't rake in the cash and influence they used to, and even forced to pay protection money to Chinese newcomers. As the film reaches its shocking ending, the glamour is drained from Ghost Dog's warrior code, as well.

The music for GHOST DOG was provided by RZA, at the time still best known as part of the Wu-Tang Clan. The music mainly consists of wordless beats, though, with actual rapping only at a few points. Personally, I find the use of hip-hop a weak point of the film (Jarmusch looks like an outsider looking in to this scene, unable to organically make it part of his own work), and RZA's insistence on appearing in the film itself disrupts the rhythm of the film's climax.

Who Would Believe This Is So Good?

[ccthemovieman-1 · 10/10 · 4 November 2005]

This is one of the strangest, and most likable movies I have ever seen....and I have seen a lot, believe me.

Scene after scene was bizarre. I watched an amazement on the first viewing, chuckling here and there. By the third viewing, I just laughing out loud throughout much of it. The dark, subtle humor in here is as good as I've ever seen on film....even though it may be classified more of a gangster film than a comedy.

The humor mainly involved the gangsters, who were a bunch of old Mafia men. A mob never looked this pathetic but they were characters. It was especially fun to see Henry Silva again, a man who used to be an effective villain back on a lot of TV shows in the 1960s. He didn't say much in this movie but the looks on his face were priceless. The funniest guy, at least to me, was the mobster who sang and danced to rap music!

The byplay between "Ghost Dog," the hero of the movie played wonderfully by Forest Whitaker, and the ice cream man, who only spoke French, also was fun and entertaining.

Almost every character in here was a strange, led by Whitaker who plays a modern-day hit-man who lives by the code of the ancient Samurai warriors. He also trains and communicates through carrier pigeons. Hey, I said this was a bizarre movie!

The violence was no-nonsense, however, nothing played for laughs and unlike Rambo-mentality, people who were shot at were hit and usually killed right away.

Along the way on this strange tale was a lesson or two on loyalty, racism, philosophies, kindness, communication, etc. How much of this you take seriously, and how much as a gag, is up to you, I guess. The more I watch this, the more I see it as clever put-on comedy....yet sad. It's not to easy to describe but you wind up getting involved with these odd people.

The movie changes rapidly as Whitaker does in this story. One minute he is a brutally bear-like hit-man and the next minute, the gentlest of souls.

A very unique film. The title looks a bit stupid and one you would easily dismiss as moronic, but it is far from it. Great entertainment.

Nice little movie from Jarmusch

[The_Void · 6/10 · 22 May 2005]

Back in the late eighties and early nineties, Jim Jarmusch had established himself as the coolest cat in film directing. Films like Down by the Law and Night on Earth had made him a favourite long before the likes of Quentin Tarantino came on the scene, and Jarmusch was most definitely at the height of American cinema. These days, Jarmusch isn't quite as well liked as he once was; but this hasn't stopped him directing good movies. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is much more down to earth than most of Jarmusch's earlier films, but it still has that coolness in it's essence, and although it isn't vintage Jarmusch; it's still a very good movie. The film isn't quite like anything I've ever seen before (and that isn't something I see much of these days!) as it's plotting is so relaxed that it's pretty much at walking pace throughout, and it's relaxed atmosphere isn't something that has been seen too many times in cinema, especially not modern cinema. All in all, what it lacks in coolness; Ghost Dog makes up for in originality.

This movie is very much what film fans would class as an "indie". It's just too absurd and daring to possibly have studio backing; and that is credit to it's director, as this film helps to prove that indie films are often far more likable and inventive than their big budget counterparts. The director has made best use of the casting, and Forest Whitaker, despite not being an actor with an impressive list of lead roles to his credit, pulls out an excellent performance that brilliantly fits the tone of the movie. This is the sort of casting that shows you don't need a well respected and highly paid actor in your movie for it to work, just one that fits the role. Jarmusch has written lots of great and absurdly funny scenes for the movie, the best of which is the one in which Ghost Dog's employer explains the arrangement to a baffled group of colleagues - it's comedy genius! The film, at times, gets a little bit too arty for it's own good and that may make some viewers roll their eyes. It's also perhaps just a little too relaxed. Still, it's not bad.

