Spike Lee's vibrant semi-autobiographical portrait of a school teacher, her stubborn jazz musician husband and their five kids living in Brooklyn in 1973.
An actor limited to stereotypical roles because of his ethnicity, dreams of making it big as a highly respected performer. As he makes his rounds, the film takes a satiric look at African American actors in Hollywood.
Director:
Robert Townsend
Stars:
Robert Townsend,
Craigus R. Johnson,
Helen Martin
Chinese kid Julian, who was adopted by the black family of Joe and Annabelle Lee and Asian exchange student May-Ling, who is housed with a black family, are trying to adapt to their mostly ... See full summary »
As Carl Black gets the opportunity to move his family out of Chicago in hope of a better life, their arrival in Beverly Hills is timed with that city's annual purge, where all crime is legal for twelve hours.
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.
Brian Hooks plays a character who is just released from jail. And the state adopts a "3 strikes" rule for felons that involves serious penalties. Hooks has 2 strikes, and wants to change ... See full summary »
Spike Lee's vibrant semi-autobiographical portrait of a school teacher, her stubborn jazz musician husband and their five kids living in Brooklyn in 1973.
None of the children on set had any idea how to play any of the street games their characters engage in - Lee had to personally instruct them. See more »
Goofs
In the beginning of the movie, Troy is playing stick ball wearing moccasin shoes, in the next scene, she is still wearing the moccasin shoes. See more »
Quotes
Bodega Woman:
What you talking about? I ain't no puta, I ain't no puta! I'm Connie. I keeps my panty clean.
Tito:
Oh come on, Connie.
Bodega Woman:
No, no, no.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The closing credits play over old footage of several episodes of "Soul Train". See more »
I remember seeing an interview with Neil Simon once who said
that he remebers that during the run of his play "Brightom Beach
Memiors", a black usher would crack up at every performance.
When Simon asked him why he laughed at every performance, the
usher told him "That's my family."
"Crooklyn" had the same effect on me. Just as a black ushers
family must have been light years away from a pre war Jewish
family in Brightom Beach, I can assure you that my childhood was
lightyears away from the Charmichles. True, I grew up in Brooklyn,
but I grew up in a upper middle class white neighborhood in the
early eighties. This world was light years away from the world of
Lee's film, but certain aspects of childhood ring true wether your
from Sachrimento or Siagon.
I think this is Spike's best film after "Do The Right Thing". In some
ways even better. It's one of the best films ever made about
childhood. You have the joy of staying up late and watching "The
Partidge Family". The pain of losing your Mom and having your
Dad thrown out of the house. The humor, as when one of the boys
hits a girl with a cat. This is a magical movie in all respects.