Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) |
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Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Drama |
Main Menu Audio & Animation Isolated Musical Score- Performed by RZA of the Wu Tang Clan Featurette-Behind The Scenes-The Odyssey:The Journey Into The Life Of A Samurai (21:29) Music Highlights-Soundtrack By RZA (38:25) Deleted Scenes-(5:27) Theatrical Trailer-(0:57) Trailer-Director's Suite Trailers (2:00) |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 1999 | ||
| Running Time | 111:01 (Case: 116) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | Dual Layered | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Jim Jarmusch |
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Studio
Distributor |
Madman Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
Forest Whitaker John Tormey Cliff Gorman Henry Silva Isaach De Bankolé Tricia Vessey Victor Argo Gene Ruffini Richard Portnow Camille Winbush Gary Farmer RZA |
| Case | Amaray-Transparent | ||
| RPI | $29.95 | Music | RZA |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 2.0 (256Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | None | Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
"The Way of the Samurai is found in death.
Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily.
Every day when one's body and mind are at peace, one should meditate upon being ripped apart by arrows, rifles, spears and swords,
being carried away by surging waves, being thrown into the midst of a great fire, being struck by lightning,
being shaken to death by a great earthquake, falling from thousand-foot cliffs, dying of disease
or committing seppuku at the death of one's master.
And every day without fail one should consider himself as dead.
This is the substance of the way of the samurai."
Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man (1995) and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) are films which share the same blood line, as both are ambitious, pure and unique interpretations of cinema. One film cannot exist without the other as they chart the journey of two outlaws; William Blake of Dead Man became an accidental killer only to create poetry through violence, the other Ghost Dog, a hit-man devoted to the spiritual teachings of the Hagakure, uses violence to survive and defend the innocent. Violence is an extension of both protagonists and Jarmusch never glorifies their actions - instead it is brutal, awkward and brief as a soul is removed from the remorseless landscape.
The Jarmusch landscape is the wide land of America and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is concerned with how violence is inbuilt into the national identity. Similar to Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994), Jarmusch effectively and disturbingly edits shots of animated cartoon violence within the film. Furthermore, the characters who trail this world are forced to have a gun to defend themselves, whether male, female, young or old. Likewise the use of weaponry is a way of life for Ghost Dog and William Blake even if they don't want it to be.
The superficiality of the great American Dream is at the heart of Dead Man and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai as both blend film genre with philosophy. Subsequently Jarmusch centres his protagonists between the physical and spiritual world. Dead Man follows William Blake through his journey to spiritual existence - in the physical world he is excluded from society with no family and is emotionally blunt. The character of Ghost Dog similarly follows suit as he is a loner hit man excluded from society due to his profession and beliefs. He like Blake exists in a spiritual and ritualistic world where there are consequences for actions. Both characters are guided by guardian angels who help our protagonists to their destiny. Blake has Nobody who motivates Blake's struggle as he tells Blake he is already dead when they first meet. Ghost Dog has Raymond, who only speaks French but as they are two outsiders of the landscape they share a common bond. Essentially both characters are transformed through philosophy, friendship, outlawed status, violence and death, only to exist and perhaps truly live in the spiritual world.
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is very much a tribute to the Spaghetti Western, Japanese Culture and Cinema and the French New Wave, particularly Jean-Pierre Melville. Furthermore Jarmusch viewed this world of isolation and melancholy with a unique soundtrack. By emplacing RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan to score the backdrop to this world there is an intensity which is incredibly cinematic. Like Neil Young's score of Dead Man these soundtracks become the heartbeat and soul of the characters.
Similarly the simplicity of this world is minimalist, precise and real. The Jarmusch world is spatial and anti-Hollywood as is concerned with estrangement, aperture and displeasure rather than identification, closure and pleasure. Jarmusch has always been ahead of his time without the aid of new technologies or composite images. Whether it is the tale of an individual confused with his cultural identity and purpose in life or a soulless man forced into his destiny to enter the violent unknown or a loner who tries to define his practice through ancient teachings, Jarmusch tells the tale of reality and illusion, of physical existence and spiritual beliefs and the imperfection of the American Dream for those who are 'foreigners.'
