Do the Right Thing (1989)

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:

Referenced in Inside Man (2006)

Soundtrack:

Why Don't We Try

Powerful movie- racially filled

Before watching Do the Right Thing many people told me that it was a really good movie, so I was excited to go see it. After watching it I have to admit those people were right. The movie showed a Brooklyn street during a heat wave in the summer. This block was mostly African Americans however there was a pizzeria owned by Italians as well as a grocery store owned by Koreans. The movie showed how different minority groups view each other. I found it extremely interesting during the montage of racial slurs to see that even groups who are harassed because of their ethnicity still do it to other groups. The end of the movie really surprised me. I figured there would be some sort of clash of the groups however I didn't think that it would explode the way it did. Another part of the movie which really surprised me was how the police were portrayed, as murderers and bigots. One scene in the movie which really stuck with me was when the fire fighters were trying to put out the fire and they used the hose on the African American rioters. This scene to me really showed how not much has changed in some sense since the 1960s. Overall I found this movie to be extremely well done and very powerful and definitely one of Spike Lee's best movies.