Do the Right Thing (1989) - On the hottest day of the year in the Bed-Stuy section of Brooklyn, racial and ethnic tensions boil beneath the surface between blacks, whites, Asians, and Hispanics. People in the neighborhood congregate around Sals Famous Pizzeria, a business owned and run by an Italian-American family, but a tragic event lights the powderkeg. This is one of those movies that perfectly captures the mood and differing attitudes in the place and time it depicts. Written and directed by Spike Lee, this is (in my opinion) the perfect example of a social problem film and the best movie made in the 1980s. The entire film is controversial, but the final 30 minutes are absolutely seering. SPOILERS: This final portion of the film pits the go-along-to-get-along older generation of African-Americans, as depicted by Da Mayor, who counsels for calm after the police murder Radio Rahim. Mookie, representing the younger generation of African-Americans, advocates a no justice, no peace response that carries the day. In the end, however, you get another burned out building (a sight all too familiar to me having grown up in NYC) that adds further to the blight of inner city life: END OF SPOILERS. In addition to expert direction, the cinematography and editing are spot on perfect. Be prepared for extensive use of the F-word, but this is a must-see movie for anyone who is serious about the study of film.
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 00:46:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015