- Actors: Forest Whitaker, Henry Silva, John Tormey, Cliff Gorman, Dennis Liu
- Directors: Jim Jarmusch
- Writers: Jim Jarmusch
- Producers: Jim Jarmusch, Diana Schmidt, Richard Guay
- Format: Anamorphic, PAL
- Language English
- Subtitles: English
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: 15
- Studio: Vci
- DVD Release Date: 10 Jun 2002
- Run Time: 116 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00004ZBVW
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 28,840 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
Forest Whitaker makes an unlikely modern samurai with his laser-sighted pistols, shabby street clothes, and oddly graceful gait--but then Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is an unusual film. Quirky, contemplative and at times absurd, it is just the kind of offbeat vision we have come to expect from the fiercely independent Jim Jarmusch (Stranger than Paradise, Dead Man). Whitaker is Ghost Dog, a mysterious New York hit man who lives simply on a tenement rooftop and follows a code of behaviour outlined in : Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai (passages of this book are interspersed throughout the film). When the local mob marks him for death in a complicated code of Mafiosi-style honour, Ghost Dog sends a cryptic message to his foes. "That's poetry. The poetry of war", remarks mobster Henry Silva, with sudden respect upon reading the verse. He could be describing the ethereal beauty of Jarmusch's vision, full of wonderful imagery (a night drive across town seems to float in time) and off-centre humour. Though it briefly stalls in a series of assassinations (Jarmusch is no action director), it settles back into character-driven drama in a quietly epic showdown, equal parts samurai adventure, spaghetti western and existential crime movie. The film is likely too unconventional and offbeat for general audiences, but cult-movie buffs and Jarmusch fans will appreciate his idiosyncratic vision. He finds a strange sense of honour in the clash of Old World traditions, and salutes his heroes with a skewed but sincere respect. --Sean Axmaker
Special Features
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Theatrical Trailer
Out Takes
DVD 9
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Theatrical Trailer
Out Takes
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
JIM JARMUSCH DOES IT AGAIN !!,
By F. Sweet (Midwestern USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ghost Dog - the Way of the Samurai [DVD] [2000] (DVD)
If you didn't like Jim Jarmusch's NIGHT ON EARTH (Winona Ryder), STRANGER THAN PARADISE or DOWN BY LAW you'll definitely not like GHOST DOG. Like Tom Waitts' gravely voice that should have made him a failure rather than a succes as performer and song writer (often writing for Jarmusch's films) this movie is logical in a progression of Jarmusch's films. Beginning with casting Forest Whitaker as the inner city Samurai, , who doesn't exactly sport a Bruce Lee physique, OBVIOUSLY this movie was never meant to be taken literally! In fact, Jarmusch may be the ONLY director who dares, and can pull off, a film that mixes hip-hop street culture with Mafioso wise guys, sprinkle it with quotes from The Book of the Samurai by Hagakure and not just "get away with it" but make it all work! If you like Jim Jarmusch films then you'll love GHOST DOG. If you've never seen one of his flicks then go easy on yourself ... and take a peek at his 1991 film, NIGHT ON EARTH. If nothing else, you'll have a chance to see Winona Ryder in a wonderful acting role before she became, err, Winona Ryder. And let's not forget the other greats such as Gena Rowlands, Béatrice Dalle, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and that terrific MOUTH (and body) Rosie Perez who made NIGHT ON EARTH what it is. How can you resist? In GHOST DOG, Whittaker is a gentle pigeon raising philosopher who is repected and feared in his 'hood. By night, he does "special" hits for the Mafia because as any good Samurai, he is loyal to one of the aging lieutenants who saved his life when Whittaker was a youth. The man he does contracts for is more like a character out of the ANALYZE THIS! than from the GODFATHER The wise guys in GHOST DOG are a bunch of ignorant bumblers (one of them played by Victor Argo, a great character actor) who can occasionally become very dangerous. Mixed in with this stew is a little black girl who Whittaker befiends because the two of them share a love of books. Whittaker character's best friend is an ice cream vendor who doesn't speak a word of English, having just recently arrived from Ivory Coast in Africa. Some of the best dialogue is between these two who are so intuitively tuned to one another that although their words don't ever match up in their bilingual "conversations" they can exactly guess what the other one means. Anyhow, this end-of-the-millennium film spiritually spans centuries while its post modern style was just born yesterday. See it!
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Poetic Violence for Connoiseurs,
By
This review is from: Ghost Dog [DVD] (DVD)
This is my number one film of all time. The poetry of dignified violence is expressed in the subtle and transforming landscape of the reality of old school gangster philosophy, prejudice and disregard for life. Forest Whittaker gives a storming performance and the discreet Wu Tang presence simply amplifies this films status as totally and utterly COOL. Very Buddhist in vibe but don't let that put you off. With no sex scenes and only relevent swearing this film is everything all films should be. Well shot, well directed, equisitely acted throughout, (watch out for the ice cream man and the little girl) and creatively thought through. A must.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
an all time fave,
By
This review is from: Ghost Dog - the Way of the Samurai [DVD] [2000] (DVD)
It's tough to recommend a film but I have no trouble introducing this masterpiece to any one, it has exquisite comic moments, cult quirkiness, tasteful evocations of the underworld - not just blood and guts - and is constantly mysterious with its Samurai threads. I love this film , it really is a classic and cult in that it is undefinable and to top it all it has a lush urban soundtrack, it's the business, Ghost Dog is ace, one of my all time faves. Passenger Pigeon!
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