To think that without Spike Lee, the depictions of Brooklyn in popular culture we’d be stuck with would be this and this (shudder). Spike Lee’s Red Hook Summer drops in NYC this weekend and it’s being anticipated as a the director’s big return to capturing Brooklyn life on screen. The film even features Mookie, the pizza-delivering protaganist from Do the Right Thing. The story follows a kid who moves to the Red Hook projects to spend the summer with his Bible-thumping grandfather (Clarke Peters, of The Wire), with a big twist at the end that apparently divided Sundance audiences. But you can be one of the first to see for yourself: We’ve got four pairs of tickets to giveaway to screenings starting this weekend!
The passes are good for screenings at BAM from Friday through Aug. 16 (except the 7:10 show on Friday featuring a Spike Lee Q&A, which is already sold out). Lee will, however, be doing a special extended introduction to the 10pm show on Friday, which you can use the passes for, unless it sells out.
To enter, tell us in the comments below your favorite Spike Lee film and why. We’ll pick winners by Wednesday at 4pm. Make sure to register as a commenter so we can email you!
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Nothing beats ‘Do The Right Thing’ for me. It’s one of those movies I can watch again and again and not get tired of it. Plus, we’ll never know if he really did ‘do the right thing’ …
My favorite Favorite Spike Lee film is “School Daze” b/c other than “A Different World”, it was the only realistic depiction of black people in college that I saw in the media as a child.
‘Do The Right Thing’ – Radio Raheem’s speech on the power of Love and Hate, as seen on his awesome knuckle accessories.
‘Do The Right Thing’!
He Got Game because Ray Allen
Bamboozled is one of the most important, underrated movies I’ve ever seen. Everyone should see it, hell I wrote a paper about it in Social Psych. But I love Crooklyn forever. Really shows how families can work thru anything.
Do the right thing — provocative in all the right ways. Classic.
Do The Right Thing is the best. I’ve been obsessed with the whole Wrong Thing/Right Reason construct ever since.
Also Rosie Perez’s boobs.
I honestly love all of Spikes films, but the one that sticks out to me is Malcolm X. Its a masterpiece. Its inspiring and definitely one of Denzel’s best performances.
25th Hour…. it may not be his best movie, but as a native NYer who was living out west at the time, very moving in the aftermath of 9/11. The performances of Norton, Dawson, etc. were excellent as well, and it is somewhat unique among his movies as far as subject matter goes. Very good movie.
I love Bamboozled. The cast was amazing (Davidson and Rappaport!) but it was also a phenomenal story and satire of the media, it’s skewed idea of entertainment, greed and ethics.
It’s a tough one; I love Bamboozled, School Daze, Malcolm X and She’s Gotta Have It, but I gotta agree with the consensus so far — Do the Right Thing is the best.
The Altmanesque interweaving of characters with different relationships, Sam Jackson’s DJ functioning as a Greek chorus, Ossie Davis’s funny and heartbreaking performance as Da Mayor, and who couldn’t love Buggin’ Out.
Plus with the color palette Spike uses throughout, you can really feel just how hot a day it is, contributing to that slow build of tension that leads up to the shocking yet inevitable explosion of rage at the climax. Great, great film.
4 Little Girls was a fantastic, deeply affecting documentary. I also love Girl 6 for the soundtrack and random Naomi Campbell cameo and Original Kings of Comedy for being so quotable!
‘Do The Right Thing’ – Radio Raheem’s speech on the power of Love and Hate, as seen on his awesome knuckle accessories.
(sorry for the re-post; forgot to sign in).
Do the Right Thing! Can’t beat the opening sequence over the credits!
hands down, do the right thing changed my life. i remember seeing it in the 11th grade with my best friend and leaving the movie theater angry. it riled me up and made me politically and socially aware and active and that activism has stayed with me. funny thing is, i actually ran into spike outside of his office in fort greene and i told him exactly this: do the right thing changed my life.
Being from Brooklyn, I have very deep n sentimental connection to Spike Lee’s body of works.
My wife and I met during *She’s Gotta Have It*.
We had our one n only son during *Mo’ Better Blues*.
The last Spike Lee production we watched together was *If God Is Willing and da Creek Don’t Rise*, before she recently passed away from breast and liver cancer. 23 of the best years of my life living with her in Red Hook!!!
And I am sooooo looking forward to this movie, even though it will be my first without her.
My favorite is ‘the 25th Hour’ because the film was accessible to the entirety of New Yorkers, helped us mourn after 9/11, and brought back the racial stereotype montage from ‘Do the Right Thing.’ It was a classic Spike Lee Joint as much as it was new and different. Plus, there were brilliant performances from Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Edward Norton. One of my favorites of all time.
Crooklyn is a strong contender, because I was born in BK but didn’t grow up here, and it informed some of my sense of identity.
But X wins, it’s the only film that always makes me stop channel surfing, I’m compelled to watch until the end, at which point I always find myself weeping
School Daze is my favorite. A lot of people in the Black community bashed it for airing our dirty laundry, but the stupid things we’ve used to divide us for years (skin tone/hair, secondary features etc. ) still continues today.
Mo Betta Blues…One of Wesley Snipes better roles of his career. Also has an amazing scene of Denzel playing air trumpet while the camera does a 360 pan. Great music ( as in all of Spikes films), great cast ( Sam Jackson!?!) and beautiful women. Can’t get much better.
The Documentary ” 4 Little Girls” (1997) about the bombing of the 16th Street Church in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 . In that attack, four little African-American girls lost their lives. People were angered by this cowardly act and galvanized to fight for equality and justice.
