Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

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:

African American | Samurai | Ice Cream | Mafia | Book

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

Also Known As:

Ghost Dog (Australia)
Ghost Dog - Der Weg des Samurai (Germany)
Ghost Dog, la voie du samouraï (France)
El camino del samurai (Argentina) [es]
Ghost Dog (Brazil) [pt]
Ghost Dog (Chile) [es]
Ghost Dog - Matador Implacável (Brazil) (TV title) [pt]
Ghost Dog - den sidste samurai (Denmark) [da]
Ghost Dog - il codice del samurai (Italy) [it]
Ghost Dog, el camino del samurai (Spain) [es]
Ghost Dog: Droga samuraja (Poland) [pl]
Ghost dog - El camino del samurai (Mexico) [es]
Ghost dog - O tropos ton samurai (Greece) [el]
Ghost dog - Samurajens väg (Sweden) [sv]
Ghost dog - samuraiden tapaan (Finland) [fi]

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:

Australia:MA | Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | 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:

Two of the rappers in the park (when the Ice Cream beat can be heard) are Timbo King and Dreddy Kruger. They are both rappers; members of the Wu-Tang Killa Beez. RZA, who scored the movie, is the 'leader' of both Wu-Tang Clan and Wu-Tang Killa Beez.

Goofs:

Continuity: The final shoot out is said to take place at "High Noon" and the clock in the background rings 12 times, but the shadows are far too long, indicating early morning or late evening.

Quotes:

Ghost Dog: If one were to say in a word what the condition of being a samurai is, its basis lies first in seriously devoting one's body and soul to his master.

Movie Connections:

References Star Wars (1977)

Soundtrack:

Dangerous Fun

Who Would Believe This Is So Good?

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.