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| Frankenstein / Ghost Dog |
Ghost Dog is now 25 years old! Instead of writing some retrospective think-piece about how it’s a great film dealing with race relations between Black
Americans & Italian Americans or how it’s a misunderstood meditative
masterpiece, or how it’s one of Forest Whitaker’s greatest performances – I’ve decided to compile my personal favorite homages from the film.
Outside of the
obvious sources of inspiration like Le Samourai & Branded To Kill, Ghost Dog is full of references
which is sort of Jim Jarmusch’s motto. Below are the visual similarities that stood out to me the most over the years…
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| Meditation On Violence / Ghost Dog |
GHOST DOG is obviously heavily informed by LE SAMOURAI- Jim Jarmusch, louderthanwar.com
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Le Samourai / Ghost Dog
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| Le Samourai / Ghost Dog |
but there were other things as well: films by Suzuki - Jim Jarmusch, Filmmaker Magazine
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Branded To Kill / Ghost Dog
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 | | Take Aim At The Police Van / Ghost Dog |
 | | Branded To Kill / Ghost Dog |
 | Branded To Kill /
Ghost Dog |
 | Branded To Kill /
Ghost Dog
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 | | Branded To Kill / Ghost Dog |
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Tokyo Drifter /
Ghost Dog |
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Tokyo Drifter /
Ghost Dog |
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Tokyo Drifter /
Ghost Dog |
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Tokyo Drifter /
Ghost Dog
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I gave him [Forest Whitaker] Seven Samurai, Branded to Kill, by Suzuki Le Samurai and Le Deuxième Souffle by Melville - Jim Jarmusch, Movie Maker Magazine
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| Le Deuxmieme Souffle / Ghost Dog |
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Le Deuxmieme Souffle / Ghost Dog
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I did give Forest a lot of Kurosawa and other films to watch when he asked me ‘What inspired you’ - Jim Jarmusch, Movie Maker Magazine
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Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo / Ghost Dog
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| Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island / Ghost Dog |
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Rashomon /
Ghost Dog
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| Seven Samurai / Ghost Dog |
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Yojimbo /
Ghost Dog
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Sanjuro /
Ghost Dog
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 | Rashomon /
Ghost Dog |
 | Yojimbo /
Ghost Dog |
 | Yojimbo /
Ghost Dog |
 | Yojimbo /
Ghost Dog |
 | Yojimbo /
Ghost Dog
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Ghost Dog uses guns in his work, but he treats them the way a samurai would have treated a sword - Jim Jarmusch, Filmmaker Magazine
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Yojimbo /
Ghost Dog |
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Yojimbo /
Ghost Dog
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Zatoichi /
Ghost Dog |
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Zatoichi /
Ghost Dog |
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| Lady Snowblood / Ghost Dog |
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| Sword Of Doom / Ghost Dog |
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| Harakiri/ Ghost Dog |
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| The Tale of Zatoichi Continues / Ghost Dog |
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The Tale of Zatoichi / Ghost Dog
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The Tale of Zatoichi Continues / Ghost Dog
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| Zatoichi The Fugitive / Ghost Dog |
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Zatoichi The Fugitive / Ghost Dog
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Zatoichi The Fugitive / Ghost Dog
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Films made by Ozu (or the works of any masters, for that matter) may drift in and out of fashion, but their stylistic strengths and particularities are not movable - Jim Jarmusch, Artforum.com
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Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family / Ghost Dog
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 | | Early Summer / Ghost Dog |
 | Early Summer / Ghost Dog
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 | Early Summer / Ghost Dog
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 | Early Summer / Ghost Dog
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 | Equinox Flower / Ghost Dog
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 | Good Morning / Ghost Dog
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 | Days Of Youth / Ghost Dog
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 | Equinox Flower / Ghost Dog
 | Dragnet Girl / Ghost Dog
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In the trunk he [Henry Silva] had tapes of his work that he’d made. It wasn’t his classic films like The Manchurian Candidate or Viva Zapata. It was all stuff of him with Steven Segal & Chuck Norris - Jim Jarmusch, louderthanwar.com
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Code Of Silence /
Ghost Dog |
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Code Of Silence /
Ghost Dog |
In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination - Jim Jarmusch
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Breathless /
Ghost Dog |
At that time, I was also inspired by very formally pure films. Films by Carl Dreyer or Bresson - Jim Jarmusch, The Guardian
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Pickpocket / Ghost Dog
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Pickpocket / Ghost Dog
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Pickpocket / Ghost Dog
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