By 1988, I was 19 and more than ready for Lee's second feature, a musical comedy entitled "School Daze," starring Laurence Fishburne. Set at a fictional African-American collegiate institution, the film cast a wide socio-political net as it explored of sexual politics among a university fraternity and sorority system; the protests against the university's financial connections with apartheid South Africa but most importantly, the racial divisions within the African-American community based upon skin color and hair styles (shown in the astounding musical sequence "Good and Bad Hair"). I sat in my movie theater seat in Hyde Park on the south side of Chicago, absolutely stunned at this particular filmmaker's audacity, bravery, brilliance, irreverence and fearlessness to air and explore our community's private pains so publicly, honestly and even humorously. Just the sight of young African-Americans in college was an unprecedented sight for me. Despite an ending which I felt was too bombastically didactic, "School Daze" was unlike any other film I had seen and I knew my eye had to remain firmly on where he would turn his cinematic eye next.
Now, for "Savage Cinema," I am proud to turn my cinematic enthusiast's eye towards the career of one of my favorite filmmakers. The title of this posting comes from the howl uttered repeatedly at the conclusion of "School Daze," and has occurred as a repetitive phrase through many of Lee's subsequent films. Based solely upon my own personal tastes and qualities that I feel constitute excellent movie making, the collected works of Spike Lee represent a filmmaker whose talents, gifts, overall quality and track record are uncommonly high. The man and his work is presented with the highest level of artistic value and representation through vibrant characters who encounter and ask the toughest questions imaginable about themselves and the communities in which they live. Thankfully, Lee never sells his material short by providing the audience with easy, trite answers. Lee's films while containing enormous entertainment value, always remain challenging, provocative, and empathetic. Moreover, despite what some media outlets may have many of you believe, Spike Lee has consistently produced some of the most fair-minded material to hit our theater screens. His films are at the forefront of innovative cinematography (especially witnessed through his signature shot--the one when actors ride the dolly camera to create the visual impression that they are floating in mid air), production design, editing, usage of New York City as a fully developed character within his stories and Lee is one of the most thoughtful filmmakers working today when it comes to utilizing music within his films.
In honor of his 20+ years behind the camera, I wanted to take this opportunity to list my ten favorite films by Spike Lee...or "Joints" as he likes to refer to his work (a "Joint" being an event of major proportions) and believe me, when Spike Lee releases a film, no matter what the perceptions of the man may be, his films are definitely events to be studied, investigated, argued over and ultimately, cherished. So please let me take this opportunity, as I lead up to my review of his latest film, "Passing Strange," to spotlight this filmmaker and point you towards some excellent films you may want to check out yourselves.
While the film does feature the horrific slayings, it is not a Berkowitz biopic (although we do take several nose dives into his destroyed psyche). The “Son of Sam” is actually used as a catalyst for the core story of panic, false perceptions, paranoia and fear in a South Bronx neighborhood where Leguizamo and Sorvino star respectively as Vinny and Dionna, a married Italian-American couple. It is also a sly, yet non-dogmatic view of the dangers of drug abuse (a frequent Lee theme), and how just remaining true to your own personal sense of individuality and identity may prove deadly in a world that does not want you to be “different.”
In a nod to his fair-minded sensibilities, Lee’s sympathies seem to lay strongest with Adrian Brody’s character Ritchie, Vinny’s best friend from childhood. Ritchie has found his calling through the emerging punk scene, a new relationship with the so-called "neighborhood slut" (Jennifer Esposito) and also is nursing a questionable sexual identity crisis as he secretly strips nightly and engages in homosexual trysts with clients at a seedy gay club. But because of his affiliations, his spiky hair, love of rock music and every physical trait that set him apart from his neighbors, he is soon perceived to be the serial killer, which leads to the film's punishing climax, scored to The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again." A blistering piece of work.
KEY MUSICAL MOMENT(S): Aside from that climax, I think I would have to give it to two sequences detailing the disintegration of Vinny and Dionna's marriage. Both scenes are where the critically (and dare I say it) justly maligned acting talents of Mira Sorvino are laid to waste as she delivers some powerhouse acting chops against Leguizamo set to ABBA's "Dancing Queen" and Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me This Way."
