Do the Right Thing

R

Now Playing

2 hr. 0 min.

Drama

List

92%

108 Reviews

Tomatometer

89%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Salvatore "Sal" Fragione (Danny Aiello) is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin' Out (Giancarlo Esposito), becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria's Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors. Buggin' Out believes a pizzeria in a black neighborhood should showcase black actors, but Sal disagrees. The wall becomes a symbol of racism and hate to Buggin' Out and to other people in the neighborhood, and tensions rise.

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Critics Consensus

Smart, vibrant, and urgent without being didactic, Do the Right Thing is one of Spike Lee's most fully realized efforts -- and one of the most important films of the 1980s.

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Arnold D

Lovely complex cast of characters that are metaphors for society. All of the messages in this movie are still strong and hold meaning in 2024. Great thought provoking movie that spurs internal and external discussions.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/23/24

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Kaleb P

Yes at the end of the movie the main character working for the pizza place steps up and finally does something.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/18/23

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Alexis E

It was alright I don't fully understand the movie but I really like the camera angles used and how they help express the emotions of the characters within the movie

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/16/23

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Brynn P

Do The Right Thing is a really good movie but the title is kind of ironic. I think it shares more of the message than the content. The message is that anger is a spiraling circle and the only way to end it is to ‘Do the right thing'. But in the movie no one ever does the right thing until the end, when they realize how much damage they have done. I think the main purpose of making this movie is to spread a message not entertain or make money.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/15/23

Full Review

Clay C

This movie was a great representation of racial tension between many races that's still applicable today. The significance of this title was very good, as it's what the audience is thinking throughout the whole film. The audience is constantly wanting the charecters to do the right thing throughout the film as the characters continue to make bad decisions and racial tension increases. However I don't think that any of the characters did the right thing, some of them had good intentions like the Italian family and the Korean family, but in the end they all lost their cool and made bad decisions that made the situation worse.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/15/23

Full Review

Dominic C

For Do the Right Thing, I do feel that the title holds a deep significance. In the movie, there is lots of division and racial tension shown. As a result of this, there is an ongoing conflict between characters that ramps up as the story progresses. Things continue to heat up as the story goes on, which is symbolized with the story taking place during the hottest summer day. By the time the climax of the story is reached, the characters all break out into a brawl and resort to violence and destruction. In my opinion, I think the majority of the characters did not actually do the right thing. I feel that the director uses the film as an example of what not to do, as resorting to violence is not doing the right thing.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/15/23

Full Review

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Spike Lee

Director

Danny Aiello

Sal

Ossie Davis

Da Mayor

Ruby Dee

Mother Sister

Richard Edson

Vito

Giancarlo Esposito

Buggin Out

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Do the Right Thing: Official Clip - Da Mayor & Mother Sister

1:38

Do the Right Thing: Official Clip - Fight the Power

3:00

Do the Right Thing: Official Clip - Your Jordans Are F***ed Up!

2:23

Do the Right Thing: Official Clip - No Nasty

3:17

Do the Right Thing: Official Clip - Destroying Sal's

2:59

Do the Right Thing: Official Clip - 20 "D" Batteries

1:15

Do the Right Thing: Official Clip - LOVE and HATE

1:51

Do the Right Thing: Official Clip - Racist Stereotypes

3:04

Do the Right Thing: Official Clip - Boycott Sal's!

3:00

Do the Right Thing: Official Clip - Today's Forecast

1:24

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Wendy Ide

Times (UK)

[Spike Lee] offers no solutions, but confronts us with the facts — the audience is left with no doubts about the authenticity of the story.

May 23, 2023

Full Review

Wael Khairy

RogerEbert.com

Over 30 years later, Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” remains more relevant than ever.

Mar 31, 2023

Full Review

Geoffrey Nowell-Smith

Sight & Sound

For all its apparent roughness, Do the Right Thing is aesthetically very sophisticated, particularly in the first half. But at the end it collapses both aesthetically and politically.

Jan 16, 2020

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

[Spike] Lee doesn't attempt to answer the complicated questions of racism, misunderstanding and simmering anger as much as confront them with a hard clarity.

Aug 19, 2023

Full Review

Terry Francis

Southern Voice (Atlanta)

A beautifully finished piece of work. Lee and his able cinematographer Ernest Dickerson understand how meaning often resides in mood, movingly rendered here in shots at dust of cobalt blue skies framing row houses blackened in the rancorous summer heat.

May 9, 2023

Full Review

Sarah Schulman

Gay Community News (Boston)

Do the Right Thing is a sanitized effort by Spike Lee who has now become a mainstream filmmaker, providing only a new twist on old values.

Aug 30, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

Salvatore "Sal" Fragione (Danny Aiello) is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin' Out (Giancarlo Esposito), becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria's Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors. Buggin' Out believes a pizzeria in a black neighborhood should showcase black actors, but Sal disagrees. The wall becomes a symbol of racism and hate to Buggin' Out and to other people in the neighborhood, and tensions rise.

Director: Spike Lee
Screenwriter: Spike Lee
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 30, 1989, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Jun 28, 2019
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 30, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $26.0M
Sound Mix: Surround
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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