Do the Right Thing
Synopsis
It's the hottest day of the summer. You can do nothing, you can do something, or you can...
Do The Right Thing takes place on a hot summer day in Brooklyn and depicts the racial conflict between an Italian American pizza restaurant owner and his African American customers and how things erupt into a violent outbreak. This Spike Lee Joint touches on themes of segregation and apartheid in the USA.
Cast
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''Whoa. Y'all take a chill. You got to cool that shit off. And that's the double-truth, Ruth.''
I have never really explored the filmography of Spike Lee as of yet, sure I have seen '25th Hour' which I consider one of my favorite films, but I have never really seen anything else of Lee's, not even 'Do the Right Thing' which is usually considered to be his finest and most popular work, and one of the most important films of the 80's.
In Brooklyn, on the hottest day of the year racial tensions boil to violent proportions as peoples hate and ignorance get the best of them.
Unless you have been living under a rock for the last (checks watch)…
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An absolute masterpiece of a film, and on my second viewing, I certainly appreciated it a little more. It's not so much about race, as it is people. It's a series of characters' stories that all intertwine on a hot day, and it just shows how little it takes for people to turn on each other.
I also love the way it's filmed, it's almost like a stage play and I think it works really well in the overall telling of the stories. And just the little things as well, like John Turturro's biggot Pino, who wears white all the time, while his brother, wears black.
Spike Lee may have his critics, but this is by far his strongest piece…
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Written as part of a series on classic films called The Film Canon.
It’s sweltering. Radio DJ Mister Señor Love Daddy (Samuel L. Jackson) is proclaiming it to be one of the hottest days of the summer. It’s too hot to work, but Mookie (Spike Lee) makes his way to Sal’s Pizzeria anyway. As he walks, we grow accustomed to the vivid hustle of urban life in one Bedford-Stuyvesant. This little strip of humanity teems with culture and conflict. Mookie is greeted by Da Mayor (Ossie Davis), self-proclaimed mayor of the street whose wisdom and kindness is marred by his perpetual drunkenness, as well as Mother Sister (Ruby Dee), the kindly hawk who watches over the neighborhood from her stoop.…
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Perfect weather to watch this. And you can rest assured I was dancing in my underwear along with Rosie Perez to "Fight the Power"
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A riveting discourse on racism. It's dramatic, theatric and essential viewing for every film fan. It is also one of the greatest New York movies in cinema history.
While Spike Lee isn't preaching, or even offering answers, he is asking the right questions, leaving the viewer in no doubt that it is they themselves that should "do the right thing".
There is no doubt that Do the Right Thing is a movie of it's time. The amount of spandex itself will testify to that. But there is an everlasting quality to this movie, and it feels as relevant now as it did then.
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Had completely forgot about the Night of the Hunter scene. That scene rules.
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Unsubtle but much more nuanced that it initially appears, even if not every subplot is...entirely relevant. 7.5 B+
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A much better movie, but sort of Spike Lee's equivalent of Mean Streets, I guess.
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First films are easy. Sure you have to get someone to pay for it and yes the learning curve is steep, but there is also the added benefit of the fact that your whole life has been building up to this moment. Ever second of your existence has been preparation and you pour it all out on the screen.The real challenge is the second film, and the third film, and the fourth film, etc. Did you waste it all on that first film? Do you have anything else to say? Or can you at least address the issues of your previous film in a different way? Perhaps with a different style? Audiences crave fresh ideas!
Luckily for the world of…
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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always do the right thing mookie
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The viewer can't tell what race the film is rooting for...and that's the beauty of it.
The blacks are idiots, the Italians are idiots, the Hispanics are idiots, the whites are idiots, and the koreans are idiots. Just like real life.
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On the hottest day of the summer racial tensions flare between blacks, Italians and Koreans in a Brooklyn neighborhood. Spike Lee's scathing masterpiece about the ugly side of human nature.
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This film is troubling, almost, in its ambiguity. While I hold some slight malcontent towards Spike Lee, this film is too good to deny.
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What an awesome film by Spike Lee! Still my fav film of his is 25th Hour.