Do the Right Thing: The (The Criterion Collection)
by Spike Lee
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DVD details
Actor: Danny Aiello, John Turturro, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Spike LeeDirector: Spike Lee
Brand: HVC
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 120 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-02-20
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Model: CC1561DVD
Studio: Criterion
DVD Reviews of Do the Right Thing: The (The Criterion Collection)
DVD Review: Thoughtful, provocative slice of life
Summary: 5 Stars
"Do the Right Thing" chronicles a scorching hot summer day in the predominantly black Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood. We are quickly introduced to a variety of colorful characters, from Da Mayor, a neighborhood drunk who's always neatly dressed in a white suit (Ossie Davis) to Smiley, a mentally disabled man who sells pictures of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, to Radio Raheem (Bill Dunn), a young man whose prized possession is a boombox so enormous you wonder how he even carries the thing around without his arms falling off. The action centers around Sal's Famous Pizzeria. Sal (Danny Aiello) owns the joint with his sons. Vito (Richard Edson) is a racist and bully, and Pino (John Turturro) is a white "brother" type. Mookie (Spike Lee) is the delivery boy, who slacks off and just "wants to get paid." Sal is gruff and no-nonsense, but he tolerates Mookie's lateness and also has a crush on Mookie's sister Jade (Joie Lee).
On this hot summer day, Buggin Out (Giancarlo Esposito) notices that the pictures that line Sal's Famous are all Italian Americans. He demands that Sal put some pictures of African American celebrities on the wall. Sal tactlessly refuses, and Buggin' Out starts a boycott. On the same front, Radio Rakeem is offended at the brusque way Sal demands him to turn off his beloved boombox. Buggin' Out and Radio Raheem meet up to commiserate. At first the boycott is regarded as a joke around the nabe, but the situation escalates towards a tragic climax.
When the movie came out, many critics and politicians did some hand-wringing that the movie would incite violence. But "Do the Right Thing", seen in context almost 16 years later, is a remarkably intelligent, balanced view of race relations. This year's Academy Award nominated "Crash" is also about race relations, but it does so with about 1000 times less subtety and humor. Do the Right Thing, despite its tragic conclusion, has a lot of wit and humor. It's truly a slice of life, with not a false note in the entire cast. Lee documents the sense of community in this poor Brooklyn neighborhood, but also its problems -- unemployment, drug use, drunkeness, absentee fathers. Mookie for one has a son with his Puerto Rican girlfriend (Rosie Perez), who complains that he's never around. There are lots of one liners. One response to Buggin' Out's boycott campaign: "You wanna boycott someone? You ought to start with the godd__n barber that f__ed up your head."
Another thing Lee refuses to do is to judge any of his characters. Except for Vito, who is an irredeemable jerk. The characters are all a mix of good and bad, just as in real life. Sal is curt and gruff, but he also has genuine affection for his neighborhood. Sal's, Radio's, and Mookie's actions during the climax of the film may seem shocking and incomprehensible, but I think Lee is saying that sometimes, people do things in the heat of the moment, without thinking of its consequences. Situatons escalate, and people are helpless to stop the momentum. In the end, nobody wins. The film ends with two quotes about violence, one by Martin Luther King Jr., one by Malcolm X.
Criterion "did the right thing" with this double-disc edition. There's an audio commentary track by Lee on the first disc. The second disc is loaded with goodies: an hourlong "Making Of" documentary. You see facades being built in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood for filming. It's certainly more interesting than the normal bland gush-fest. There's the music video for "Fight for the Power", the song that Radio Raheem played on his boombox. There's also footage of a Cannes film festival news conference with Lee and his cast.
The most enriching extra is behind-the-scenes footage, where the multi-ethnic actors can be seen rehearsing their lines together. They debate the best way to portray their character or to convey plot points, and Spike Lee takes suggestions from his cast. In one of the most fascinating discussions, Lee talks about how his characters would come up with the money for their expensive clothing/jewelry. How could Radio Raheem afford such an expensive boombox (and the batteries to run the ginormous thing). He talks about the loiterers in these neighborhoods. What do they do? "Not all the money comes from selling drugs," he says. Lee says he has to honestly convey the black underclass, and not make it a cliche of selling drugs, etc. Most of all, you sense the comraderie that the actors felt making the film. All of these add a lot to understanding of the film.
Description of Do the Right Thing: The (The Criterion Collection)
The hottest day of the year explodes onscreen in this vibrant look at a day in the life of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Featuring a stellar ensemble cast that includes Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Robin Harris, Samuel L. Jackson, Bill Nunn, Rosie Perez, and John Turturro, Spike Lee's powerful portrait of urban racial tensions sparked controversy while earning popular and critical praise. Criterion is proud to present Do the Right Thing in a new Director Approved special edition.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 Seņor Love Daddy. A rich and nuanced film to watch, treasure, and learn from--over and over again. --Jim Emerson
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