Talk:Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

message: Some of the songs in the film is also in the Ghost Dog:The Way Of The Samurai(Japanese Version)'''
"FAST SHADOW" & "SAMURAI SHOWDOWN" by the RZA & Wu-Tang Clan are in the movie besides the good shit in the soundtrack
--68.220.235.196 20:46, 24 Jun 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  General 

message: I just performed a major edit to cleanup some of the plot, rearrange the layout a bit, and add material to the trivia and theme sections, including analysis of the cartoons mentioned above. Cybertooth85 19:43, 7 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  New additions 

message: This article is a fantastic read. It's full of information and insight while remaining succinct. Massive thanks to those involved, it's fitting that an article for a film so good and yet so little-known would match it. Chris Cunningham 12:28, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Excellent article 

message: In the Trivia section, one item seems like it may be a personal interpretation:  "When Ghost Dog introduces himself to the mafia guards at the mansion, he says his name is "Bob Solo," a combination of two Harrison Ford characters, Bob Falfa (from American Graffiti) and Han Solo (from Star Wars)." Is this just original research, or has this been previously published somewhere? --Ds13 20:11, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Harrison Ford theory 

message: I've assessed the article as Start class. Though nicely written, these are some reasons which prevent the article from getting a higher assessment:
* it missess some important sections
** no Reception (critical and box-office) 
** no Production/Background
* unreferenced - no citations whatsoever, which is extremely serious; this makes especially the themes area vulnerable to WP:NOR
* the Themes section should be extended (with citations); it also mixes themes with artistic devices
* the info in Trivia should be incorporated in prose - see Wikipedia:WikiProject Film/Style guidelines
* Literature referenced in the film, though interesting, is basically a section stub
IMO, still some way to go AdamSmithee 20:55, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I addressed the lack of Reception and added it, as a stub but anyway. It also includes references. I suppose the Literature referenced in the film could be merged under the newly created References header, using the  template? --ZeroOne 23:05, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

text: References should contain references for info about the film. Literature referenced in the film, as I understand it, is about books that the film itself touches upon, which is different. So, IMO they shouldn't be merged AdamSmithee 00:42, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Article assessment

message: A lot of wording changes in the last edit and there are quite a few I really don't think make the article better. Starting paragraphs with a pronoun is an obvious no-no, for instance. Reverting would be a bit harsh, but some of that really should go back. Chris Cunningham 18:57, 31 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Most recent edit 

message: The plot outline seems very POV at times - as do many in wikipedia, for some reason. Is this some sort of standard set down somewhere? Or does just somebody with way too much time on their hands and a pretty poor understanding of cinematography go about writing way too detailed (this is an encyclopedia, afterall) plotlines, which are frequently also very personally biased? For instance, in this particular movie, there is no reason to believe Louie would kill Ghost Dog out of some absurd loyalty for his masters. He is portrayed as way too weak and cowardly to even think about something like that. My personal view would be, he'd be running away as fast as he could, if he wasn't forced at gunpoint to take out GD. But I wouldn't put this stuff into an article, because I know this is my view of the situation and therefore POV, unlike whoever is writing these plotlines. 
Also, is there any particular reason for a link to a site in Polish? This movie has nothing to do with Poland, neither are resources on the net so scarce that a sufficiently good site in English couldn't be found. A Polish link helps in no way, and should be restricted to the Polish version of the article. I mean, WTF?  213.172.254.80 01:07, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Plot outline 

message: Is it just me, or didn't this movie take pains to not take place anywhere? I mean, it's obviously New York, but in the way that "Gotham" or "Metropolis" are New York. No place names are ever mentioned and (it's been quite a few years since I've seen it) I'm pretty sure all the license plates on the cars were fictional. JesseRafe 20:36, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: about 2,190,000 Google results seem to disagree. It was largely shot in Jersey City, and people have New Jersey accents. I've changed the tag to citeneeded to indicate that it's in need of evidence but not actually factually disputed. Chris Cunningham 00:39, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Well, it obviously has to be shot somewhere, but the location of the shooting and the setting of the movie are different things. Look how many movies are set in New York, but have the picturesque Rocky Mountains of Vancouver in the background. Same goes for the speaking, which isn't so coincidental as controllable, but I think Jarmusch just wanted them speaking in prototypical inner-city accents, and it was more of a Brooklyn accent anyway. If you own the movie (which I don't) I suggest watching it again and look for the scenes with cars clearly in view (such as the bear hunters or Ghost Dog rolling into the estate). I remember it being fictious license plates, but I can't recall what it was exactly. If it is a fictional state license plate, then I posit that it exists in a non-state, and a non-city, and therefore, not Jersey City. JesseRafe 02:21, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: There was one license plate, the one that Ghost Dog switched from a picnicking family's station wagon onto his stolen Mercedes that said "The Highway State". I didn't catch the slogan on the white car tags from Ghost Dog's home state. It was clear to me that the movie was not set in any specific city. Yes, Jersey City was a location, but it wasn't the setting. Also, I am surprised this article does not mention the connection to Le Samouraï. The homage is quite clear in the way Ghost Dog has a "key" for any luxury car, similar to the way Alain Delon's character literally had a big ring of keys that would allow him to drive just about any Citroen DS he encountered. Of course, Le Samouraï's influence on Ghost Dog isn't mentioned in that film's article either. A bit of digging might turn up a reputable web reference or book ISBN to make this connection. -Wisekwai 15:17, 13 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, I agree. You know, you can add the references yourself in a trivia section, if you can't find any sources. I'm going to remove the Jersey City in the article. JesseRafe 17:17, 13 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks. I'll track down a reference and add in a bit about Le Samourai. -02:23, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

text: The white plates say The Industrial State. —Tamfang (talk) 17:46, 30 July 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Jersey City? 

