Starring: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Al Freeman Jr., Delroy Lindo, Theresa Randle
Who better to direct and adapt Alex Haley’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X for the big screen than Spike Lee, and who better to play Malcolm himself than the endless well of talent that is Denzel Washington?
Malcolm X surpasses the average biopic in almost every way, from Washington’s famously engrossing and transformative performance (that also famously did not win the Oscar that year), to its three and a half hour runtime that seems to fly by with Lee at the helm. Spike not only immerses us into Malcolm X’s life and legacy, but he also deeply immerses us into the life of Harlem in the 50’s and 60’s with the help of Ruth E. Carter and her Oscar nominated costume design, Wynn Thomas’ production design and Malcolm’s widow, Dr. Betty Shabazz (played in the film with gravitas by Angela Bassett) who served as a consultant on the film.
All at once informative, engaging, and deeply tragic, Malcolm X is a loving tribute from Spike Lee to the man who changed his life, and the lives of many others, who was taken from us entirely too soon.
Starring: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Willem Dafoe, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Spike Lee and Denzel Washington’s fourth and final collaboration to date is a heist thriller that takes us to the Financial District. This time, Spike and Denzel are joined by an all-star cast that includes Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer, Willem Dafoe, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
In some ways a tribute to one of Spike’s favorite movies, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, INSIDE MAN is another one of his films that feels like a bit of a departure from his previous work, and yet still retains his distinct visual language.
This taut film presents us with morally ambiguous characters, a bevy of twists and turns, and Easter Egg returns of Sal’s Pizza from DO THE RIGHT THING and “Da Bomb” Malt Liquor from CLOCKERS and BAMBOOZLED. INSIDE MAN is one of the few Spike Lee films shot in Scope format, and went on to surpass MALCOLM X as Lee’s highest grossing film at the box office.
Starring: Alfre Woodard, Delroy Lindo, David Patrick Kelly, Zelda Harris, Carlton Williams, Sharif Rashed
Though the title may sound menacing to outsiders, Crooklyn is actually Spike Lee’s most tender and affectionate film. The screenplay was penned by Spike, his brother Cinqué, and their sister Joie, semi-based on her childhood growing up with all brothers, their Jazz musician father (an excellent as always performance from Delroy Lindo), and their no nonsense, loving mother played in a top tier turn by the one and only Alfre Woodard.
Though this is one of Spike’s more conventional films, he still finds ways to experiment, shooting an entire sequence of scenes in widescreen without anamorphically adjusting the image. So if the South looks and feels disorienting in this film, rest assured, that was Spike’s intention. In Crooklyn, you will also find RuPaul’s feature film debut, and a cameo in the third act that is one of the only moments of inner-child fulfillment that is truly earned in all of cinema.
This film is a love letter to Bed-Stuy in the 70s, childhood summers, and most of all to the Lee’s mother, Jaquelyn.
Starring: Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes, Joie Lee, Cynda Williams, Giancarlo Esposito
Mo’ Better Blues marks the first of four excellent collaborations between Spike Lee and Denzel Washington, and primarily takes us to Brooklyn Heights and the Lower East Side. Denzel stars as Bleek Gilliam, an incredibly talented trumpet player who continuously makes messy choices in his love life, and in his role as a leader of a jazz Quintet. As trouble continues to brew with money, women, and his bandmate Shadow (played by Wesley Snipes in his first Lee collaboration as well) Bleek’s life reaches a boiling point from which he may not be able to escape.
Giancarlo Espositio, Bill Nunn, Jeff Watts, John Turturro, and Robin Harris (who the film is dedicated to) add a fast-paced, bombastic energy to the film, while Spike’s sister Joie delivers one of her finest performances. Frequent Spike Lee collaborator Terence Blanchard and Jazz musician Branford Maraslis also bring an extra zest to the film playing for Denzel and Wesley respectively, who were trained to mimic their instrument playing for the film.
Starring: Theresa Randle, Isaiah Washington, Spike Lee, Jenifer Lewis, Debi Mazar, Peter Berg
Perhaps Spike Lee’s most underrated film, and currently out of print on home media, GIRL 6 was the first film that Spike directed without also writing the screenplay. Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog) takes the screenwriting reigns here as we follow Judy (played to perfection by Teresa Randle, in what should have been a star-making performance), who on her journey to become an famous actress finds herself utilizing her performance skills as a phone sex operator.
Theresa (who also appears in MALCOLM X and JUNGLE FEVER) stars along with other Spike Lee regulars including Isaiah Washington, Debi Mazar, John Turturro, Michael Imperioli(‘s voice), Joie Lee, and Spike himself. Sprinkle in some fun cameos from Madonna, Quentin Tarantino, and Naomi Campbell plus a soundtrack of previously unreleased songs written and performed by Prince, and you get one of Spike Lee’s most debated over films.
Introduced by film programmer Shay Filmore.
Starring: Harvey Keitel, John Turturro, Delroy Lindo, Mekhi Phifer, Isaiah Washington, Keith David
Adapted from the novel by Richard Price, CLOCKERS was originally meant to be directed by Spike Lee’s friend and inspiration Martin Scosese, and that can be felt in several moments throughout the film.
CLOCKERS brings us to the Gowanus Projects in Boerum Hill and Spike continues his exploration of the effects of drugs in Black neighborhoods that he began in JUNGLE FEVER. We follow a young drug pusher named Strike (played with a complicated, frustrating and child-like beauty by Mekhi Phifer in his feature film debut) as he deals with two detectives (Harvey Keitel and John Turturro, perfect and as crass as you want them to be) who are always close behind him as they try to pin him for a murder that his older brother (played by Lee regular Isaiah Washington) has confessed to. Strike also has to deal with his demanding drug lord boss/father figure, Rodney (Delory Lindo, firing on all cylinders), a young he is training to be a new “clocker”, and a terrible ulcer that he exacerbates by constantly drinking Yoo-Hoo chocolate milk.
