Ghost Dog: How To Face Absurdity
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- Опубликовано: 28 июн 2024
- Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai (1999) directed by Jim Jarmusch showcases a great understanding of human behavior.
Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai, by Studiocanal
tags: ghost dog, ghost dog the way of the samurai, ghost dog: the way of the samurai, Forest Whittaker, the way of the samurai, ghost dog movie, ghost dog film, the way of the samurai movie, the way of the samurai film, video essay, film essay, film aesthetics, art cinema, film appreciation, film study, cinema study, film analysis, ghost dog explained, 
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This movie is both a critique of and homage to tradition. It's almost like a love letter to a parent that is stuck in the archaic ways of thinking. A letter filled with respect, sadness, admiration and understanding that they're not long for this world.
Well said. Buried my grandfather last year,he raised me and gave me a code to live by. By all rights he represented tradition and order in my life, I miss him dearly and now am the order and tradition in my family.
Rest in peace all warriors
We will meet again
You have it backwards. Ghost Dog is the retainer. Louis is his "lord". Samurai means servant. So does retainer.
Bushi is warrior. "Do" is "the way of". Bushido is the way of the warrior. The way of the samurai is to serve with absolute loyalty.
Hope this helps.
How is that working out for the samurai? Bet they're all rich with hot chicks.
@@RogerKomula-kl9lb Actually the large Japanese corporations were founded by descendants of old samurai families, so some did pretty well.
Also a true samurai is not concerned about material gain, so they say.
@@RogerKomula-kl9lb Lmao like that is how your life is.
No my friend the way of the samurai is found in death. Read Hagakure.
@@jb7483 thats not the only message of that book...
This is one of my all-time favorite movies. I was fortunate enough to see it in the theater when it came out. It really is an underrated masterpiece.
Nice. Good soundtrack and sound design. Would have been cool on the big screen. I wasn't so fortunate. But I saw it on VHS the first time. With some good friends who are still good friends with excellent taste in movies and music.
ditto
I agree it's an amazing movie
I definitely need to watch it this weekend
YASSSSS
Thank you for honoring this fine film. It is truly a hidden gem.
Jim Jarmusch made two films in the 90s that impacted me deeply. Ghost Dog and Dead Man.
2 great films
That pair has always stuck with me, as has _Only Lovers Left Alive._
@@mbryson2899 👍💜
Broken Flowers is my favorite.
Only lovers and broken flowers are both amazing also Jim jarmuche really knows how to cook
This film had no business being as good as it was. It’s like a patchwork quilt of styles, themes, inspirations, humour. More films like this please.
Is it good though? I really still can't tell.
I like it, but I also can't stand it in some ways.
@@XXXX-yc6wv Its embarrassing
I once tried to watch this movie with a friend but he made us turn it off as soon as he found out "ghost dog" was a man's name and it wasn't a movie about a dog that's dead
lol life of the party
not how I was expecting your story to go - i once tried to show this movie to someone but they couldn't take it seriously because "lol look at this fat weeb" - oh well, some art isn't for all
@@Hasshodowhy are you hanging around insecure morons?
reminds me of someone in Jersey; "ya know who also had an arc? Noah!"
some (most) people aren't deep thinkers...
maybe you should try ghost dad, might make him more happy.
One of the most underrated films from the 90's to present day.
The reason the mob kills Ghost Dog is because the boss' daughter was there, when she wasn't supposed to be, even thought that wasn't Ghost Dog's fault. It wasn't the murder that was the disrespect that demanded murder as vengeance, it was the boss' daughter being present.
💯👍
I agree but believe it was both reasons it’s why they hired out of the family , because they knew they were going to kill him after
@@mathewblaine1109yes, the daughter being there was a perfect excuse to put the inevitable hit on the Hitman, the only hitch in the plan for them personally was they didn’t inform Louie that he should hire a random shooter and not a member of his crew to do it, if they had Louie and Ghost Dog wouldn’t be on the chopping block, and the Jersey Mob wouldn’t have been hunted down as a result
thanks for the spoiler dawg
The Mob didn't kill Ghostdog. He killed them. Then the daughter had him killed.
