Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai 1999
7.5 / 10
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
An African-American Mafia hit man who models himself after the samurai of ancient Japan finds himself targeted for death by the mob.
An African-American Mafia hit man who models himself after the samurai of ancient Japan finds himself targeted for death by the mob.
Videos & Photos
All 2 Videos & 37 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Ghost Dog
... Louie
... Raymond
... Sonny Valerio
... Ray Vargo
... Louise Vargo
User reviews
See All 1 Reviews23 Jun 2021 by CRCulver
The eponymous protagonist of Jim Jarmusch's 1999 film GHOST DOG is an African-American hitman (Forest Whitaker) working for an Italian mafia in New Jersey and living according to the Hagakure, Japan's samurai code. After a hit goes wrong through no fault of the assassin's own, his mafia liaison Louie (John Tormey) is sympathetic, but explains that his superiors now want Ghost Dog dead. The film follows Ghost Dog's revenge and depicts a clash between two ancient tribes that both seem out of date in this modern world: Ghost Dog's samurai code and Italian mafia ideas of loyalty. Jarmusch has always been open about the fact that he soaks up a huge number of inspirations from earlier films, books, and music and then lets them reflect in his own work. Any cinephile will instantly recognize Jean-Pierre Melville's 1967 film Le Samouraï as the point of departure for GHOST DOG. In Meville's classic, a Parisian hired assassin lives according to a strict code. But Melville didn't really know much about Japan, and even the quotation from a samurai text at the beginning of his film was just made up by Meville himself. Jarmusch seems to have decided, "OK, I'll show you a hired-assassin film that's *really* rooted in the code of the Samurai". Forest Whitaker quotes from Hagakure throughout the film, and there are also references to the work of Akira Kurosawa. But GHOST DOG is not a remake, and Jarmusch takes the basic premise in a very individual direction. There's a lot of humour here, something missing from the serious Melville inspiration. In casting for the mafia dons, Jarmusch chose faces as brutal and distinctive as Dick Tracy's rogues gallery: Henry Silva as the don, and Cliff Gorman and Gene Ruffini as his righthand men. But Jarmusch then gives them the occasional zany line that cracks that chilling façade. Isaach de Bankole plays a supporting role as a French-speaking Haitian immigrant and Ghost Dog's best friend, a role that is pure comic relief because the man doesn't speak English and Ghost Dog doesn't understand French, but they always manage to understand each other. Until the late 1990s, Jarmusch had mainly been known as a fairly low-budget independent filmmaker writing cute little stories about personal relationships in low-key American life. Jarmusch's America was consistently depicted as run-down neighbourhoods and overgrown vacant lots. With its generous budget, large cast and special effects, GHOST DOG marked a huge leap forward in Jarmusch's work. Still, it maintains Jarmusch's interest in America as a land of urban blight and seedy underbellies: most of the film takes place in an ugly New Jersey urban setting. Furthermore, instead of being glamorized, the Italian mafia is depicted as a spent force, mainly elderly men who can't rake in the cash and influence they used to, and even forced to pay protection money to Chinese newcomers. As the film reaches its shocking ending, the glamour is drained from Ghost Dog's warrior code, as well. The music for GHOST DOG was provided by RZA, at the time still best known as part of the Wu-Tang Clan. The music mainly consists of wordless beats, though, with actual rapping only at a few points. Personally, I find the use of hip-hop a weak point of the film (Jarmusch looks like an outsider looking in to this scene, unable to organically make it part of his own work), and RZA's insistence on appearing in the film itself disrupts the rhythm of the film's climax.
