Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6470 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-06-12
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 111 minutes

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

Synopsis
Eastern and Western cultures and philosophies intersect in this comic drama from acclaimed director Jim Jarmusch. Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker) is a silent modern-day warrior who lives on a rooftop shack. He spends his days breeding pigeons and playing chess in the park with his best friend, Raymond (Isaach de Bankole), a French-speaking ice-cream man. At night he goes to work as a hit man, performing his tasks stealthily and invisibly, abiding by the codes established by HAGAKURE: THE BOOK OF THE SAMURAI, an 18th-century text. One night, while on his latest hit, Ghost Dog encounters a mob boss's beautiful daughter, Louise (Tricia Vessey). Although Ghost Dog leaves her unharmed, her father nonetheless orders Ghost Dog's execution, to the dismay of Louie (John Tormey), his loyal retainer. As the mobsters struggle to locate the mysteriously untraceable Ghost Dog, he must find a way to protect himself while remaining loyal to Louie and the ancient codes that define him as an individual. Jarmusch successfully tackles a variety of genres with GHOST DOG, including mob movies and spiritual samurai films. Fusing all of this with the RZA's thumping, atmospheric score, GHOST DOG remains another entertaining addition to Jarmusch's impressive filmography.

Customer Reviews

Criminally underrated
Ghost Dog is a samurai "Leon".. A subtle, brooding piece which trancends all the mid-nineties kung fu renaissance hype. The music by the RZA is stunningly beautiful, deep, subliminal. Forest Whiticker(sp?) is one of the most talented actors of his generation and his thoughtfull, meditative Ghost Dog is simply one of the coolest charachters in recent cinema... He's a cold as ice assassin and his methods are ingenious.. Stylish set pieces interspersed with some dry humour, mafioso banter and ancient Japanese wisdom..

Modern Classic
It seems that in modern times Hollywood has drastically dropped in its standard of output as more and more sequels and remakes are being churned out. However this is not to say that there isn't any creative talent in America. Over the last few decades some of the most exciting talents have come through the independent film making system. If like me you are a fan of independent American cinema then you will no doubt be aware of Jim Jarmusch. He, unlike many directors who begin on this route, has remained away from hollywood throughout his career thus far. Ghost dog is a largely unknown film yet remains one of Jarmusch's biggest commercial successes. If you have seen his others films then you know what to expect, to a certain extent. It is typically laconic and slow paced with much focus on the seemingly insignificant moments of the day. Forest Whitaker is brilliant as the mysterious protagonist and shows the talent that would lead him to achieving his best actor oscar for his performance in The Last King of Scotland. As a huge fan of Wu Tang Clan, Ghost Dog particularly resonates with me because of obvious connections (none more obvious than RZA's role on the soundtrack).This link is also prominent with the whole samaurai theme of the film. Not eveyone will get it as I can see from some of the other reviews. If you are expecting an action packed kung fu frenzy then you will be very disappointed. The "action" is minimal and is poetically handled by Jarmusch. For me this is a very rewarding film that can be seen on many levels and is definitely worth repeat viewings.

A Dog is still a dog
First the good news: I liked the 'moose' scene, as the three mobsters discussed Ghost Dog's fate, and one or two other disconnected elements such as the ice cream man and the little girl who reads Night Nurse - but a thread of such loose elements do not a satisfactory whole make, and so thumbs down to this - which is a shame as I usually like Jarmusch.

Is it me, or are films which put text up on the screen and read it to the viewer at the same time irritating? I'm surprised a 'bouncing ball' prompt wasn't added to mark our place through the words in this film so often did things pop up to ram home where it was all coming from. Like his hero, Jarmusch seems to find wisdom in a book and not experience. Whitaker's gloomy performance has been praised, but to me it seems monotone, and his special medallion, presumably there to emphasise necessary cultural 'baggage', hangs like a golden millstone around his neck. In short, like a famous review once said, the actor 'ranges across the whole gamut of emotions, from A to B'. Maybe Jarmusch intends in this way to express stoicism. Instead he communicates a lack of vitality - completely diffferent from the hidden strength that informs (say) Toshiro Mifune in 'Sanjuro' or other famous Samurai flics, where we believe we are seeing a dangerous man in repose. Like the famous end of 'Queen Christina' the audience can read everything (or nothing) into a complete lack of expression. Rather than exuding danger, Whitaker merely suggested sloth (a situation not helped by the inept and curiously unthreatening opposition he faced.)

The sight of Ghost Dog's somewhat portly figure briefly practising the martial arts was unconvincing to say the least - and pointless in practical terms, as he always uses a gun. Perhaps Jarmusch thought so too, as he dresses it up in fancy optical work. Ghost Dog's adoption of the samurai code was mysterious, remains largely unexplained, and the eventual flashback explanation of his motivation I found peremptory. In short, everything which was subtle and unspoken in Melville's 'Samourai' (one influence, for instance) was here spelt out and taken too far. One example: in the French film the assassin has a single bird in a cage, Jarmusch gives him a *whole pigeon loft*. And how I inwardly groaned when Rashomon duly appeared as 'required reading' matter!

Jarmush hangs his digressions onto a stripped down revenge plot which had no real surprises. Everything takes so long, unfortunately with little impact - from the longeurs of Ghost Dog's initial car drive, through his sleeping with the pigeons, onto his relationship with a dog which seems to reflect back his own boredom. 'Ghost Dog' has a plot I could have written out on the back of an envelope - and had room to fold the flap down. If Jarmusch had taken time, fleshed things out more, balanced out the characters (classic heavy Silva in particular is utterly wasted) he might have pleased more than the arthouse crowd who take whimsicality and cultural reference for profundity.

Finally of course, there's a big irony. If a real samurai was ordered to death by his master(or his master's master) he would shortly commit hari-kari, not go after the 'shogun' or the equivalent elite, which would be considered a shameful act. The best one can say about 'Ghost Dog' is that it is humourously quirky and passes 90 minutes. But it ultimately remains unfocused and without any real tension.