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Aug 14, 2018 · The video essay establishes 16 elements that define a Spike Lee film—or, in the director’s own parlance, a Spike Lee Joint. Some of these seem fairly obvious (a lot of Lee’s films are...
- She’S Gotta Have It
- Inside Man
- Blackkklansman
- Mo’ Better Blues
- Bamboozled
- Crooklyn
- Clockers
- He Got Game
- Malcolm X
- Do The Right Thing
While Spike Lee started his career with both temporal and budgetary constraints, the director’s debut feature She’s Gotta Have It never sacrifices on distinct style or narrative sophistication. Chronicling the love quadrangle centered on the effervescent and self-assured Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns), She’s Gotta Have It immediately establishe...
With a similar approach to a genre that directors like Alan Pakula and Sidney Lumet employed to confront both Watergate and the Vietnam era with films like The Parallax View and Network,Inside Manobliquely addresses the tumultuous atmosphere of post-9/11 New York City within the structure of a heist film. Mobilizing the tight structure of a crime t...
While Inside Man approached sociocultural strife through subtext, Lee’s Oscar-winning biopic BlacKkKlansmaneschews subtlety to make its political commentary the primary text, detailing the narrative of Ron Stallworth’s (John David Washington) infiltration of the KKK as an overt critique of systemic racism in the United States. Even as the inclusion...
Acting as a fictionalized semi-biography of Spike Lee’s famous musician father Bill Lee, Mo’ Better Bluesis an expressionistic portrait of Bleek Gilliam’s (Denzel Washington) coming-of-age, showcasing artistic rivalries within a story of familial grief. Featuring original music from Bill Lee and the expert casting of Denzel Washington and the direc...
Possibly the most divisive motion picture in a filmography full of elegantly provocative entries, Bamboozled is a shot-on-video satire of both the continued propagation of Black stereotypes and exploitation of Black artists by the entertainment industry. When producer Pierre Delacroix’s (Damon Wayans) intentionally subversive pitch for a minstrel s...
If Bamboozled is Spike Lee’s most biting film, Crooklyn is the director’s most tender work. Expanding beyond the semi-biographical character study in Mo’ Better Blues, Crooklyn takes an autobiographical ensemble approach to the director’s life, which Lee co-wrote with his siblings. Imbued with a bittersweet nostalgia and sense of child-like wonder,...
Perhaps the most underrated and underseen Spike Lee film, Clockers is the director’s bold adaptation of Richard Price’s crime mystery novel, as well as a playful homage to Akira Kurosawa’s foundational film Rashomon. Unraveling the mysterious murder of drug dealer Darryl Adams from multiple perspectives, Clockers functions equally as a meditation o...
He Got Game is a family drama of biblical proportions anchored by an excellent leading performance from Denzel Washington. Washington’s Jake Shuttlesworth is a powerhouse of righteous anger and generational guilt as a desperate father attempting to convince his son to play college basketball in exchange for a shorter prison sentence. While the plot...
Perhaps the greatest biographical performance in cinema history, Denzel’s indelible turn as the titular historical figure sets Malcolm X apart as an epic act of cinematic portraiture, capturing the complexities of the Civil Rights icon across three hours of screen time. Inhabiting nearly every scene of the three-and-a-half-hour historical epic with...
It is impossible to understate the endless impact of Do the Right Thing on the American film industry. Spike Lee’s masterpiece paved the way for the rise of independent filmmaking in the 1990s and opened the door for greater opportunities for Black auteurs in Hollywood. Set in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn on the hottest day of the year, Do the Right Thing il...
- Benjamin Crabtree
Jun 2, 2020 · But what makes “The Original Kings of Comedy” an authentic Spike Lee joint is its generosity, the love it communicates for the kings as they hold court. 115 minutes, 2000.
- 6 min
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations , issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty, and other political issues.
Biographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam and his eventual assassination. Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Delroy Lindo, Spike Lee. Votes: 100,292 | Gross: $48.17M. 4.
Spike Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor, known for films that deal with controversial social and political issues. Each of Lee's films is typically referred to as "A Spike Lee Joint" and the closing credits always end with the phrases "By Any Means Necessary," "Ya Dig," and "Sho Nuff." [1]
Sep 29, 2015 · One of the most influential filmmakers of his generation, Spike Lee has examined the African-American experience in American culture over the span of a 30+ year career. Often writing, producing...
