Ghost Dog

[pizowell]

Jim Jarmusch’s tale of a hitman living by the code of the samurai. It sounds silly, but that’s why it hits you so hard. You expect one thing and get the opposite. Jarmusch mixes a modern gangster flick with a classic kung-fu movie and creates an intriguing and odd tale. Forest Whitaker delivers a compelling performance as Ghost Dog. Definitely worth the price of rental.
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[Deckard]

Possibly Jim Jaramusch's best film, this film is pure visual poetry.

Perfect soundtrack compliments a visual and spiritual journey into the Way of Teh Samurai. Original and eccentric Jaramusch's film allows all the actors to dig down deep and create memorable charecters that are entertaining and theatrical.

Often amusing Ghost Dog is played by Forrest Whittaker, who's down to earth appearance add an extra dimension to this subtle story of living life and sacrifice.

For any who admire well written and shot cinema with a sense of surealism and solid acting. Check out this one of a kind, subtle and under stated gem.

[Buck Turgidson]

"Have some ice cream! It's good for you, almost like real food! It's true! I heard it on the radio!"

My favorite of Jim's films.

[Dignan]

I love this movie. Gave me a new respect for Forest Whittaker, and is really really origional. Good stuff. 9/10
Gotta pick this up on dvd....

[Dude]

I didnt care for this movie at all. The pacing was too slow, the story was only semi interesting, but Whitaker was so miscast in this, that I couldnt get into the flick at all.

[urbanlegend23]

This was a really interesting movie. I loved the performances and the directing. It was all really stylish and mysterious, plus the voice-overs that came from the book (I think??) were amazingly written and helped the pace of the movie.

8/10, highly recommended.

[Anonymooo]

Could be a winning combination... get Forest Whitaker to read passages from the Hagakure, sound all deep and insightful, shoot a few people, swing around a katana, throw a few punches, and be even more deep and insightful. Winning combination, right? WRONG.

First off, let's explain what the Hagakure is. It's not really a "samurai bible" like the film describes it as... it's a book filled with anecdotes, thoughts on bushido (the "code" of sorts that Japanese warriors lived by), thoughts to meditate on, and occassional insights that all point to one thing: the way of the samurai is a way of death. Be ready to die at a moment's notice, otherwise you can never really call yourself a true samurai.

Second off... Forest Whitaker is just NOT cut out to do this. I swear, I could do this movie better, and I'm not kidding you. Yeah, Jim Jarmusch has quite a unique method of filmmaking (Mystery Train is the only other film by him that I've seen), but when you bring martial arts, Asian philosophy, and codes of honor into the mix... he's the WRONG person to do it.

This is a pathetic excuse of a vehicle to bring bushido to the masses... Kurosawa did it right. Just check out The Seven Samurai, or the Samurai Trilogy, which chronicled legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. If you're suffering from insomnia, though... by all means, give Ghost Dog a shot.

3/10, and only because it ATTEMPTS to bring a difficult concept like bushido, which is hard to describe anyways, to "everybody else."

[Jim H]

The thing is he doesn't really live by the samurai code. Samurai can't be assassins. I just thought I would mention that.

[Anonymooo]

Bushido isn't exactly a code specifically for samurai. It's a very hard to describe set of ethics and morals, many of which involve loyalty and filial piety (family extends to your teachers and superiors).

As for samurai not being assassins... true. The samurai were more of a ruling class than anything else, but there were also low-class samurai who served in the capacity of "hitokiri" (the Feudal equivalent of a drive-by) and did the dirty work.