 | |
List Price: $19.98 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 26604
Released: July 22, 1998 |
| Our Price: $11.30 |
| Used Price: $6.78 |
|
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
The hottest day of the year in the bedford-stuyvesant area of brooklyn explodes into events that will change the residents lives forever. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 01/09/2007 Starring: Danny Aiello Ruby Dee Run time: 120 minutes Rating: R Director: Spike Lee
Description of Do the Right Thing:
Spike Lee's incendiary look at race relations in America, circa 1989, is so colorful and exuberant for its first three-quarters that you can almost forget the terrible confrontation that the movie inexorably builds toward. Do the Right Thing is a joyful, tumultuous masterpiece--maybe the best film ever made about race in America, revealing racial prejudices and stereotypes in all their guises and demonstrating how a deadly riot can erupt out of a series of small misunderstandings. Set on one block in Bedford-Stuyvesant on the hottest day of the summer, the movie shows the whole spectrum of life in this neighborhood and then leaves it up to us to decide if, in the end, anybody actually does the "right thing." Featuring Danny Aiello as Sal, the pizza parlor owner; Lee himself as Mookie, the lazy pizza-delivery guy; John Turturro and Richard Edson as Sal's sons; Lee's sister Joie as Mookie's sister Jade; Rosie Perez as Mookie's girlfriend Tina; Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee as the block elders, Da Mayor and Mother Sister; Giancarlo Esposito as Mookie's hot-headed friend Buggin' Out; Bill Nunn as the boom-box toting Radio Raheem; and Samuel L. Jackson as deejay Mister Señor Love Daddy. A rich and nuanced film to watch, treasure, and learn from--over and over again. --Jim Emerson
Do the Right Thing Reviews:
Do The Right Thing Review 
2009-10-28 - Do the Right Thing, a Spike Lee joint, takes you into the heart of Bedford - Stuyvesant, Brooklyn on a sweltering summer day. Most of the entire film takes place over just one day. Though one day is a short amount of time, many issues arise. The issues, mostly rooted from racial conflict, are humorous but at the same time provocative and heartfelt.
The main character, Pookie played by director Spike Lee, works as a pizza delivery guy for Sal's Famous Pizzeria. Sal's Pizzeria is owned by a white man who runs the business with his two sons. Pookie, a young African American male with a girlfriend and a young son, is often the guy the neighborhood people go to for advice or to rant about whatever. After a young man gets upset about the absence of African Americans on the wall at Sal's Pizzeria, he lets Pookie hear it. When an attempted boycott of the pizzeria fails, the young man and his friend, Radio Rahim, confront Sal. Soon after, a riot breaks out which results in the death of Radio Rahim and Sal's Pizzeria going up in flames.
While the movie lacks direction and plot through the majority of the film, its goal is to take the racial conflict of Bedstuy and broadcast it to the audience, many of which who were probably unaware of the severity and volume of the issue. By doing this affectively, the film was granted the prestige of being "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress. Do the Right Thing is humorous while also being culturally informative. It gives insight that appears real and significant, which can easily be appreciated by any viewer.
Great Movie on Race Relations 
2009-10-28 - A great mix of characters and music from 1989... makes you think. A must-see for anyone that likes rap/hip-hop.
Do The Right Thing: A Review
2009-10-27 - "Do The Right Thing" was written, produced, and directed by Spike Lee who also stars as the movie's main character, Mookie. The film is set in 1989 on the hottest day of the summer on a block in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. Most of the action occurs around Sal's Pizzeria. Sal's Pizzeria is an Italian-American "pizza joint" that has been thriving in this predominantly African-American neighborhood for over 25 years. The "pizza joint"is run by Sal with help from his two sons Pino and Vito. Mookie works as the restaurant's delivery boy.
The movie highlights and is a study of the daily lives of the neighborhoods various inhabitants. It addresses predominant racial prejudices and stereotypes while tracking the inhabitants' survival. One way that this is shown is through the businesses that exist and thrive off of the neighborhood. Businesses such as Sal's as well as a Korean owned store thrive off of and take money out of the community, while African-American owned stores are rarely found. The lack of African-American representation in the community's businesses soon becomes an issue as a character by the name of Buggin' Out questions Sal for only having Italian-Americans on the wall in his restaurant, but no African-Americans, the race that is essentially supporting him and putting money in his pocket. Sal shrugs him off telling him that it is his restaurant therefore he can do whatever he wants. As a result, Buggin' Out decides to organize a boycott and enlists the help of Radio Raheem, who is like the neighborhood's "jukebox." Radio Raheem constantly walks around with his huge radio as he blasts Public Enemy's hit song "Fight the Power", the power being white supremacy. Though he may seem obnoxious to some, Radio Raheem is a strong and vital character as he is a representation of someone trying to rise above his current state of opression and speak out. However, he is never afforded the opportunity to truly do so because he is choked to death by a white police offer after an altercation between he and Sal ensues. Radio Raheem's death devastates the neighborhood and causes the citizens to riot and burn down Sal's Pizzeria.
