It’s been 20 years since Spike Lee’s defining film hit theaters and Universal produces this fine edition to celebrate. The previous edition from was Criterion, but this new one adds some added value special features that will make fans want to snatch this one up. Just don’t start a riot on your way to your local video shop to pick it up.
Sal Frangione (Danny Aiello) owns the local pizzeria in a Brooklyn neighborhood. The shop has been in the area for twenty-five years but the neighborhood is mostly populated with African-Americans and Puerto Ricans.
Mookie (Spike Lee) is a young black man who delivers pizzas for Sal, lives with his sister Jade (Joie Lee, Spike’s real sister), and is friends with Sal’s son Vito (Richard Edson). Mookie also faces the wrath of his girlfriend Tina (Rosie Perez) for him not taking care of their child. Sal’s other son Pino (John Turturro) hates working in the pizzeria and detests the neighborhood.
Sal’s shop has a wall of fame of Italian Americans which neighborhood fixture Buggin’ Out (Giancarlo Esposito) objects that Sal doesn’t have any African Americans on his wall of fame. He comes back to protest with Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn) who Sal had thrown out of his restaurant for not turning down his radio.
When Radio again refuses to turn down the boombox, Sal destroys it with a baseball bat. This and the ensuing melee ends up igniting a racial riot on the hottest day of the year and all attempts at squelching the flames fall on deaf ears as the neighborhood threatens to burn to the ground.
Spike Lee started his rise to fame with this racially charged look at one Brooklyn neighborhood. It would form the cornerstone of the director’s career and he would never shy away from racial subjects.
Do the Right Thing shows a racially mixed neighborhood and shows how easily a misunderstanding can cause the conflicting races to explode into violence. It’s a film that is going to make you think. The neighborhood and film is populated with interesting and diverse characters. We have Da Mayor (Ossie Davis) and Mother Sister (Ruby Dee) who seemingly keep watch over things, but really have no power to stop the violence that erupts.
The two, married in real life, have an adversarial relationship but really harbor feelings of love for one another. There’s also a Greek chorus and comedy relief from actors Paul Benjamin, Frankie Faison, and the late Robin Harris. What’s also interesting about Lee’s film is that he really doesn’t steer you to either point of view and lets the viewer think for themselves. It’s easy to take both Sal and Buggin Out’s points of views.
The cast is top notch and would earn Aiello an Academy Award nomination. The subject may be controversial but the film is excellent.
Do the Right Thing is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Disc one contains a new solo commentary from director Spike Lee, but also features the 2005 commentary with Lee, director of photography Ernest Dickerson, actress Joie Lee, and production designer Wynn Thomas.
There’s also a new 35 minute “20 Years Later” documentary with Spike Lee interviewing the cast during a special screening of the film and 14 minutes of deleted and extended scenes.
Disc two features the 60 minute “Making Do the Right Thing,” 60 minutes of “Behind-the-Scenes” footage, a 9 minute interview with editor Barry Brown, a 42 minute “Cannes Press Conference from 1989,” storyboards for the riot sequence, the 2 minute theatrical trailer, and 1 minute of TV spots.
Do the Right Thing is a film that has lost none of its power to make you think about racial relations. It’s a film with no easy answers but definitely one to make you think. This new edition adds some fine new special feature as well as keeping the excellent older ones. Highly recommended.
Do the Right Thing (20th Anniversary Edition) is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for this version of the DVD in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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