Release Date:
Oct 06, 1999 (France,Germany,Japan,United States)
Run Time:
1hr 56`
MMPA Rating:
R
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
France,Germany,Japan,United States
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
The eponymous protagonist of Jim Jarmusch's 1999 film GHOST DOG is an African-American hitman (Forest Whitaker) working for an Italian mafia in New Jersey and living according to the Hagakure, Japan's samurai code. After a hit goes wrong through no fault of the assassin's own, his mafia liaison Louie (John Tormey) is sympathetic, but explains that his superiors now want Ghost Dog dead. The film follows Ghost Dog's revenge and depicts a clash between two ancient tribes that both seem out of date in this modern world: Ghost Dog's samurai code and Italian mafia ideas of loyalty. Jarmusch has always been open about the fact that he soaks up a huge number of inspirations from earlier films, books, and music and then lets them reflect in his own work. Any cinephile will instantly recognize Jean-Pierre Melville's 1967 film Le Samouraï as the point of departure for GHOST DOG. In Meville's classic, a Parisian hired assassin lives according to a strict code. But Melville didn't really know much about Japan, and even the quotation from a samurai text at the beginning of his film was just made up by Meville himself. Jarmusch seems to have decided, "OK, I'll show you a hired-assassin film that's *really* rooted in the code of the Samurai". Forest Whitaker quotes from Hagakure throughout the film, and there are also references to the work of Akira Kurosawa. But GHOST DOG is not a remake, and Jarmusch takes the basic premise in a very individual direction. There's a lot of humour here, something missing from the serious Melville inspiration. In casting for the mafia dons, Jarmusch chose faces as brutal and distinctive as Dick Tracy's rogues gallery: Henry Silva as the don, and Cliff Gorman and Gene Ruffini as his righthand men. But Jarmusch then gives them the occasional zany line that cracks that chilling façade. Isaach de Bankole plays a supporting role as a French-speaking Haitian immigrant and Ghost Dog's best friend, a role that is pure comic relief because the man doesn't speak English and Ghost Dog doesn't understand French, but they always manage to understand each other. Until the late 1990s, Jarmusch had mainly been known as a fairly low-budget independent filmmaker writing cute little stories about personal relationships in low-key American life. Jarmusch's America was consistently depicted as run-down neighbourhoods and overgrown vacant lots. With its generous budget, large cast and special effects, GHOST DOG marked a huge leap forward in Jarmusch's work. Still, it maintains Jarmusch's interest in America as a land of urban blight and seedy underbellies: most of the film takes place in an ugly New Jersey urban setting. Furthermore, instead of being glamorized, the Italian mafia is depicted as a spent force, mainly elderly men who can't rake in the cash and influence they used to, and even forced to pay protection money to Chinese newcomers. As the film reaches its shocking ending, the glamour is drained from Ghost Dog's warrior code, as well. The music for GHOST DOG was provided by RZA, at the time still best known as part of the Wu-Tang Clan. The music mainly consists of wordless beats, though, with actual rapping only at a few points. Personally, I find the use of hip-hop a weak point of the film (Jarmusch looks like an outsider looking in to this scene, unable to organically make it part of his own work), and RZA's insistence on appearing in the film itself disrupts the rhythm of the film's climax.
Cast & Crew of
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Directors & Credit Writers
JG
Jude Gorjanc... First Assistant Director
... Director
CC
Cindy Craig... Second Assistant Director
Cast
... Ghost Dog
... Louie
... Raymond
... Sonny Valerio
... Ray Vargo
... Louise Vargo
... Vinny
... Pearline
... Old Consigliere
... Handsome Frank
... Big Angie
DL
Dennis Liu... Chinese Restaurant Owner
... Valerio's Bodyguard
... Young Ghost Dog
KG
Kenny Guay... Boy in Window
... Johnny Morini
... Gangsta in Red
... Gangsta in Red
... Gangsta in Red
... Mugger
Produced By
Videos & Photos of
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Videos ( 2)
![thumbnail-Ghost Dog (1999) Original Trailer [HD]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VDPELhURhiw/hqdefault.jpg)
Photos ( 37 )
Related Movies To
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Gladiator II (2024)
0 /10
Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.
Run Time: 2hr 28` . MMPA: R / PG-13 . Release: 05 Nov 2024
Director: Kieron Walshe , Callum Dawson , Krishan Sharda
Producer: Malcolm Ellul , Kate Rhodes James , Hamid Ait Timaghrit
Stars: Paul Mescal , Fred Hechinger , Denzel Washington , Connie Nielsen , Joseph Quinn , Pedro Pascal
Wicked (2024)
0 /10
In the land of Oz, ostracized and misunderstood green-skinned Elphaba is forced to share a room with the popular aristocrat Glinda at Shiz University, and the two's unlikely friendship is tested as they begin to fulfill their respective destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
Run Time: 2hr 42` . MMPA: PG . Release: 20 Nov 2024
Director: Lisa Vick , Jon M. Chu
Producer: Abigail Perry , Stephen Schwartz , Tiffany Little Canfield
Stars: Cynthia Erivo , Ariana Grande , Jonathan Bailey , Jeff Goldblum , Michelle Yeoh , Ethan Slater
Dirty Angels (2024)
0 /10
During the United States' 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, a group of female soldiers posing as medical relief are sent back in to rescue a group of kidnapped teenagers caught between ISIS and the Taliban.
Run Time: 1hr 44` . MMPA: R . Release: 11 Dec 2024
Director: Margarita Aneva , Jamie Marshall , Teodora Petrova
Producer: Lati Grobman , Jonathan Yunger , Lonnie Ramati
Stars: Eva Green , Ruby Rose , Maria Bakalova , Christopher Backus , Reza Brojerdi , Jojo T. Gibbs
Nosferatu (2024)
0 /10
A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.
Run Time: 2hr 13` . MMPA: R . Release: 25 Dec 2024
Director: Max Horn , Matus Kukuca , Josh Robertson
Producer: Pavel Mrkous , Jeff Robinov , Dan Kuska
Stars: Bill Skarsgård , Lily-Rose Depp , Nicholas Hoult , Aaron Taylor-Johnson , Emma Corrin , Willem Dafoe
Memoir of a Snail (2024)
0 /10
Forcibly separated from her twin brother when they are orphaned, a melancholic misfit learns how to find confidence within herself amid the clutter of misfortunes and everyday life.
