Do the Right Thing (1989)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

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 | Violence | Street | Hate | Pizzeria

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Danny Aiello	...	Sal
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
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Mister Señor Love Daddy (as Sam Jackson)
Rosie Perez	...	Tina
Roger Guenveur Smith	...	Smiley
Steve White	...	Ahmad
Martin Lawrence	...	Cee
Leonard L. Thomas	...	Punchy (as Leonard Thomas)
Christa Rivers	...	Ella
Frank Vincent	...	Charlie
Luis Ramos	...	Stevie
Richard Habersham	...	Eddie
Gwen McGee	...	Louise
Steve Park	...	Sonny
Ginny Yang	...	Kim
Sherwin Park	...	Korean Child
Shawn Elliott	...	Puerto Rican Icee Man
Diva Osorio	...	Carmen
Chris Delaney	...	Stevie's Friends
Ángel Ramírez	...	Stevie's Friends
Sixto Ramos	...	Stevie's Friends
Nelson Vasquez	...	Stevie's Friends
Travell Lee Toulson	...	Hector
Joel Nagle	...	Sergeant
David E. Weinberg	...	Plainclothes Detective
Yattee Brown	...	Double Dutch Girl
Mecca Brunson	...	Double Dutch Girl
Shawn Stainback	...	Double Dutch Girl
Soquana Wallace	...	Double Dutch Girl
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Erik Dellums	...	Customer in pizzeria (uncredited)
Garry Pastore	...	P.O. Bonamo (uncredited)
Nicholas Turturro	...	Extra (uncredited)

Directed by
Spike Lee

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Spike Lee		written by

Produced by
Jon Kilik	....	line producer
Spike Lee	....	producer
Monty Ross	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Bill Lee

Cinematography by
Ernest R. Dickerson		(as Ernest Dickerson)

Film Editing by
Barry Alexander Brown

Casting by
Robi Reed-Humes		(as Robi Reed)

Production Design by
Wynn Thomas

Set Decoration by
Steve Rosse

Costume Design by
Ruth E. Carter		(as Ruth Carter)

Makeup Department
Matiki Anoff	....	makeup artist
Larry M. Cherry	....	hair stylist (as Larry Cherry)
Marianna Najjar	....	additional makeup artist

Production Management
R.W. Dixon	....	unit manager
Preston L. Holmes	....	production supervisor (as Preston Holmes)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nandi Bowe	....	second assistant director
Randy Fletcher	....	first assistant director
Christopher Lopez	....	second second assistant director (as Chris Lopez)

Art Department
Anthony Baldasare	....	set dresser
Jeff Balsmeyer	....	storyboard artist
Patricia Bases	....	scenic artist
Sherman Benjamin	....	shop production assistant
Michael L. Benson	....	set dresser (as Michael Lee Benson)
Martin Bernstein	....	construction coordinator
James R. Bilz	....	set dresser (as James Bilz)
James Boniece	....	construction grip (as James Bonice)
Dennis Bradford	....	assistant art director
David Bromberg	....	construction grip
Lawrence Casey	....	scenic artist
Rodney Clark	....	carpenter
Dominic Ferrara	....	carpenter (as Dominic Ferrar)
Jeffrey L. Glave	....	chargeman
Jonathan Graham	....	construction grip
Harold Horn	....	carpenter
Marc Henry Johnson	....	second assistant props
Richard C. Kerekes	....	construction grip (as Rich Kerekes)
Joyce Kubalak-Szafilita	....	second scenic artist (as Joyce Kubalak)
Kevin Ladson	....	third assistant props
Andrew Lassman	....	additional assistant props (as Andy Lassman)
Timothy Main	....	carpenter
Charlie Marroquin	....	construction grip (as Charles Marroquin)
Chris Miller	....	carpenter
Jeff Miller	....	scenic artist
Monique Mitchell	....	construction grip
Octavio Molina	....	property master
Ken Nelson	....	key set builder
Michael O'Dell Green	....	assistant art director (as Michael Green)
Carl Peterson	....	construction grip
Carl Prinzi	....	construction grip
Thomas Hudson Reeve	....	set dresser
Scott Rosenstock	....	lead man
Jon Rudo	....	assistant set decorator
Rosalie Russino	....	shop person
Twad Schuetrum	....	carpenter
Mark Paul Selemon	....	first assistant props (as Mark Selemon)
Pam Stephens	....	art department coordinator
Bryan Unger	....	construction grip
Keith Wall	....	key set dresser
Robert Woods Jr.	....	construction production assistant
Jeff Naparstek	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Jeffrey Rollins	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Abdul Malik Abbott	....	cableman production assistant
Nzingha Clarke	....	apprentice sound editor
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
Michael DiCosimo	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby (as Mike DiCosimo)
William Docker	....	apprentice sound editor
James Flatto	....	assistant sound editor
Tom Fleischman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Rudy Gaskins	....	sound editor
Eugene Gearty	....	sound editor (as Gene Gearty)
Charles R. Hunt	....	cableman production assistant (as Charles Hunt)
Skip Lievsay	....	sound designer
Marissa Littlefield	....	assistant sound editor
Tony Martinez	....	sound editor
Bruce Pross	....	sound editor
Nic Ratner	....	assistant sound editor
Andrew Schmetterling	....	boom operator (as Andy Schmetterling)
Gail Showalter	....	foley editor
Stuart Stanley	....	sound editor
Jeffrey Stern	....	dialogue editor (as Jeff Stern)
Frank Stettner	....	sound recordist
Philip Stockton	....	supervising dialogue editor
Brunilda Torres	....	adr editor