A Tour de Force for Whitaker

[redheadgrrl · 10/10 · 27 August 2004]

Men clinging to noble, outdated ideals in a world that no longer cares about such things: that's the concept here. Whitaker shows amazing strength and control in an antihero role that is necessarily secretive and subdued. Silva and Tormey turn in solid performances -- Tormey is especially poignant as the second-fiddle mafioso, torn between his admiration of Ghost Dog and his devotion to his own sempai (Silva).

The excellent soundtrack, courtesy of RZA, adds its own somber-yet-hip mood to the work. Jarmusch frames his characters on rooftops, on 'hood byways, in mansions, in the back rooms of Chinese restaurants, and everywhere there is a feeling of the walls closing in, of things coming to an end, of finality. See it. It's a good movie.

walks the line between creativity and cheesiness

[Cindy-39 · 7/10 · 18 March 2000]

Ghost Dog is a highly entertaining movie, however, there are moments when it lacks originality. When Forest Whitaker's Ghost Dog practices his 'way of the Samurai', it sometimes seems like he's taking himself way too seriously. And it's definitely a very Americanized way of looking at the Japanese philosophy -- quite simplistic and stereotyped. Not to mention the Italian goombas in the movie, who are stereotyped to the point of seeming like a parody of the Italian gangsters we've seen on TV and in the movies. But besides this, the movie really is quite charming, especially the ice cream man.

A Jim Jarmusch masterpiece!

[kergillian · 10/10 · 12 April 2005]

This is possibly the best Indie film of the 90s. Its certainly up there. There are so many things I'd like to say about this film - I could write a dissertation! So here's attempt, in point form:

-The cast: All I can say is WOW! Forest Whitaker blew me away - even more so than he usually does.

-Notice how the cartoons are a direct prediction or reflection of the scenes surrounding their viewing? And how the gangsters are all awed by them. An interesting connection to the cartoonish gangsters themselves - gangsters who are all old and have fallen into gross caricatures of what gangsters should be. It gets to the point where Vin praises Ghost Dog for sending them all off 'like real gangsters', implying that they're fake.

-Louis and Ghost Dog live by a similar code - except that Louis betrays his code in the end. Interesting how G.D. says, "me & him, we're from different ancient tribes and now we're both almost extinct." Almost prophetic as it leads to the High Noon style Western showdown, where G.D. sacrifices himself in order to remain honourable.

-The best friend, marvelously played by Issach de Bankole, is able to communicate back and forth with G.D., even though neither of them speak the same language. Yet they always know what the other is saying.

This is a classic samurai tale, and a classic fairy tale. A fascinating connection to Rashomon, featured in the film, which takes the same story, which changes drastically as its recounted by different witnesses. Yo have the sens in this film that those who are involved on the same plane are separated by different understandings of reality.

You really need patience to appreciate this film and its various divergences. Many of the slow moments are extremely pertinent to the parent themes of the film. Set in Unknown, USA - which may as well be feudal Japan - the film breaks boundaries of communication and social/moral code. "The end is important in all things". 10/10.

Guns, cartoons, birds, poetry, books, ice creams...meaning?

[Steve9920 · 6/10 · 25 October 2023]

Well, the guns are self explanatory. As for the rest? This would be an ideal homework project for a class of media students, write 500 words on one chosen aspect of Ghost dog.

First off, the cinematography is excellent, beautifully renditioned colour pallet, perfect framing, effective slow transitions and fades to blacks, all give this a unique but slow tempo, nothing seems rushed or jarring.

Likewise, the simplistic eccentric soundtrack and selected music tracks keep the tempo plodding along to its own steady Samurai's heartbeat. Production wise, it's a 9/10.

Unfortunately It does not seem to know what type of film it is? It's not an out and out Tarantino stylised blood fest, nor is it a comedic gangster spoof, or a serious study of the way of the Samurai, or a inner city crime drama.

