Ghost Dog - The Way Of The Samurai DVD

Advantages: Offbeat, humorous and thought-provoking
Disadvantages: A little too offbeat for some

...The Basic Plot Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker) is an assassin living in Jersey City (although, we're never told that) who holds true to Bushido, the ancient Japanese chivalric code of the Samurai, and is guided in particular by the tenets of Hagakure, a series of commentaries and guidelines that were outlined in the early 18th century. The Samurai is a servant or retainer who pledges his life and sword to a master, and in Ghost Dog's case his ...
...several years before (or so Ghost Dog thinks) and by so doing unwittingly earned the future assassin's loyalty. Between jobs Ghost Dog lives in a shack on the roof of a building with only some carrier pigeons and some books to keep him company. His only human friends are a Haitian ice-cream vendor and chatterbox, Raymond (Isaach de Bankolé), who can only speak French, and a precocious-but-sweet little girl, Pearline (Camille Winbush), with whom Ghost ... Read review

Advantages: Action Scenes are good
Disadvantages: Can be confusing, tres crappy extras

...going to be hard, see Ghost Dog isn't an easy movie to get into, even the opening scenes left me sat wondering what I was just witness to. Now then a little about the storyline itself Ghost Dog (Forest Whittaker) is a Samurai living in New York who happens to do a little work for one of the local Gangsters 'taking out' a few people. Anyhow the Gangster hes working for isn't one of the head-honchos in the city, in fact he has his own bosses to answer ...
...one of his bosses, Ghost Dog becomes a wanted man. Thats pretty much all of the main storyline I can get away with telling, suffice to say theres a little bit more to come, now I came into this movie with a completely open mind knowing nothing of it at all, in fact the only thing that crossed my mind whilst renting it was that I could remember a couple of people I knew talking about it, after that nothing, and well to start with the titles a little ... Read review

Advantages: Realistic, Sentimental, Atmosphere, Inspiring, Original, Funny in Places, Good Action, Well Cast
Disadvantages: Soundtrack isn't that great, Very few extras

Ghost Dog : Way of The Samurai struck me as being a really strange movie. It ended, and I sat there, and I thought "This is it? This is the ending? Did I like that?" And I honestly couldn't decide whether I liked the film or not, I was so surprised by it, dumbstruck really. Ghost Dog is an incredible assassin, who works for the mafia because one of them once saved his life when he was younger. He's a self styled samurai, who practices the arts of ...
...uncle shot, the mafia decide Ghost Dog has to be eliminated. It comes to a choice where the man who saved Ghost Dogs life, or Ghost Dog, must die, because they mafia demands blood. So Ghost Dog goes on a killing spree, and some bloody action continues. The ending is not what you would expect from this film, but I won't spoil it for you. The film is very slow moving, with a very brooding atmosphere that fits well with the quotes you are read from ... Read review

Advantages: good quality film print; excellent soundtrack; stylish disc design; a good film.
Disadvantages: the extras are a little on the sparse side.

...film follows the character of Ghost Dog, a strangely serene African-American who lives by the ancient code of the Samurai, and acts as assassin for a local small time crook whom he has dubbed his ‘master’. Ghost Dog has executed many assassinations flawlessly: he is fast, effective, and untraceable. But after a hit on a member of his master’s own criminal ‘family’ goes slightly wrong, through no fault of Ghost Dog’s ...
...but since that’s exactly what Ghost Dog IS, I cannot really criticise the film on that basis. There is also an insert card, folded in half so that it resembles a booklet. The front of this booklet reproduces the front cover of the DVD, the back contains and chapter listing, and in smaller print a list of cast and crew credits for the film. Inside the booklet is a short biography of star Forest Whitaker and a filmography for writer/director ... Read review

Advantages: Displays originality and thoughtfulness
Disadvantages: Fails to fully deliver its promise....

Ghost Dog is one of those arthouse films that tries very hard to be clever, but this one just doesn't pull it off. At first blush i was intrigued by the confident swagger of the strange main character "Ghost Dog" a Mafia hitman who lives on a rooftop with his pigeons for company and lives his life according to ancient Samurai scripture. We have all seen the gangster movie, Goodfellas, Carlito's Way, Once Upon a Time in America...and so many others! ...
...death who will prevail: Ghost Dog committed to ancient ways in a twentienth-century world, or the Mafia out to neutralise him after one of his "hits" takes an unexpected twist? Ghost Dog is a flawed character. Capable of thoughtulness and intellect, compassion and loyalty, yet an accomplished and cold-blooded killer. The movie has a slow slightly eerie pace often through murky evening cityscapes or threatening daytime slums. Ghost Dog has few friends ... Read review