Special Effects by
John Berry	....	special effects assistant (as John N. Berry)
Wilfred Caban	....	special effects assistant
Paul Colangelo	....	special effects assistant (as Paul Collangello)
David Fletcher	....	special effects assistant (as Dave Fletcher)
William D. Harrison	....	special effects assistant (as Bill Harrison)
Don Hewitt	....	special effects assistant
Steven Kirshoff	....	special effects (as Steve Kirshoff)
William Vanderputten	....	special effects assistant (as William Van Der Putten)
Denis Zack	....	special effects assistant (as Dennis Zack)

Stunts
Danny Aiello III	....	stunt double: Sal
Chantal Collins	....	stunt coordinator assistant
Andy Duppin	....	stunts
Gary Frith	....	stunts
Rashon Khan	....	stunts
Erik Koniger	....	stunts
Francine Renee Lawrence	....	stunt coordinator assistant
Malcolm Livingston	....	stunts
David S. Lomax	....	stunts
Dominic Marcus	....	stunts
Eric Payne	....	stunts (as Eric A. Payne)
Eddie Smith	....	stunt coordinator
Roy Thomas	....	stunts
Mharaka Washington	....	stunt driver
Tom Wright	....	stunts
Hugh Aodh O'Brien	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Stuart Allen	....	crane technician: Louma crane
John Archibald	....	additional grip
Erich Augenstein	....	additional grip
Rodney Bauer	....	third grip
Donald Bialer	....	additional grip (as Donald Bailer)
James Boorman	....	electrician
Jonathan Burkhart	....	first assistant camera
Addison Cook	....	electric trainee
Val DeSalvo	....	best boy (as Val Desalvo)
Bob Gorelick	....	additional assistant camera
Charles Houston	....	gaffer
Robert Ippolito	....	key grip
Roger Kimpton	....	additional grip
David Lee	....	still photographer
Juan Lopez	....	electric trainee
Darnell Martin	....	second assistant camera
Serge Mihajlov	....	third electrician (as Sergei Mihajlov)
John Newby	....	camera operator
Rex North	....	dolly grip
John O'Malley	....	third electrician
George Pattison	....	additional camera operator
Frank Prinzi	....	additional camera operator
Paul Reuter	....	additional assistant camera (as Paul S. Reuter)
Derrick Still	....	generator operator
Marcus Turner	....	grip trainee
Christopher Vanzant	....	electrician
Paul Wachter	....	best boy

Casting Department
Sarah Hyde Hamlet	....	extras casting (as Sarah Hyde-Hamlet)
Andrea Reed	....	casting assistant
Tracy Vilar	....	casting production assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michele R. Boissiere	....	wardrobe production assistant (as Michele Boissiere)
Valerie Gladstone-Hapel	....	wardrobe seamstress (as Valerie A. Gladstone)
Karen Perry	....	assistant costume designer
Jennifer Ruscoe	....	wardrobe supervisor
Millicent Shelton	....	wardrobe production assistant

Editorial Department
Tula Goenka	....	assistant editor
Bob Hagans	....	color timer
John Nicolard	....	color timer
Noëlle Penraat	....	negative matcher
Leander T. Sales	....	apprentice editor (as Leander Sales)