If you're trying to find films that deal with the absurd, just look at most stuff Takashi Miike did. He's the master of absurdity.
Blade of the Immortal is an absolute masterpiece
Agreed and also try the 2003 version of zatoichi.
@@_Alfa_Channel I feel like BOTI is an ok Miike film, but quite far from most of his other stuff.
@@joaocorreiamedia agreed - DOA and Audition are better than Ichi and 13 Assassins is the goat but I read Mugen No Junin and that was the closest anyone has ever come to a movie from a book...
@@_Alfa_Channel I understand perfectly! Despite a film being better or worse than something else, what matters is our personal taste :)
Ok but can we talk about how perfect The RZA's score is for thr mood and atmosphere of this film?
I also love how he comes in with two guns, "It's the bird man!" guy dies of a heart attack, and Ghost Dog slowly lowers that gun. No longer needed. Heh.
I discovered this film via the soundtrack at the start of my Wu Tang obsession a decade ago. Through the Rza connection I was so excited to see it. It totally blew my mind with the masterful pacing and subtext. The respect and deep understanding of both film history and Japanese bushido code made it such a fascinating film. It's great to see it getting the recognition it deserves.
The soundtrack to this movie is another character, I swear. Amazing.
I'll be honest, it's worth pointing out that Hagakure is kind of a charicature of the "bushido code", in that the Sengoku era in which the retainer/lord dynamics depicted within had ended over 100 years before the writing of this book. The author himself had no military experience whatsoever, and the samurai class itself had devolved into an administrative role with ceremonial military vestiges. I love Hagakure deeply because it's still a fascinating read with much to take away from it, but it is kind of a nostalgic larp on a dead warrior culture by a man who never held a sword. As such there are a lot of questions to be raised as an accurate historical document on bushido
I became aware of the RZA from watching this; then I discovered that one of my favourite singers and actresses from Japan, Meiko Kaji, was involved in a ruinous legal fight with the RZA. He stole a piano riff from one of her songs, she sued, he counter-sued for defamation and threw more money than she was able to into the suit. He preferred to pay a lawyer than pay a musician he'd admired enough to use their work, and it seriously harmed her music career for about 20 years. I like the music from Ghost Dog but I have no respect for him as a person any more.
@@Josh_Quillanwell, the countersue by RZA proved that the original copyright claim was completely inaccurate and the the sample used in Dark Fantasy was not the Kaji rift at all. All you have to do is listen to the Kaji piano rift and the RZA rift and they are 2 completely different sounds. It’s sad really, all that respect you claimed to have lost, for nothing.
@@ScottyBanton The recording I heard, they were identical. Either way, the fact remains he liked another performer's work enough to either steal or imitate it, but wasn't interested in paying for it or settling the dispute amicably, and preferred to ruin her. That's shitty behaviour.
What's interesting in light of this video's themes, is the Hagakure was written after two hundred years of peace. There was no need for samurai as warriors. They had become solely administrators. Hagakure was written by someone trying to hearken back to what what he thought the code of a samurai should be, based on a dream of a past that never was.
Never seen Ghost Dog and I was intrigued... Right up until you gave away the ending in the first 90 seconds.
The old Chinese guy beating up the mugger is my old Kung Fu teacher, Shi Yan Ming. He was actually in his mid thirties at the time.
Rented this movie when I was like 14 or 15 and it was still new-ish. Knew there was something unique about it, but still kind of surprised to see people talking about it these days.
I saw this film when it came out just before I went into the military and it spoke to me. I always loved it. Glad to know others out there saw the same virtues in the film that I did.
A retainer is a follower, not a master. Ghost Dog was Louie's retainer, not the other way around.
Yes. Ghost Dog says to Louie "I'm your retainer. I don't mean you no disrespect".