At times it is cringeworthy, in acting and dialogue, and plot, though that may be a deliberate attempt at comedy? It's a mixed bag, one that you will get out of it whatever you want to.

For real?...

[paul_haakonsen · 4/10 · 21 December 2015]

"Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" is one of those movies that might have seemed like a really god idea on script and in concept idea, but translated to the screen not so much. Why? Well, because the storyline was not overly great and the cinematography even less so.

The idea of an Afro-American hit-man who lives by the ancient Bushido code just didn't Work as well as the writers might have intended. Nothing racism or anything here, just an observation on the character and how the character didn't really fit into the Bushido creed. But making matters worse was to have a barrel-shaped man trying to put the art of the Samurai to the screen. With all due respect for Forest Whitaker and his great acting talent, then he was just the wrong physical choice for the role of Ghost Dog.

I will say that Forest Whitaker does play well in "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai", despite being wrongly cast for the role, but he ended up looking like a fish out of water.

Once the movie ended, I sat with a very bored feeling and thinking 'what was the purpose of this movie?' "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" wasn't innovative or spectacular in any way. And the overall impression is of a below average movie experience.

A Hidden Treasure

[Alex-372 · 10 November 2003]

Ghost Dog is an excellent ode to Hip-Hop and samurai movies, molded into a framework of European film making. It is a meditation on philosophy, literature, the banality of violence, and on miscommunication. As such, this is a great movie with a strong independent feel to it. The story is very simple. A man (Forest Whitaker) who was once saved by a mobster, lives a life dedicated to perfection of the martial arts guided by the Hagakure, the code of the samurai (Hagakure roughly means "Hidden Leaves" or "Hidden By Leaves" and was written by Yamamoto Tsunetomo, a samurai who was denied seppuku and lived out his life as a buddhist monk, which is when he wrote his book). Whitaker is a hitman with only one employer (the geriatric mobster who saved him) and can only be contacted by carrier pigeon. When a hit turns bad, he is forced to fight off the mobster and his fellow geriatric "made men" (who are less Al Pacino in The Godfather, than Al Pacino in Donnie Brasco). They personify the same dying way of life that Tsunetomo represented when he wrote his book, which is as much an obituary to a dying ethic, as the samurai class needed to adapt itself even during the Tokugawa shogunate (let alone after the Meiji Restoration in the 19th century).

If you're looking for a fast action movie with lots of hyperrealistic blood and guts, you will be disappointed.

However, if you are interested in the interaction of movies and literature, violence and miscommunication, honor and philosophy, and culture clashes (not in the least the director's slow moving European style superimposed on one of the world's fastest cities, New York), this is a wonderfully set out masterpiece. At turns hilarious, camp, profound, I found the action actually pretty good. In this movie, it isn't about luck or superfast guns, but it is the person who is most prepared to kill who wins.

Forest Whitaker, Camille Winbush, John Tormey and the rest of the cast give performances that range from very nice to great.

A beautifully composed indie thriller

[Leofwine_draca · 10/10 · 21 July 2016]

Once in a while a film comes along that is so profound, that you actually feel a better person for watching it. GHOST DOG is one such film, a totally unique movie experience that carries out a familiar story in a way that has never been filmed before or will ever be filmed again. An art-house movie masquerading as a conventional thriller, this effort from director Jim Jarmusch is outstanding in every department. Of course, as is usually the case with the best films, it seems to have totally slipped by the mainstream audience for a small, unadvertised video release where it can be savoured by those wise enough to pick it out from the trash.

Forest Whitaker is awesome in the leading role of Ghost Dog, a literature-loving hit-man who has been reborn as a samurai and leads his life according to strict rules which must be obeyed at any cost. Ghost Dog's home is on the roof of a building, surrounded by his beloved pigeons. His best friend is an ice cream vendor who can't speak English, just one of the many deeply human and interesting characters in this atypical thriller. Although the plot is simple and straightforward, the characters involved in the story are deep, thoughtful and all too realistic in some cases. Drama and social interaction is blended nicely with the thriller aspects of the story. Here's a film where long talk about books is just as exciting as a violent shoot-out and I don't think many movies can achieve that effect.