“Do the Right Thing” b/c it is an awesome BK story about race in America.
But I kind of want CN to get the tickets. his post almost had me in tears. beautiful.
Crooklyn, because it is one of the best portrayals of what it is like to be a little kid in Brooklyn. I currently live in Bed-Stuy (do-or-die) and I am constantly reminded of Crooklyn in the faces of little children jumping rope, playing in open hydrants, and drawing with bright colored chalk. I am so excited to see Spike portraying kids in BK again in Red Hook Summer!
Has to be ‘Do the Right Thing’ – it’s somehow so enjoyable to watch yet doesn’t make anything easy for its audience.
a favorite Spike joint? that’s hard to decide. each of his films evoke different emotions and have provided a different ‘soundtrack’ to my life. i grew up on south oxford in the late 80s and i remember when Spike opened up his store on dekalb and on my way home from school, i would ring his doorbell and run (until i realized there were cameras there). so She’s Gotta Have It, School Daze, Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, Mo Betta Blues, Crooklyn really capture some coming of age memories for me. Heck, even Get on the Bus and When the Levees Broke have deep impactful memories.
Loved Crooklyn. One of my favorite soundtracks of all time. So excited for Red Hook Summer since I just moved to the neighborhood.
I had the great fortune to see Bamboozled in a cinema studies class in college, and that final montage is by far one of the most important pieces of American cinema.
“the original kings of comedy”. entertaining + inspiring + fortifying to witness four of the best modern day, black comedians share a stage. comedy is more than laughs, it’s medicine. rest in peace bernie mac.
Not the first one to say it but, Do The Right Thing! It’s kind of the original Crash.
Crooklyn is one of my favorite movies of all time. OF ALL TIME!
My brother and I had it memorized back in the late 90’s. It has awesome music and its just so real. Except the part when the dead dog flies out of the sofa bed.
My favorite Spike Lee film is Crooklyn because I love the soundtrack and it reminds me of my neighborhood in the summertime ;)
Do The Right Thing. Still the greatest film to tackle the subject of racism. It provoked discussion back in 1989 and still does so to this day.
OK, so since no one has brought it up yet, I am required to mention that the freaking Obamas WENT ON THEIR FIRST DATE TO DO THE RIGHT THING!
The Original Kings of Comedy was hilarious! I already miss Bernie Mac </3
Bamboozled…hands down. Talk about one of the smartest movies about American culture ever made.
my favorite spike lee movie is “do the right thing” because i live in bedstuy and am proud of its cinematic heritage. and when it’s a really hot day in the summer and everyone is grumpy, it makes me smile because i think about that great film!
hard to decide on the best movie… but Do the right thing might be the one. Although Malcolm X was as well a great movie.
it’s GREAT! another spike lee movie!!
I go for Do the right thing! yes!
Jungle Fever. Loved the noisy love-making with open windows.
Girl 6 was the best movie…because Naomi Campbell was in it!!!
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006)
The destruction of Hurricane Katrina was not so much in the winds, but in the aftermath: The slow government response, the relegation to underfunded trailers, the psychological damage from realizing everything you’ve ever known has drowned.
Spike Lee’s when the Levees Broke is a cultural masterpiece, an epic documentary of destruction and broken promises. It’s all-around horrifying and haunting and probably one of the most important pieces of documentary filmmaking in the last decade.
School Daze made me want to attend a black college and pledge and thats exactly what I did
I’ve only been waiting to see this for….a while. :-) My favorite Spike Lee film? I’d have to pick Macolm X, for its brave depiction of a true American who changed the world. He took no shortcuts, didn’t candycoat the story so that all future generations could be exposed to the true story as accurately as possible. <3
In case my last post didn’t go through…it definitely is Malcolm X for it’s sincere portrayal of a true American icon. He didn’t sugarcoat the story, and now young Americans can now easily access and understand his legacy. The film has almost become a historical record in itself. For that, Spike Lee is one of the bravest, most sincere directors of this age. <3
“Girl 6” would be my favorite by far. Basically it’s about the life of an aspiring actress in New York. My most memorable scene though, would be when she’s is getting yelled at by acting coach, Susan Batson. There’s just a sense of truth in that scene, that even though she’s getting bashed and yelled at by this coach, Susan is just trying to make her be honest with her acting. It’s funny but makes complete sense. I guess I can relate because I’m an aspiring actress myself.
My favorite? “Inside Man”.
While it may not be the most important film he’s ever made, it shows that he can eschew race relations and make a better film than most other directors.
It’s one of the best heist movies I’ve ever seen, and I could watch it at any time. I feel like you need to be in a certain mood for a lot of his other stuff.
Although, if his IMDB page is serious, his take on Old Boy will be insane.
my favorite spike lee joint is malcolm x. i find it to be his most powerful film by far… it also makes you wounder how the same guy managed to also direct the utter clusterschmuck that is “she hate me”.
“Crooklyn”!!! All day! How can you beat a movie shot in 70’s brooklyn with hilarity, debauchery, heart warming family moments and drama! It’s a classic and the soundtrack is sick!
Crooklyn for sure
Crooklyn, for sure.
So, so hard but I have a soft spot in my heart for School Daze because it opened me up to Spike. It’s daring, provocative and just a taste of things to come. No one was making a film like this when it was released, no one.
“Wake Up!”
Malcolm X. Powerful story, powerful performances. Great period detail. Great music. Not just the best Spike Lee movie, but one of the best movies ever.