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Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

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After seeing all of Jim Jarmusch's films, I have to admit not a single one of them is easy to watch. All of them are boring and slow, but I love them anyway. Unlike all his earlier work, Ghost Dog is easily accessible yet still definitely a "Jim" movie.

The subtle beauty of this movie is quickly realized within the first few minutes of the film. The start of this film is much like his earlier works, usually showing a run down part of a town with music playing overtop. They seem to be the only shots he uses that have panning and movement with the camera. After knowing his work, you realize this is because he hates showing the audience what to look at. It is just one of the few things Jarmusch does that makes him the best. But, back to the music. Of all the soundtracks that he has had in the past 20 years, I must admit this one is the best. He allows RZA (from Wu Tang Clan fame) to add music that enhances every scene, which is different from what he normally does. These tracks are all awesome, varying from an outright Gangsta Rap song to the weirdest jazz ever created.

The rest of the movie is beautiful in every way. Jarmusch once again uses poetry to create visuals that go along with his beautiful dialogue. This movie probably has the most dialogue of any of his movies, yet it still isn't much. There are things that take getting used to and seem like they are not important to the plot, but for some reason they are just really great scenes. A good example of this is the scene when Ghost Dog and his Haitian friend (who knows why Jarmusch made him not be able to communicate with his best friend?) are watching a man build a boat in an alley for no apparent reason. There seems to be no logic to this scene, yet it has a certain charm that just adds character to all his films.

This, like a lot of Jarmusch movies, creates a movie that brings together many different aspects never put together before. In this, he combines Eastern Philosphy, The Dying Mob Scene, and the Hip Hop generation all into one story. That is something no director could pull off in a two hour movie.

As for the rest of this movie, I can't say enough. With things like mobsters watching old (and a few Itchy & Scratchy) cartoons that seem to be foreshadowing, how can you go wrong? Plus, the addition of carrier pigeons as communication, GENIUS! You must understand that this movie is probabaly his funniest yet (tied with Dead Man) with the addition of Rapping Mob bosses and overall beautiful acting. Robbie Muller once again proves why he's the best filmographer in the business, Forest Whitaker finally gets a role that he deserves, and Jim Jarmusch strengthens his greatness with another masterpiece to add to his library.

Jim Jarmusch, idiosyncratic warrior and independent filmmaker extraordinare, has made another film that falls, both stylistically and thematically, into the director's long line of culture clash, fish-out-of-water comic dramas. It is an offbeat crime comedy that, for the most part, follows the genre's rules according to plot (most of it is straight out of Le Samourai), but adds its own spin with oddball subplots, allusions, and touches (all bearing the imprint of their director). The film bears a number of similarites, in fact, with Jarmusch's previous fictious work, the surreal, deadpan Western Dead Man, except Ghost Dog is much more accessible to mainstream audiences.

Forest Whitaker, in a role written specifically for him, plays the title character with the quiet elegance, dignity, and grace of an early Charlie Chaplin. (Johnny Depp also comes to mind for his performances in the aforementioned Dead Man and Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands.) Ghost Dog is an old-fashioned samurai, and hit man, stuck in an ever-changing world. (perhaps much like director Jarmusch and his ever-fading romantic worldview and optimism). He lives on the roof of a buiding, feeds pigeons, and keeps mainly to himself. His relationships with a French ice cream vendor(think Night On Earth) and a young girl (similar to that in Pi) are priceless. The light humor sprinkled throughout adds much interest to the proceedings. Much of it comes at the expense of the helpless Italian mobsters in the film. Perhaps Jarmusch's only failure is not developing some of his secondary characters beyond their stereotypes.

The DVD appears to warrant a purchase (I have mine on pre-order) for its deleted scenes, documentary, and isolated music score. The music is one of the most important, and surprisingly wonderful aspects of the film. (This coming from someone who is by no means a fan of rap.) The other extras should offer an interesting insight into Jarmusch's directorial processes, although the lack of a audio commentary by the director is disappointing. We are lucky, though, to get what bonuses we do after MGM's no-frills release of Mystery Train on DVD.

So, if you're a fan of Jarmusch's, of independent cinema, or just any type of unique and hypnotically engrossing film, Ghost Dog would be an excellent DVD to look into purchasing. While you're at it, consider buying Yamamoto Tsunetomo's Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai, a major influence on the film. A film recommended to any patient filmgoer over 15. It is one of my favorite films of 2000 to date, and the best, funniest, and strangest crime comedy since the Coen Brothers' 1998 effort, The Big Lebowski.

