In honor of Spike Lee’s latest effort, Highest 2 Lowest, we present the source material for that film: Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 masterpiece High & Low, as well as Lee’s most iconic film, Do the Right Thing.
Just in time for the end of summer, we present one of the best summer movies ever.
One of the best American films of the past 50 years, Do the Right Thing confirmed Spike Lee as a filmmaker of peerless vision and passionate social engagement. Bolstered by Lee’s brilliant script, the dazzling cinematography of Ernest Dickerson, and dynamic performances up and down the expansive cast, Do the Right Thing remains a cultural lightning rod and a landmark in American cinema.
It’s the hottest day of the year in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, and pizza delivery man Mookie (Spike Lee) is working for Sal (Danny Aiello), the Italian-American owner of a pizzeria in the predominantly Black community. The residents of the neighborhood—including boombox-blasting Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn), activist Buggin’ Out (Giancarlo Esposito), and Korean shopkeeper Sonny (Steve Park)—coexist tenuously, until a dispute over the pizzeria’s “Wall of Fame”—which showcases famous Italian-Americans, but no Black celebrities—ignites a violent chain of events that ends in tragedy.
Famously dissed by the Oscars, Lee’s film got nominations for its screenplay and Aiello’s supporting performance, losing both, but no nod for Best Picture or its searing cinematography. Even Public Enemy’s rousing classic “Fight the Power,” written specifically for the film, failed to get a Best Original Song nomination. And the biggest insult for Lee came when the Best Picture went to… Driving Miss Daisy. He was not a fan.
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