@@AFMR0420 In the context of feudalism, a retainer is "a dependent or follower of someone of rank" or "a paid servant, especially one who has been employed for many years." It has had this meaning for literally centuries.
A retainer was a samurai. Lmao you guys are so historically illiterate
@@draco_1876 The word retainer has been in use for centuries to mean the servant of a lord, of course its meaning isn't specifically Japanese. Speaking of historically illiterate.
@@valmarsigliabut to be clear in relation to samurai retainers were considered samurai
Taking out the bear hunters and the elderly martial artist were my favorite scenes!
About absurdity of the mob.. i cant quote the exact words, but there was a moment when they laughed at how black gangsters had these stupid name tags like a bunch of animals and then immidiately proceed to call his fellow mobsters with similar stupid nicknames.
It was Indians' names the mob boss was referring to
Truly memorable scene!
One of those moments when I laughed out loud in the theater and no one else did. Sometimes the humour and commentary was too subtle for some folks.
@@romanjeve "Indians, N-s... same thing..." :D :D
went to see this movie by myself back when it came to the cinemas... was my first Jim Jarmusch movie... It left a great impression on me. Still is one of my favourite movies ever. Great soundtrack as well
This was an incredible film that originally I loved for the hip hop score and the parallels between samurai and gang culture. You brought a really unique perspective to this film and gave me a new way to appreciate it.
“The Hagakure” is a must read if you love this movie all the quotes come from it
Top ten film of all time for me. It's the film that sent me down the Jarmusch rabbit hole and lead me to Dead Man, his DARK visual poem. Jarmusch is somewhat obsessed with poetry and it runs through his films in different ways. Ghost Dog also features my favorite friendship of all time, Ghost Dog and Raymond.
Jim jarmouth is so underrated, the limits of control is still my favorite movie and I love ghost dog as well
One of my favorite movies. Very thoughtful and funny at the same time. Great that you catched the difference in memory that Ghost Dog and the Mafia guy has, a lot of people miss that, since it is not actively pointed out, but changes the whole perspective of the movie. Also the funniest scene is when the Mafia bosses hear for the first time the name Ghost Dog and come up with the Rapper and Indian references, that's the first time you realize that they are some total wacky dudes :D.
Idk why, but I literally cried at the end. To this day I can’t explain it.
This is the Video that's gonna blow your channel up.
Perfect mix of intellectual introspection and a grounded human appreciation for a "dope flick"
Kudos!
Ghost dog has been my favourite film for a long time.
SO HAPPY YOU GIVING THIS MOVIE THE ATTENTION IT DESERVES
I appreciate this film more now than when it came out.
Great video man. I saw this as a 12 year old when it came out and didn’t get it at all. Haven’t thought about it in years but defiantly going to watch again. Hopefully a bit more maturity will help me appreciate it on a new level
So happy to get this recommended, I love the movie and to see others talk about it makes me feel excited :))
I was working at a cinema when this came out. Almost always when a movie finished, most people would start getting up to leave as soon as the credit roll started. I noticed than when Ghost Dog finished, most people just sat there and chilled for a moment. I feel like there's something slightly hypnotic about this movie, the rhythm of it leaves you kinda calm afterwards.
5:10
I was fully zoned in to the video until this scene. I had to take a laugh break 🤣 awesome video man! I'm gonna check this movie out
I thought I was the only one who remembered this movie
Interesting analysis. One question raised: Does discipline, following a code, make one moral. The presenter answers "No". I agree. However, it DOES suggest integrity: alignment between word and deed.
Great evaluation of this film 👍 I also like how the hip hop music tells the story of Ghost Dogs life, every time he’s listening to music you get insight on where he comes from, who he was in another life, and who he is in the present and what he looks forward to in the afterlife.
Excellent take on this underrated gem. If you look beneath the surface its many disparate layers interwoven adroitly, like when a tie and shirt that shouldnt match are brought together with the right blazer and shoes.
