Do the Right Thing begins with girls dancing over the opening credits, and the dance is sure to make you laugh. It's extraordinarily dated, having been copied in a billion rap videos and even The Cosby Show, and, today, it seems very silly. As the film progresses, you're likely to notice dozens of other instances of severe dating that might make you giggle. Heck, if you didn't know that he was in it already, you're sure to laugh a little when you see that Martin Lawrence is in the film. Why did this dating happen? Well, simply because the film was so influential that other artists co-opted pieces of it all over the place. This would destroy a regular movie. Fortunately, Do the Right Thing is no ordinary movie.
This truly is one of the best films ever made. It's a masterpiece by one of the most talented and, unfortunately, most maligned directors alive. Spike Lee does not have the answers to the questions he poses, and sometimes I do object to the way he handles the situation. Sometimes I do ask the questions, when I am watching one of his films, "why does he have to be so angry about everything? Why doesn't he try to think these things out?" But I have great empathy for all emotions, and Lee is great at expressing his feelings on film. When I watch his films, I sympathize with what is happening.
Do the Right Thing is pitched at a feverish pace, and it's filled with enormous joy and, simultaneously, with enormous anger. This ambiguous mood is expressed most directly by the character Radio Rahim in a scene adapted from the great film Night of the Hunter, where Radio recites Robert Mitchum's "The Battle Between Love and Hate" speech. Immediately in the film we see that the races are capable of getting along. One black man is angry that Sal, who owns the local pizzeria, only hangs up pictures of Italian Americans on his wall, but no African Americans. Other African Americans find his objection somewhat ridiculous and respect Sal very much. Some African Americans object to a Korean couple who have successfully opened a grocery store on a certain corner, but others believe they are just savvy businessmen. On the other hand, there is a great amount of tension between the same races. Sal is basically a good man, but he has grown very hard and his temper is short. Radio Rahim walks in and, yes, rudely leaves his radio blasting while he tries to buy some pizza. However, did Sal really have to swear and order him to turn the radio off? Couldn't he, as Radio wonders later on, have at least said please?
Lee's feelings about the entire situation are clearly ambiguous. The entire film is felt deeply, and there is never any intellectualizing in the script. It is vitally important that Lee casts himself as Mookie, a young, shiftless man who works as a deliveryman for Sal. It is Mookie who has the choice of whether to do the right thing or not.
Perhaps some will be less forgiving about the film's late 1980s trappings. Even if they find it silly or unwatchable, I will guarantee that in 30 years, when the 1980s and even 1990s are far behind us, Do the Right Thing will be considered one of America's greatest films, as it more than deserves to be right now, in 2001. 10/10.
This truly is one of the best films ever made. It's a masterpiece by one of the most talented and, unfortunately, most maligned directors alive. Spike Lee does not have the answers to the questions he poses, and sometimes I do object to the way he handles the situation. Sometimes I do ask the questions, when I am watching one of his films, "why does he have to be so angry about everything? Why doesn't he try to think these things out?" But I have great empathy for all emotions, and Lee is great at expressing his feelings on film. When I watch his films, I sympathize with what is happening.
Do the Right Thing is pitched at a feverish pace, and it's filled with enormous joy and, simultaneously, with enormous anger. This ambiguous mood is expressed most directly by the character Radio Rahim in a scene adapted from the great film Night of the Hunter, where Radio recites Robert Mitchum's "The Battle Between Love and Hate" speech. Immediately in the film we see that the races are capable of getting along. One black man is angry that Sal, who owns the local pizzeria, only hangs up pictures of Italian Americans on his wall, but no African Americans. Other African Americans find his objection somewhat ridiculous and respect Sal very much. Some African Americans object to a Korean couple who have successfully opened a grocery store on a certain corner, but others believe they are just savvy businessmen. On the other hand, there is a great amount of tension between the same races. Sal is basically a good man, but he has grown very hard and his temper is short. Radio Rahim walks in and, yes, rudely leaves his radio blasting while he tries to buy some pizza. However, did Sal really have to swear and order him to turn the radio off? Couldn't he, as Radio wonders later on, have at least said please?
Lee's feelings about the entire situation are clearly ambiguous. The entire film is felt deeply, and there is never any intellectualizing in the script. It is vitally important that Lee casts himself as Mookie, a young, shiftless man who works as a deliveryman for Sal. It is Mookie who has the choice of whether to do the right thing or not.
Perhaps some will be less forgiving about the film's late 1980s trappings. Even if they find it silly or unwatchable, I will guarantee that in 30 years, when the 1980s and even 1990s are far behind us, Do the Right Thing will be considered one of America's greatest films, as it more than deserves to be right now, in 2001. 10/10.