The Film

Visceral, challenging, immediate, and uncomfortable, Do the Right Thing hasn’t lost any of its bite over the last 20 years. Often considered Spike Lee’s masterwork — I’d say it’s definitely in the top three — it will likely endure better than any of his other films. The racial questions the film provokes are still relevant now even if the circumstances surrounding most issues of race aren’t quite as inflamed as in the film. Lee himself certainly thinks the questions still need to be asked.

Do the Right Thing works because despite the over-the-top nature of many of the events (even this is debatable), it’s not purely a message movie. Well-drawn characters fuel the story, and there’s hardly anyone who can be seen as fully blameless. The “hottest day of the year” motif that Lee carries through the film and the cast that give intense performances make Do the Right Thing a stunning achievement, and one that has been well-served by this 20th Anniversary Blu-ray edition.

At the center of the boiling racial turmoil is Sal’s Famous Pizzeria, an Italian-owned pizza shop in a predominantly black neighborhood in Brooklyn. Owner Sal (Danny Aiello in the performance of his career) seems to be in racial harmony with those around him, employing slacker pizza delivery man Mookie (Lee) and likening him to his own son. His real sons, Vito and Pino (Richard Edson, John Turturro) aren’t in quite so much harmony, especially Pino, whose racist diatribes are always lingering just below the surface.

Things threaten to explode many times all over the block throughout the film, and by the time they finally do in the film’s gripping and out-of-control climax, everyone seemingly owns some share of the responsibility. Do the Right Thing is not a film which puts easy answers at your fingertips, but it is an engrossing one thanks to superb direction from Lee and various excellent supporting performances from the likes of Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Giancarlo Esposito, Rosie Perez, Bill Nunn, Samuel L. Jackson, Frankie Faison, and Robin Harris.

Do the Right Thing is a tapestry of points of view, and it’s hard to say if any of them are correct. That’s not really the point — Lee doesn’t look to assign blame, although there’s plenty to go around, he just wants to provoke. This is certainly one of his best provocations.

Article Author: Dusty Somers

Dusty Somers hails from Seattle, and is a journalism student at the University of Oklahoma. He enjoys spending time and watching films with his wife, and looks forward to their imminent return to the great Northwest.

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