Aside from Whitaker's excellent turn in the lead (it really is a once in a lifetime performance), there are a dozen other great performances in the movie. The mafia family who act as the villains of the piece (refreshingly the black community isn't portrayed as a violent, hate-ridden society) are actually fleshed out; instead of being hard men, ruthless killers, they are instead ageing, tired, very human characters who have to act the way they do. Just like Ghost Dog's Samurai, the Mafia for them is a way of life. Henry Silva makes a surprising appearance as the mafia don and his performance is also superb, I loved his impression of an elk. Despite Silva's advanced years he's still capable of giving great performances and it's a shame we don't see him in more mainstream movies these days.

GHOST DOG also fulfils itself as an action thriller with some irregular but fascinating action scenes which are magnificently shot; the pinnacle being the shoot-out at the country mansion. These bloody gun battles remind me of the climax of CARLITO'S WAY, De Palma's similarly excellent crime drama. But such action is only part of the story and the best bits are those which don't have violence or even dialogue; witnessing Ghost Dog's interactions with his best friend (the two characters brought together through common understanding rather than speech) and his almost tutor-like interactions with the young black girl. The ending is surprisingly poignant but also very fitting. A great movie which deserves a wider audience, GHOST DOG is a fascinating and intelligent piece of art which easily transcends the boundaries of film-making itself. I don't think I've seen a film in which every single shot has been beautifully composed before.

Personal favorite! after all the negative reviews, it is pointless to even argue...

[divnaosoba · 10/10 · 15 October 2019]

This is one those movies you either find boring and hate it, or just are hidden gems for someone who can appreciate the weirdness and can identify with the movies message and tone. I wont even number all the reasons ,why this movies is a perfect 10, i simply love it, and it is in my top 10 movies of all time.

Jarmush dreaming. Me sleeping.

[bloodbathcat · 6/10 · 21 December 2008]

How come whenever I fall in love with a great new American director I always fall out of my bed ? Recently I've watched many Jarmusch films following my coup de foudre ( love at first sight ) with his Down by Law. With Ghost Dog the Jarmusch touch seems overstretched. He is ambitious alright, he is also multi-cultural and won't make a total lemon soon ( things I'll always cherish best when evaluating a director in the long term ) but watching Ghost Dog can be a hard endeavor. After the neo-psychedelic Dead Man teaching us about the shortcomings of the white men ( still with a few great short scenes the Ghost greatly lack ) here we are with yet another Blue Velvet bad guy, yet an other aging-mafia-guys movie. What's new : Jarmusch's Taxi Driver 's homage because of city horizons and street-wise lingo's... Dead Man was flawed but at least indirectly amiable. Ghost Dog is not so heart warming. I felt, the whole movie, Jarmusch's eagerness to make The Great American Movie maybe he's not supposed to make in the first place. He's much better at home in low-fi...A Clue : Jarmusch's seriousness is equally related to the number of fade-outs he uses. In the Coffee in Cigarettes films he is short and sweet but the two hours sniper rigmarole the Ghost Dog is is way too long even with the Samurai sub-text.

In Dead Man and Ghost Dog it's much more about the values of Jarmusch's than about his true vitaly as a filmmaker. I like him being ambitious but there's no excuse for the blandness of the little black girl scenes in Ghost Dog. In Down By Law the sheer quality of his writing was in synch with his newly found director skills and par with the excellence of Robby Mueller's cinematography. With the Ghost, Robby's still there in great industrial colors; the Americana loves multi-cultural is still there but the writing is not… At times it even reminded me of the multi flash yet monochrome flavor Tarantino treats his love affairs with

Top-notch

[winner55 · 10/10 · 10 July 2006]

Basically, Jim Jarmush's best (and most accessible) film; Forrest Whitaker's best performance (and the best performances by a host of little recognized but worthy character actors), the best sound track, best music from the RZA; - I mean, '90's film-making just couldn't get better than this, and if you're having trouble understanding this, then read some books and see some movies, because this is a film that does not talk "down" to its audience, but expects us to live up to it.

