Do the Right Thing

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Do the Right Thing

R

1989

2h 0m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

150 Reviews

89%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

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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Eleanor Ringel Cater

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Mar 21

Spike, baby, you're beautiful when you're angry.

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Alexander Walker

London Evening Standard

Mar 21

[Do the Right Thing] uses its abundant energy simply to knock down bridges that have been built and raise the wall of the ghetto mentality a row or two higher.

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Derek Malcolm

Guardian

Mar 21

...Do the Right Thing is a welcome return to Spike Lee's best form after the disappointment of School Daze...

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Peter Keough

Boston Phoenix

Apr 1

In Do the Right Thing Lee has progressed beyond tour de force and experiment; he’s succeeded in wedding subject and form in an aesthetic whole.

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Stephen Hunter

Baltimore Sun

Mar 21

3.5/4

..."Do the Right Thing" is like a prism: You beam your own hot glare of racial animosity onto it, and it refracts it into a rainbow spray of understanding. It tells you why you hate, which may be the way to stop hating.

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Hal Lipper

Tampa Bay Times

Mar 21

4/5

Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing is the most poignant, disturbing and frighteningly real film about race relations ever made by a black American film maker.

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Michael H

@Mixhael Dec 8

Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing is the most poignant, disturbing and frighteningly real film about race relations ever made by a black America

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Chris M

Aug 23

Amateurish writing with overacting that was typical of the 80s. Good strong message though that needed to be heard.

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Aug 23

Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Shane C

Aug 14

spike lees magnum opus

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Alexsander F

May 20

My ode to the great film director Spike Lee, ‘Do the Right Thing’ is a true revolution in world cinema, it portrays the class struggle and the racial struggle, the struggle against power, as the soundtrack of the film said ‘fight the power’, it is an indispensable film for anyone who likes cinema and is concerned about racial causes. This film was prophetic, since the death of one of the fictional characters was very similar to a real scene in 2020, which took on great proportions, and which ended up with the death of George Floyd by asphyxiation, it was a great milestone in the contemporary racial struggle, and that in Spike Lee's film in 1989, it already showed what was happening at that time, and prophesied what would happen in the not too distant future.

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Jeff D

Apr 13

I enjoyed the movie overall, but I can’t get over how bad the acting was. I seriously don’t understand how the acting was so bad

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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

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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Do the Right Thing: Do The Right Thing's Best Scenes

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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
Producer: 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
Runtime: 2h 0m
Sound Mix: Surround
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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