A clear blueprint for THE WIRE, and a precursor to more exploration of life in the projects in HE GOT GAME, CLOCKERS maintains its richness from the novel and shows us an unflinching and non-judgemental portrait of a young man as he attempts to find his place in the world.
Starring: John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino, Jennifer Esposito, Anthony LaPaglia, Bebe Neuwirth
Spike Lee brings us another sweltering summer that radiates from the screen with Summer of Sam.
This time around, we are dropped into the Morris Park and Throggs Neck sections of the Bronx in 1977 during the Son of Sam murders. The screenplay, penned by Spike, frequent collaborator Michael Imperioli, and actor Victor Colicchio, zeroes in on two childhood friends named Vinnie (John Leguizamo in a role that’s part sexy, part disgusting) and Ritchie (Adrien Brody in a very authentic performance) whose lives begin to explode as the serial murders take place. Vinnie can’t seem to control his two (sometimes three) timing ways, and Ritchie’s dive into the world of punk rock makes his prejudiced friends and family very uneasy and suspicious as the whole neighborhood tries to figure out who is behind all of the murders.
Another underrated gem in Spike’s filmography, Summer of Sam excellently captures White panic and paranoia in a “Scorsese”-esque film that no doubt made many White critics and audience members uncomfortable with its stark accuracy. The mob of White men near the end of this film is more frightening than any protest the studio heads imagined that Do the Right Thing would inspire.
Starring: Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell, Spike Lee, Raye Dowell, Bill Lee
We end our journey through Spike Lee’s New York where it all began, with his feature film debut, SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT.
Taking place primarily in Fort Greene, Bed-Stuy, and Brooklyn Heights, this groundbreaking film introduces us to Nola Darling (a lovely performance from Tracy Camilla Johns) who refuses to be tied down to a single man, and instead dates three of them. We meet straight shooter Jaime Overstreet (Tommy Redmond Hicks), egocentric model Greer Childs (John Canada Terrell), and the juvenile motor mouth Mars Blackmon (Spike Lee, in one of his most well known performances) as they all vye to be Nola’s one and only.
Ahead of its time as an exploration of sexuality and polyamorous relationships, SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT was shot on a shoestring budget in only twelve days and opened up the door for the rest of Spike’s illustrious career. This film also marks his first collaborations with cinematographer Ernest Dickerson and Production Designer Wynn Thomas; and is truly a family affair, with his sister Joie making her film debut, his father Bill Lee who composing the music (and making an appearance as Nola’s father), and Spike’s brother David, taking the beautiful still photographs seen throughout the film.
SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT was not only part of the change in how Black folks were portrayed on screen, it also shifted the way Brooklyn was represented in films from then on.
Starring: Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Milla Jovovich, Rosario Dawson, Hill Harper
It was only a matter of time before Spike Lee made a film centered around his favorite sport. Basketball.
In He Got Game, we travel to Coney Island for another Spike/Denzel joint. Here, Denzel plays one of his most complicated roles to date as Jake Shuttlesworth; a man imprisoned for killing his wife and the mother of his children. Jake is released on parole for a week by the Governor for one reason, and one reason only: to convince his prodigious Basketball player son, Jesus (portrayed with a layered sensitivity by NBA player Ray Allen) to attend the Governor’s alma mater for college. In exchange, Jake will get a reduced prison sentence. With a severely broken relationship between Jake and Jesus, and many others in Jesus’ ear, tempting him with big college contracts (including his girlfriend played by Rosario Dawson), the stakes are high, and Jake is running out of time…
He Got Game features Spike Lee reunions with John Turturro, Zelda Harris, Bill Nunn, Lonette McKee and Roger Guenvuer Smith, a very slick performance from NBA star Rick Fox, and an original soundtrack of songs written and performed by Public Enemy that are interspersed with selections by legendary Brooklyn-born composer Aaron Copland.
All at once a powerful musing on Black Father and Son relationships and Spike’s love for the game of Basketball, He Got Game was Lee’s first film to open at number one at the box office, and the first time he takes a step back, doesn’t appear in the film and let’s his filmmaking alone work its magic.
Starring: Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Ossie Davis, Spike Lee, Ruby Dee, Samuel L. Jackson, Lonette McKee, Anthony Quinn
Famously unavailable to watch or rent on any streaming service, JUNGLE FEVER in many ways feels like a cousin to DO THE RIGHT THING. In this film, Spike Lee brings us to Harlem and Bensonhurst to further explore the fraught relationship between Black folks and Italian Americans in New York City. This time, Spike dives head first into this racial tension through an affair between a married Black man named Flipper (played by Wesley Snipes) and a new secretary at his workplace named Angie (played Annabella Sciorra)…who’s Italian. As you can imagine, things get very messy, very quickly. Spike continues to impress with his fine tuned specificity of dialogue spoken by the Italian American characters, and he makes a strong and subtle statement by casting the cops who murder Radio Raheem as the same cops who accost Wesley Snipes during the climax of this film.
Add in an incredible subplot featuring Oscar nom. worthy performances from Samuel L. Jackson, Ruby Dee, and Ossie Davis, John Turturro playing the opposite of Pino from DO THE RIGHT THING, and an iconic soundtrack of original songs written and performed by Stevie Wonder, and you get the brilliance that is JUNGLE FEVER.
Be prepared for long discussions with your friends about the controversial ending of this one.
