Ghost Dog: How To Face Absurdity
Vložit
- čas přidán 28. 06. 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, - Krátké a kreslené filmy
"A man's gotta have a code" - Omar Little
Anton Chigurh is basically Ghost Dog but from a different angle.
"This caliber, at this range? Even if i miss i cant miss"
I just noticed for the first time that Jamie Hector "Marlo" is in this film haha.
Living by a code makes the Man.
And this is why I love both characters.
And it is evident in the Magnificent 7 or the Seven Samurai.
Most will miss this essence... but you get it.
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
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.
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 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
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 :)
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
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
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.
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.
And the WuTang soundtrack !
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.
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 YOU GIVING THIS MOVIE THE ATTENTION IT DESERVES
Man!!! I haven't seen this movie forever! I was just out of high school when it came out. In 2008 I met Forest Whittaker. He seemed like a genuinely nice dude. We didn't talk about movies, but if we had, this would have been first on my mind!
Yeah, I took Forest Whitaker as a serious actor when I saw this.
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 was beautifully analyzed and interpreted.
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!
every man needs somethign bigger than himself to live for. to live!
This was a great analysis !
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 follow and adhering to code. I also found there is code reading, code breaking, and even writing new code to follow.
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 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.
Superb analysis/commentary.
I watch this movie a lot, I rented it from a local video store 20 years ago and I have been a fan since.
Absolute classic, this was such an important piece of cinema for me and still shines as a masterpiece
Thank you for this. I remember watching Ghost Dog in a trendy cinema when I was 22 and I had no understanding of what was going on.
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!
YES A VIDEO ESSAY ON ONE OF MY FAVOURITE FILMS
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.
I saw this four times in the theater. Great film. That bear hunter scene was beautiful. Thanks for the commentary.
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
Great video. Looking forward to more
Such a good breakdown, bro
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
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.
Great video, great channel!! 👏
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 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
Earned a sub, good job 🎉
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.
This was an amazing critique, for a great movie. Thank you.
brb gonna watch it then come back to this video
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
This movie just popped into my head yesterday. Nice.
I love this! Thanks!
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.
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.
Calling Le Samourai “fast loud and flashy” is blatantly wrong
That's what I thought
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.
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.
nice video bro subbed
Good work, good man
“The Hagakure” is a must read if you love this movie all the quotes come from it
That was beautiful. I appreciate it.
Great review. Once of my favorite movies. When Ghost Dog came out it got no publicity at all. A buddy of mine and I were in Blockbuster looking for something to watch and he saw Forest on the cover with a Sword and we decided to check it out. It became a topic of discussion and earned a lot of rewatches over the next several years. Not everybody gets it I've found, or even enjoys it all that much. It is a weird movie but in the right ways I think.
It is worth mentioning that another element that brings this movie together is The RZA's tracks playing under a lot of the transition scenes and during scenes where there isn't a lot of dialogue, for me it adds a kind of dream like or fairy tale like feeling to the whole movie.
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
Good video! Liked and Subscribed for more. I remember that I wanted to watch this one!
I remember watching this back in the day when I was little got so excited when i saw the rza
Ghost Dog and Dead Man were good intros to more artistic cinema for teens and early 20s kids in the 90s. That's the way it worked for me. They were sufficiently accessible and not overly emotionally demanding for audiences who aren't used to it.
Suddenly thinking of Fireworks / Hana-Bi (1997). There's some sort of late 90s association with Ghost Dog lodged in my brain.
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.
I loved this when it came out; the soundtrack is brilliant as well
Great Review!
wow blast from the past remember watching as a kid with my dad
Jarmusch is great. This is one of his best.
That "JESUS ITS THE FUCKIN BIRDMAN! lives in my head rent free lol
I thought I was the only one who remembered this movie
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.
I first heard of this movie when I saw the trailer on another video tape. It's hard to track down a copy now.
...it has a Criterion Blu-ray release
Personally I read the way the Mafia died in this film to basically be the same theme from The Sopranos where the Old Guard died because of their inability to adapt as well as their insistence on tradition regardless of how impractical it became.
The film can be argued to be even more on the nose with the assassin representing the modern criminal who (if they are from Chi, Compton, Nola, Bmore, or Memphis) will not hesitate to put bullets in you before you ever open your mouth and is very likely African American
cant believe this is 25 years old now. excellent film!
I should hate this movie, but I love it. I hate pretentious, arrogance and self importance of "artsy" creators who are immune to scrutiny because "If you don't like it its because you don't get it"
Ghost Dog is subversion of that. Everyone in this world is silly in its way, but they don't pretend to be otherwise. They just choose to live their life and live them in the way they chosen. Nothing more, nothing less.