Music Department
Elena Barere	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Kenny Barron	....	musician: piano, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Sandra Billingslea	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Terence Blanchard	....	musician: trumpet, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Alfred Brown	....	musician: viola, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra (as Alfred V. Brown)
Carol Buck	....	musician: cello, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
John R. Dexter	....	musician: viola, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Lewis Eley	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Barry Finclair	....	musician: viola, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Michael Fleming	....	musician: bass, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra (as Michael M. Fleming)
Eileen M. Folson	....	musician: cello, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Maureen Gallagher	....	musician: viola, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Winterton Garvey	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Kenneth Gordon	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Donald Harris	....	musician: alto saxophone, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Juliette Hassner	....	musician: viola, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Richard Hendrickson	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra (as Richard Henrickson)
Cecelia Hobbs Gardner	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra (as Cecelia A. Hobbs)
Robert Hurst	....	musician: bass, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Regis Iandiorio	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Marlon Jordan	....	musician: trumpet, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Gregory Komar	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Bill Lee	....	conductor: The Natural Spiritual Orchestra (as William J.E. Lee)
Patmore Lewis	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Charles Libove	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Joe Malin	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra (as Joseph Malin)
Branford Marsalis	....	musician: tenor and soprano saxophone, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Lois Martin	....	musician: viola, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra (as Lois E. Martin)
Melissa Meel	....	musician: cello, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Diane Monroe	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Louann Montesi	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Paul Peabody	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Marion Pinheiro	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra (as Marion J. Pinheiro)
John Pintavalle	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Rufus Reid	....	musician: bass, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Maxine Roach	....	musician: viola, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Alvin Rogers	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra (as Alvin E. Rodgers)
Bruce Rogers	....	musician: cello, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Elliot Rosoff	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Alen W. Sanford	....	musician: violin, concert master, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Astrid Schween	....	musician: cello, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Mark Orrin Shuman	....	musician: cello, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Laura J. Smith	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Alex Steyermark	....	music editor
Gerald Tarack	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Lesa Terry	....	musician: violin, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Zela Terry	....	musician: cello, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
James 'Jabbo' Ware	....	music copyist
Jeff 'Tain' Watts	....	musician: drums, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
James Williams	....	musician: piano, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Harry Zaratzian	....	musician: viola, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Frederic Zlotkin	....	musician: cello, The Natural Spiritual Orchestra (as Frederick Zlotkin)
Mervyn Warren	....	music producer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
William K. Gaskins	....	driver (as Willi Gaskins)
Clifford Johnson	....	driver
Sullie Jordan	....	driver
Brian Maxwell	....	driver
Martin Whitfield	....	driver
Carlos Williams	....	driver

Other crew
Richard Beaumont	....	intern
Kai Bowe	....	intern
Kenny Buford	....	set production assistant
Steve Burnett	....	office production assistant
Beverly Cable	....	electric production assistant (as Beverly C. Jones)
Dawn Cain	....	intern
Fritz Celestin	....	intern
Spencer Charles	....	set production assistant
Holly Chase	....	auditor
Melissa A. Clark	....	intern
Eric Daniel	....	set production assistant
Arlene Donnelly	....	intern
Robin Downes	....	assistant production office coordinator
Mike Ellis	....	set production assistant (as Michael Ellis)
Peggy Farrell	....	provider: Malcolm X/Martin Luther King Jr. photos
Susan D. Fowler	....	production coordinator: Forty Acres
Michael Gaynor	....	dailies projectionist
Joe Gonzalez	....	script supervisor
Juliette Harris	....	intern
Stanley G. Hunte	....	violins contractor: The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Eddie Joe	....	set production assistant
Stephanie Jones	....	set production assistant
Erik Knight	....	set production assistant (as Erik Night)
Avril Lacour-Hartnagel	....	product placement coordinator
James Leavey	....	teamster captain (as Jim Leavey)
Ernie Mapp	....	intern
Mitchell Marchand	....	intern
Sam Mattingly	....	unit publicist
Jacki Newson	....	intern
Robert Nickson	....	production controller
Fred Nielson	....	set production assistant (as Frederick Nielsen)
Judith Norman	....	office production assistant
Eric Oden	....	assistant auditor
Alexander Ostrovsky	....	piano tuner
Brent Owens	....	location manager
Rosie Perez	....	choreographer
Traci Proctor	....	intern
Kia B. Puriefoy	....	set production assistant (as Kia Puriefoy)
Lillian Pyles	....	production office coordinator
Sara Renaud	....	intern
Bruce Roberts	....	set production assistant
Carolyn Rouse	....	intern
Astrid Roy	....	intern
Otis Sallid	....	choreographer
Cheryl Ann Scott	....	craft service
Art Sims	....	logo designer: "Do the Right Thing"
Sharoya N. Smalls	....	intern
Alan C. Smith	....	intern
Audra C. Smith	....	production assistant: Forty Acres
Susan Stuart	....	intern
Karen Taylor	....	intern
Jean Warner	....	intern
Dale Watkins	....	set production assistant
Gail White	....	intern
Latanya White	....	intern
Monique Williams	....	intern
Randall Balsmeyer	....	title designer (uncredited)
Kim Delgado	....	adr loop group (uncredited)
Grant Reid	....	location scout (uncredited)