message: :Image:GhostDog.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.
Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.
If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page.  Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 04:45, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Fair use rationale for Image:GhostDog.jpg

message: * To me it hasn#t be occured, that ghost dog had been payed by the mafia. This so called employe seems to live in a space of oeconomic indipendence. This laconic film somehow works on thriller coordinates but isn't aye.
I suggest reading Robert Ebert's review of the movie.  In summary the movie doesn't make sense until you take the assumption that Ghost Dog is just insane or not entirely connected to reality.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 32.97.110.51 (talk) 23:40, 13 May 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: some questions?  

message: Seriously?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.37.250.170 (talk) 12:40, 24 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Samurai action film? 

message: i've seen Ghost Dog three times.  i finally watch La Samurai.  okay, the character in La Samurai's apartment is Spartan, other than his bird.  Whitaker's character keep pigeons.  both are  hired hitmen, and both steal cars that they use when they work.  however, otherwise, there simply are few real similarities or parallels that i noticed.  i don't see Ghost Dog as an "homage" to La Samurai.  doubtless La Samurai played a part in inspiring, but Ghost Dog stands on its own. 
La Samurai is good, but Ghost Dog is better, richer, whatever, more interesting.  unless you think that French classics have to be better than our own, American cinema.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.28.46.112 (talk) 07:54, 2 May 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  La Samurai? 

message: Haitian tailors are mentioned in conversation by Dog and Raymond, but what's the evidence that Raymond himself is Haitian (rather than Ivorian like the actor, and like his character in Night on Earth)?  A real non-elite Haitian would speak Kreyòl Ayisyen, which I don't understand, rather than Standard French, of which I understood nearly every word. —Tamfang (talk) 18:02, 30 July 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Good point. It's been a while since I've seen it, and you're very right about not only de Bankole's language but also his accent not being Haitian. Both the IMDb review and a random entry in the trivia section, as well as Roger Ebert's review list his character as Haitian. No idea where that came from. Also found that a philosophy professor identified him as such too. And this and this seem to be only other two references that aren't mirrored or copied but in the middle of an original composition for what it's worth. JesseRafe (talk) 05:19, 10 May 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: Oh please , as if standard French isn't spoken in Haiti. Accent-wise there may be a point here. Savvyjack23 (talk) 05:53, 16 May 2017 (UTC)

text:  Savvyjack23 is correct. French isn't completely unheard among normal Haitians; those who are active in the national life (business, government, education, medicine, the Church, etc) are typically able to communicate in French. Some are even raised in it. More to the point: there are a few references to Haiti in relation to Raymond, and to my best recall, not a single one to Africa. In the end I think it's just "Ghost Dog" surrealism: a black immigrant who speaks only French -- good, clear French let me add, unlike what you'd expect from your typical Frenchman or Canadian -- despite apparently being the US for some time and operating an American business whose customers seem to come solely from outside his uncertain ethnic community. (How does he work with suppliers, city permitters, and the IRS, to say nothing of his clientele?) Laodah 01:22, 19 December 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: Removed "Haitian", as all the sources I found above (3.5 years ago) were just published inferences and their own OR, nothing official from Jarmusch (I'll ask him next time I see him, but that wouldn't be admissible either), so let's just reduce it to it's most basic form. He speaks French. Anything else is conjecture. I wager many called him Haitian because until recently most black people in the US who spoke French would've been Haitian in many people's anecdotal experience. Other French Caribbeans and black people from France were not as common in the US, and Francophone Africans were not yet commonplace as they started to become in the 90s (at least in the East Coast). Don't think it was anything insidious on the part of anyone above or any of the authors linked. JesseRafe (talk) 14:40, 19 December 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Haitian? 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified 3 external links on Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110710235156/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/5324/year/1999.html to http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/5324/year/1999.html
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20071017162233/http://www.villagevoice.com:80/film/0009,hoberman2,12881,20.html to http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0009,hoberman2,12881,20.html
*Corrected formatting/usage for http://reel.com/movie.asp?MID=129128&buy=open&Tab=reviews&CID=13
When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 12:24, 11 January 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Every time somebody seems to be watching the tv in various scences. It is very old cartoons they are watching from the 1920's and 1930's,  Betty Boop and some cat in black and white. Right through the film. It must be some kind of some symbolism, but don't know understand it. scope_creepTalk 01:39, 27 March 2019 (UTC)
thread_title: Just watched it