An African-American Mafia hit man who models himself after the samurai of old finds himself targeted for death by the mob.An African-American Mafia hit man who models himself after the samurai of old finds himself targeted for death by the mob.An African-American Mafia hit man who models himself after the samurai of old finds himself targeted for death by the mob.An African-American Mafia hit man who models himself after the samurai of old finds himself targeted for death by the mob.An African-American Mafia hit man who models himself after the samurai of old finds himself targeted for death by the mob.
Videos2
See production, box office, & company info
A hitman who lives by the code of the samurai, works for the mafia and finds himself in their crosshairs when his recent job doesn't go according to plan. Now he must find a way to defend himself and his honor while retaining the code he lives by. —Scott Jarreau
Top review
East meets West. Gangsta meets Gangster.
I almost hated this movie. At first I didn't understand the too-cool-for-school attitudes mixed with ridiculous situations. But then, as a fan of Jarmusch films, I realized that Jarmusch is never to be taken 100% seriously. Films like "Dead Man", "Down By Law" and especially "Coffee and Cigarettes" should teach us that JJ is a master of deadpan comedy.
Of all the Jarmusch films I've seen, "Ghost Dog" is the deadest of the deadpan, meaning it's done with such a straight face you might misconstrue the jokes as flaws. Little things like the way the hero holsters his gun (by whipping it around like a sword) or the mafia's obsession with cartoons, or the outrageous ways the hero manages things (the plumbing scene is an absolute RIOT!)--these are all part of Jarmusch's peculiar humour.
Once you grasp that, you can move on to the poetry behind it all. In a nutshell, this film is about discontinuity. A gangsta from the 'hood listens to rap while studying 18th century samurai philosophy. Meanwhile, the most powerful mafia family in the city can't pay the rent (and the most feared boss in town is nutty as an acorn). Meanwhile, there's a French guy in the park who can't speak a word of English but can understand our hero perfectly. If you watch this movie, stay on the lookout for this kind of stuff peppered throughout.
There are periodic vignettes of Eastern philosophy which may confuse, confound or plain irritate you. I found it helped to pause the film each time so I could read & digest them fully. Be aware, some of it is intended to be a bit silly (like the one about samurai makeup tips. Yes, the book "Hagakure" talks about eeeeverything).
And a final key to enjoying this film is to understand the reference to "Rashomon" which appears several times. The story they reference (also the film by Kurosawa) is all about subjective perception and distortions of truth. In keeping with that, Jarmusch takes a somewhat expressionistic approach to his camera work, often making you feel as if you're in a dream. Recurring symbolism fits in perfectly.
I have some minor criticisms of this film but nothing that should make you want to avoid seeing it, so I'll keep that to myself. Overall, this was both entertaining and philosophical. Heavily weighted on the philosophy.
Of all the Jarmusch films I've seen, "Ghost Dog" is the deadest of the deadpan, meaning it's done with such a straight face you might misconstrue the jokes as flaws. Little things like the way the hero holsters his gun (by whipping it around like a sword) or the mafia's obsession with cartoons, or the outrageous ways the hero manages things (the plumbing scene is an absolute RIOT!)--these are all part of Jarmusch's peculiar humour.
Once you grasp that, you can move on to the poetry behind it all. In a nutshell, this film is about discontinuity. A gangsta from the 'hood listens to rap while studying 18th century samurai philosophy. Meanwhile, the most powerful mafia family in the city can't pay the rent (and the most feared boss in town is nutty as an acorn). Meanwhile, there's a French guy in the park who can't speak a word of English but can understand our hero perfectly. If you watch this movie, stay on the lookout for this kind of stuff peppered throughout.
There are periodic vignettes of Eastern philosophy which may confuse, confound or plain irritate you. I found it helped to pause the film each time so I could read & digest them fully. Be aware, some of it is intended to be a bit silly (like the one about samurai makeup tips. Yes, the book "Hagakure" talks about eeeeverything).
And a final key to enjoying this film is to understand the reference to "Rashomon" which appears several times. The story they reference (also the film by Kurosawa) is all about subjective perception and distortions of truth. In keeping with that, Jarmusch takes a somewhat expressionistic approach to his camera work, often making you feel as if you're in a dream. Recurring symbolism fits in perfectly.
I have some minor criticisms of this film but nothing that should make you want to avoid seeing it, so I'll keep that to myself. Overall, this was both entertaining and philosophical. Heavily weighted on the philosophy.
helpful•41
- rooprect
- Mar 18, 2010
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
More to explore
Around the web
Powered by Taboola
Recently viewed
You have no recently viewed pages