Production Companies

• 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Distributors

• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (1989) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1989) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1989) (USA) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1991) (USA) (TV)
• Criterion Collection, The (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Criterion Collection, The (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Nordic (2002) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (20th anniversary edition)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Other Companies

• Atlantic Cine Equipment  cranes and remote heads
• Boston Light & Sound  dailies projection
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Completion Bond Company  completion bond
• Frankfurt, Garbus, Kurnit, Klein & Selz  legal services
• Motown Records  soundtrack

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:

Radio Raheem's (Bill Nunn) description of his four finger rings (Love and Hate) is a homage to Rev. Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) in to The Night of the Hunter (1955)

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 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Lift Every Voice and Sing

That's the double-truth, Ruth

In all likelihood Spike Lee's most important achievement - as director, writer and actor (though to my taste Mo' Better Blues is just as good a picture) and one of the strongest films you'll see about race relations, 'Do The Right Thing' looks dated at times, but it lost none of its impact and relevance. The movie takes place in a particularly hot day in a primarily African-American neighborhood in Brooklyn, and follows the various personalities who live there throughout the day; the center of the story is Sal's Famous Pizzeria - its owners, some of the few white people living in the neighborhood: Sal (Oscar nominated performance for Danny Aiello) and his two sons (John Torturro and Richard Edson), and Mookie (Spike Lee himself), the black delivery boy. What starts out as a light, entertaining movie with some amusing characters and light humor, gradually builds up tension to the point of being unbearable, up to the dramatic and tragic climax. Spike doesn't put as much emphasis on the characters themselves as he does on the relationships and the tension between them; and in this image of a very specific and small frame in time and place, makes a strong and important message about racism and race relations in general. The film is populated with many different characters, all of them very memorable and each one a representative of a certain belief, mode of behavior or state of mind - on both sides of the conflict. From the uninhibited anger of Buggin Out (Giancarlo Esposito) and Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn) on one side and Pino (John Torturro) on the other side, to Jade (Joie Lee, Spike's sister in the film and in real life) and Vito (Richard Edson), who are trying to connect and live at peace with the other side, to Da Mayor (Ossie Davis), in his isolated but peaceful state of mind, living in complete peace with the world around him, and Smiley (Roger Smith), living in his own isolated existence. Then there's Mookie, who is stuck in the middle, torn between his commitment and responsibilities to both sides. Finally we have Mister Senor Love Daddy - played gorgeously by the one and only Samuel L. Jackson, in one of his finest performances - half active character and half all-knowing narrator - who represents the voice of reason in the conflict, the reason which is bound, ultimately, to collapse. Each and every character plays an important part in the climatic and dramatic conflict to which the movie builds up, and though it's the radical ones - Buggin Out and Radio Raheem - who trigger the events that cause the tragedy, they are not necessarily the ones who finish it. It is Mookie and Sal, in fact, who ultimately play the main part.

Do The Right Thing is not an easy watch; it's a mesmerizing, tense, difficult film that breaks many taboos and slaughters many holy cows. But in the end of it - hopefully - you'll be wiser than you were in the beginning, and that's what Lee have always tried to achieve in all his films. Watch it to get a real view on racism that doesn't duck the difficult issues and isn't afraid to tackle the real problem, and to see a master director at work. It's one of the best films of its time.