Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai
Jim Jarmush
Perched on the rooftops surrounded by homing pigeons, Ghost Dog is a hitman in the pay of the mafia. He applies the code of the Samourai, Hagakure, to the letter. His motto: "Live by the code, die by the code". One day his moral code is betrayed by his employers...
With : Forest Whitaker, John Tormey, Cliff Gorman, Henry Silva, Isaach de Bankolé
Screenplay : Jim Jarmusch
Image : Robby Müller
Sound : Chic Ciccolini
Editing : Jay Rabinowitz
Decors : Ted Berner
Screenplay : Jim Jarmusch
Image : Robby Müller
Sound : Chic Ciccolini
Editing : Jay Rabinowitz
Decors : Ted Berner
Production : Plywood Productions, Bac Films, JVC Entertainment, Degeto Films, Studio Canal
Distribution: Bac Films
Distribution: Bac Films
Ghost Dog is the worthy American heir to Jean-Pierre Melville's Samouraï. "I tried to quote certain elements of the film directly, but adapting them in my own way" (J. Jarmusch). Ghost Dog is like Jef Costello, an ascetic lover who has to take revenge on an employer who has betrayed him. He also overcomes his solitude with his passion for birds. "Ghost Dog seems to take his name from his astonishing capacity to act as invisibly as a ghost. This quality derives from Costello's discretion which makes him invisible" (C. Murillo). Melville's influence is present right through to the film's closing credits where Jarmusch thanks Melville. Jarmusch also makes direct references to Japanese inspiration, such as the Hagakure, the book of the Samurai, or Ryunosuki Akutagawa's Rashomon.