Do the Right Thing
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"The hottest day of the year explodes onscreen in this vibrant look at a day in the life of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. A portrait of urban racial tensions sparked controversy while earning popular and critical praise, "--Container.
Audio track information, Disc 1: track 1, film soundtrack, PCM Stereo ; track 2, film soundtrack, Dolby Digital Surround ; track 3, commentary, Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
"Director Approved special edition"--Container
Special features, disc 1 (the movie): new widescreen digital transfer, enhanced for 16x9 televisions and approved by cinematographer Ernest Dickerson ; Dolby Digital surround and PCM stereo soundtracks ; audio commentary by director Spike Lee, Ernest Dickerson, production designer Wynn Thomas, and actor Joie Lee ; English subtitles ; optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition
Special features, disc 2 (the supplement): new video introductions by Spike Lee ; St. Clair Bourne's 60-minute documentary "The Making of Do the Right Thing" ; Spike Lee and line producer Jon Kilik revisit the Bed-Stuy locations ; Public Enemy's video for "Fight the Power" directed by Spike Lee ; the 1989 Cannes Film Festival press conference with Spike Lee, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, and Joie Lee ; Spike Lee's behind-the-scenes footage, from rehearsal to wrap ; original storyboards for the riot sequence ; new video interview with editor Barry Brown ; theatrical trailer and tv spots
Feature film (120 min.) -- Supplement (120 min.)
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Summary
Add a SummaryAs a pizza delivery guy travels through one particular street in Brooklyn and mixes amongst the collection of residents, everyone's hate and bigotry comes to a boil until the bubble of semi-civility explodes.
Notices
Add a NoticeOther: Some scenes show mere glimpses of smoking and beer-drinking.
Frightening or Intense Scenes: The climactic scene (involving a great deal of violence and destruction) in this film may be intense for more sensitive viewers.
Sexual Content: A woman rubs ice on her naked breasts, legs, and thighs to cool down from the heat outside. The scene is fairly brief.
Violence: Some violence (I can't describe in detail as it risks spoiling the film), but most of it could be seen on the news, so it's fair to say it's present but not brutally harsh, especially for today's standards in, say, action films or crime dramas.
Coarse Language: 240 uses of the F-word, even more uses of the N-word, and many uses of various other cusses, including a wide range of racial slurs (one scene includes a montage of different prejudicial views on different rases that are filled with them). If coarse language is a concern to you, then this film will be highly inappropriate.
Quotes
Add a Quote"Always do the right thing."
"Those that'll tell don't know, and those that know won't tell."
"Do your friends put money in your pocket? Food on your table, they pay your rent, a roof over your head? They're not your friends. If they were your friends, they wouldn't laugh at you."
"Today's temperature's gonna rise up over 100 degrees, so there's a Jheri curl alert! That's right, Jheri curl alert. If you have a Jheri curl, stay in the house or you'll end up with a permanent black helmet on your head fuh-eva!"
"You're 30 cents away from having a quarter!"
"You almost knocked me down, man. The word is 'Excuse me'."
"Let me tell you the story of right hand-left hand. It's a tale of good and evil. Hate: it was with this hand that Cain iced his brother. Love: these five fingers, they go straight to the soul of man. The right hand: the hand of love. The story of life is this: static. One hand is always fighting the other hand, and the left hand is kicking much ass. I mean, it looks like the right hand--Love--is finished. But hold on, stop the presses; the right hand is coming back. Yeah, he got the left hand on the ropes now, that's right. Ooh, it's a devastating right and Hate is hurt. He's down. Left-Hand Hate KO-ed by Love."
Find it at NYPL
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Comment
Add a CommentOn the hottest day of the year on a street in Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.
It's an interesting idea, but at times, I think the execution isn't quite right. It's powerful, but I think it's a great film for discussion, but not for entertainment. Its message is a confusing dichotomy, leaving audiences to determine for themselves what the right thing is to do. To be fair, it was made during a different time and was relevant then, but now it seems as if Spike was being wishy-washy by giving two contradicting quotes to conclude, almost as if he was daring audiences to choose the wrong one without knowing for himself what the wrong one was. Either way, I think you should watch it, even if you're not sure if you like it. It's important on a cultural level.
Spike Lee was born Shelton Lee in 1957, in Atlanta, Georgia. At a very young age, he moved from pre-civil rights Georgia, to Brooklyn, New York.
Very awful. The message of the film is good, but the language and direction is pretty poor.
I'm watching this for film class and artistically it's a really amazing film.
This was a very powerful film the first time I saw it. I wonder if it still holds up.