Lee's fourth film and first collaboration with Denzel Washington celebrated the world (and subtly, the African-American history and legacy) of jazz, while also firmly establishing Washington as a romantic leading man. Washington starts as trumpeter Bleek Gilliam, leader of a popular quintet (that features a great Wesley Snipes as saxophonist and romantic rival Shadow Henderson) that performs frequently at the Beneath The Underdog night club. Gilliam's intense and uncompromising devotion to his art is depicted as he also juggles two relationships with school teacher Indigo Downes (played by Spike's sister Joie Lee) and sultry singer Clarke Bentancourt (Cynda Williams). The film depicts the inner world of a man's relationship with his work and the consequences that arise when the work comes ahead of the relationships that fulfill and sustain us all.
In addition to displaying a lush and sleek visual presentation, and excellent music throughout, it also featured Lee's first stab at presenting a world of addiction through band manager Giant's (played by Lee) dangerous gambling issues. Watch for an early performance from Samuel L. Jackson, one of Lee's first repertory players. Also, there is key and chameleon work from Giancarlo Esposito and Bill Nunn, completely unrecognizable from their previous work with Lee in "School Daze" and "Do the Right Thing."
KEY MUSICAL MOMENT: Bleek's redemption set to the first section of John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme."
This film's power has snuck up upon me over the years. Initially, I was a bit thrown off by the film's slower pace and quieter rhythms as Lee's films are typically propulsive and volatile works. Yet, this film is equally devastating as it was the very first film to be shot in New York City after the September 11th attacks, an aspect that only enhances the story with profound weight.
Based upon David Benoit's novel, "25th Hour" details the final 24 hours of freedom for drug dealer Monty Brogan (Edward Norton) as he spend his last night before heading off to a seven year stretch in prison. The time winding down is essentially a death march as Monty takes stock of his life by visiting with his Father (the wonderful Brian Cox), settling old scores with members of the Russian mafia and sharing final moments with his girlfriend Naturelle (Rosario Dawson) and two childhood friends, Wall Street banker Frank (Barry Pepper) and sad sack high school English teacher Jacob (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). The imminent departure of Monty forces all of the characters to stop and take stock of their own lives as New York City is freshly recovering from tragedy.
"25th Hour" is an intimate story of mourning set in a mourning city and the final fifteen minutes, where Brian Cox delivers an exquisite and elegant monologue detailing the life Monty could have if he didn't deliver his son to prison is heartbreaking.
KEY MUSICAL MOMENT: Lee's requisite composer Terence Blanchard creates a stirring film score. Also, I have to mention an extended nightclub sequence which segues songs from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (the insidiously clever placing of "White Lines") to a collection of songs (most notably, "Bra") from Cymande, an obscure 70s funk band, keeps the storyline simmering.
7. "CROOKLYN" (1994)/"CLOCKERS" (1995)
Yes, my lists always seem to feature at least one "cheat" but this ranking, which features two films, exists as I typically cannot think of one film without the other. To me, these two films are of a piece as they are widely stories about and from the African-American neighborhood, the first from the early 1970's and the second from the drug destroyed streets of the present.
Presented somewhat as a series of summertime vignettes, we are given a snapshot of a time where the neighborhood truly functioned as a village. Communal bonds were strong, sidewalks were clean, people genuinely cared for each other's well being and most importantly, children were able to safely venture outdoors to play sidewalk games and make mischief. And the most threatening figures are the glue sniffers (which Lee portrays one of in a cameo role) on the next block. The film also features a visually controversial and arresting 20 minute sequence when Troy is dispatched to her Southern relatives--a completely alien location for this city bred girl-for a portion of the summer. Reflecting Troy's inner state, this section of the film was filmed through an anamorphic lens giving the viewer an image where the proportions are stretched taller and thinner. Again, Lee shows off his stunning visual eye to great effect.
Best of all, there is the film's final section which makes a strong dramatic and tragic turn as Carolyn prematurely takes ill with cancer--just like Lee's own Mother. Here is where the film's heart is strongest and we see that "Crooklyn" is ultimately a sorrowful tribute to Lee's Mother. It is a truth filled sadness that never falls into melodrama or false sentiment. Every lump in the throat is deeply and honestly earned.
KEY MUSICAL MOMENT(S): I loved a family argument between husband and wife with The Persuaders' "Thin Line Between Love And Hate" as a backdrop. But, mostly, it was the hidden layers of The Chi-Lites' soul classic "Oh Girl," that firmly underplayed the emotions of the children and even Woody, as Carolyn grows sicker, and the Carmichael family has to face life without the tremendous force that held it all so tightly.
