I wrote about Le Samurai last night and wanted to post a little bit about this movie too. As I mentioned in the previous post, Ghost Dog was essentially a remake of Le Samurai but was told in a way that was relevant to the time that it was filmed. Francois de Roubaix’s score for Le Samurai played a big role in setting the tone for the original movie and this idea was carried over perfectly with the decision to have RZA work on the music for this film.
Both films tell the story of a man following the way of a samurai in a modern setting, with the score of each movie really setting the mood for how we are to experience this as we watch. While Le Samurai’s soundtrack featured an excellent selection of jazz numbers that fit the more noir type setting perfectly, RZA’s work on Ghost Dog really helped the film have a darker atmosphere and display a more gritty or harsh reality than that of the original movie. As I mentioned last night, both movies are good in their own ways and I feel the same way about the soundtracks as well. Francois de Roubaix and RZA really deliver what I would consider perfect film scores that really reflect on the mood and theme being presented in each one.
Above is a great scene from the movie. In a nod to Wu Tang, Ghost Dog and a character played by RZA greet each other with the following: Power Equality Always C Everything or P.E.A.C.E. This part probably goes over a lot of people’s heads, but I imagine a lot of Wu fans got it!
Below is one of the main songs from the film, really fits the theme of the movie well.
The trailer for Ghost Dog can be seen in the spoiler –