Its accessible but at the same time not neccessarily mass market either, it deserved much more acclaim
Outstanding observations. One of Jarmusch's very best, and an excellent lead performance by Forest Whitaker. Living life by a code as illustrated by this film, shows us the many facets of humanity following and adhering to code. I also found there is code reading, code breaking, and even writing new code to follow for the many characters in this movie.
Interesting take ,for me it's Jarmuschs weakest movie by far. I loved it as a teenager but now as an adult it's imo a quite pretentious cheap power fantasy spiced with soap opera Japanese bushido quotes in lifestyle and behaviour. I guess Jarmuschs wanted to break into a unique portrayal by using pudgy Whitaker but he plays it one dimensional like a overweight gaming nerd. It's just only surface and a caricature of a movie .
Thank you for this awesome review. Ghost Dog has lived in my Top Five Films list since the first time I watched it. Good call!
I like your perspective on this movie. One of my favorites back in the day. I probably haven't seen it in 18 years, will be re-watching soon
Subscribed. Fantastic retrospective and review.
Yes, that movie is a masterpiece.
This is a great discussion/analysis of Ghost Dog, one of my favorite films of all time. I agree with all of your points, and it's not surprising that the subleties of the film get lost in the mindsets that have to have their goodies right up front for immediate gratification. When this film came out I was noticing that tendency more and more; it had always been there in some form, but for some reason it started to impact upon me more. With the Hollyweird films of late, with few exceptions like Joker, for instance its gone full-bore I'm-brain-dead-feed-me-now-or-else. More sad than anything, I believe.
I watched ghost dog when I was in three year Buddhist retreat in 1999. During the Tibetan new year we were allowed to watch few movies. One day. What’s you are talking about gives me a good feed back of this time. Purpose gives a framework in a meaningless live, due to that for one moment nothing becomes something. Thank you. Sorry for my French English.
My respect to you for sharing this if for no other reason than the Hagakure highlight, thank you. I haven’t seen this film in 20 years, definitely worth a revisit.
every man needs somethign bigger than himself to live for. to live!
One of my favorite films of all time. I watched it for the first time as a teen and was immediately hooked.
This was an amazing critique, for a great movie. Thank you.
And the WuTang soundtrack !
Thank you for video. "Limits of control" is very impressive as well.
I saw this four times in the theater. Great film. That bear hunter scene was beautiful. Thanks for the commentary.
One of my favorite films. Thanks for giving a perspective that's distinctive and true to the film itself.
Glad you enjoyed it! The film was very fun to appreciate
Absolute classic, this was such an important piece of cinema for me and still shines as a masterpiece
The luck of this film was no Oscar nomination
I liked how he wielded the guns like samurai swords🔥
Superb analysis/commentary.
Great video. Looking forward to more
Thanks. I stopped this video, watched Ghost Dog, and came back. Thank you for such a great recommendation.
I watch this movie a lot, I rented it from a local video store 20 years ago and I have been a fan since.
I must have seen this wonderfully unique film 5 times over the last 20-30 years ..just fantastic :)
YES A VIDEO ESSAY ON ONE OF MY FAVOURITE FILMS
This film has always seemed to fly under the radar - I know so few people who’ve seen it. It’s great! It has so much going for it. It has some fantastic humour in it, just to mention thing. I remember reading Hagakure and despite being totally into Japanese martial arts and traditional culture, finding it really hard to connect with and frankly just a bit odd much of the time. But this movie actually made it really accessible.
Really liked your take on it too - thanks.
One of my best chance finds on dvd at the local blockbuster back in the day... even at 15 I loved the slow burn and charm of this film.
My favourite scene in the movie is when Ghost Dog walks through the city at night and everyone is distracted or turns his head the exact moment Ghost Dog walks by. He walks among them but nobody sees him - just like a Ghost Dog.
