Directed by:
Jim JarmuschScreenplay:
Jim JarmuschCinematography:
Robby MüllerComposer:
RZACast:
Forest Whitaker, John Tormey, Cliff Gorman, Dennis Liu, Richard Portnow, Tricia Vessey, Henry Silva, Frank Adonis, Victor Argo, Gano Grills, Chuck Jeffreys (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Jim Jarmusch combines his love for the ice-cool crime dramas of Jean-Pierre Melville and Seijun Suzuki with the philosophical dimensions of samurai mythology for an eccentrically postmodern take on the hit-man thriller. In one of his defining roles, Forest Whitaker brings a commanding serenity to his portrayal of a Zen contract killer working for a bumbling mob outfit, a modern man who adheres steadfastly to the ideals of the Japanese warrior code even as chaos and violence spiral around him. Featuring moody cinematography by the great Robby Müller, a mesmerizing score by the Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA, and a host of colorful character actors (including a memorably stone-faced Henry Silva), Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai plays like a pop-culture-sampling cinematic mixtape built around a one-of-a-kind tragic hero. (Criterion)
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Reviews (9)
It’s not as solid as Dead Man, but it’s more approachable for a wider audience. Jarmusch manages to cram a lot of ideas and interesting life insights into what is essentially a simple revenge story of a professional killer who follows the samurai code, thus elevating this film above the ordinary stuff. What I also appreciate is the choice of soundtrack. In Dead Man it was Neil Young's great mimimalism, here it was RZA's hip-hop sounds, which fits the mood of the film perfectly.
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A great example of how Jim Jarmusch is versatile when it comes to genre, and even though it's not a frantic action spectacle bursting with money poured into it, it's all the smarter for it. And of course, there will be action, make no mistake about it. There's a lot of shooting here, and it's quite inventive at times, you'll be surprised. Plus, it's really smart.
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Ghost Dog is my third encounter with Jim Jarmusch's work, and I still haven't managed to come around to his directorial (and screenwriting) approach. Forest Whitaker was convincing as the unconventional samurai and won my sympathy, despite his "profession". The biggest problem I had was with the overly slow build-up of the plot, which, while corresponding with the "clean and quiet work of the samurai", I found it unrewarding in places. I liked the snippets about the samurai and was intrigued by the ice cream man and his interaction with the main character (EN vs. FR). I believe that if I were a hip hop fan, I would have enjoyed the film more.
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I’ve been too manhandled by extremes like Romeo Must Die or The Last Dragon to find the fusion of African-American and East Asian culture all that refreshing anymore. Apart from the atmosphere of a tidy American ghetto, what I enjoyed most was the notion that all the characters in the film – the mobsters, the samurai, and the ice cream vendors – are so passionate and exaggerated in their roles that the whole inner universe is kind of a perpetual LARP or, better still, a children's game where kids pretend to be adults. The film proves, among other things, that we simply choose what we are and no one can assign it to us unless we want it.
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Another piece of Jarmusch-esque crap. When he makes a western, it's a draggy B&W hipster movie with Johnny Depp. When he decides to make a vampire movie, Tilda and Tommy are so happy to be there. Alternatively, he likes to research Billy Murray's former loves, so why not make fun of the fact that a black man would be involved with the Samurai Code? It's fun.
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