Do the Right Thing

1989 "It's the hottest day of the summer. You can do nothing, you can do something, or you can Do the Right Thing."
8| 2h0m| R| en| More Info
Released: 30 June 1989 Released
Producted By: Universal Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Salvatore "Sal" Fragione is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin' Out, becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria's Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors. Buggin' Out believes a pizzeria in a black neighborhood should showcase black actors, but Sal disagrees. The wall becomes a symbol of racism and hate to Buggin' Out and to other people in the neighborhood, and tensions rise.

Genre

Drama

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Director

Spike Lee

Production Companies

Universal Pictures

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Do the Right Thing Audience Reviews

ThiefHott Too much of everything
Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype
Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
estelastudent This movie is a really raw movie. This is by far my favorite movie. Not only is it really humour, but it really shows you how the youth in a community are impacted by oppression and police brutality. One of my favorite characters in the movie was Mookie, the main character. I think people can relate to mookie and how many priorities he had as a young black man, especially seeing his black friend being murdered. It was a lot going on in mookie's world. He had many dilemmas, but he always tried to remain respectful and keep his composure. I really recommend this movie especially do many minorities who's seen corruption within their neighborhoods. Very raw movie. Fave movie indeed!
zensixties Do the Right Thing is Spike Lee's breakout classic film set in Brooklyn. Over his career many of his films are hit and miss, but this is by far his best. Set in Brooklyn on "the hottest day of the year", it has an all-star cast including the director himself, John Turturro, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Rosie Perez, John Savage, and many others. The film takes place in the universe of a Brooklyn neighborhood where the theme of race is played out with some great satire as well as depth. It definitely captured the moment of 1980s New York. Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn who passed away recently), was a great segue between scenes as he carries his 20 battery boom box through town. Fight the Power by Public Enemy was the apropos theme song (don't believe the hype; Elvis, contrary to the lyrics was NOT racist). But there is also some well orchestrated film background music to fill out the soundscape, as well as Samuel L. Jackson as Love Daddy, the local DJ. It's great how everyone in the neighborhood seems to know each other and it all comes together with the segue characters connecting Mookie (Lee) with his pizza delivery scenes. Ossie Davis plays the "Mayor" and is the town drunk, but also the wise elder who ominously and understatedly tells Mookie to "always do the right thing" (reminds one of how George Kennedy whispers "cool hand Luke" in that great film). Radio Raheem has a classic "love and hate" scene which revamps the Robert Mitchum Night of the Hunter concept (in this case he has gold knuckles). John Savage has a cameo (I thought it was Tim Robbins at first) who is the European American being unwelcomed into the neighborhood, even though he was born there. The opening has Rosie Perez who plays Mookie's girlfriend dancing to the theme song. The film centers around Sal's Famous Pizzeria owned by Sal (Aiello) and his sons' the racist Pino (Turturro) and Vito (Richard Edson from Stranger than Paradise). Another segue character is the stutterer who goes through town selling the photo of Malcolm X and MLK together (Spike would later go on to direct the great biopic Malcolm X with Denzel Washington). The racial tension builds throughout the day until it culminates in a confrontation with Radio Raheem and Sal. It ends up in a riot with the inevitable overreacting police (the more things change the more they stay the same). Spike Lee created a classic work of art here, but didn't rise to the challenge of becoming an "auteur", since none of his other films comes close to this (possible exception of "Malcolm X", but that was a much different genre).I saw this in the theater in 1989 and it only grows on you with more viewings.
framptonhollis Full of style, color, and humor, Spike Lee's masterpiece "Do The Right Thing" takes place during the hottest day of the year in a Brooklyn neighborhood. It explores the issue of racism in a powerful and brutal way, showing how every character has their own prejudices, and how some characters are far more villainous and hateful than others. Eventually, this hatred explodes into a finale that can only be described as shocking and chaotic.For a large portion of the film, I was smiling and laughing at all of the joyfulness and comedy that is packed into this somewhat depressing story. Although it's about a strong and mature topic, the film itself is entertaining, hilarious, and likable. But, it's still a very heavy film at times as well.Spike Lee portrays racism in a very powerful and meaningful way, and he doesn't just show whites oppressing blacks, which is refreshing to see, since it's a cliché in a film about race to show that all of the black characters are saints who don't have prejudices of their own. Pretty much every main character in "Do the Right Thing" has their own prejudice, some of them have far more mild prejudices than others, and some of them are far more kind than others. Characters like Radio Raheem and (especially) Buggin' Out are very hateful against the whites, and then characters like Pino are very hateful against the blacks. There's also characters who hold strong prejudices against Asian characters, and elderly characters. Overall, the film shows that hate can be inside of anybody, and can be directed to anybody.Unfortunately, it seems like many people seem to be interrupting the film all wrong. Looking through message boards and reviews, some people may have the idea that "Do the Right Thing" supports the actions of Radio Raheem and Buggin' Out, but they're wrong. Based on the film I watched, the Italian pizzeria owner Sal is actually supposed to be somewhat likable. He cares for and likes his customers, unlike his son Pino, a very racist and unsympathetic character, and Pino comes across as the polar opposite as his very likable and friendly brother Vito. Sadly, Sal unleashes all of his hatred at the end of the film, when Buggin' Out and Radio Raheem unleash their own hatred. Mookie, a very likable black character, is also pushed to the limit at the end of the film. So both Sal and Mookie are good people who are pushed to their limit and unleash hatred, while characters like Da Mayor and Vito are never really filled with hate and remain likable for the entirety of the film, and other characters like Buggin' Out and Pino are very racist and unlikable for the entirety of the film.At least, this is how I interpreted the film.
Damon Auguste Do the right thing takes place during a very hot summer day where racial tensions are building up. What do the right thing does right is making this little neighborhood feel alive. This is achieved by making every character seem relevant in story. Each character is given just the right time to ease their self in our mind allowing us to believe that even after the movie ends, the neighborhood continues to live.Why I think do the right thing is important is because even after the civil rights movement, people thought racism was coming to an end. Spike Lee wanted to show in this movie, that race relationships in America are still a problem. Even to this day, this movie still applies and could be made today and it would affect me the same way.In terms of actual technical skill, the movie feels different. Spike lee films in unusual ways, he keeps the camera moving. He keeps it upbeat, he keeps it fresh and he keeps it interesting.The performances are great and if there was one stand-out it would have to be Sal.Overall, a very thought-provoking movie that makes you pondering race relations. No matter what your color is.