Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
09:32 am - 11:29 am, Monday, December 1 on Cinemax Action (East) ()
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About this Broadcast
Acclaimed filmmaker Jim Jarmusch wrote and directed this offbeat blend of drama, mysticism and comedy. Forest Whitaker stars as a Zen-like hit man who lives by the ancient code of the Samurai. But he's forced to defend himself when he's betrayed by the eccentric crime family he works for. John Tormey, Henry Silva.
1999
English
Stereo
Crime Drama
Drama
Action/adventure
Crime
Cast & Crew
Forest Whitaker
(Actor)
.. Ghost Dog
John Tormey
(Actor)
.. Louie
Henry Silva
(Actor)
.. Ray
Cliff Gorman
(Actor)
.. Sonny
Isaach De Bankole
(Actor)
.. Raymond
Victor Argo
(Actor)
.. Vinny
Tricia Vessey
(Actor)
.. Louise
Camille Winbush
(Actor)
.. Pearline
Gene Ruffini
(Actor)
.. Old Consigliere
Frank Minucci
(Actor)
.. Big Angie
Richard Portnow
(Actor)
.. Handsome Frank
Frank Adonis
(Actor)
.. Valerio's Bodyguard
Damon Whitaker
(Actor)
.. Young Ghost Dog
Vince Viverito
(Actor)
.. Johnny Morini
Chuck Jeffreys
(Actor)
.. Mugger
Yan Ming Shi
(Actor)
.. Chinese Kung-Fu Master
Gary Farmer
(Actor)
.. Nobody
Clebert Ford
(Actor)
.. Pigeonkeeper
Angel Caban
(Actor)
.. Social Club Landlord
Tracy Howe
(Actor)
.. Hunter No. 2
Vinnie Vella
(Actor)
.. Sammy the Snake
Joe Rigano
(Actor)
.. Joe Rags
Jonathan Cook
(Actor)
.. Hunter No. 1
Vanessa Hollingshead
(Actor)
.. Female Deputy Sheriff
Sharon Angela
(Actor)
.. Blonde Woman
Rza
(Actor)
.. Samurai in Camouflage
More Information
Did You Know..
Forest Whitaker
(Actor)
.. Ghost Dog
Born:
July 15, 1961
Birthplace: Longview, Texas
Birthplace: Longview, Texas
Trivia:
Forest Whitaker attended college on a football scholarship, then, interested in Opera, transferred to U.S.C. on two more scholarships to study Music and Theater. He landed small roles on television and in two films, beginning with Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). He got his big break when he appeared in Oliver Stone's Platoon and Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money (both 1986). After a few more supporting roles, Whitaker got his first lead in Clint Eastwood's Bird (1988), in which he played the title role -- heroin-addicted jazz great Charlie Parker, a performance which won him the 1988 Cannes Film Festival Best Actor award. Although now better-known as an lead actor, he was unable to greatly capitalize on his success and remained primarily a supporting player in films. He is the older brother of actor Damon Whitaker.
John Tormey
(Actor)
.. Louie
Born:
August 04, 1937
Henry Silva
(Actor)
.. Ray
Born:
January 01, 1928
Trivia:
Born in Brooklyn of Puerto Rican parentage, Henry Silva supported himself with delivery jobs as he trained for an acting career with the Group Theater and the Actors Studio. Though definitely an "ethnic type," Silva's actual heritage was nebulous enough to permit him to play a wide variety of nationalities. He has successfully portrayed Mexicans, Native Americans, Italians, Japanese, and even extraterrestrials. Among Henry Silva's best-known film roles were the treacherous North Korean "houseboy" to Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), the vengeful eponymous gangster in Johnny Cool (1963), and the shrewd Oriental title character in The Return of Mr. Moto (1965).
Cliff Gorman
(Actor)
.. Sonny
Born:
October 13, 1936
Died: September 05, 2002
Birthplace: Queens, New York
Died: September 05, 2002
Birthplace: Queens, New York
Trivia:
The world was a different place in 1968, the year that actor Cliff Gorman created a sensation with his all-stops-out portrayal of "screaming queen" Emory in the off-Broadway hit The Boys in the Band. At that time, Gorman's agents found it expedient to assure playgoers that their client was not the sashaying homosexual he played in Band and to that end commissioned newspaper and magazine pieces detailing Gorman's previous manly-man jobs as trucker, ambulance driver and probation officer; there were also photos aplenty of Gorman's wife and children. The same protecting-our-investment publicity blitz occurred when Gorman repeated his Emory characterization for the 1970 film version of Band. By the time Gorman won his Tony award for his virtuoso portrayal of Lenny Bruce in the 1972 Broadway production Lenny, however, no one really cared about his sexual orientation; it was enough to know that Gorman was one of the finest young actors working in America. Cliff Gorman's subsequent big-screen work has included Cops and Robbers (1973), All That Jazz (1979) and Angel (1984); his television credits include the role of Joseph Goebbels in The Bunker (1982) and his periodic appearances as detective Aaron Greenberg in the TV-movie adaptations of the crime novels of William Bayer (Doubletake, Murder Times Seven etc.)
