Barnes & Noble

Jim Jarmusch (Stanger Than Paradise) serves up spirituality with a hip-hop beat in this offbeat satire of modern gangster films. Forest Whitaker gives one of his most compelling performances yet as Ghost Dog, an enigmatic Mafia hit man who sees himself as a modern samurai and ends up fighting a one-man war against his mob employers. When he's not wielding high-powered firearms like they were samurai swords, he leads a monk-like existence in his inner-city tenement building. Aphorisms from the 18th-century Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai lend their austere poetry to the film, with text appearing onscreen as Ghost Dog recites it in voice-over. Adding to the confluence of ancient and modern is a haunting soundtrack by hip-hop legend the RZA, one of the founders of the Wu-Tang Clan. Though there is much violence, as well as dry humor, in Ghost Dog, it is tempered by Jarmusch's unique brand of humanism, and his affection for his oddball characters, who often converse in a language deeper than mere words. Gregory Baird

All Movie Guide

A surreal crime drama told as only Jim Jarmusch could, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai stars Forest Whitaker as Ghost Dog, a hit man living in an unidentified but run-down city in what license plates call "The Industrialized State." Known for his gift of being able to come and go without people noticing him, Ghost Dog is a self-taught samurai who is obsessed with order and his strict personal moral code, drawn from the philosophies of the Japanese warriors. As every samurai needs a leader to whom he swears loyalty, Ghost Dog has devoted himself the service of Louie (John Tormey), a low-level crime boss who once saved his life. When Louie's superiors decide he must be executed, Ghost Dog leaps into action, methodically wiping out his many enemies. Along with a dizzying series of stylized shoot-outs, Ghost Dog also features carrier pigeons, characters who read Rashomon, a French-speaking ice cream man, and a score by RZA from the top-selling hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, who have their own well-documented obsession with Asian culture. Ghost Dog was screened in competition at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 012236114895
• Source: LIONS GATE
• Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Time: 1:56:00
• Sales Rank: 14,631

Features:

DVD MENU