For as long as I could remember I have been interested in strangely unique films. Many of my peers dismiss films such as Ghost Dog as "garbage" or "crap" or worse. I just don't see through their eyes. Upon learning of Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai (through the old idiot box!) I was instantly sucked in. My curiosity was running at an all time high. I had to know the world of Ghost Dog, and especially the character himself. However, getting to the theater proved difficult in itself. So the gem became lost to me, until the first week of March, when the movie was playing on local cable here in Canada. I was overly thrilled!
Can you really prepare yourself for a film like Ghost Dog? I have a problem being that when my interest is peaked for a film I tend to have horribly high hopes for it being good quality. Like Mission Impossible 2, Woo behind the camera Cruise in front, how can they go wrong? Urgh! Ghost Dog is not an `urgh'; this movie is instead a cinematic dish, best served to those rabid fans of gangster films, samurais, and beautiful moments.
From the start the viewer is treated to snippets of written text denoting the Way of the Samurai, this is the first sign of genius; these short paragraphs all have some relevant meaning to Ghost Dog's journey through the course of the film. The only other time that I've appreciated the foretelling of events to come was in the Limey. The second thing that denoted genius at work was the relationship between Ghost Dog and Raymond the Frenchman. This aspect of the film had me smiling wide-eyed and everything for the entire film. I love the fact that these two can communicate with each other without ever understanding what the other is saying. I can't praise that enough because it has been something that I've always wanted to see working a movie. It was very neat to watch their friendship because their meetings always displayed some of the best moments in the movie. The friendship felt so real, it was great. Finally, my favourite genius aspect was those crazy gangsters. Man, if you want to treat yourself to a merry old time watch these gangsters work. They are dangerous, but at the same time they are incredibly funny. It's great to just mix the drama and serious tone with some comedy from the bad guys, of all places. Usually, it's the hero who says something witty or gets caught up in some funny situation to make us laugh. But now even the bad guys get in on it. That just adds to the movie's bizarre, yet very cool feel. Very NICE! Also, deserving admirable mention are the soundtrack (very nice on the score for Rza, I love the base and it fits naturally), and the character of Pearline (usually I hate kids in movies like this, but she actually learned a valuable lesson from Ghost Dog, it's great to watch their relationship grow as well).
Whitaker is a fantastic lead, if he can continue to do more roles like this he may end up becoming the new hero for those who have lost faith in heavyset actors. And Jim Jarmusch bless your hard working heart, my respect goes out to the cast and crew of this fine feature. Don't miss Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai for anything!
Can you really prepare yourself for a film like Ghost Dog? I have a problem being that when my interest is peaked for a film I tend to have horribly high hopes for it being good quality. Like Mission Impossible 2, Woo behind the camera Cruise in front, how can they go wrong? Urgh! Ghost Dog is not an `urgh'; this movie is instead a cinematic dish, best served to those rabid fans of gangster films, samurais, and beautiful moments.
From the start the viewer is treated to snippets of written text denoting the Way of the Samurai, this is the first sign of genius; these short paragraphs all have some relevant meaning to Ghost Dog's journey through the course of the film. The only other time that I've appreciated the foretelling of events to come was in the Limey. The second thing that denoted genius at work was the relationship between Ghost Dog and Raymond the Frenchman. This aspect of the film had me smiling wide-eyed and everything for the entire film. I love the fact that these two can communicate with each other without ever understanding what the other is saying. I can't praise that enough because it has been something that I've always wanted to see working a movie. It was very neat to watch their friendship because their meetings always displayed some of the best moments in the movie. The friendship felt so real, it was great. Finally, my favourite genius aspect was those crazy gangsters. Man, if you want to treat yourself to a merry old time watch these gangsters work. They are dangerous, but at the same time they are incredibly funny. It's great to just mix the drama and serious tone with some comedy from the bad guys, of all places. Usually, it's the hero who says something witty or gets caught up in some funny situation to make us laugh. But now even the bad guys get in on it. That just adds to the movie's bizarre, yet very cool feel. Very NICE! Also, deserving admirable mention are the soundtrack (very nice on the score for Rza, I love the base and it fits naturally), and the character of Pearline (usually I hate kids in movies like this, but she actually learned a valuable lesson from Ghost Dog, it's great to watch their relationship grow as well).
Whitaker is a fantastic lead, if he can continue to do more roles like this he may end up becoming the new hero for those who have lost faith in heavyset actors. And Jim Jarmusch bless your hard working heart, my respect goes out to the cast and crew of this fine feature. Don't miss Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai for anything!