Strike, nursing a dangerous ulcer due to the stress of a life his heart is simply is not cut out for, feels the walls of his world slowly closing in. In addition to the Detective and the kingpin, he is harassed by the neighborhood policeman (Keith David) who continuously pressures Strike to leave this lifestyle behind and even the Mother of one of Strike's young admirers joins the fray in admonishing the destruction his life has placed upon the community as a whole.
With "Clockers," Lee has crafted a thrilling yet unglamorous crime story that also depicts how the drug trade combined with cartoonish gangsta rap, the constant presence of liquor stores in African-American communities, and the deplorable amount of young Black men in jail or deceased has destroyed once vibrant and safe neighborhoods across the country. You wonder just how the Carmichaels of "Crooklyn" would exist and survive in these times.
KEY MUSICAL MOMENT: Strike's grand entrance at the film's opening set to "Return Of The Crooklyn Dodgers" by, of course, The Crooklyn Dodgers.
Denzel Washington re-teamed with Spike for their third collaboration as Jake Shuttlesworth, a man from the Coney Island housing projects serving time in prison for the accidental murder of his wife (Lonette McKee). Shuttlesworth is granted a temporary one-week release for one profound task. To influence his son, the improbably and brilliantly named Jesus (Ray Allen) and the nation's number one high school basketball draft pick, to attend the Governor's alma mater, Big State University. If Shuttlesworth succeeds, he will be granted his freedom.
This film is Lee's condemnation on the soulless business side of the sports industry and the far reaching and damaging affects upon the African-American community at large. In fact, Lee's parable about the perils of taking the "short money" (a frequent Lee theme, seen less successfully in 1996's "Girl 6" and 2004's "She Hate Me") could also be titled "The Continuing Temptations of Jesus." Power, corruption, and lies rule the day and attack Jesus from all sides as he weighs the greatest decision of his young life thus far. The vultures in his life exist in the forms of sports agents, his coach, colleges, his girlfriend (Rosario Dawson) and his own money grubbing family (Bill Nunn returns to the Lee fold as Uncle Bubba).
Also, this is a highly emotional film about personal redemption and the unbreakable bonds between Father and son no matter what has transpired in the past. Lee's cinematography is extraordinary as his magnificently elegant crane and aerial views sail over Coney Island like a basketball in flight to the rim.
KEY MUSICAL MOMENT: The music of composer Aaron Copland is used to illustrate an intimate version of a panoramic and universally American story, with basketball at the center. For me, a short sequence where Jake Shuttlesworth cradles the grave of his wife, set to a pastoral piece of Copland's music is soul stirring.
Lee's incendiary film is much more complex, layered and heartfelt than it was given credit for when it was first released. The story of Harlem architect Flipper Purify's (an outstanding Wesley Snipes) interracial affair with Angie, his Italian temporary secretary from Bensonhurst (a wonderful Annabella Sciorra) truly rattled the cages and created a surprisingly bleak film with a grim ending. It could also be titled "Flipper Goes To Hell," as Lee's controversial film begins with a dark exploration into interracial relationships obtained solely through racial curiosity as opposed to true love, and slyly delves into the destructive nature of drugs and addiction as Flipper's life takes a free fall from prosperity into crippling despair.
As friends, families and communities are tearing themselves inside out over issues of race and color, drugs are almost an afterthought and what a shame. When watching this film, please take notice of all of the off handed ways drugs are mentioned throughout and compare them to the violent reactions (Angie's beating by the hands of her Father, the African-American female's "war council" in Flipper's living room) race brings out in the characters. The effect is riveting as our priorities are glaringly out of focus.
But, hope does indeed remain in this world and Lee's attitudes towards interracial relationships aren't as dogmatic as the media may make it appear. The sweet story of Paulie (frequent Lee cast member, John Tuturro), candy shop clerk and Angie's neglected long-term boyfriend, who nurses a crush upon an African-American daily customer, shows that when the intent is pure and love is real, that will become a union that extends beyond race. Paulie will literally get himself beaten to a bloody pulp by his Bensonhurst friends and still walk to this woman's home for a date. His heart and aim are true.
KEY MUSICAL MOMENT: The film boasts a complete song score by none other than Stevie Wonder, whose "These Three Words" and the end credit stunner "Feeding Off The Love Of the Land" were some of his best material since the 1970's. But, the greatest sequence in the film is Flipper's feverish search for his crackhead brother Gator (a blistering Samuel L. Jackson) from the streets of Harlem into the mammoth drug den known as the "Taj Mahal" and set to Wonder's epic seven minute classic "Living For The City."