I do not expect most people to like "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" as much as I did because I do not think most viewers are going to be as willing to accept the black comedy aspects along with the philosophical musings and sporadic blood shed. In fact, I think a lot of people will find the mixture rather strange, but at least compelling if not outright provocative. Writer-director Jim Jarmusch is able to pull this off because he has Forest Whitaker in the title role and when he admits on one of the special features that he would have abandoned the project if Whitaker had passed on "Ghost Dog" you know he is absolutely right.

You willingness to take this film on at face value is tested by the premise. Once upon a time a mid-level Mafiaso named Louie (John Tormey) came upon a couple of guys beating the crap out of a young black man (Damon Whitaker). When the guys take exception to Louie's interruption, he blows them away. We are told that some time later the young black man comes to Louie and declares himself to be in debt; calling himself Ghost Dog, he becomes a contract killer for Louie, although he calls himself a loyal retainer. Ghost Dog follows the way of the samurai, which is laid out in the book "Hagakure: The Way of the Samurai." But where the book enters the picture is unclear. If he was reading it before the assault then he should have been able to disptach those two guys; he certainly does well against everybody else in this film. But perhaps it was afterwards.

The key thing to understand is that Ghost Dog is a Don Quixote figure, both in terms of following a creed long forgotten by the world in which he lives but also because he is certifiably crazy. Ghost Dog is living by a rules that Louie does not even know about, let along understand. Yet this does not bother Ghost Dog any more than the fact that he only speaks English and his best friend, Haitian ice cream vendor Raymond (Isaach De Bankolé) only speaks French. The major conceit of this film are the quotation from "Hagakure" recited by Ghost Dog (e.g., "Even if one's head were to be suddenly cut off, he should be able to do one more action with certainty"), which present the philosophy of the Samurai and serve to explain his motivations.

The problem comes when Ghost Dog does a successful hit on a mobster only to discover that Louise Vargo (Tricia Vessey), daughter of the big boss, Ray Vargo (Henry Siliva), is on the scene. She was not supposed to be there, but she was. Ghost Dog has no instructions about killing anybody else and Louise is reading "Rashomon," so he leaves her alone (but borrows the book). However, despite the fact he is a successful contract killer, Vargo wants Ghost Dog killed. In one of the most surreal exposition scenes of all-time, Louie has to explain to Vargo, underboss Sonny Valerio (Cliff Gorman) and a senile Old Consigliere (Gene Ruffini) that he contacts Ghost Dog by carrier pigeon, trying to explain to the old school mafiaoses the bizarre relationship.

For Vargo it comes down to Ghost Dog or Louie, and since Ghost Dog has objections to it being either himself or his "master," he takes matters into his own hands. This guy might practice with a sword, but he is pretty good with a gun as well. Meanwhile, Ghost Dog has befriended a young girl, Pearline (Camille Winbush), trying to pass on something of the life he has lived and what he believes. There might be some message here about two outdated modes of thinking, that of the Samurai verus that of the Mafia, but ultimately this film is about Whitaker's character and his performance. Whatever problems there are with the storyline or the clash of disparate elements in the film are forgiven by what Whitaker does as he goes back and forth between living a life of meditation and being an efficient killing machine. Jarmusch wrote the script and directed this film, but "Ghost Dog" is Whitaker's film.

If you think its virtually impossible to create an original film about a hired killer working for the mafia, you have not seen Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai. It's an imperfect film which will probably require about 20 minutes of patience before it absorbs you into its off-beat charms. Sticking with Ghost Dog will reward you with a quirky, original, and at times very funny, dark comedy. It's a film written and directed by indie film iconoclast Jim Jarmusch, and you'll find he remains very fond of fading out of scenes and creating interesting but not overly complicated visual motifs to play off of. He of course finds some quirky characters and relationships to amuse us with-particularly a french speaking Haitian ice-cream vendor who speaks only a few English words, but is mostly perfectly understood by Forrest Whitakers' Ghost Dog. Jarmusch also over-plays an interesting amusing idea (mobsters are always watching cartoons on t.v.) through repetition.

Forest Whitaker plays Ghost Dog, a character who lives by a strict Samurai code and is ready to accept-even embrace death at any moment without fear. Whitaker's sleepy eyes and demeanor always add warmth to any character he plays, but what's surprising is how (like Hong Kong's Sammo Hung) Whitaker despite his size is able to move with a ballet dancer's grace. It's his balance, centeredness and grace that makes the outbreaks of violence somewhat surprising throughout the film.

