Cheap Ghost Dog - The Way of the Samurai (DVD) (Forest Whitaker, Henry Silva) (Jim Jarmusch) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Ghost Dog - The Way of the Samurai

Jim Jarmusch: The WAy Of The Filmmaker
I was slightly disappointed after my first viewing of this movie, but have grown to like it better and better with each additional viewing. It's full of outstanding (often-understated) performances by all with Forest Whitaker, John Tormey, Isaach De Bankole and Camille Winbush standing out. There's also a great cameo by Gary Farmer -- in which he states his races feeling about the 'white man' more honestly in four little words than others have in thousands. The story is about as basic as they come -- an assassin for the mob is betrayed by them and then seeks revenge -- but seen through Jarmusch's camera it takes on new dimensions. You have a group of men living by one code colliding headfirst with an individual living by another code and something has to give. It's especially intriguing how both the Gangsters and Ghost Dog truly belong in another age -- and they all realize it. The picture is steeped in a mood that is taken to new levels by THE RZA's brilliant score. There is even a nod to the great director, Seigun Suzuki, in a scene that really makes no more pratical sense here that it did in Suzuki's movie, but brought a smile to my face none the less. The best DVD extras are the documentory, the deleted scenes and the music only audio track. The only thing missing is a commentary track by Jarmusch himself. All in all another excellent release by writer/director Jim Jarmusch!

---

what is this rubbish?
I think this movie COULD have been great. There are some funny moments: the icecream man scenes, and the mob members trying to catch those pigeons. But this movie was bizarre, and it dragged. There were countless shots of birds flying in the sky...no kidding. It was painful to watch from the begining to the end, i had to take frequent breaks to work my morale back up. I'm very glad i borrowed this from a friend instead of paying money to see it.

---

Whittaker Shines
Forrest Whittaker is certainly one of our most talented and underrated actors. This role probably allows him the greatest latitude to express a wide range of emotions since he starred as Charlie Parker in Clint Eastwood's "Bird" or in the gender-bender "The Crying Game." As Ghost Dog, he winds his way through Jim Jarmusch's script with grace & depth.

In adopting the way of the Samurai, GDog latches onto Louie, a mid-level mob boss played by John Tormey. The mix of cultures is a familiar Jarmusch theme that is exceptionally well realized in this DVD. One of the most interesting aspects of the film is GDog's relationship to his French-speaking best friend Raymond. The two often converse, not understanding each other's language but almost mirroring each other's thoughts as the subtitled French indicates. Isaach de Bankole does a great job as the ice cream truck-driving friend. Also very pivotal to the film is the wonderful screen time given to Camille Winbush as Pearline, a child who GDog loans a copy of Rashamon to. There is a great rapport between the two.

The Italian crime bosses are ironically played for laughs with Cliff Gorman's inept mob boss front & center. As Vargo, Henry Silva who has such a great ethnic look and has played in "Dick Tracy" & "Oceans 11" does a great job of being hard-edged and incompetent. His daughter Louise is a witness to one of GDog's early executions and eventually orders Louie to perform the hit on our star.

With the aspects of carrier pigeons and a guy building an arc on a city rooftop, we see numerous interesting cultural aspects and humor combined in the drama. This is an interesting film melding Asian culture with modern crime, kind of a Hip-Hop version of Kung Fu. Whittaker keeps us glued to the screen for a most interesting performance. Enjoy!