Isaach De Bankole
(Actor)
.. Raymond
Victor Argo
(Actor)
.. Vinny
Born:
November 05, 1934
Died: April 07, 2004
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
Died: April 07, 2004
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
Trivia:
American actor Victor Argo was principally a stage performer, both in New York and in regional repertory, when he tentatively began his film work in the 1970s. Early Argo movie credits include 1972's Boxcar Bertha and the 1975 Martin Scorsese production Mean Streets. In the late 1980s, Argo enjoyed a burst of movie activity, though thanks to location shooting he didn't have to leave Manhattan too often. The actor was seen as Roy Bishop in King of New York (1987), Avram in Her Alibi (1989), a cop in New York Stories (1989). Woody Allen utilized Argo in two films, Crimes and Misdemeanors (1988) (as a detective) and Shadows and Fog (1990). Rare non-New York film productions featuring Victor Argo have included McBain (1988), in which he played "El Presidente," and the controversial Last Temptation of Christ (1988) in which Argo portrayed Peter Apostle. And in early 1989, Victor Argo had weekly work as Anthony Coltrera on the New Jersey-based TV series Dream Street. His 1990s film credits included a major role in Smoke (1995) and its sequel Blue in the Face (1996) and Next Stop Wonderland (1998).
Tricia Vessey
(Actor)
.. Louise
Born:
October 08, 1972
Camille Winbush
(Actor)
.. Pearline
Born:
February 09, 1990
Birthplace: Culver City, California
Birthplace: Culver City, California
Gene Ruffini
(Actor)
.. Old Consigliere
Frank Minucci
(Actor)
.. Big Angie
Richard Portnow
(Actor)
.. Handsome Frank
Born:
January 26, 1947
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
Trivia:
Character actor Richard Portnow has worked steadily in theater, feature films, and on television for many years. On stage, he has appeared both on and off Broadway, as well as in many regional productions, and at London's Royal Court Theatre. Portnow made his feature film debut with a bit part in Susan Seidleman's Desperately Seeking Susan (1985). On television, Portnow has guest starred on many series, including Seinfeld, NYPD Blue, and The Nanny.
Frank Adonis
(Actor)
.. Valerio's Bodyguard
Born:
October 27, 1935
Damon Whitaker
(Actor)
.. Young Ghost Dog
Born:
January 01, 1972
Vince Viverito
(Actor)
.. Johnny Morini
Born:
February 18, 1943
Chuck Jeffreys
(Actor)
.. Mugger
Born:
July 23, 1958
Yan Ming Shi
(Actor)
.. Chinese Kung-Fu Master
Gary Farmer
(Actor)
.. Nobody
Born:
June 12, 1953
Trivia:
American Indian supporting and lead actor Gary Farmer first appeared onscreen in the late '80s. He is probably best known for his co-starring role as affable Indian activist Philbert in Powwow Highway (1989). In 1995 he co-starred with Johnny Depp as sapient Indian mystic Nobody in Dead Man.
Clebert Ford
(Actor)
.. Pigeonkeeper
Born:
January 29, 1932
Angel Caban
(Actor)
.. Social Club Landlord
Tracy Howe
(Actor)
.. Hunter No. 2
Vinnie Vella
(Actor)
.. Sammy the Snake
Joe Rigano
(Actor)
.. Joe Rags
Jonathan Cook
(Actor)
.. Hunter No. 1
Vanessa Hollingshead
(Actor)
.. Female Deputy Sheriff
Sharon Angela
(Actor)
.. Blonde Woman
Rza
(Actor)
.. Samurai in Camouflage
Born:
July 05, 1969
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Trivia:
Rapper RZA (born Robert Diggs but alternately credited, at various junctures, as Prince Rakeem, Bobby Steels, The Rzarector, and The Abbott) initially rose to fame as a member of the rap group All in Together Now, then branched out into a career as a solo artist. Though he achieved tremendous commercial success in this capacity, RZA nonetheless made his most enduring musical impact not as a performer but as a producer, of the rap supergroup the Wu-Tang Clan. His spare, lean, and razor-sharp approach to rap production for the group laid the groundwork and set the bar for dozens of other rap acts throughout the 1990s. Cinematically, RZA placed his strongest emphasis on contributions to soundtracks, scoring and lending featured music to such opuses as the Jim Jarmusch-helmed crime drama Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004), and the urban farce Soul Plane (2004). Though RZA's acting roles officially began with a bit part in Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes (2003), he went on to grace the supporting casts of films as diverse as Scary Movie 3 (2003), Derailed (2005), and The Take (2007). Also in 2007, RZA tackled a supporting role as Moses Jones in Ridley Scott's period crime drama American Gangster, starring Denzel Washington.