This is a film about the clash - and potential interweaving - of very different cultures. That the interweavings ultimately become untethered, is solely because we are not yet ready to live up to the promise of being a "multi-cultural" melting-pot that we have always promised ourselves we'd become.... But that doesn't give us any right to lose hope or stop trying.

Ghost Dog is the spirit of this possible future. We don't have to have the worst of every culture, we could actually bring together the best.

Magnificently written, shot, performed - and, despite a grim finale, one of the most optimistic films on this topic I've ever seen.

It's a good book - I recommend it.

Overrated formula film

[FlorisV · 6/10 · 13 September 2007]

This formula may sound appealing to many of the following: -hiphop tunes (soundtrack by RZA himself); -ancient Japanese little philosophies of the Samurai ways; -gangsters vs lone black hit-man; -slow paced, off key, indie style of filming.

But there is not much happening in this film. Gangsters are being depicted as total losers, watching cartoons and not even being able to pay the rent. Ghost Dog is a lonely hit-man that is professional and methodical and lives by a Samurai code ever since he was saved by one of the gangsters, to be his retainer. For some reason the gangsters want to kill him after a job he did (first he was ordered to kill a gangster but now they're angry about the killing...it didn't make sense to me). From then on, he decides to get rid of the gangsters, however he can't kill his former savior because of the loyalty demanded by the samurai code.

This may seem like an interesting story with plenty of conflict but it was rather boring. There was a total lack of suspense. The film just showed him at work like it was your ordinary boring day at the office. The ending didn't immediately make sense but the clash between conflicting codes eplains a bit.

What is likable is how Ghost Dog connects with the little girl and the ice cream vendor (who doesn't know a word of English), but these are not the main elements of the film. The quotes used from the samurai code seem at times to be inserted merely for their coolness factor rather than always adding something, but there are occasions where they fit very well.

I would have liked the film more if the gangsters had been more real and more frightening. Also Ghost Dog should have been a little bit less invincible. Heavyweight Forest Whitaker walks around shooting guns like it's a day at the park.

Overall this is an overrated, formulaic Indie film. Not too terrible but not great.

Absolutely beautiful

[sansay · 8/10 · 16 March 2008]

I didn't know what to expect with this movie. I don't even recall why I put it in my Netflix queue. Probably a friend of mine recommended it. Although I knew already that I think highly of both Forrest Whitaker, and Jim Jarmusch. So I guess I had an idea that this was probably good times ahead. And let me tell you people, I was not disappointed. During the almost 2 hours this movie lasts, I didn't think one second that such scene or that one was too long. This goes completely against some of the critics that I have read in here. I don't know how anyone who's got some critical abilities could come up with such complaints. If you want to see a movie with real dead time, please go see Caché by Michael Haneke. (seriously, you probably don't want to watch this movie)

Anyway, I am not about to relate all the events that happen in Ghost Dog. It's been already done by so many people. And yes, the concept of the assassin following the Samurai's code in the midst of the Mafia world is just a wonderful idea. And this movie certainly contains a lot of great concepts. Such is the one where Ghost dog's friend, the ice-cream guy speaks only French. This is really fun to watch, as they both figure out what the other one was saying despite the language barrier. True friendship goes beyond that barrier!

But there are a few other observations I would like to make. It seemed strange to me that the Mafia gangsters were always watching cartoons. Sure they are other clues to get us to see how incompetent, and uncultured they are. For instance they can't pay all their dues, they haven't paid the rent in 3 months, they sit in the back room just playing cards, etc. But the cartoons? I think that this could have been avoided. Also, the scene of the killing through the sink was a bit too far fetched for me.

On another hand, there is this mysterious dog. What did he symbolize? Was that the animal spirit who tried to remind him of his duties? I loved also the handing over of the Samurai's code book to the young girl. Truly a key moment for us to realize that he's done. His mission is over, and he will follow the code of the samurai all the way.

