IMDB Rating: 7.40, 20952 votes |
Taglines
In Jersey City, an African American hit man follows "Hagakure: The Way of the Samurai." He lives alone, in simplicity with homing pigeons for company, calling himself Ghost Dog. His master, who saved his life eight years ago, is part of the local mob. When the boss' daughter witnesses one of Ghost Dog's hits, he becomes expendable. The first victims are his birds, and in response, Ghost Dog goes right at his attackers but does not want to harm his master or the young woman. On occasion, he talks with his best friend, a French-speaking Haitian who sells ice cream in the park, and with a child with whom he discusses books. Can he stay true to his code? And if he does, what is his fate?Actors
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Genres
- Action (662)
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- Comedy (853)
- Crime (450)
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- Drama (1116)
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Year
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6 Comments
One of Jarmusch’s worst, but I’m not a big fan in the first place
Good flick worthy of renting or seeing at matinee
Jarmusch strikes again! But it’s a home run this time, baby yeah!
I loved this movie, even though I really really can’t stand Forrest Whitaker. His blubbering, weak-eyed histrionics have threatened to ruin several movies that I’m in favor of your renting immediately.
He was horrible in Good Morning Vietnam, no matter what anybody says. He was horrible in Species, although amusingly horrible. He was horrible in Smoke, and that was absolutely unforgivable. Until now.
Ghost Dog is a great movie. It’s a guy movie, with a conscience. It plays to all those fantasies some of us have about living in the past with a warrior’s code to guide our actions. And some kind of zen-discipline that inspires awe in ordinary mortals. Ghost Dog is our proxy, and he runs the course in quiet, dramatic fashion.
Jarmusch really comes through in this movie, as he did in Night On Earth. He kind of screwed up a little with Dead Man, going too far to the dull and tedious side, but he’s more than made up for it with Ghost Dog.
An interesting plot, and a really smooth vibe keep this flick going. It kind of seems to have a life of its own, like once it’s started the course of events are inevitable. Just like all the best mythical archetypes. It can’t help but end in a particular way, and it carries you along as you become immersed in the lives of the characters.
Good kind of hapless mafia guys are amusing the whole way through, and Ghost Dog’s few sidekicks allow us to see that human side he tries so hard to subsume beneath the mask of a warrior.
really quite good but stop the movie about 5 minutes before the end
If you think about it, living by the samurai code can really suck…
After all, technically if your master dies you have to take your own life. Not most people’s cup of (green) tea.
Ghost Dog is portrayed by Forest Whittaker. He is a hired killer who owes his allegiance to an incompetent mobster. Unforutnately for Ghost Dog, the incompetence also extents to being told to off someone he really shouldn’t off. But he offs him anyway, with perfect execution as is expected of a top notch assassin.
So now the mob wants him dead and he has to balance his life with the life of his boss who is forced to play against him in this most deadly game.
I was pleasantly surprised by how entertaining this movie was despite much of its simplicity. So simple in fact I don’t have much else to comment on this pic…
Cool:
- The first big meeting between the mob bosses.
- Ghost Dog’s shooting spree at a mob boss’ house.
- Cool ways he offs people.
- Ghost Dog’s best friend.
Not Cool:
- Not enough background on Ghost Dog, like practically none.
- The plot was too simplistic and didn’t offer much in the way of twists.
A quality blend of action, comedy, and indy film style.
Can Jim Jarmusch make a bad movie? Apparently not. At least he hasn’t yet. And Ghost Dog is awesome … a Jarmusch movie for non-aficionados, it has a healthy dose of Resevoir Dogs style that will suck in a lot of people who don’t normally go for Jarmusch’s methodical pacing. This is a really entertaining movie, artfully made, and Forest Wittaker is excellent as the title character. I definitely recommend it.