WELCOME TO OUR NEXT SCREENING
Jim Jarmusch's
GHOST DOG: THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI
(USA | 1999 | 116 mins | R16 violence & offensive language)
Wednesday 30 July, 7.30PM, University of Otago’s Castle 1 Lecture Theatre**
Forest Whitaker is a Zen hitman following a strict samurai code who turns against his mafioso bosses in this surreal, stylish blend of gangster thriller and martial arts action.
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| | “Jim Jarmusch combines his love for the ice-cool crime dramas of Jean-Pierre Melville and Seijun Suzuki with the philosophical dimensions of samurai mythology for an eccentrically postmodern take on the hit-man thriller. In one of his defining roles, Forest Whitaker brings a commanding serenity to his portrayal of a Zen contract killer working for a bumbling mob outfit, a modern man who adheres steadfastly to the ideals of the Japanese warrior code even as chaos and violence spiral around him” (Janus Films). |
| “Ghost Dog is underpinned by Jarmusch’s familiar blend of warmth and cool-eyed distance.... It allows Jarmusch to poke gentle fun at his characters (and much of Ghost Dog is very funny) while simultaneously regarding them with a genuine affection. In this he is helped by some fine performances most notably from... Forest Whitaker's stoic, soulful hitman with a heart—[a] stereotype but a likeable [one], with just enough kinks to keep [him] interesting” (Xan Brooks, Sight & Sound). |
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FURTHER REVIEW
"It is a movie with Jarmusch’s intriguing unlocatability of tone. Forest Whitaker’s Ghost Dog is glacially, massively serious in everything he does and says. As he unsmilingly pads the sidewalk with a mean rolling gait - head, neck and spinal column perfectly straight while each shoulder rocks up in turn almost touching the side of his face - Ghost Dog gets respect from everyone on the street, underscored by a soundtrack from RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. And yet this gangsta poise coexists with a weirdly playful quality... It all creates for this film a taste which has to be rolled around the mouth for a little while to see if you like it and, in terms of type, it is pretty well sui generis . But the effect Jarmusch achieves is so enjoyable and distinctive, and it shows something individually and engagingly developed in its approach to cinema gangland... Jarmusch finds in the brutal world of the professional killer not merely black comedy but sadness and his own strand of wistful poetry" (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian).
Finally, watch this intriguing interview with Director Jim Jarmusch on Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.
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ABOUT THE DUNEDIN FILM SOCIETY
ADMISSION
Free to members.
TO JOIN
To purchase a Half Season membership:- complete a membership form from our website and pay by online bank transfer (06-0942-0696013-00);
- or join at the door before any screening (cash only).
- you can also join at the OUSA office reception at the University of Otago (cash only).
Alternatively, you can purchase a Three-Film sampler ($25), which can be also be shared to bring two friends to one screening. The sampler does not expire and can be used over multiple years.
Membership includes generous discounts at Rialto Cinemas (from Monday to Friday) and the 2025 Dunedin Whānau Marama New Zealand International Film Festival; and FREE entry to the 2025 screenings of all other affiliated New Zealand Film Societies. Each member is entitled to ONE FREE GUEST ADMISSION to a single screening.
**To get to the Castle 1 Theatre: walk up between the University of Otago’s Arts building (Burns) and Information Services building (Central Library), on Albany Street.
WE WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACK!... on this screening, or any other Dunedin Film Society showing, on dunedinfi...@gmail.com –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– |
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| Dunedin Film Society
PO BOX 6139 Dunedin North Dunedin, Otago 9059New Zealand |
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