Ghost Dog - The Way Of The Samurai Reviews

Different and thoughtful

I am a big fan of assassin-type films and the premise for this sounded good. A lonely man known as Ghost Dog lives on the roof with his pigeons, but as one hit goes wrong, he ends up being chased by those who ordered the hit.

Rooted in japanese tradition and perpetrated by a large, silent black man, whose best friend runs an ice cream truck and speaks french, which Ghost Dog can't understand, this is very original and enjoyable.

Jim Jarmusch is an indie favourite, but I have been unable to see most of his films, this being the most well-known.

Forest Whitaker is very good and music by The RZA is also quality. Scenes of action are well handled, and the readings from the Harakure give the film a quality similar to the code that Ghost Dog follows.

Vwey different to mainstream action, this is recommended.

One man and his pigeons

Any film that features ghetto streets, wise-guy mafia gangsters, ancient Japanese philosophy, French speaking ice-cream men, a Wu Tang Clan soundtrack and a man/pigeon love story is ok by me. This may all sound a bit bizarre and it pretty much is, but I really enjoyed this film. It’s a brooding, atmospheric film, which is slow moving yet engrossing. Forest Whitaker stars as Ghost Dog, a hit man who lives his life by the strict code of the ancient Japanese Samurai and lives in self-imposed exile in a rooftop shack. He is hired by a local goon (via carrier pigeon) to “whack out” a fellow named Handsome Frank (who apart from a fetching moustache doesn’t really deserve his nickname). The hit doesn’t quite go to plan and Ghost Dog becomes embroiled in the murky (and often darkly comical) Mafia underworld. Much mayhem and philosophising ensues in an enjoyably different film.

Random scene: A mafia wise guy wearing a silk dressing gown, doing an impression of rap legend, Flava Flav from Public Enemy. Pretty much sums up the film!

Rubbish

Forrest Whitaker should never agreed to do this movie because even with him in it it was still crap.

[Highly rated reviewer]

I just couldn't be bothered

I approached Ghost Dog with high expectations for a noir comedy. Too high, as it turned out.

By the time I was 50+ minutes into the film, I was engaged in fierce combat with my eyelids - I checked the runtime of the film and thought, 'Oh, God... another hour of this?' It was shortly after this that I succumbed to my eyelids' more base desire, waking to the end credits.

Make no mistake, there were comedy elements such as the family interrogations around the table, but at the end of the day they just weren't all that funny or subtle.

I'm usually pretty good about finishing a film I've started - good, bad, or indifferent - but with Ghost Dog I just couldn't be bothered. I have no plans to finish this one.

Suprisingly good for a low budget film.

A man who lives his life by the Samurai code is threatened and he has to resort to his own exacting standards to seek retribution.

Interesting take on assassin story (a la 'LEON') which has you doubting your own moral standards. You feel for the hero when in fact he's the villain in an ethical way.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Captivating

Fantastic low budget mob based samurai epic, which is superbly shot and Forest Whitaker is so utterly watchable to boot.

Incredibly bad

In the early scene in the car, I thought 'this mundanity must have a point'. But no, it continued that way until I gave up. Worst film ever. :-(

[Highly rated reviewer]

Sympathetic Hitman

This is a film that has heart, action, humour and style and can be enjoyed several times. I like it at least as much as Leon, if not more. It certainly has more humour, much of it subtle, but sometimes had me laughing out loud.

Ghost Dog

Quirky, maverick, independent - these are the words normally thrown at

Jim Jarmusch, and partly because of this, his best-known film.

It's a movie about codes of honour, centred around the compelling

figure of Forrest Whittaker as 'Ghost Dog', a secretive professional

assassin who has to turn against his mafia employers. Ghost dog is a

follower of the way of the Samurai and his whole life is based on a now

vanished code of warrior's honour. He lives in a shack with his pigeons

on top of a tenement block, but not everything is as it seems.

Standard Hollywood fare? Well, think again. This is independent

moviedom and what could become a gory mess in the hands of other bigger

budget directors keeps its shape. Whittaker is utterly compelling,

managing to convey grace, isolation, humility as he practises his deadly

skills in what looks like a very run down Chicago.

He is ably supported by some of the lesser roles, especially the

Haitian Ice cream man he befriends, despite their lack of a common

language, and the little girl who ultimately discovers what Ghost Dog's

life was all about.

The shootings and assassinations are well done, but they are not the

point of the movie. If you are looking simply for a violent gore-fest,

you'll be disappointed.

I think the word that best sums up this move is 'graceful' and that is

principally because of Whittaker's truly mesmerising acting. It's a

great film and has justly earned a massive cult following.

Modern remake of "The stong silent cowboy" film only set in present day America and featuring a central character following the ways of the Samurai as his guide to life. I really enjoyed this film and would recommend it highly to anybody looking for a film with the courage to be different.

Remember "The Way of the Samurai is found in death."