I'm glad I got to be the 666th 'like'.
I've watched Ghost Dog many, many times since it was released.
I never noticed the difference between Ghost Dog's and Louie's interpretation of their first meeting.
Your drawing of parallels between seemingly absurd but meaningful codes and the building of a boat on a roof is intriguing.
nice analysis.
This movie has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in a movie. Wu Tang's Fast Shadow goes off!
Ok but can we talk about how perfect The RZA's score is for thr mood and atmosphere of this film?
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.
This and Dead Man also jim jarmusch are two of my faviorites files of all time.
One of my favorite all time movies
I saw Ghost Dog in 99 or 2000. Growing up in the hood in 90a LA was a brutal and scary and often confusing place/time. As a kid I couldn't wear solid color clothing, not to school or around the neighborhood. No adult would explain why. Couple this with autism and an obsession with martial arts films leading right into the "Japanimation Invasion" as it was called at the time. My step dad rented Ghost Dog and we all watched it on our 1960s era "Big Screen" (like a 40" crt that had a UHF knob AND a remote control connected by a long coiling wire (like a phone wire)) salvaged from the junkyard where my mom and step dad "worked" as scrappers (the people who steal train spikes and copper from their own plumbing). I was baffled, and I remember it poorly but I did always remember it, even when watching Rogue One I was like "no way empire is fucking with Ghost Dog, that aint going how they planned". I grew up a lot in the intervening 24 years and the world is even scarier than it was back then (Thank you supreme court) but I still remember Ghost Dog and I cant wait to re-watch it with eyes wide open this time. What my step dad described as "corny shit" is now known to me as poetry and depth, a film worth watching. But my step dad did love the Seagal direct-to-video "films" and called me homophobic slurs for riding the bus to the library. Basically a great guy. with great taste /s
Definitely one of my favorite movies.
Absolutely love this film. I heard there was a part 2 in the works ? But not any more?
I saw this film when it came out, many years ago. I don't remember much of it, but I remember not liking it because the main character didn't sit well with me. His whole samurai deal felt too weird.
Only in New Jersey can see a black samurai fight the mob fucking love this awful state
The movie that introduced me to the genius of Jim Jarmusch.
I guess anyone here have seen Patterson as well.
I have a story with this film: in 2017 i worked in a company, a software as a service company, and they were constantly hiring new people and one they they chose a woman to work in my sector that i ended up falling in love in a very intensive way.
So,i tried to collect as much information about her as possible so i could approach her properlly.
In 11th of june of 2017 i watched Patterson and found a very contemplative and inspiring movie about poetry, it was one day before Valantines day here in Brazil so i decided that it was the perfect time to do my move but i wanted some special to say how much i liked and all that so i wrote her a poem and delivered to her.
Well, guess what, shes one of those low profile people who doesnt have pictures with their boyfriends and she was commited to this relationship.
It could ended up more badly then it was but at sometime in that year i called it quits from my job and one of the reasons for it was that i couldnt accept what i did and was still into her.
She approached the situation in a very polite manner and we respected each others as coleagues to the last moment.
It was painful to say the least.
I still have the VHS somewhere that I bought in 2000. Read the Hagakure afterwards and it has some really good life lessons.
Thanks for the reminder of how fantastic this movie is. Makes me wanna make a modern samurai gangster feature.
I’ve been a Jarmusch fan since Stranger than Paradise came out. I was an extra on a movie starring Forrest Whitaker(A Rage In Harlem). Ghost Dog is one of my all time favorites.
I caught this film many years ago late one night on terrestrial TV, and it became etched in my memory. I was surprised I'd never heard of it before and hardly since. Cult classic.
I saw the actor as Mr.Brodius from George Foreman film & I really liked this video essay too
Apart from the precious Jim Jarmush style - detailed attention to the one main character never listed in the credits: the urban environment - Ghost Dog for me was always mainly about the juxtaposition of different warrior cultures. Tsunetomo Yamamoto, the author of the Hagakure, lamented the decline of the Samurai by the time he himself had to retire instead of following his master into death
Likewise the mafia in Ghost Dog is another warrior culture clearly in decline. The Native Americans are mentioned in passing at least and I like to think that the young urban black man are represented as a new form of warrior culture. The way Ghost Dog greets and respects RZA when they meet on the street.
Taking out the bear hunters and the elderly martial artist were my favorite scenes!
Jim Jarmusch is so fucking underrated today. This movie is great.