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Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai [DVD] [Sensormatic]

1 disc
Region 1 USA/CA (info)

Eastern and Western cultures and philosophies intersect in this comic drama from acclaimed director Jim Jarmusch. Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker) is a silent modern-day warrior who lives on a rooftop shack. He spends his days breeding pigeons and playing chess in the park with his best friend, Raymond (Isaach de Bankol), a French-speaking ice-cream man. At night he goes to work as a hit man, performing his tasks stealthily and invisibly, abiding by the codes established by HAGAKURE: THE BOOK OF THE SAMURAI, an 18th-century text. One night, while on his latest hit, Ghost Dog encounters a mob boss's beautiful daughter, Louise (Tricia Vessey). Although Ghost Dog leaves her unharmed, her father nonetheless orders Ghost Dog's execution, to the dismay of Louie (John Tormey), his loyal retainer. As the mobsters struggle to locate the mysteriously untraceable Ghost Dog, he must find a way to protect himself while remaining loyal to Louie and the ancient codes that define him as an individual. Jarmusch successfully tackles a variety of genres with GHOST DOG, including mob movies and spiritual samurai films. Fusing all of this with the RZA's thumping, atmospheric score, GHOST DOG remains another lighthearted, entertaining addition to Jarmusch's impressive filmography.
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- Rating - Strong Violence and Language
Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 11489
Credits

Forest Whitaker, John Tormey, Cliff Gorman
Critic Reviews

"...[Jarmusch's film] has his deadpan sense of humor..."
Movieline's Hollywood Life
"...A master-mix from a cinematic DJ at the height of his formalist powers..."
Premiere
"...Amusing and melancholic, sweet-centred and dark-edged..."
USA Today
"...Fascinating....[Jarmusch] has composed a ruminative, bittersweet visual essay on brutality, honor and tribalism..."
New York Times
"...Rueful, funny, deliciously off-kilter..."
Los Angeles Times
"...Jarmusch seems to have directed with his tongue in his cheek, his hand over his heart, and his head in the clouds. The result is weirdly intriguing..."
Chicago Sun-Times
"[Whitaker's] special quality, which is soulful, almost Zenfully mournful, suffuses Jim Jarmusch's haunting film about a contemporary hit man who obeys the ancient Samurai code..."
Wall Street Journal