Have you ever been in the middle of one those sweltering New York City summer days? The ones where the air is as thick as a slice of Junior’s cheesecake. Where the smells of the city defy all logic and where a nudge on a packed subway car can quickly turn into a heated dispute. It seems that nothing can help cool you down and that everyone is close to their breaking point. This is the kind of day we see in Do the Right Thing, a film that two decades later is still relevant. It put Spike Lee on the map and brought to the surface issues of race that not everyone was ready to talk about. Spike Lee: Do The Right Thing is a comprehensive and colorful book featuring an oral history of the film, hundreds of unreleased photographs and perhaps my favorite section: a xerox copy of the first draft of the script which Lee completed in just two weeks (!!!). DTRT was Lee’s third film and what he describes as when he “became a director”. It shows in the stylized look of the film that opens with Rosie Perez dancing harder than the flyest Fly Girl and continues with a bold color palette, interesting camera angles (some Godard and De Palma-esque) and a thumping soundtrack by Public Enemy. The powerful visuals are supported by strong performances by Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, and then newcomers Rosie Perez, Samuel L. Jackson, Martin Lawrence, and Lee himself as Mookie in the middle of a neighborhood on the brink of exploding.

BONUS: Check out a short interview with Spike Lee about the film in NYMag. Do The Right Thing is currently on Netflix Watch Instantly and the book is available for under twenty bones at Strand. It is beyond worth it, I promise!

Spike Lee: Do The Right Thing by Spike Lee & Jason Matloff
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tagged: books, film, .
  1. iamtheblackballoon reblogged this from ilovehotdogs and added:
    via ilovehotdogs
  2. ladonnaladiva reblogged this from ilovehotdogs and added:
    ^^WANT!!
  3. zingha reblogged this from ilovehotdogs and added:
    A Black Classic.
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  5. madeinthedark reblogged this from ilovehotdogs and added:
    One of my favorite films ever. Wonderful post. I just got the Criterion Collection version a few months so this book...
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    by way of
  7. cinda441 reblogged this from ilovehotdogs
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  9. nightswimming reblogged this from ilovehotdogs and added:
    BONUS: Check out a short interview with Spike Lee about the film in NYMag. Do The Right Thing is currently on Netflix...
  10. ilovehotdogs posted this

Have you ever been in the middle of one those sweltering New York City summer days? The ones where the air is as thick as a slice of Junior’s cheesecake. Where the smells of the city defy all logic and where a nudge on a packed subway car can quickly turn into a heated dispute. It seems that nothing can help cool you down and that everyone is close to their breaking point. This is the kind of day we see in Do the Right Thing, a film that two decades later is still relevant. It put Spike Lee on the map and brought to the surface issues of race that not everyone was ready to talk about. Spike Lee: Do The Right Thing is a comprehensive and colorful book featuring an oral history of the film, hundreds of unreleased photographs and perhaps my favorite section: a xerox copy of the first draft of the script which Lee completed in just two weeks (!!!). DTRT was Lee’s third film and what he describes as when he “became a director”. It shows in the stylized look of the film that opens with Rosie Perez dancing harder than the flyest Fly Girl and continues with a bold color palette, interesting camera angles (some Godard and De Palma-esque) and a thumping soundtrack by Public Enemy. The powerful visuals are supported by strong performances by Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, and then newcomers Rosie Perez, Samuel L. Jackson, Martin Lawrence, and Lee himself as Mookie in the middle of a neighborhood on the brink of exploding.

BONUS: Check out a short interview with Spike Lee about the film in NYMag. Do The Right Thing is currently on Netflix Watch Instantly and the book is available for under twenty bones at Strand. It is beyond worth it, I promise!

Spike Lee: Do The Right Thing by Spike Lee & Jason Matloff