According to the samurai tradition, Ghost Dog has decided to live his life by, when a small time mobster (John Tormey) saves his life, Ghost Dog pledges utter loyalty to the mobster and is used as a contract killer by the mobster. Ghost Dog only communicates with his mobster master through messages sent via the pigeons G.D. cares for. The mobster contracts Ghost Dog to wipe out a made mob guy who's girlfriend is the mobster's boss' daughter. The daughter is present when Ghost Dog kills her boyfriend. The mobster Ghost Dog kills is the uncle of another under-boss (Cliff Gorman) who demands from boss (Henry Silva) that his uncle's killer be eliminated. Cliff Gorman really shines in his role as the under-boss who enjoys rapping to ten year old hip-hop hits by Public Enemy and Flavor Flav. Ghost Dog has been such a loyal, efficient contract killer for Tormey however this creates a dilemma. In one of the films' best scenes, Ghost Dog's master (Tormey) pleads for his servant's (Ghost Dog's) life and must try to explain the odd arrangements involving sending messages via Pigeon he has with the contract killer.. Tormey's mobster is told; "Better Ghost Dog than you, right?" and the simple plot of the film is set. What happens is not always what you expect. For instance, except for a couple of voice-over, Forest Whitaker doesn't speak any dialogue for the film's first forty-five minutes. He is a loner who keeps almost entirely to himself but calls the French-speaking ice-cream vendor (Isaach DeBankole) his best friend and befriends a curious little girl (Camille Winbush) he meets in a local park. At times the film erupts into brutal violence.

I was reminded many times throughout the film of one of Jarmusch's idols, Sam Fuller (the great,under-appreciated director who's best films were in the late 50's/early 60's and include Pickup on South Street and Shock Corridor). Fuller would also find fascinating, original and somewhat experimental ways to present rather familiar plot lines to his audience.

There's also a reverance and appreciation of the contexts Jarmusch draws upon. He does not do this in the somewhat plagiaristic fashion of a Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction specifically) but in a way that utilizes ideas in very diverse material (like Seijun Suzuki's 1967 film Branded to Kill, books like Ryunosuke Akutagawa's Rashomon and Other Stories, Yamamoto Tsunetomo's Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai, and most surprisingly Mary Shelley's Frankenstein). All of these are combined with GoodFellas set in urban setting with a hip-hop soundtrack by Wu Tang Clan's RZA.

Hagakure in fact serves as Ghost Dog's bible and is quoted (in English) with quiet voice-overs and inter-titles 13 times throughout the film. It's a risky thing for a film to include it's own annotated footnotes, but Jarmusch pulls it off.

The balancing act only fails when it turns in on itself and concludes in a classic Western showdown. Even so, it's not an unsatisfying compromise, but a willingness of Jarmusch to submit to audience expectations and keep things within a defined conventional narrative.

If you're looking for an original, but still entertaining crime thriller, Ghost Dog should more than satisfy.

Chris Jarmick Author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder - A steamy cyber thriller...

Yesterday I tried in vain to encourage some of my friends, who had never even heard of Ghost Dog, to plan on watching it someday, and I obviously failed to give them even a mere glimpse of the magnitude of the story and its central character, Ghost Dog!

One friend said, "I can't believe you would enjoy a movie about an assassin! It seems so unlike you."

Yes, this is a movie about an impoverished, urban Black man, who survives by doing hits for his local Mob, but it is so much more, that it ranks right up there at the top of my favorite movie list.

Raised by a movie loving father who early on introduced me to independent American films and international films, such as Rashomon, with Tashiro Mifune and the French film, The Red Balloon, the sweetness of this very spiritual movie lives on and is one I know I will never forget.

I was already a Forest Whitaker fan, when I saw Ghost Dog for the first time, but since then, he has been firmly established, in my opinion, as one of the most poetic actors of our age. In this movie, he communicates at the highest levels of consciousness...sometimes by staying silent.

Ghost Dog is a masterpiece. Don't deprive yourself...rent it. Or better yet, buy it!

'Ghost Dog' is by no means a conventional movie. People who dislike it are probably expecting something a little more along the mainstream format. Whitaker masterfully downplays the eponymous role, his physical bulk offset by graceful movement and deadpan cool. Excellent performances are also given in all the supporting roles, including the excitable ice cream van owner and some crazy mafioso. The movie combines the philosophical with the absurd to great effect. It's true strength lies in its originality - the contrast between Samurai, Gangster and Hip-hop culture is fantastic. Having said this, the slow paced style is not to everyones taste and if you're going to get hung up about realism or miniscule detail then don't bother. The point of the film is the exposition of themes and character. Personally I loved this movie. It is not really, despite the title, a Samurai movie. Although it is a major theme, people looking for a Samurai film should look elsewhere. If you are looking for an original and thoughtful movie, which puts a new twist on various old ideas, then i can give no higher reccomendation.