Great video, great channel!! 👏
One of my absolute favorite films, a perfect blend of genres, cultures, and inspirations. While Ghost Dog may not embody morality as you mentioned, he certainly possesses integrity. And what sets him apart from the mob is his ability to adapt this ancient, outdated philosophy to a modern environment. He shows respect for the urban jungle and all those who inhabit it, including animals, in much the same way that Japan has always cultivated a reverence for nature.
I cant believe I forgot about this movie. I almost died laughing at "Jesus it's *wheeze* the fucking bird man....ughhhhh." and then he dies. The fuckin bird man 😂
I love this film so much, it had a big influence on me growing up. Having short passages from the Hagakure dotted throughout the film really ties it together
Great review. Underrated for the time.
This was a great analysis !
OK, pretty good breakdown here. Didn't catch the reasoning behind the comical absurdity of the hip-hop loving mafioso when I watched this movie so many years ago, but you explain very well here (commenting here because I love this movie so)!
I watched this when I was way to young to understand the concept. I just thought it was a cool movie at the time. When I watched it again as an adult I really fell in love with it. It is weird that when Forest Whittaker is mentioned they name every single huge movie he is in and every great performance, but you rarely hear this movie mentioned.
I watched this movie when I was 9 years old.. somehow left an impact on me enough to have my first gamertag in counterstrike that year be ghost dog x)
But its a movie I've come to appreciate more and more as I get older.. not that I necessarily agree with anything in the movie, or the book which I eventually read.. but appreciate it, yeah. Which I guess falls back to the original point, respect for eachothers paths in life. :) Great movie, a hidden gem indeed.
Top ten gangsta crime movie. Good review.
Only thing missing is he stoic way tht Henry Silva, as the boss, accepts his fate.
He stands up, latches his suit buttons and takes it like a man.
I loved this movie when I was a teen manly because of the wu Tang clan connection, download it the other day and forgot about it till I watched your video.thanks for remembering me to re-watch it
I love this! Thanks!
Such a good breakdown, bro
Poeticness? The word you want is poetry.
Poetrical..poetricious..
Poemful
Amazing review bro, couldnt have put it better
Me and him we are from different ancient tribes, now we are both almost extinct.
Sometimes... you gotta stick with the ancient ways. The old-school ways. I know you understand me.
Earned a sub, good job 🎉
Fantastic video! Cheers
Good video! Liked and Subscribed for more. I remember that I wanted to watch this one!
Jarmusch is great. This is one of his best.
The ice-cream guy played by Isaach de Bankolé...as the Lone man .. later in Limits of control, they aren't connected but both movies are so immersive
I first saw him in another wonderful movie by Claire Denis called Chocolat. Deeply compelling role and movie.
This movie just popped into my head yesterday. Nice.
I literally sought the movie out because i thought the title was hilarious and figured i may have a laugh. I think i watched it twice, back to back that first night. So good i was taken aback.
This movie changed my life. I had a whole new appreciation for Jim Jarmusch and Forest Whitaker after watching it for the first time. "Dead Man" is another underrated Jarmusch amazing adventure.
Found this film one night about 20 years ago browsing and was blown away.
Heard of the film but never seen it. But this was a lovely and intriguing intro, and I don’t mind that I now know the ending, the film is clearly more interesting than the story.
Love this movie review, very nostalgic since i saw this movie when i was a child.
Wow! I haven't thought of this movie in forever. Always saw the previews of this movie back in the 90s. Always meant to rent it. Just always slipped through the cracks.
brb gonna watch it then come back to this video
I always saw this movie on the video store shelf and thought the title was cheesy so I never rented it; three minutes into your review Im pausing and watching it VDO. Thanks for bringing my attention to great films Ive overlooked in the past.
That was beautiful. I appreciate it.
I remember watching this back in the day when I was little got so excited when i saw the rza
I loved this when it came out; the soundtrack is brilliant as well
A great movie and really great sound track
It is an amazing and extremely under-rated film ... and every time I return to it, I see something, learn something else