I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

Ghost Dog is a compelling character. We never do learn much about him, but what we do know is that he's a solitary, soft spoken black man who makes his living making hits for an Italian-American mob family and who has a passion for Samurai culture. He even tries to live his life by the code of the Samurai. Trouble begins brewing when the aftermath of a hit does not go as planned, and his employers have to decide what to do with him.This was the first Jim Jarmusch film for this viewer, and if his other works are as original as this one, that can only be a good thing. Jarmusch creates a principal character (played by a quiet yet authoritative Forest Whitaker) whose whole existence is a dichotomy. He's honorable and cultured yet earns a living by murdering people. Jarmusch blends a few different cultures here - black, Japanese, Italian - with engaging results. He even has one veteran gangster, Sonny Valerio (Cliff Gorman), be a fan of rap and hip hop. He also draws comparisons between the lives of the Samurai and the modern mob, showing how both these ways of life are dying out. Yet it will be up to some people to try to keep them going. Jarmusch blends a lot of poetic and thoughtful moments with a fair bit of the stylized bloody violence that one expects to see in a crime film.The result is something fairly offbeat but memorable. Of course, it won't be to all tastes. Some viewers may find it too slow and too intellectual, and some may feel that it doesn't need the violence or the more conventional trappings of this sort of narrative. It's all nicely underscored by music composed by The RZA, who also appears on screen in a cameo.Whitaker is extremely well cast, and ably supported by John Tormey, Gorman, Richard Portnow, Tricia Vessey, Henry Silva (who's more restrained than usual), Frank Adonis, and Victor Argo. Isaach De Bankole adds a lot of humor and heart as Raymond, a Haitian ice cream man who is Ghost Dogs' only real friend. Raymond speaks only French, and Ghost Dog doesn't understand the language, but the two men do still seem to understand each other. Whitakers' younger brother Damon plays Ghost Dog as a younger man. And there's another notable cameo, by a star of a previous Jarmusch film.When filmmakers like Jarmusch do something a little different, instead of just adhering to conventions, it most often results in a more genuinely interesting film.Eight out of 10.

Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker), is a hired assassin for the Italian mafia, who follows the code of 'The Way of the Samurai'. When a hit goes wrong the mafia points the finger at Ghost Dog, and so continues a little game of war between a skilled assassin and his former Italian mafia employers. Directed by Jim Jarmusch, (one of the greatest independent directors of all time) this film was made for 2 million dollars and grossed 9 million dollars in the box office. The film was in competition for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and best picture at the Independent Spirit Awards. Most people were most likely turned off by the title of the film as I was at first. And it is a true shame because this was a fantastic film; as weird as the plot of the story may be the film is a blend of hip hip, rap, and ghetto with an Eastern Asian, assassin story. It's an odd blend that works and makes for an interesting story. The character of Ghost Dog, played beautifully by Forest Whitaker, reads the 'Way of the Samurai' and follows it's codes and rules as a way of life. Ghost Dog lives off the grid on the roof of a banged up apartment and has no communication other than his messenger pigeons which he uses to contact his employers. Ghost Dog's only friend (his best friend), is Raymond (Isaach de Bankolé), a man who sells ice cream in his ice cream truck. Raymond speaks French, and can't even utter a word of English, which is quite comedic when Dog and he attempt to communicate with each other. Even though they don't understand what each other say they share a hobby in chess, and like ice cream. Their uncommon friendship is very beautiful, and made me think about the relationships I have with others around me. Jarmusch delivers a great film that needs to be seen. "Ghost Dog: the Way of the Samurai" is one of those film that's so unique and original that it stands out in the crowd out of dozens of other movies.

The best formula for making a movie is K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid).This movie keeps it simple and doesn't have a lot of complicated plot twists. It is straight forward and goes from point A to point B with out much problem.There are a couple of scenes which I believe could have been dropped, such as the "black bear hunters" and the "woman highway patrol". I really don't know why they left them in the movie. They really weren't needed and I think they bring the movie down a couple of notches.There were several other scenes which I think were just filler and thankfully I could fast forward through them. All of these "filler" scenes are the long drawn out "driving in the car with the radio on". Really? Was the script that short?There are extremely minimal special effects used. There is a lot of shooting (chest, legs, arms) but you don't see a ton of blood. The violence is very mild.There are some minor factual errors in the movie, which have already been stated on this website. There are others, but they aren't important enough to post.Acting 1 Directing .5 Plot 1 Action .5 Continuity 0 Factuality 03 of 6

Excuse my ineptitude, but its taken me a while to work out how to write a review on IMDb. First time you see. Such was my compulsion to comment on this film. Consider this more a rant than a carefully worded critique or review. I make no apologies for this.First things first - this film doesn't really deserve the 3 stars I gave it. It deserves less. But I feared that by putting any less would either have genuine review-shoppers from dismissing this review or making the presumption I only like Hollywood shoot em up's or RomComs with Jennifer Aniston.Quite honestly, either of the aforementioned categories provide a multitude of films that would have been more enjoyable than this. I blame my well-intentioned but clearly mentally challenged French neighbor who roped me into watching this almost unbelievably bad film. Whilst I remain *perplexed* at the number of 8+ star reviews and - having read some of their quite coherent views - I can respect a different opinion. I can also wholeheartedly dismiss them. Guys, I absolutely do not recognise the film those reviews claim to speak about. "Whitaker was amazing" etc etc - are you kidding me? You know what, i'm not even going to bother - this film has already wasted 2 hours of my evening and then some more in trying to find out how to post a review on IMDb. If you are convinced by the rest, enjoy. I cant fathom how you could, but maybe i'm just weird...All in all - utter pretentious garbage with a poor script, plot and terrible lead actor. I hated it and wish only to save some other naive souls out there who may think its worth a watch. I don't blame the French, but my mate is gonna get it in the ear next time I see him.