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is a brilliant film which is bold and intelligent with an excellent cast, especially Forest Whitaker in the title role. Interestingly the character was written by Jarmusch with Whitaker in mind. Supporting Whitaker are John Tormey as Louie, Cliff Gorman as Sonny Valerio, Henry Silva as Ray Vargo, Isaach De Bankolé as Raymond and Camille Winbush as Pearline, a young girl who befriends Ghost Dog. The film remains as original and engaging as it was on release and hopefully with this release Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai will gain a new audience.
The film is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen and it is 16x9 enhanced. In contrast to the R1 NTSC Artisan transfer, this PAL transfer is much clearer and with excellent contrast and detail. The only drawback is that the transfer unfortunately has visible film grain but this is a minor issue as it does not distract from viewing the film. On the R1 release the colours did appear oversaturated but in this transfer the colours are clear and bright. Skin tones appear natural and the film has been encoded at the high stable bit rate of 8.20 Mb/s. The subtitles which appear when French is spoken are thankfully the original subtitles on the print. These cannot be removed.
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The English 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack is also commendable as it creates a great atmosphere for the film. The score by RZA is well produced and makes use of surround sound moderately without becoming excessive. The subwoofer is moderately heard throughout the film but it is during the 'action' sequences with the impressive score in which the film is most encompassing. An English 2.0 Dolby Digital track is also optional. As an extra feature the isolated soundtrack by RZA is also an option. The isolated soundtrack is presented as a 2.0 Dolby Digital audio option and is a great addition to this DVD.
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The simple and well themed menu design is accompanied by RZA's iconic score.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is an excellent addition allowing viewers to truly experience RZA's unconventional yet exceptional score.
Jarmusch, Whitaker and RZA speak candidly about their personal interest in the project and they interpret the film as a whole. This is an excellent featurette as it is rare for Jarmusch to comment about his films. Discussion includes the literature and Japanese and European filmic influences on the film, the characterisation of Ghost Dog and the casting of key parts, the fundamental themes of the film and the reasons behind the decision for the score and its affect on the film. The picture quality of the feature is unfortunately poor as it features MPEG compression artefacts as a result of the low encoding bit-rate.
An unusual feature but nevertheless an impressive one, as the score and songs of the film can be previewed with still images from the film. There are 26 tracks; some are short samples of sounds, some are score samples and a few are complete songs. Unfortunately there is no information on what the titles of the tracks are. Razor Sharp Records have previously released Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai: The Album and the rare Japanese release Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai: The Soundtrack which featured isolated score and tracks not in the film. I believe this feature includes the majority of tracks from the rare Japanese release.
One deleted scene and three extended scenes are presented with 5.1 Dolby Digital (448 Kbps) audio.
In comparison with the trailers and television spots available on the R1 release this is not the theatrical trailer but a television spot.
An anti-piracy warning is followed by the trailer for Mystery Train and a trailer for Night on Earth. Both films are directed by Jim Jarmusch and are available as part of the Director Suite collection released by Madman Entertainment.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
In regards to the artwork I prefer the R1 cover art as the R4 cover art does not give a clear indication of the central character and namesake of the film. It depicts a silhouette of Ghost Dog against an urban backdrop but it isn't a particularly striking cover image. It would have been nice as interior cover art.
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai remains as original and engaging as it was on release. The transfer is clear with excellent contrast and detail.
The English 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack is also commendable as it creates a great atmosphere for the presentation of the film.
The selection of extras complement the film very well.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Denon DVD-1910, using DVI output |
| Display | Panasonic PT-AE 700. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. |
| Amplification | Yamaha DSP-A595a - 5.1 DTS |
| Speakers | (Front) DB Dynamics Polaris AC688F loudspeakers,(Centre) DB Dynamics Polaris Mk3 Model CC030,(Rear) Polaris Mk3 Model SSD425,(Subwoofer) Jensen JPS12 |