Samuel LoveI clearly remember the first time a friend recommended Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai to me. After he outlined in simple terms that it was the story of the titular Ghost Dog, a modern-day samurai assassin played by Forest Whitaker, I was perplexed – but I knew I had to see it. Indeed, the odd premise makes for an odd film – Roger Ebert’s review stated it was “truly, profoundly weird” and that’s a fair comment. But with that weirdness comes a genuinely profound and compelling film with a distinctiveness found across all of director Jim Jarmusch’s filmography.
Balancing his life as a hitman for the Mafia with his strict following of the ancient code of the samurai, the mysterious Ghost Dog (Whitaker) must fight for his life when he finds himself targeted. Jean-Pierre Melville‘s Le Samouraï is clearly an enormous influence, but Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai marches to the beat of its own drum and carves out its own distinct identity.
The tale of a hip-hop loving urban warrior assassin who communicates by carrier pigeon and spews Zen ideology is always going to be funny, so Jarmusch was right to inject it with some genuine humour. In many ways, the film could be read as something of a self-aware spoof on both the organised crime and samurai subgenres that it so deftly mixes, while also managing to be undeniably slick and cool. It’s totally, totally unique – even by Jarmuschian standards.
With a killer soundtrack and Forest Whitaker’s finest performance, Ghost Dog is a film that has earned its cult reputation – so it’s no surprise that StudioCanal have selected it for a gorgeous new 4K UHD release, alongside a remastered DVD and Blu-ray. It’s a fascinating film that might not always work, but there’s so much sheer originality that it’s hard to fault it too much for not always sticking the landing.
