Do the Right Thing (1989)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Spike Lee

Writer:

Spike Lee (written by)

Release Date:

30 June 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

It's the hottest day of the summer. You can do nothing, you can do something, or you can...

Plot:

On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.

Plot Keywords:

Bedford Stuyvesant | Pizzeria | Korean | Street | Violence

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Danny Aiello	...	Salvatore 'Sal' Fragione
Ossie Davis	...	Da Mayor
Ruby Dee	...	Mother Sister
Richard Edson	...	Vito
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Buggin Out
Spike Lee	...	Mookie
Bill Nunn	...	Radio Raheem
John Turturro	...	Pino
Paul Benjamin	...	ML
Frankie Faison	...	Coconut Sid
Robin Harris	...	Sweet Dick Willie
Joie Lee	...	Jade
Miguel Sandoval	...	Officer Ponte
Rick Aiello	...	Officer Long
John Savage	...	Clifton

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

New Zealand:M | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:R | Portugal:M/12 | France:Unrated | Argentina:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:11 (cinema release) | Norway:15 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Trivia:

The key scene when Danny Aiello and John Turturro talk alone approximately midway through the film was partly improvised. The scripted scene ended as the character Smiley approached the window. Everything after that until the end of the scene was completely ad-libbed.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the final scene, when Sal throws $500 to Mookie, he throws five bills, and Mookie throws two back at him. When Mookie goes to pick the money up again, he picks up two bills, but two more are visible in the frame, lying on the ground.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mister Senor Love Daddy: Wake up! Wake up! Up you wake!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "The Boondocks: The Block Is Hot (#1.14)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Can't Stand It

Spike Lee's explosive, brilliant cinematic masterpiece

I felt that Do the Right Thing should have been included in the AFI's Top 100. It has remained a powerful and moving film that I cannot stop thinking about years after its release. All of the elements so beautifully coalesce: the acting (from Turturro to Davis to Harris to Esposito; its all superb), the cinematography (Dickerson's extreme angles and vivid color scheme perfectly contribute to the feeling of heat), the screenplay (funny and light catapults to poignant and fierce in the blink of an eye), and the direction (Lee is never afraid to take huge risks in his technique). Everything pays off double. This is one of the best movies I have ever seen.