Do the right thing is a 1989 american comedydrama film produced, written, and directed by spike lee. It manages to be vastly entertaining and vastly powerful at the same time. There are many angry racial confrontations using provocative, coarse language and highlycharged racial taunts, including constant use. Smart, vibrant, and urgent without being didactic, do the right thing is one of spike lees most fully realized efforts and one of the most important films. While we were shooting school daze, spike lees second feature film, he told me he was writing. Ive never been a fan of spike lee, but ive always felt that i didnt give him a fair chance since id never seen his alleged greatest work, do the right thing.
As alvin sanoff writes, in discussing his film lee has said, it wasnt made to incite riots but to provoke discussion about racism, something people do not want. Do the right thing 1989 movies, tv, celebs, and more. Do the right thing, put in the extra effort and you tend to get. With no real expectation of what i was going to get, i went in and was amazed at how awful it seemed in every aspect. Spike lees stylised drama was shot in the bedfordstuyvesant area of brooklyn, where all of the films locations can be found on the block of stuyvesant avenue. Jackson, and is the feature film debut of martin lawrence and rosie perez. Lexington avenue and stuyvesant avenue, bedfordstuyvesant, brooklyn. This entire journey would not have been possible without do the right thing, the seminal game changer in cinemas handling race, timed perfectly with the zeitgeist of public enemys opening cry, 1989. Do the right thing is a film directed by spike lee which takes place in bedford stuyvesant, brooklyn. This film highlights the dynamics of a modern urban neighborhood through a cast of distinct personalities. She is mookies girlfriend and the mother of his child hector.
She is the first person shown in the film, street dancing to the opening credits. People can just watch it and enjoy the different scenes, many of which are played for comedic effect. The insistence on heavily accented australiana may be more acceptable to overseas audiences than home viewers but the comedy was very well handled. The iconic block of stuyvesent avenue where do the right thing was filmed, between lexington avenue and quincy street, is now officially named do. Young locals buggin out, radio raheem, and pizza delivery guy mookie spike lee. Clair bourne including films about amiri baraka and langston hughes that opens on friday, february 16, bournes film is an intimate portrait of a neighborhood amidst transition.
Do the right thing 21st anniversary location visit 0630. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. Thats especially true in the case of his 1989 masterpiece, do the right thing. Though weve highlighted individual locations along stuyvesant ave.
Spike lee still doing the right thing the independent. Most of his subsequent films dealt headon with issues of race and racism in the united statesfor instance. Do the right thing tells an honest, unsentimental story about those who are left behind. Addressing the viewer in video commentary specially filmed for this twodisc set, lee warmly remembers the creative process and extraneous hoopla of his first masterpiece. Considered to be one of the greatest films of all time, this film is important in the africanamerican cinema movement. Do the right thing was actually filmed in brooklyns bedfordstuyvesant neighborhood rather than on a remote hollywood backlot. Spike lee hosts do the right thing block party in bed. This summer marks the 25th anniversary of do the right thing. Tina is one of the characters in the film do the right thing.
Why do the right thing is spike lees greatest film. It has been 20 years since the release of spike lees do the right thing. In spike lees do the right thing, the style of cinematography is manipulated specifically to emphasize the racial tensions between the characters. A portrait of the bed stuy block where spike lees do the.
Do the right thing 1989 produced, written, and directed by spike lee is a day in the life of a brooklyn neighborhood and the racial tensions contained within. Instantly, do the right thing was a cause celebre, more breathlessly and fearfully awaited than any american film of its time. Spike lee arrives at the bfi southbank on monday as part of a celebration of do the right thing, his third film, which premiered at the cannes film festival in 1989. Other members of the cast include danny aiello, ossie davis, ruby dee, richard edson, giancarlo esposito, bill nunn, john turturro, and samuel l.
Do the right thing 1989 and its importance today the. The building where sals pizzeria was located, did not. This is implemented through camera angles, camera movements and distance. The 81minute making do the right thing stretched beyond what lee and his collaborators were doing preparing for the film. Few show employees how to do the right thing, says harned.
Why spike lees masterpiece remains essential cinema 30 years later. Shot techniques in the film, do the right thing spike lee does many fascinating things from a directorial standpoint, which makes his film dare i say, joint, do the right thing so interesting to watch. The nearby eatery and hangout is sals famous pizzeria. Aiello has the pivotal role, as sal, and he suggests all of the difficult nuances of his situation.
