lasttimeisaw 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.

GruesomeTwosome This is a terrific film from Jim Jarmusch - cool and stylish as you might expect from this filmmaker, with an assured dose of humor. The combination of samurai philosophy, Mafia/gangster film over a hip-hop soundtrack was pulled off surprisingly well. The juxtaposition of the two defunct or fading ways of life, Ghost Dog's adherence to 18th century Japanese samurai code and the aging mobsters who are clearly on the way out, was very interesting. Long-time character actor Henry Silva in particular is great; that odd, singular face of his can just make you laugh with certain expressions, and his line readings in this film are often very funny.And Forest Whitaker was perfect for this role, he just has such a wonderful presence about him: physically imposing yet thoughtful and contemplative, gentle at times but uncompromisingly lethal at others. I found the frequent readings of samurai maxims every 10 minutes or so to be oddly soothing (I like Whitaker's voice) and, somewhat surprisingly, not interrupting the flow of the film at all. And finally, the soundtrack by RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan was so damn good. Really loved the instrumentals and samples he used here.This is a film that should be accessible and entertaining even for those who aren't already Jarmusch fans."Ghost Dog: power, equality." 'Always see everything, my brother.'

grantss Pretentious gangster-samurai movie. Had heaps of potential but the plot easily lost focus and drifted for large parts. Heaps of scenes that were just padding. Pretty much anything involving the French guy or the little girl was just there to make up the time. If Jim Jarmusch's idea was to do a Tarantino-meets-Kurosawa movie, he missed on both parts. His attempts at digression to lighten the mood (Tarantino-style) are dull. His plot doesn't have Kurosawa's focus nor pacing.Not all bad. Strip away the pretence and padding and the plot is decent. Action is good. Good performance by Forest Whitaker in the lead role. Supporting cast are weak though. Isaach De Bankolé is irritating as the French guy, especially as his part was totally unnecessary and contributed much to the pretentiousness of the movie.

rbferre "Ghost Dog" is for me the best Forest Whithaker's movie. It was a great surprised when I saw it after so many years after its release in 1999. Jim Jarmusch made a movie to please audiences a big broader that the typical art movie fans who follow him.His idea of mixing ancient "cultures" works well as both a tribute and a parody at the same time. The laughs are not constant but there are definitely scenes that will make you smile when you realize the connections.The mafia guys are representing a declining tribe which used to rule businesses and now are limited to 60 year olds who still take care of the family. Some quotes really represent that declining era - for example when the big boss says he was expecting for Ghost Dog and buttons down his jacket, or one of the mafia guys says he will at least die as a gangster, those are clear references to their feelings over the end of their era and the reality of present times. The gangsters are all very cartoonish, and the 50's cartoons are there throughout the movie being watched by the gangsters who are mesmerized by the scenes that mimic the movie plot. Those cartoons are also a tribute to times that can't come back any longer. On the other hand, the way of the samurai remits us to another ancient culture, which insists in stay alive and relevant - through Ghost Dog, the mafia girl or the young lady who Ghost Dog mentors. The sword is briefly shown and replaced by contemporary weapons, but the thoughts of wisdom are there, well applied throughout the movie, and make us think about its applications. This is significantly helped by the pace of the movie being interrupted by those metaphoric passages of the book. The passenger pigeons are a poetic remembrance of the beginning of the century, and illustrate how Ghost Dog likes the old values. Finally, another declining icon, the ice cream truck, is shown extensively to help make the connection between two men who merely have in common their ancient roots in Africa. They don't even speak the same language, but almost read each others minds.Excellent movie by Jarmusch, who chose to use a heavier tone on purpose, maybe to please a broader audience, maybe to pay tribute to another era - of gangsters, westerns, respect, and - why not - romance. Enjoy!