IMDb >
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at Blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsDo the Right Thing (1989) More at IMDbPro »
| Videos (see all 11) |
|
Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer:
Spike Lee (written by)
Release Date:
30 June 1989 (USA)
more
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. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars.
Another 11 wins
&
6 nominations
more
NewsDesk:
(59 articles)
He Said – He Said … Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
(From Scorecard Review. 20 November 2009, 7:18 AM, PST)
Antoine Fuqua, Spike Lee Together on 'Miss'
(From CinemaSpy. 18 November 2009, 11:10 PM, PST)
(From Scorecard Review. 20 November 2009, 7:18 AM, PST)
Antoine Fuqua, Spike Lee Together on 'Miss'
(From CinemaSpy. 18 November 2009, 11:10 PM, PST)
User Comments:
excellent drama with a message
more (194 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | 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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
120 min
Country:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
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:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The building Sal's Pizzeria was in did not exist before shooting. Rather, it was constructed on an empty lot by the production company, and subsequently torn down after shooting wrapped.
more
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.
more
Quotes:
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Strongbad_email.exe: Disc Six (2008) (V)
more
Soundtrack:
Tu y Yo
more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (194 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Do the Right Thing (1989) moreRecommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| Little Athens | King of New York | Gran Torino | Crash | Training Day |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Comedy section | IMDb USA section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |
If I had to make a list of the top ten things that I find most boring, racism would be right at the summit along with economics and The Blair Witch Project. For that reason, I have avoided Do the Right Thing up until now for fear that it would be a lecture on racism...but actually, I don't know what I was afraid of, as this film is really good. Spike Lee's racial drama is actually more a film about the feebleness of racial divides and how violence only breeds violence, as opposed to a film ABOUT racism. In fact, the film can be best described as a cinematic materialisation of Martin Luther King's famous "an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind" speech.
For this movie, Spike Lee has put together a terrific cast, that includes many actors that have gone on to become big names in the movie industry, people such as Samuel L. Jackson, John Turturro and Martin Lawrence, not to mention smaller stars such as Ossie Davis. The cast comes together excellently and the neighbourhood that Spike Lee has created for this film feels very real, and through the multiple personalities that inhabit it, it manages to stay interesting and realistic throughout. The atmosphere of the neighbourhood is also of note, and you really do get the feeling that someone could say 'biatch' or 'dogg' at any time. Spike Lee delights in showing us many different people, and at different times - including their reactions to certain events and their interactions with each other, and it all helps to build up both their own characters and the neighbourhood that they live in. 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, it's scenario and therefore it's message, up.
Do the Right Thing is a portrait of how multiple cultures live together in modern day America and it also succeeds in being a stark and potent portrayal of how violence never gets anyone anywhere. Spike Lee has shown his talents as an actor, director and a writer with this film, and even though majority opinion of him seems to be that he's a disagreeable old crone; at least he's one that has talent.