GHOST DOG: MISUNDERSTOOD MASTERPIECE #4

A lotta people look at me like I'm crazy when i tell them that i think Ghost Dog is a masterpiece (much like how i imagine Jim Jarmusch's peers looked at him when he said he wanted to make a semi-martial arts action film with the then 250+lb Forest Whitaker in the title role of a sneaky assassin with a mysterious past). Before this films release it was kinda marketed as a traditional action film, so i can understand if some people who weren't familiar with Jim Jarmusch were a bit disappointed when they finally saw this. However if you were familiar with Jim Jarmusch and actually expected a non-stop karate kicking action movie...then you don't deserve to complain. I was a dumb teenager when this came out and for some reason i was expecting some Jet Li/Kill Bill type movie. Its so strange to look back over a decade ago and think about how much i use to hate this movie. But a college professor advised me to give it another shot. I guess because i was a little more mature at the time i saw a lot of things i missed at first, and i fell in love with it. What people fail to realize is that this movie is very socially conscious. As far as race goes, Jarmusch played on the fascination that many young black people have with Italians and that stereotypical mafia lifestyle, not realizing that the average mafia kingpin is pretty racist towards black people. I mean think about how silly some of these rappers look naming themselves after and idolizing people (both fictional and real) that are clearly racist.
Jarmusch also showed the ignorance and silliness of racism by white people to the point where you actually laugh in disbelief. All through out the film you hear lines from the mafia characters like; "indians, niggers, same thing" or "puerto rican, indian, nigger...same thing". And Jarmusch also nodded at his previous film; 'Dead Man', with the line "stupid fucking white man", said by Gary Farmer in a cameo appearance. And lets not forget the scene where Ghost Dog shoots the 2 racist hunters that killed the (black) bear. Normally, i don't like heavy handed symbolism but that's an amazing scene. But the greatest example is the mafia boss "Sonny Valerio" who expresses nothing but hatred for black people, yet at a few different points in the film he shows his knowledge of hip-hop and his ability to recite classic hip-hop lines at the drop of a hat.
Believe it or not, a lot of the content in 'Ghost Dog' picks up where films like 'Do The Right Thing' left off (tension between African Americans & Italian Americans, unity amongst black people, etc). People were too busy complaining about the lack of action to realize they were watching one of the most socially conscious films to come out in years.

RACISM:

In the bear scene there's clearly a lot of racial tension. Obviously in their disguised racial conversation, "bear" could easily be interchanged with "black person". This is a very underrated scene and probably one of the best things Jim Jarmusch has ever directed/written...

Ghost Dog: wow, that's one big bear you killed there...you know its funny because i didn't even know it was bear hunting season
Hunter #1: well I'll tell ya...you see there aren't too many of these big black fuckers left around here. so when you get a clear shot at it, you sure as hell take it.
Ghost Dog: that's why you shoot 'em? because there's not that many left?

Hunter #2: you know, there aren't too many colored people 'round here 'neiter. maybe you oughta get back in your fancy car and go about your business.

Ghost Dog: you know in ancient cultures, bears where considered equal with men.

In another scene, which is an homage to 'Dead Man' where Gary Farmer plays a similar character, we see racism and hostility towards Native Americans. And like i mentioned in my review of 'Claire Dolan', Jarmusch also played with the idea of the "gentle giant" in this film. Ghost Dog is a killer, yet he's soft spoken and friends with a little girl. In this scene Gary Farmer, who's just as big and intimidating as Forest Whitaker, calmly cares for pigeons. Yet when he faces off against the racist mafia hitman we see his aggressive side come out...

Mafia Guy #1: What the hell are you? Puerto Rican?
Mafia Guy #2: He looks like some kind of an indian...Vargo said it was a black guy
Mafia Guy #1: Puerto Rican, Indian, Nigger...i say we should shoot him just to be safe

Gary Farmer: Stupid fuckin' white man
Mafia Guy #1: What did you say?
Gary Farmer: I said stupid fuckin white man!

ACTION:
'Ghost Dog' may not be 'Die Hard' or 'Lethal Weapon', but if you say that there aren't some great choreographed action scenes in this film then you're kidding yourself. The scenes where Ghost Dog shoots Sonny Valerio through the sink and the sequence where Ghost Dog runs through the mansion on a killing spree are 2 of the best scenes in the film. Its always interesting to see "arthouse" directors (sorry to use that term) step out of their comfort zone and try something new. When you have a director like Jim Jarmusch try his hand at action, its like a breath of fresh air because he stays away from explosions and other action movie cliches. From the way Ghost Dog cleans his weapons to the way he plans his murders, Jarmusch makes his killings look like works of art.

So not only have we now established that 'Ghost Dog' is one of the most socially conscious films to come out in recent years, but it also has a decent amount of action and a good amount of bloodshed that should please the average movie goer. But if that isn't enough, how about the fact that 'Ghost Dog' is one of the few worthy remakes out there? Its a (VERY) loose remake of Jean Pierre Melville's 'Le Samourai', which was released through the criterion collection a few years ago. Whats sad is that i don't think most people who saw 'Ghost Dog' are familiar with 'Le Samourai', so they don't get or appreciate a lot of the references. Jarmusch keeps the same basic plot: A lonely non-Asian assassin who lives his life by the way of the samurai that's hired to kill someone, but is later betrayed by the same people who hired him. After that Jim Jarmusch kind of goes his own route and makes a slightly different film. He doesn't do any exact shot for shot scenes or anything like that, but from beginning to end he tips his hat to 'Le Samourai' more than once. Also, Alain Delon's cool & calm performance in 'Le Samourai' also inspired George Clooney's character in 'The American' (another slowly paced existential hitman film) as well as Jim Jarmusch's 'Limits Of Control' which is similar to 'Ghost Dog'.

GHOST DOG VS. LE SAMOURAI:

At the beginning of the film, Ghost Dog carries out his contract to kill "handsome frank" and an unexpected witness happens to see his face, yet Ghost Dog doesn't kill her for some reason (obviously in the average scenario, your typical hitman would've taken no chances and killed any witness that might have seen his face)...

In 'Le Samouri', "Jeff" (the assassin) bumps in to a witness right after murdering his target at the beginning of the film. And just like Ghost Dog, he doesn't kill her even though she's seen his face...

OTHER SIMILARITIES:

Both films reference lines and passages from the book of the samurai

Like i said, Jarmusch doesn't recreate the original film down to a tee, but he still throws in a reference here & there...

Towards the beginning of  'Ghost Dog' we see the mafia bosses sitting around a table in a smoke filled room, just like in 'Le Samourai'

At the opening of both movies, the main character steals a car on his way to assassinate his next victim

In addition to both Ghost Dog and Jeff following the code of the samurai, they also have some strange connection with birds

ENDING/DEATH SCENE:

Jim Jarmusch does stay pretty true to the ending of 'Le Samourai'. In both films our antiheroes accept death. They know they're being pursued and will probably be killed (in Jeff's case by the police, In Ghost Dog's case by the mafia) but because they follow some kind of a code, they essentially commit suicide by emptying their guns and making themselves defenseless against their attackers.

at the end of the movie, Ghost Dog empties the clip from his gun

After the police shoot Jeff, they look at his gun only to discover that it was empty the whole time

OTHER MOVIE REFERENCES:

'Le Samourai' isn't the only film that 'Ghost Dog' tips its hat too. Through out the film Jarmusch references films (and books) like 'Rashomon' and 'Frankenstein'.

Rashomon (Kurosawa)

Frankenstein

Branded To Kill (Suzuki)