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.
- Awards
- 1 win & 8 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJim Jarmusch stated in an interview that he wrote the role of Ghost Dog specifically for Forest Whitaker, and if Whitaker hadn't taken the role, the film probably would not have been made.
- GoofsBefore killing the hunters, Ghost Dog turns off his car by turning the key in the ignition. When he stole the car, however, he used an electronic device to override the ignition.
- Quotes
Ghost Dog: There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to everything.
- Crazy creditsThe second to last person thanked at the credits' close is Akira Kurosawa--the Japanese filmmaker who filmed one of the Ghost Dog's central texts, Rashomon.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Siskel & Ebert: Instinct/The Loss of Sexual Innocence/Limbo (1999)
- SoundtracksIce-Cream
(instrumental mix)
Written by R. Diggs and C. Woods
Produced, mixed and arranged by RZA for Wu-Tang Productions, Inc.
Published by Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc.
On behalf of Ramecca Music and Wu-Tang Publishing (BMI)
Featuring Ghostface Killah, Cappadonna and Raekwon
Raekwon appears courtesy of Loud Records
Featured review
Interesting and deep, but not as deep as it tries to be
This is a great film; it has pretty much everything a great film needs: a great score, great actors, great performances, etc. The film revolves around Ghost Dog, perfectly portrayed by Forest Whitaker. He is a assassin who lives by the code of the Samurai. Apart from him, we also follow the fate of several mafia men(though nowhere near as intimately as we follow Ghost Dog). These two very different groups, Samurai and mafia, are both depicted reasonably well, giving us insight to how the groups work, and, more importantly, their code. Both groups live and die by the code, and this is probably the most important thing in the movie, and it's shown with respect with both Samurai and mafia; I'm not entirely sure that it's correct all the way through, but that's not what's most important, anyway. The film has reasonably little action, but it's not supposed to be an action film, by any means. It's fairly slow throughout the film, but it never really bores you to the point of not watching any more; I've seen the film at least five times now, so believe me, I know. The film is very stylized and cool throughout, which definitely has some part in keeping you interested, but the theme and story/plot plays a bigger part, I think. The plot is pretty good, and though it keeps a fairly slow pace throughout the film, it also keeps your interest for the entire duration of the film. The acting is all good, though not everyone pulls off as excellent a performance as Whitaker. Isaach De Bankolé portrays Ghost Dog's best friend, and he does gives a great performance. So does Camille Winbush, who portrays a girl who Ghost Dog befriends and discusses books with. The characters are well-written and(mostly) credible. I'm not entirely sure that the film does provide a totally correct version of the Code of the Samurai. The soundtrack is great; it's made by the hip-hop artist RZA, but most of it will be enjoyable to people who aren't into hip-hop. Also, I guess it's more of a score than a soundtrack; there isn't any time where the music feels out of place in a scene. All in all, a great film, but not for all tastes. Don't go in expecting an action film; don't go in expecting a very deep an entirely intellectual film; don't go in expecting a regular movie; go in expecting to see a decent(if not good) representation of both the mafia code and the Samurai code. I've heard some people describe the ending as an anti-climax; I don't know what they were expecting... I won't say that I saw it coming, but I wasn't disappointed when it happened. It had to end it, and I think the director, Jim Jarmusch made a good decision on that. I recommend this film to people with an interest in Samurai, fans of Jarmusch and people looking for a reasonably deep film. I don't recommend this to fans of action movies, as there's fairly little action in the film. No matter who you are, if you're going to see this film, make sure you have the patience for it; it's worth sitting through the two reasonably slow hours for. 8/10
Helpful•4925
- TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews
- Jun 22, 2004
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- El Camino del Samurái
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,308,029
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $166,344
- Mar 5, 2000
- Gross worldwide
- $9,421,594
- Runtime1 hour 56 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
![Forest Whitaker in Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTQ5ZTc1NjAtMGNjNi00ZDY1LWIyM2EtZmM1NTcwMjkzNmMyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjUzOTY1NTc@._V1_QL75_UX90_CR0,0,90,133_.jpg)
Top Gap
By what name was Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) officially released in India in English?
Answer