(Morrie) Here in London there is a weekly what's on magazine, TimeOut. They've got a very good set of film reviewers. Well at least their tastes are much aligned with my own. They are also a very critical bunch. So I had to see what the fuss was about when they had Ghost Dog as one of their Critic's Choices for so many weeks running. TimeOut rarely features the same movie among their critic's choices for more than a couple of weeks.
Ghost Dog is about a samurai and the way of the samurai. This samurai, however, is atypical: a large black American living in The Industrial State. As a young man he was saved from certain death by a mob man and thus their relationship, between master and retainer, was born. Over the years Ghost Dog performed various jobs for the mob until one went slightly awry: a mob man's daughter witnessed the killing.
In what I would say is a fairly sober analysis of the way of the samurai, there are some hilarious bits perfectly woven into the fabric. The director does a fantastic job setting the tone and feel. Combined with fantastic cinematography and you've got one hell of a great movie. Very enjoyable. If you happen to rent it, try to hook your TV up to some decent speakers and turn up the volume. Sound is used very effectively to draw you into the scenes.