Whats your angle dutch angles in spike lees do the. He is a young black man who is lazy, and works for sal in sals pizzeria as a pizza delivery man. F ive years ago, for the film s 25th anniversary, spike lee threw a big party with a special video message from barack and michelle obama, who had gone to see do the right thing on their first. Do the right thing was shot on stuyvesant avenue in bedstuy over eight weeks in the summer of 1988. Do the right thing 1989 in bedfordstuyvesant, brooklyn, disc jockey mr. Do the right thing is an exceptional film, a movie that wisely deprives you of the cozy resolutions and epiphanies so often manufactured by hollywood. Do the right thing was filmed after the deadly north american drought of 1988, which, combined with intense heat waves, led to upwards of 10,000 deaths. Film notes do the right thing university at albany. Why you should do the right thing, and how to do it. Though it seems kind of incredible from todays perspective, all of the buzz surrounding the film at the time of its release involved the question of whether it might provoke riots and racial violence. Do the right thing is a brilliant movie that never lags and never lets up. Conversely, the films champions claim that do the right thing is remarkably evenhanded in its treatment of race, thus leaving it up to viewers to decide just what the right thing is. Do the right thing is a 1989 american comedydrama hood film produced, written, and directed by spike lee, who also played the part of mookie in the film. The song was recorded at trident studios in londons soho.
The story explores a brooklyn neighborhoods simmering racial tension, which culminates in violence and a death on a hot summer day. The notsohidden climate messages in spike lees do the. Bedstuy street renamed do the right thing way to honor. Do the right thing is about racial tensions that peak during the summer which leads to a riot after police brutally murder an unarmed young black man. Why do people consider do the right thing a great film. Give value to people, help them and they will often want to help you and give you value in some form. Do the right thing 1989 filming locations the movie district. Do the right thing is 25 years old today, and it has never been more fresh.
This proves to be invaluable to the film as it has no real plot and therefore relies on the characters and the neighbourhood that it has created to build itself, its. It stars lee, danny aiello, ossie davis, ruby dee, richard edson, giancarlo esposito, bill nunn, john turturro, and samuel l. That said, do the right thing is a wellstructured, stylistic film, which pull its audiences in. The film takes place on the hottest day in bedfordstuyvesant, brooklyn. Screening at the metrograph as part of a larger series about st. Its truly an amazing achievement in film, and its a shame it was not recognized more for its obvious brilliance when it was released in 1989. She is a puerto rican woman portrayed by rosie perez. The tv critic from the sydney morning herald said there was polish in the filming and the script of the right thing but the fun is wearing a little thin. Do the right thing is a new consumer affairs programme on channel 5 hosted by tv presenting duo eamonn holmes and ruth langsford.
Hed made a movie about race in america that empathized with. Stuyvesant avenue, bedfordstuyvesant, brooklyn directly opposite mookies, the yes jesus last baptist church, outside which smiley roger guenveur smith sells photos of malcolm x, was another bit of fakery a false front added to 184 stuyvesant avenue. Writer, director lee makes much use of the high and low angle shots. To celebrate the film s 21st anniversary in theaters june 30th, 1989, we head to some of the film s memorable shooting locations. Under the influence of spike lees film do the right thing. June is also when part of bedfordstuyvesants stuyvesant avenuewhere the fim was shotwas renamed do the right thing way in. The film was an scorching adrenaline shot to americas psyche, as it directly addressed race in ways. Throughout the film camera angles become a direct medium for expressing the relationships between characters. Director spike lee released his landmark film, do the right thing, in july of 1989. Analysis of immigration and the retail economy in brooklyn, ny.
In may of 1989 i walked out of the screening at the cannes film festival with tears in my eyes. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of spike lees vision, stuyvesant avenue, the brooklyn street on which the film is set and shot, was renamed do the right thing way and hosted a. I always think it would be fun to go, as seen on the price is right, says richards with a laugh. He is portrayed by the director, producer and writer of the film, spike lee. Do the right thing 1989 filming locations, bedfordstuyvesant, brooklyn, danny aiello, spike lee, samuel l. Parents need to know that spike lees do the right thing is an intense study of racism as it existed in an urban u. This was surprisingly enjoyable and pretty much came from nowhere. The right thing to do is a song written and performed by carly simon that first appeared on her 1972 album no secrets.
At the southern end of the block, the home of pizza delivery man mookie spike lee is 173 stuyvesant avenue, on the northeast corner of quincy street. Lee, dickerson, production designer wynn thomas, and their crew. Spike lees confrontational masterpiece has now been around for a quarter of a century, and watching it in 2014 is still. Lee, dickerson, production designer wynn thomas, and their crew worked hard to create a vibrant. The criterion collection and spike lee have delivered an abundance of treasures in this new edition of do the right thing. Do the right thing works on different levels which makes it still relevant today. A drama concerning moral dilemmas was split into four parts. I have been given only a few filmgoing experiences in my life to equal the first time i saw do the right thing.