Do the Right Thing
From AwardAnnals
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| Director(s) | Spike Lee |
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| Distributor | Universal Studios |
| Honors | |
| Spike Lee’s incendiary look at race relations in America, circa 1989, is so colorful and exuberant for its first three-quarters that you can almost forget the terrible confrontation that the movie inexorably builds toward. Do the Right Thing is a joyful, tumultuous masterpiece—maybe the best film ever made about race in America, revealing racial prejudices and stereotypes in all their guises and demonstrating how a deadly riot can erupt out of a series of small misunderstandings. Set on one block in Bedford-Stuyvesant on the hottest day of the summer, the… | |
Honors
Reviews
Amazon.com
Spike Lee’s incendiary look at race relations in America, circa 1989, is so colorful and exuberant for its first three-quarters that you can almost forget the terrible confrontation that the movie inexorably builds toward. Do the Right Thing is a joyful, tumultuous masterpiece—maybe the best film ever made about race in America, revealing racial prejudices and stereotypes in all their guises and demonstrating how a deadly riot can erupt out of a series of small misunderstandings. Set on one block in Bedford-Stuyvesant on the hottest day of the summer, the movie shows the whole spectrum of life in this neighborhood and then leaves it up to us to decide if, in the end, anybody actually does the “right thing.” Featuring Danny Aiello as Sal, the pizza parlor owner; Lee himself as Mookie, the lazy pizza-delivery guy; John Turturro and Richard Edson as Sal’s sons; Lee’s sister Joie as Mookie’s sister Jade; Rosie Perez as Mookie’s girlfriend Tina; Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee as the block elders, Da Mayor and Mother Sister; Giancarlo Esposito as Mookie’s hot-headed friend Buggin’ Out; Bill Nunn as the boom-box toting Radio Raheem; and Samuel L. Jackson as deejay Mister Señor Love Daddy. A rich and nuanced film to watch, treasure, and learn from—over and over again. —Jim Emerson
Barnes and Noble
As startling as a trash can shattering a plate-glass window, director Spike Lee’s third feature burst into theaters and changed cinematic history. Still widely regarded as Lee’s best film, it opened the field to other African-American directors and helped to make such films as Boyz n the Hood possible. Do the Right Thing covers a single, sweltering summer day in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant section when racial tensions ignite minor disagreements that finally blaze into a night of violence. All the elements of Lee’s provocative film are incendiary, designed to excite the senses. The Crayola color scheme and the jarring, innovative cinematography amplify the constant friction between the different characters and cultures. From the massive boom box lugged by surly Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn), Public Enemy’s rancorous anthem “Fight the Power” proclaims the dawn of a new era in America. Hilarious one moment, uncomfortable the next, and graced with great performances by John Turturro, Danny Aiello, and Rosie Perez, Do the Right Thing maintains an in-your-face intensity throughout. Regina Raiford
