Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai

Year:	1999
Country:	International
Language:	English
Genre:	Action, Crime, Drama
IMDB:	IMDB Page
Rating:	7.5 Rate
Collection:	Seen It Wishlist
Community:	4 Have Seen


Director	Jim Jarmusch
Selected Cast	Forest Whitaker as Ghost Dog
	John Tormey as Louie
	Henry Silva as Ray Vargo
Soundtrack	RZA

Comments and Reviews


Magic Marmalade 11th Jul 2022		Rated 8/10 The last of it's kind. (And, in a way... the first) In that this, on the face of it, taps into the kind of movie prevalent in the nineties that looked at the life and lifestyle of the hit-man, from an alternate point of view... whilst doing so in a way that makes for a very cool film... and presents the lead character as a very cool dude. For this reason, you will see a lot of movies like Leon, and Grosse Point Blank in it, and it certainly deserves to be seen if you like those movies. However, it differs from those two, in that it's made by Jim Jarmusch, which may or may not, speak for itself... ...It means this is not going to be a conventional rendition of those kind of movies, and not loaded with relentless, fast paced action, or adrenalin fuelled set pieces, in the way they do. Instead, this is a more contemplative, philosophical, mood driven piece, and philosophy is in general, the subject matter as well. For Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker) is a lone hit-man, living on a rooftop next to a pigeon shed, with his beloved feathered, and for the most part, only friends, and conducts his profession according to his chosen belief system... The way of the Samurai. On one particular job, which he conducts on behalf of a mobster who once saved his life, a small detail is out of place... the presence of a girl, who witnesses him in the act, and so the "mafia" that this guy works for, decides (ill advisedly, as you might imagine) to have Ghost Dog "whacked", to tie up loose ends. This whole movie has a very dream-like, lo-fi quality to it, that just rolls slowly along, and is peppered with surreal, dream-like moments, and often, very funny ones, too! The frequent Whitaker narrated text quotations from the Samurai text that appear on the screen act like chapter headings, or presage the principles of the segment that follows. after a few watches, you realize this film is actually saying more in it's message though, as the underlying theme seems to be about the changing times, and how old fashioned ways can either help, or hinder life... The rather antiquated, and satirically rendered mafia guys are basically cartoons of the kind of scuzz-bags depicted in movies like Goodfellas and such... being hopelessly lost in a modern and changing world that has no place their kind any more... comically bigotted, racist, diagrams of proto-Godfather Italian American gangster stereotypes... ... And it's that juxtaposition of generations, that gives the giggles, like the mafia boss who likes dancing around his bathroom, whilst singing to Public Enemy :) ...This, undermining, or satirical message is overtly emphasised by the frequent scenes of people watching TV, and in which, every single one is watching an old, zany Loony-Toons style cartoon... so these "serious" men are sat watching Woody Woodpecker, or Betty Boop. It's also, because of this, about a lack of understanding of the world around us, and how this can make some people fearful, and strange, in how they deal with that... In fact, this is said on more than one occasion by the gangsters: "The world around us changing"... ...They can't deal with it, but Ghost Dog, who's only other non-pigeon friend, his "Best friend", is a French speaking ice cream van owner, he plays chess with, can... Ghost Dog doesn't speak French, and the other guy doesn't speak a lick of English... but they accept each other, and get along. So a low burner, with bags of unique atmosphere, strange juxtapositions, who's surreal products makes for a very, very cool film. 1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?

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