One of Lee's most criminally underseen films and how disheartening as it was a briskly created (filmed on location in four states in only 18 days!) and enormously rewarding film which focused on the cross country road trip and inner lives of 20 African-American men on their way to Washington D.C. for the 1995 Million Man March, organized by Minister Louis Farrakhan. Charles S. Dutton stars as one of the bus drivers and veteran of the civil rights era and the tour group includes an angry Hollywood actor (the inimitable Andre Braugher), a UCLA film student (Hill Harper), a police officer of mixed race background and light skinned complexion (a terrific Roger Guenveur Smith, another Lee veteran), a homosexual Republican couple (Isaiah Washington and Harry Lennix), a Father (Thomas Jefferson Byrd) and son chained together due to a court order, and the late, supremely great Ossie Davis as the group's spiritual leader.
It was a microcosm of the African-American community in a way that I have never seen before or since and this film incredibly presents Lee's fair-minded outlook as each character has their moment, their opinion, their say, and their beliefs. This trait even extends itself towards Richard Belzer's character, a Jewish man and Dutton's bus driving partner, who is understandably discomforted with the journey and vocally objects to Farrakahn's well documented and controversial Anti-Semitic statements. The film is a testament to our history as a people as well, as all of the characters ruminate over our collective futures with the importance of the journey itself at the forefront.
KEY MUSICAL MOMENT: The inclusion of Curtis Mayfield's "Keep On Pushing" at a crucial moment near the film's climax was perfection.
As you may have remembered, I have already placed this film as my number #2 pick as one of the very best films from the previous decade. I cannot stress the power of this film enough as this explosive satire explores how African-Americans in the media, and especially ones who hold power over the images that are created and disseminated to the world at large, have a profound responsibility to our race must we continue to advance and elevate our standing.
Damon Wayans stars as a frustrated television writer who, in protest, creates a modern day minstrel show with Black people wearing black-face only to have the program become a nationwide smash hit. As he is ultimately seduced by the fame and fortune "The New Millennium Minstrel Show" brings him, it results in the complete loss of his soul and devastating repercussions for all involved.
For me, this is the most difficult Lee "joint" that I've sat through as the plethora of negative imagery that has misrepresented me and my race in the past pales compared to the imagery we continue to allow ourselves to create, promote and sell to ourselves, thus destroying our collective souls and all for the sake of that "short money." It pinned me to my seat, left me speechless and wrung out. Frankly, the executives at BET and every surviving record label which promotes one cartoon gangsta rapper after another should be forced to watch this film over and over, "Clockwork Orange" style. Demanding, difficult and explosively daring, "Bamboozled" is Spike Lee's cinematic Molotov cocktail.
KEY MUSICAL MOMENT: Composer Terence Blanchard's mournful score set to a montage of Hollywood's most disturbing racist imagery.
If Spike Lee had only made this one film, he would still be one of the greatest modern American filmmakers working today. Lee made a quantum leap from his first two films, with this "day in the life" exploration of the long simmering racial tensions on one block in New York's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood during the hottest day of the summer.
Conflicts emerge and rise from the presence of a pizzeria owned and operated by Sal (Danny Aiello) and his two sons, gentle Vito (Richard Edson) and racist Pino (John Tuturro) yet frequented by the predominantly African-American members of the community. Volatile B-Boy Buggin' Out (an extraordinary Giancarlo Esposito) poses the smart bomb question to Sal about why the faces of famous Black people are not represented on the pizzeria's "Wall Of Fame." Sal replies that if he wants to have Black faces on a Wall Of Fame, then he should get his own business and do what he wants with it. Buggin 'Out counters that since Sal's business survives on the money earned and spent by Black people, then the customers should have some rights. This is the double edged crux and Mookie (played by Lee in an excellent performance), the young pizza delivery man, is caught in the middle.
From this early confrontation, the film sprawls into a wide reaching examination of where the seeds of racism sprout from, the generation gap between the neighborhood's older (as represented by Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee) and younger residents, African-American frustrations at how we consistently spend our money on businesses that we do not own or try to create are among a myriad of other provocative issues which are presented in a matter of fact, sometimes humorous, sometimes brutally in-your-face manner. And, I have to also say that it never, for even one minute, feels as if it is a public service announcement. Every character has their moment as Lee keeps his film even handed while also presenting a militant viewpoint.
The film's final act is its most controversial as the tensions finally erupt into a shocking act of violence against one of the film's major characters by the hands of the police and the ensuing riot follows. The effect is appropriately jarring as it shows how a day can begin one way and conclude in ways unimaginable.
