Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (2000)

Sorry, this movie sucks

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Blistering performances.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Conflating the samurai tenet within a tailing-off gangster underworld in an unnamed USA city, Jim Jarmusch's version of LE SAMOURAI is profoundly branded with his idiosyncrasies: a nocturnal cityscape tinged with retro-flair (mostly seen behind the wheels), a vibrating, mind-bending, killer soundtrack (courtesy to RZA), a perversity and absurdity presiding over the turn of events (cartoon hooked mobsters, a lethal shot fired from a drain pipe, the cameo of Gary Farmer's Nobody from DEAD MAN 1995, etc.), a tangy timbre of acedia inhabits in some of his dramatis personae (the boss's daughter portrayed with crashing nonchalance by a sylph-like Tricia Vessey) and a total abandon of anhedonia (twice, the dog's gaze is the self-reflexive bellwether of a preordained corollary).Ghost Dog (Whitaker), a self-claimed retainer of the world-weary mobster Louie (Tormey), who has saved his life eight years ago, is a proficient hit-man abiding by the codes of HAGAKURE: THE BOOK OF THE SAMAURAI, written by Yamamoto Tsunetomo in the early 18th century, living alone in the top of a building with a bevy of messenger pigeons, his disciplined life and allegiance is challenged when the local mafia boss Ray Vargo (a deadpan Silva) and his right-hand man Sonny Valerio (Gorman), both superiors of Louie, decide to do away with Ghost Dog as a scapegoat for a mission he has adroitly accomplished, a fatuous move because they have no inking of Ghost Dog's credentials, who will become their imminent nemesis, save the wobbling Louie, who is inadvertently submitted to the receiving end of Ghost Dog's undivided loyalty, chiming in with the RASHOMON (a book which undergoes a ritualistic full circle in the end) motif, even their recollections of their first encounter are different (with clear visual aid here), which shrewdly explains the discrepancy of their attitudes, for Louie it may be merely a self-defense, yet for Ghost Dog, he roundly leaves his own life to the mercy of Louie. An artistically knowing discord looms large between Ghost Dog's zippy choreography and efficiency to rub out his over-confident but ponderous, long-in-the-tooth rivals and a languid but cordial narrative arc encompassing Ghost Dog, his best friend Raymond (De Bankolé), a francophone-only Haitian ice-cream vandor, and a prepubescent bookworm Pearline (Winbush), to whom Ghost Dog eventually lends HAGAKURE, a deed of passing on his mantle. Forest Whitaker superbly channels a less laconic Alain Delon in the titular role, but is far more superior in transmitting a loner's variegated inscape, hewing to his codes of honor and living by liquidation of mortals, but it doesn't necessarily negate that he can have a warm soul underneath, and truly, the warmth quotient increases whenever there is a scene between him and Isaach De Bankolé's motormouth Raymond, the latter is the bees knee for a sore eye, amusingly and edifyingly, Jarmusch points up that human beings can build a communicative bond in spite of a seemingly insurmountable language barrier, and it is this humanistic perspective gives the film an edge over its built-in romanticism of indiscriminately adhering to something exotic and gnomic, so at large, GHOST DOG is worth cherry-picking by both Jarmusch newbies and diehards.

All The Reviews Claim That "This Is The Best Movie You Have Never Seen" And They Are Right ... Whitaker (An Excellent Actor) Is A Hit-man For The Mob Who Calls Himself "Ghost Dog" And Lives His Life According To The Philosophy Of The Ancient Samurai ... The Idea Of The Movie (In My Opinion) Is To Give The Newer Generations A Way To Understand And Relate To The Ancient Customs Of The Samurai ... The Movie Brilliantly Achieves This Goal ... The Movie Is Full Of Subtle Innuendos That Are Marvelous If You Take The Time To "Watch" The Movie ... Directed With A Care That Is Rarely Seen In Movies ... A Must Seen On Any List ...

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.

This is by far Jarmusch's best film. I'm all for slow flicks if they work, but man, Jarmusch just doesn't have many good flicks.That said, this movie is just downright ill. The ice cream cat in this joint is one of the best characters I've ever seen. Forest bring the house down as always. The Rza lays down an original score that I copped immediately after I saw this.Calling this Jarmusch's best film doesn't say much for an underwelming body of work, but this movie is just straight up dope filmmaking. Period.