Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) Review

Hollywood has been obsessed with the character of the samurai since the period epics of Akira Kurosawa and other great Japanese directors crossed over and inspired a whole spate of American film makers.

There are many examples of this massive impact but stand outs include the roaming Ronin played by the great Toshiro Mifune in Sanjuro (1962) and Yojimbo (1961) which was unofficially remade by Sergio Leone as the Spaghetti Western film A Fistful of Dollars (1964) creating Clint Eastwood’s most famous character the “Man with No Name” as well as the Lone Wolf and Cub series from the 1970’s whose story inspired The Mandalorian among others and which was released in an edited form as Shogun Assassin (1980) where it was banned as a video nasty in the UK and directly referenced in Kill Bill vol 2.

A collection of thrillers across cinema history have also used the essence of the samurai to craft highly skilled detectives and criminals who although working in the shadows live by a deep sense of honour and a strict code of conduct. These include John Wick, Ryan O’Neal’s uncatchable wheel man in Walter Hill’s The Driver and the iconic Jef Costello played by Alain Delon in Jean-Pierre Melville amazing Le Samouraï.

In Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai writer and director Jim Jarmusch takes his homage of the famous ancient warrior further, managing to craft an ultra cool crime action drama that both looks back to the past but also keeps an eye on the present and the future.

Starring the fantastic Forest Whitaker as the mysterious hitman Ghost Dog, the film offers us a character who obsessively follows the code of the samurai as laid down in the Hagakure, a book from the 1700’s that serves as a spiritual and practical guide for warriors.

Readings from the book appear throughout voiced by the character giving us both insights into Ghost Dog’s mind as well as the wisdom and teachings he has taken up.

This old way of acting and thinking is slammed directly against the modern setting which is shown in the run down nameless American city where Ghost Dog dwells. With multiple scenes of the contract killer driving around and observing the deep seated urban decay outside his car windows we can feel the tension in the streets, a tension that could boil over into brutality at any time.

Bound to small time gangster Louis (John Tormey) by an act of violent kindness that saved his life, Ghost Dog serves as his retainer taking on hits and executing them with calculated and deadly efficiency. On his last job unfortunately due to a mistake he had no part in the daughter of the local mafia boss Louise (Tricia Vessey) is present when he kills the much older mobster she is sleeping with.

Although the innocent girl is untouched the Mafia bring in Louis and forces him to turn on his charge, insisting that Ghost Dog must die in retaliation for a hit they in fact ordered. Marked for death the honour bound killer uses his teachings and instincts and decides that he will take action into his own hands and wipe the entire family out before they find him. What ensues is a bloody and brutal battle leading to an inevitable face off between master and retainer that can only leave one of them alive.

Perfectly pitched, Jarmusch manages to tell a tragic tale while still infusing enough comedy and action to save the film from slipping into melodrama or pretension. Moments of murder or conflict are juxtaposed with levity most perfectly encompassed when Ghost Dog witnesses a druggie attempt to rob a old Asian man who proceeds to kick his ass with some sweet martial arts moves.

As is shown by this minute moment things are not always what they seem. Although the African American gang members who hang around the streets and parks dressed in their gang colours could be perceived as menacing they in fact act with polite respect whenever we see them interact with Ghost Dog.

Showing a softer side to the assassin we are treated to the touching relationship Ghost Dog has with his best friend Raymond (Isaach De Bankolé) an ice cream seller who only speaks in French. Although neither friend verbally comprehends the other both entirely understand their ami and would do anything for them.

Most interesting of all is the portrayal of the Italian American gangsters out to get Ghost Dog. Far from glorified as they are in so many other Mafia movies, especially those by the bushy browed Marvel hating Martin Scorsese, Jarmusch’s mobsters are fat old ugly and stupid and cause as many moments of mirth as they do mutilation.

This clash of moods and emotion is especially evident around the trio of mafioso bosses whose contradictory dialogue flips between obscene to absurd sometimes in the same scene. Their racist old views and archaic rules are shown as much as part of a dying breed as Ghost Dog’s philosophy is. It seems the cliched caricatures have no purpose or place in the world any more and must be removed for something else to take their place.

What will fill that void is left open to interpretation in the end however it is clear that Ghost Dog’s philosophy has had far more impact on the young as represented in Pearline (Camille Winbush) a girl who befriends the hit man and who he gives not only the Hagakure but a copy of another classic Japanese text Rashamon to.

The 1915 book which is passed first from Louise to Ghost Dog when he kills her lover and spares her life and then to Pearline in part deals with how a different point of view can alter events entirely something we see directly at work in how the characters around the central anti-hero view him.

Brilliantly and beautifully shot, Jarmusch blends dreamlike moments with more grounded and gritty realism. Multiple time fades pop up in scenes such as Ghost Dogs roof top training scene and the reoccurring shots of the pigeons he uses to carry messages to Louis over the city streets.

The scintillating cinematography is heightened by the sensational soundtrack provided by Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA who has a brief cameo and whose disjointed hip-hop beats and battle raps reflect the blend of East and West encompassed in the movie.

Expertly penned and directed with a wonderful performance from Whitaker who truly brings out the stillness and sadness of the iconic assassin, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is an ageless crime classic telling an innovative and engaging story that excites and engages the mind as much as they eye.

Unique, poetic and fucking brilliant.

GHOST DOG: THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI is available to buy on 4K UHD, Limited Edition UHD Steelbook, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital now and available to order HERE.

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Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai trailer