Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is a 1999 crime drama film written, produced and directed by Jim Jarmusch. Forest Whitaker stars as the title character. The cast also features Cliff Gorman, Henry Silva, Isaach de Bankolé, Victor Argo and Camille Winbush. It was an international co-production between the United States, France, Germany and Japan, the film premiered at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or. The film opened to largely positive critical reception, with several critics noting similarities between the film and Jean-Pierre Melville's 1967 film Le Samouraï, and was nominated for both an Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature and a César Award for Best Foreign Film.

Plot

The mysterious "Ghost Dog", a hitman in the employ of the Mafia, who follows the ancient code of the samurai as outlined in the book of Yamamoto Tsunetomo's recorded sayings, Hagakure, relevant sections of which appear throughout the film.