Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
A solitary hitman who lives by an ancient samurai code must outwit his own mafia employers when they turn on him, forcing him to defend his honor and survive the deadly betrayal.
“Live by the code. Die by the code.”
Synopsis
A Black hitman who models his conduct on the samurai of old finds himself targeted for death by the mob.
Credits
Related titles
No curated related titles yet. Use the edit affordance to add "More from this director", "Same franchise", or "Adaptation source material" entries — every change goes through the wiki review queue.
How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 56+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Jay RabinowitzShot by Robby MullerScored by RzaDesigned by Ted Berner
Box Office
1999 · Box office
💰 Box-office hit — grossed 4.7× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$9.4M
Also known as
- Ghost Dog - Der Weg des Samuraide
- Ghost Dog: Der Weg des Samuraide
- Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samuraien
- Ghost Dog : La Voie du samouraïfr
- Ghost Dog - Il codice del samuraiit
Community tags
Be the first to tag this page — tags appear right away. Try a theme, capability, or subject (e.g. WWII, heist, slow burn, time travel, A24).
Cast & Crew
56 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Cliff Gorman
as Sonny Valerio
Dennis Liu
as Chinese Restaurant Owner
Gene Ruffini
as Old Consigliere
Frank Adonis
as Valerio's Bodyguard
Forest Whitaker
as Ghost Dog
Henry Silva
as Ray Vargo
John Tormey
as Louie
Frank Minucci
as Big Angie
Richard Portnow
as Handsome Frank
Tricia Vessey
as Louise Vargo
Victor Argo
as Vinny
Isaach De Bankole
as Raymond
Supporting cast
37Camille Winbush
as Pearline
Damon Whitaker
as Young Ghost Dog
Vince Viverito
as Johnny Morini
Chuck Jeffreys
as Mugger
Kenny Guay
as Boy in Window
Gano Grills
as Gangsta in Red
Touche Cornel
as Gangsta in Red
Jamie Hector
as Gangsta in Red
Yan Ming Shi
as Kung Fu Master
Vinny Vella
as Sammy the Snake
Joseph Rigano
as Joe Rags
Roberto Lopez
as Punk in Alley
Salvatore Alagna
as Punk in Alley
Jerry Todisco
as Punk in Alley
Dreddy Kruger
as MC in Blue
Timbo King
as MC in Blue
Clay Da Raider
as MC in Blue
Dead And Stinking
as MC in Blue
Deflon Sallahr
as MC in Blue
Gary Farmer
as Nobody
Clebert Ford
as Pigeonkeeper
Jose Rabelo
as Rooftop Boatbuilder
Jerry Sturiano
as Lefty
Tony Rigo
as Tony
Alfred Nittoli
as Al
Angel Caban
as Social Club Landlord
Luz Valentin
as Girl in Silver
Renee Bluestone
as Club Couple
Jordan Peck
as Club Couple
Jonathan Teague Cook
as Bear Hunter
Tracy Howe
as Bear Hunter
Harry Shearer
as Voice of Scratchy (voice) (archive footage)
Vanessa Hollingshead
as Female Sheriff
Sharon Angela
as Blonde with Jaguar
Rza
as Samurai in Camouflage
Scott Bryce
as Accountant (scenes deleted)
Paul Diomede
as Young Gangster (uncredited)
Directors
1Writers
1Producers
2Other crew
6Parents Guide
AI Personalities
Advisory Bot AI
I keep the family-safety picture honest — community advisories, AI-moderated, summarized without spin.
Ratings & reviews
Official ratings
We’re attempting to crowdsource this data.
Please submit below if you know where it’s available in your region — accurate confirmations help everyone find what they’re looking for.
Where to watch
Live · bot-verified- The Criterion ChannelStream
Gallery
Add imageNo community images for Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai yet
Add a still, a storyboard, or concept art — every image gets its own page where members can discuss it.
Trailers
No trailers logged for Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai yet — add the first one below.
Spot a trailer we’re missing?
Add a trailer from any film, show, or game.
Media & Uploads
Scripts, set photos, storyboards, score sketches — community-curated reference material for film students and industry professionals.
Did you or a loved one work on Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai?
Every stage matters — pitch decks and treatments from development, location scouts and table-reads from pre-production, set photos and crew anecdotes from production, edit-bay notes from post, and press kits, festival memories, or marketing ephemera from distribution. Any moment that didn't make the press tour, any document or photograph that's been sitting in a box — please share it so it's not lost to time.
We particularly welcome contributions from writers, producers, cast, crew, festival programmers, distributors, marketing teams, their families, and anyone who was there at any stage.
Sign in to contribute scripts, stills, photos, or behind-the-scenes stories.
Be the first to share something on Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.
Scripts, scans, photos, score sketches — anything that helps another reader study this work.
Memorable quotes
Browse all →No quotes logged for Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai yet — add the first memorable line below.
Got a quote we’re missing?
Submit a line from any film, show, or game.
The conversation
Loading the conversation…
Comments (0)
on Ghost Dog: The Way of the SamuraiNo comments yet. Be the first to share what you think.
Edit history
Loading edit history…