Run Time: 1hr 34` . MMPA: R . Release: 17 Oct 2024
Director: Adam Elliot
Producer: Tu Nhi Lam , Carole Baraton , Tony King
Stars: Sarah Snook , Eric Bana , Jacki Weaver , Kodi Smit-McPhee , Dominique Pinon , Magda Szubanski
Absolution (2024)
0 /10
An aging ex-boxer gangster working as muscle for a Boston crime boss receives an upsetting diagnosis. Despite a faltering memory, he attempts to rectify the sins of his past and reconnect with his estranged children. He is determined to leave a positive legacy for his grandson, but the criminal underworld isn’t done with him and won’t loosen their grip willingly.
Run Time: 1hr 52` . MMPA: R . Release: 31 Oct 2024
Director: Frankie Ferrari , Colin Flaherty , Frankie Ferrari
Producer: Anne Mulhall , Juan Sebastian Rossetti Pardo , Alex Peace
Stars: Liam Neeson , Ron Perlman , Daniel Diemer , Yolonda Ross , Frankie Shaw , Omar Moustafa Ghonim
The Thicket (2024)
0 /10
An innocent young man, Jack, goes on an epic quest to rescue his sister Lula after she has been kidnapped by the violent killer Cut Throat Bill and her gang. To save her, Jack enlists the help of a crafty bounty hunter named Reginald Jones, a grave-digging alcoholic son of an ex-slave, and a street-smart prostitute. The gang tracks Cut Throat Bill into the deadly no-man’s land known as The Big Thicket — a place where blood and chaos reign.
Run Time: 1hr 48` . MMPA: R . Release: 05 Sep 2024
Director: Phil Chipera , Casey Chipera , Elliott Lester
Producer: Lauren Case , John Kerr , Gianni Nunnari
Stars: Peter Dinklage , Juliette Lewis , Esme Creed-Miles , Levon Thurman-Hawke , Leslie Grace , Gbenga Akinnagbe
Interstellar (2014)
8.7 /10
The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.
Run Time: 2hr 49` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 05 Nov 2014
Director: Megan Shank , Nilo Otero , Gary Hawes
Producer: Mark Scoon , Karla Torres , Justin Harrold
Stars: Matthew McConaughey , Anne Hathaway , Jessica Chastain , Bill Irwin , Ellen Burstyn , Michael Caine
Fast X (2023)
5.8 /10
Over many missions and against impossible odds, Dom Toretto and his family have outsmarted, out-nerved and outdriven every foe in their path. Now, they confront the most lethal opponent they've ever faced: A terrifying threat emerging from the shadows of the past who's fueled by blood revenge, and who is determined to shatter this family and destroy everything—and everyone—that Dom loves, forever.
Run Time: 2hr 22` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 17 May 2023
Director: Vincent Lascoumes , Olivier Schneider , Louis Leterrier
Producer: Matt Risebrow , Jeff Kirschenbaum , Kirsty Kinnear
Stars: Vin Diesel , Michelle Rodriguez , Tyrese Gibson , Ludacris , John Cena , Nathalie Emmanuel
Wicked Minds (2003)
5.3 /10
Holden returns home from college and is surprised to find his overpowering competitive father married to a much younger woman Lana. Holden quickly falls for the beauty and charisma of his step mother. A passionate affair begins between son and stepmother.
Run Time: 1hr 33` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 01 Mar 2003
Director: Jason Hreno
Producer: Serge Denis , Anne Carlucci , Jean Bureau
Stars: Angie Everhart , Andrew W. Walker , Winston Rekert , Amy Sloan , Frank Schorpion , Ellen David
Anora (2024)
0 /10
A young sex worker from Brooklyn gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as his parents set out to get the marriage annulled.
Run Time: 2hr 19` . MMPA: R . Release: 14 Oct 2024
Director: Stephen Coleman , Albert Rudnitsky , Sofía Blanco
Producer: Patricia Beaury , Ken Meyer , Adriana Alpizar
Stars: Ivy Wolk , Mikey Madison , Mark Eydelstein , Yuriy Borisov , Karren Karagulian , Vache Tovmasyan
The Moor (2024)
0 /10
Claire is approached by the father of her murdered childhood friend to help investigate the haunted moor he believes is his son's final resting place.
Run Time: 2hr . MMPA: . Release: 14 Jun 2024
Director: Kaitlin Michaels , Kyle Brearey , Lisa Collins
Producer: Georgia Padfield , Benjamin Newsome , Jordan Fleming
Stars: Sophia La Porta , David Edward-Robertson , Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips , Mark Peachey , Vicki Hackett , Bernard Hill