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.

I was slightly disappointed after my first viewing of this movie, but have grown to like it better and better with each additional viewing. It's full of outstanding (often-understated) performances by all with Forest Whitaker, John Tormey, Isaach De Bankole and Camille Winbush standing out. There's also a great cameo by Gary Farmer -- in which he states his races feeling about the 'white man' more honestly in four little words than others have in thousands. The story is about as basic as they come -- an assassin for the mob is betrayed by them and then seeks revenge -- but seen through Jarmusch's camera it takes on new dimensions. You have a group of men living by one code colliding headfirst with an individual living by another code and something has to give. It's especially intriguing how both the Gangsters and Ghost Dog truly belong in another age -- and they all realize it. The picture is steeped in a mood that is taken to new levels by THE RZA's brilliant score. There is even a nod to the great director, Seigun Suzuki, in a scene that really makes no more pratical sense here that it did in Suzuki's movie, but brought a smile to my face none the less. The best DVD extras are the documentory, the deleted scenes and the music only audio track. The only thing missing is a commentary track by Jarmusch himself. All in all another excellent release by writer/director Jim Jarmusch!

nothing over-extravagant, no million dollar special effects, no wire work...just a simple story of a modern day samurai....

...set in the streets of new york...

...with not one asian character in the story...

clint eastwood did the same thing back in the day, settin his samurai-stories within the framework of the old west...the only difference here is that 'ghostdog' retains some of the flavor that inspired it by showing and building upon it's asian influences...
be warned tho: er'body aint gonna like this...it is a bit slow moving, and if you lack the appreciation of urban culture and eccentric story-tellin, then this proly aint for you...
(if you're lookin for somethin just as original but more authentic then 'crouching tiger, hidden dragon' is an excellent movie...in fact, i'm watchin that right now for about the thousandth time on dvd!)

the one thing i got from this movie more than anything else is how much we allow our own cultural background to cloud everyone else's...like the mafia-types in this movie sitting around perplexed as to why forrest's character calls himself 'ghostdog'...they equate it with the rappers and urban culture and then they make references to how native americans named themselves 'running bear', 'black elk' and such...and then they miss the complete irony because they have names like 'sammy the snake', 'joe rags' and 'big angie'...

...funny...

anyway...i enjoy this...some of yall might too...later for yall...

This was another gem from the director Jim Jarmusch, who previously brought us the incredibly underrated zen spaghetti western Dead Man. Which mixes some of the same elements, taking several genres, and blending them together in a believable and respectful way.

Forest Whitaker is playing the main character. A street punk who follows a bushido code and considers himself a modern day samurai. He lives his life by this strict code of honor, and has pledged his life to a mobster who saved him. So he works for this gangster as a contract killer. Never questioning the reasons for his killings, just like a samurai, there is no good and evil. You follow your the will of your master to the death. Through all this you definitely get the feeling that he is alone in this world of his, duty is what concernes him. His only friend is an ice cream vendor that doesn't speak english, just french, which Forest Whittaker's character doesn't.

The second part of this film is the Mafia themself. A comical group of broken down gangsters who are starting to show their age. They are having trouble making their bills, and are suffering from internal conflicts. Obviously their glory days are long gone, and they seem to be waiting for the inevitable.

This movie blends to the two genres well, making them both entertaining and believable for the premise. As we all know the Mafia lost most of it power through the late 70' to the mid 90's. They show this with the age of the mobsters and the fact that they can't even make their bills. The Bushido code wasn't practiced on a grand scale since World War 2 with the Japanese, when they lost the war, a lot of that part of their culture started to dissappear from their lives. So you have two groups that were once held a great deal of power and respect, but now are a shadow of themeselves, being slowly forgotten.

He also manages to make this as surreal as his previous pictures. Not like the sledgehammer to head stylings of Greg Arraki, or force fed surrealism of David Lynch, but more subtle. Lots of people watch cartoons, there are silent interludes where ambiant soundtracks play and you just feel the intensity of the main character, the world has a subdued and detached feel to it, like you are looking from the outside in, the philosophies still hold relavence today despite their age,......

All in all it is a very good movie. Be warned it isn't an action movie, dont' expect any John Woo style gun fights or sword wielding killers, that isn't what this is about. It is something deeper and more introspective.