Throughout the movie, we see various types of racial prejudice all of which never truly die, but are rather pushed under the surface and ignored. Pino even expresses to Sal that Mookie can't be trusted because he's black. Radio Raheem's death at the hands of a white police officer symbolizes how the black community, as well as other prejudice stricken communities feel when they try to speak out, they are afraid, afraid that "tha man" will silence them for good. Spike Lee does a great job of showing the injustices that existed at that time and that still exist today. If we refuse to educate ourselves as a nation and ignore these issues then we too are to blame, for ignorance is not bliss, and by being ignorant, we are helping to perpetuate the very issue in which we are trying to diminish.
Do the Right Thing
2009-10-27 - Do the right thing concerns racial conflicts that take place every day on a block in Brooklyn. Throughout the entire movie it is tension filled and has an ending that smashes the blocks final racial breaking point. Every character in the movie is somewhat racist, even though there are glimpses of different races helping each other there is another scene right after to contradict the previous scene. There are no main characters in the movie; there is Mookie, the black pizza delivery boy, Sal the white Italian owner of the pizza shop, Radio Raheem, a giant black "protestor", and many more that inflict racial slurs against each other. There is only one character that shows that she is all good and that is jade, she is the small piece of hope that tries to keep all the races together, but she is in very few scenes which also confirms the lack of understanding between the races. The ending scenes of the movie can also be seen as the climax of this film, this is when Radio Raheem and Sal start to fight and Radio Raheem is killed by the police. This sends the whole block into an outrage and they end up burning down the Sal's pizzeria. After this incident I think that all the respect is lost on every race in the community, they have done the damage to each other and the communication is lost.
Do the right thing review
2009-10-26 - In Spike Lee's third film, Do the right thing, he shows the significance of races and life in Brooklyn. The setting of the movie takes place is in a neighborhood called Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn adds to the culture and ethnicity found in the movie. Italian, Latino, African American, or Jewish they all learn to get along in this one town. Sal's is this Italian pizzeria that you can locate and consider the center of this neighborhood. It is run by a strong, and proud Italian family who have been running this business for many years. Some confrontation comes up between Sal and ML when he tries to petition against Sal's pizzeria. This petition began because ML was offended that there was no photos of African Americans on his wall of fame.But no one wanted or planned on signing this ridiculous petition. Sal's pizzeria is where they grew up and plan on showing to their future children. Paul Benjamin who plays the role of "ML" then convinces Radio Raheem, played by Bill Nunn, to support him with this petition. Radio Raheem is the character who goes around town blasting his music and stating his opinions against anything. He represents love and hate which is basically seen through siblings, families, friends, different races and businesses. There's so many varieties of races in this small town and they are able to just cope with each other.But that all changed rather quickly.
One late afternoon Radio Raheem and ML make there way into Sal's pizzeria. Radio Raheem, as usual, has his stereo blasting music and Sal simply asks him to lower it. But of course he was being difficult and didn't do as Sal commanded. This led into a huge argument and everyone started yelling but when Sal smashed Radio Raheem's radio into pieces things went down hill. Radio Raheem and Sal began to fight each other. Everyone around and people who started heading over to Sal's pizzeria start fighting each other. All communication and tolerance broke when Sal destroyed the radio. The cops come and take Radio Raheem away and end up murdering him. This situation just caused everyone's anger to grow greater but Mookie changes things around. He approaches the pizzeria and chucks a garbage can at the window and everyone turns there anger against destroying the pizzeria. I believe Mookie did this because they wanted the violence to stop but wanted to maybe still hurt Sal which could be done by destroying his restaurant. While instead of taking their anger out on the cops, who were the ones who exceeded the point of violence by murdering Radio Raheem; they decided to take it out on Sal and his pizzeria. This whole riot shows that they were able to tolerate each other to a certain point but that ended communication ended at the pizzeria. In the end both Radio Raheem and Sal's pizzeria are dead and nothing got settled.
