Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much
appreciated.
Close
Ad Feedback
Ad Feedback
‘Do the Right Thing’
Spike Lee's film "Do the Right Thing" was released in 1989. Critics were concerned that the controversial motion picture, which took on a number of hot-button issues, would inflame passions. Instead, it provoked dialogue -- and has since become a classic. Click through to see images taken on set and published in the book "Do the Right Thing" by Spike Lee and Jason Matloff.
from Do The Right Thing/Spike Lee/Jason Matloff/Images courtesy ammobooks.com
The film is set on a hot day in Brooklyn, New York, and follows the lives of several characters. One of them, Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn), likes to walk around the neighborhood playing Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" at high volume, annoying some and entertaining others.
from Do The Right Thing/Spike Lee/Jason Matloff/Images courtesy ammobooks.com
"Do the Right Thing" was shot on location in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. Among the performers with small roles was Martin Lawrence, second from left.
from Do The Right Thing/Spike Lee/Jason Matloff/Images courtesy ammobooks.com
Sal, played by Danny Aiello, right, owns a local pizzeria, an Italian in what's become an African-American neighborhood. His son Pino (John Turturro) is prejudiced against the locals. The pizzeria, a neighborhood gathering spot, eventually becomes the center of trouble.
from Do The Right Thing/Spike Lee/Jason Matloff/Images courtesy ammobooks.com
Rosie Perez plays Tina, girlfriend of Spike Lee's pizza delivery man, Mookie. The pair have a young son, but little hope: Mookie is immature and Tina is struggling. On this hot day, it's all she can do to simply keep cool.
from Do The Right Thing/Spike Lee/Jason Matloff/Images courtesy ammobooks.com
Radio Raheem wears "love" and "hate" on his rings, a reflection of the neighborhood's volatility (and a nod to Robert Mitchum's preacher character in "Night of the Hunter," who has the words tattooed on his knuckles). Another character, a mentally challenged man named Smiley, sells pictures of Malcolm X and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., another symbol of duality.
from Do The Right Thing/Spike Lee/Jason Matloff/Images courtesy ammobooks.com
Sal's son Pino (Turturro) has a tense relationship with Mookie (Lee). His other son, Vito (Richard Edson), is friendly with the delivery man. Still, the trio's conversation often resolves nothing and highlights the gulf between them.
from Do The Right Thing/Spike Lee/Jason Matloff/Images courtesy ammobooks.com
Samuel L. Jackson plays local DJ "Mister Senor Love Daddy," whose mellifluous chatter continually comments on the day. Jackson had a major role in Lee's next film, "Jungle Fever," which proved to be his big break.
from Do The Right Thing/Spike Lee/Jason Matloff/Images courtesy ammobooks.com
Among the set visitors was Eddie Murphy, left, then at the height of his fame. He and Lee, right, had a sometimes rocky relationship, with Lee criticizing Murphy for not using his clout to help African-Americans in the movie business.
from Do The Right Thing/Spike Lee/Jason Matloff/Images courtesy ammobooks.com
"Do the Right Thing" ended up both a financial and critical success. The film was nominated for Oscars in two categories best supporting actor (Danny Aiello) and original screenplay (Spike Lee). The film was ranked the 96th greatest of all time in a 2007 American Film Institute survey.
from Do The Right Thing/Spike Lee/Jason Matloff/Images courtesy ammobooks.com