What else? Ah yes, excellent acting from Forrest Whitaker, but this is probably not really surprising to anyone who knows him.

I highly recommend this movie!

Facing the Mafia...

[Thanos_Alfie · 6/10 · 30 May 2020]

"Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" is a Crime - Drama movie in which we watch a hit man hired by the mob to kill someone and as he accomplishes his mission his boss and the rest Mafia members want to take him out. Now he has to protect himself from everyone and fight for his principles and beliefs.

I have to admit that "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" was a nice surprise for me since I did not expect it to be so interesting. The direction which was made by Jim Jarmusch who is also the writer of it, was very good and it was obvious in the whole duration of the film that he did a great job presenting the differences of the society, the racism and many more aspects of it. Finally, the interpretation of Forest Whitaker who played as Ghost Dog was simply amazing and in addition to the interpretations of both John Tormey who played as Louie and Isaach De Bankolé who played as Raymond, made this movie something more than an action movie, something deeper.

The tale of an inner-city, New York, Samurai warrior by Jim Jarmusch

[dparrot · 10/10 · 24 February 2000]

This new film, written and directed by the Dean of Independent film makers ("Down by Law," "Night on Earth," and "Dead Man," just to name a few of his masterpieces), is a WONDERFUL, entertaining, and powerful work about a New York City inner city young man, played marvellously by Forest Whitaker, who studies and lives the way of the ancient Samurai warriors. He has adopted the role of retainer to a minor mob boss, whose orders he carries out with flawless precision. Jarmusch once again pairs up with cinematographer Robby Muller, with the predictable result that the film is visually magnificent. In typical Jarmusch fashion, the hip hop sound track (music by RZA) is also masterful. "Ghost Dog" is exciting, emotional (even touching), engaging, and, most unexpectedly, funny.

Good plot, corny interpretation

[rox-ul · 6/10 · 29 May 2003]

The movie is about being a samurai -- to follow the samurai way and be able to "perform one last action even though your head has been cut off" (in the film the hero is obliged loyalty to his master, but master at a turning point becomes enemy).

The movie contains lots of quotes with "samurai wisdom", but they are almost impossible to understand right without background knowledge. Instead they are made into puns (not very good ones). I guess the film is supposed to be cool and comical, but in my opinion it fails so bad that the otherwise really good plot is almost totally obliterated.

If you like ancient East-asian war strategy this movie has a good plot with a good twist at the end, but I would not call it a good movie.

Highly overrated

[fumiosuzukii · 3/10 · 27 February 2011]

I went ahead and watched this film because the premise sounded interesting to me. Despite being wary due to the hard-to-take-seriously title and trailer, I gave it a shot. Now I wish I had my 2 hours back (or was it 3?). The movie starts off slowly and never really picks up. It felt as if an entire half of the film consisted of scenes where the main character was driving his car to rap music in the background or of scenes where mobsters watched classic cartoons. There are but 1 or 2 characters that you might actually care about, and they don't include "Ghost Dog" who pretty much always has the same expression throughout the movie. There are some funny moments thrown here and there but they are far too sparse. There isn't any character development, or plot for that matter.

Before you dismiss this review as coming from someone who seems to have a short attention span, I'd like to say I'm an avid film watcher and a huge advocate of independent and/or artistic films including 12 Angry Men and The Man From Earth, both of which are films that take place almost entirely in one room and consist of mainly dialogue. This film, on the other hand kept the word "boring" running through my mind. "Ghost Dog" is not a thriller because the "bad guys" are so inept and unrealistic that any sense of danger disappears, nor is it a drama because the characters are mostly stereotypes and show no development, nor is it action because of its focus characters sleeping, driving, watching TV etc etc. If I had to make up a genre for the film it would be "hip hop comedy spy movie that isn't that funny with cultural references." Even from a technical standpoint, the director doesn't do any interesting as far as camera shots and cinematography goes. Perhaps if this film was 1.5 hours shorter, I would have liked it.

If you read a few dozen Japanese haiku poems instead of watching this movie, you won't miss out on anything.