Best Movies of the 20th and 21st centuries (BETA)
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MOVIE OF THE WEEK
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)
"What I want to do is make films that . . . tell stories, but somehow in an new way, not in a predictable form, not in the usual manipulative way that films seem to on their audiences."
Jim Jarmusch
"Laughter is good for your spirit and Oscar Wilde said: "Life is far too important to be taken seriously," which is a quote I really love and I feel that way about the work as well. In Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, there's a quote from Agakurai, a Japanese text, written by an old Samurai, and one of them has to do with how things of great concern should be treated lightly, and things of small concern should be [treated] seriously. That kind of contradiction was something I really like when it is embraced in that kind of philosophy."
Jim Jarmusch, The Guardian interview
via videosift.com
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) evolved from Jarmusch thinking about making "a film about a character whose lifestyle or job was violent, but make him likeable and have depth". He wrote the role of Ghost Dog specifically for Forest Whitaker, an actor he admired and wanted to work with for some time. Jarmusch approached Whitaker and told him what he was doing and in the process found out that the actor was interested in Eastern philosophy and martial arts, which turned the director onto samurai culture. While writing the screenplay, Jarmusch was listening to a lot of instrumental music by The Rza, cofounder and producer of the rap group, The Wu-Tang Clan. He approached Rza and asked if he would score Ghost Dog. After watching Dead Man, the musician agreed.
In this film Whitaker plays a hitman who devotedly follows the samurai code. He performs a job for the Mob but leaves a girl alive as a witness. They decide that he must be killed as a result, but it is not that easy. Ghost Dog is an efficient killer while the Mob consists of old, overweight guys who have no idea what they are up against.
via videosift.com
While Ghost Dog may be Jarmusch's most polished film to date, it still retains his trademark stylistic structure of long takes with cuts to black %u2013 albeit with smooth tracking shots and blurring effects for the action sequences. The film also continues his pre-occupation with clashes of different cultures. Ghost Dog's best friend is a Frenchman (Isaac De Bankole) who operates an ice cream truck %u2013 neither of them speaks each other's language and yet they still get along. Ghost Dog is also a continuation of the themes Jarmusch explored in Dead Man, in the sense that both films involve the life and death cycle. However, while William Blake was an impassive character, Ghost Dog has a specific code that he follows strictly.
Inner-city dweller Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker) rises above the chaos surrounding him by adopting the strict lifestyle of the samurai warrior. He's sworn lifelong service to Louie (John Tourney), the small-time mobster who once saved his life -- even if that means committing murders for the man. But the limits of Ghost Dog's allegiance are tested in Jarmusch's crime drama, nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.
http://www.myspace.com/jim_jarmusch
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (Theatrical Trailer)
Other movies directed by Jim Jarmusch:
# The Limits of Control (2009) (completed)
# Broken Flowers (2005)
# Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)
# Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002) (segment "Int. Trailer Night")
# Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)
# Year of the Horse (1997)
# Dead Man (1995)
# Coffee and Cigarettes III (1993)
# Night on Earth (1991)
# Red Hot and Blue (1990) (TV) (segment "It's All Right With Me")
# Mystery Train (1989)
# Coffee and Cigarettes II (1989)
# Down by Law (1986)
# Coffee and Cigarettes (1986)
# Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
# Stranger Than Paradise (1982)
# Permanent Vacation (1980)
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Leaves Of Grass
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2009 | 9.9 |
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Into The Wild
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2007 | 9.7 |
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Shutter Island
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2009 | 6.9 |
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Indonesia
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1996 | 5.5 |
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Spielen Wir Liebe
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1977 | 3.0 |
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