"Do The Right Thing" is a film to embrace, endlessly explore and use to educate ourselves as it is the most accurate depiction of modern day race-relations I have seen in any film before or since. It shows us where we are, warns us of where we may head as it shows us what has happened time and again in even our very recent past. And through the brilliant juxtaposition of two quotations by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. at the film's conclusion, it forces us to question where we would like to see ourselves, as a culture, move towards. What is the right thing to do? The film's bold ambiguity is one of Lee's greatest gifts as there is no way to simply answer a question so vast. If he was able to do that in a two hour film, he wouldn't just be making films, he could eradicate racism entirely!
And yet, for all of the pain, "Do The Right Thing"' is a wonderful and celebratory experience as well. It rejoices in the life of a neighborhood, warts and all. It reminds us of the sense of community we once had and could continue to keep, only if we want to. The wide cast of characters remains one of the most memorable in any film I have ever seen. Think of Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn in his iconic role) with his massive boom box and "Love" and "Hate" metallic gear. The watchful eye of neighborhood elder Mother Sister (Ruby Dee). The We-LOVE radio station with Samuel L. Jackson's incredible DJ, Mr. Senor Love Daddy. The three older African-American men who serve as the film's "Greek Chorus" (which featured the late, great comedian Robin Harris) who sat and commented by that large blood red wall. Or how about the visual presentation with the gorgeous cinematography? You could feel the heat and humidity even in a completely air conditioned movie theater. Or how about the montage of racist diatribes from Black, Italian and Korean characters? Or one of the very best opening credits sequences ever filmed, Rosie Perez's ferocious dance set to Public Enemy's "Fight The Power"? One landmark moment, image and sequence right after another and it made up into one of the very best films from the 1980s, one of Lee greatest achievements, and one of the best examples of modern American cinema period.
And yet...there is one film he's made that I love even more...
Lee's most towering achievement on film to date and I really believe that while he made this film after "Do the Right Thing," he could not have made that film without this one. "Malcolm X" was the film Spike Lee was born to make as the life and legacy of Malcolm X has informed his own life, career, business practices by opening the door for African-American filmmaking hopefuls, and his overall artistic integrity.
His three hour and twenty minute epic does not exist to solely re-introduce and correct many historically misrepresentative and perceptive wrongs concerning Malcolm X. Spike Lee wants to give us the life of a man in its many stages and phases and it is impossible for me to think of a better conduit than Denzel Washington, who gave the performance of his life in the title role. The completeness and richness is beyond extraordinary, from the sky lifting speeches to the most intimate moments, Denzel Washington was transcendent and transformative. THIS is the role he should've won an Oscar for.
Truth be told, he should have won FIVE Oscars for that performance as he essentially played five different men. From Malcolm Little to the zoot suit wearing, numbers running thief and cocaine addict Detroit Red to his descent as the imprisoned Satan, and his rebirth as Malcolm X. After his pilgrimage to Mecca, he reinvents himself once again as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, the name he claimed until his 1965 assassination. All of these personas encompassed the life of one man and through the spirit of Washington and the glorious cinematic eye and viewpoint of Lee, we are given this life so vividly and exhaustively, while also being a gripping piece of entertainment. Do not be intimidated by its massive length. "Malcolm X" moves briskly as it holds you firmly in its power.
I have never seen a biopic, before or since, that made me feel as if I knew the subject as well as "Malcolm X" and I urge those of you who have not seen it (as well as to those of you who have not seen it in a long while) to take ample time and get to know this man through this astounding film. It is a film about Spike Lee as much as it is about Malcolm X.
Furthermore, it is a film about all of us, regardless of race and gender. As you ruminate over your own lives thus far, really think to yourselves if you are the same person that you were five years ago...ten years ago...thirty years ago. Compare yourself from then to now and how we all go through periods of re-invention. Are any of us one-dimensional beings? How many identities do we possess in a single day let alone a lifetime? Think of the arc of your own lives and once you do, you will understand the intent behind the cinematic majesty of Spike Lee's grand vision.
The final moments of this film which feature school children from America all the way to South Africa standing up by their school desks proclaiming loudly, "I am Malcolm X!!" could not be any more appropriate.
We are all Malcolm X. just because we are human.
KEY MUSICAL MOMENT: Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" plays as Malcolm heads to give his final speech. Lee uses his signature shot to make Washington appear as if he is floating on a ghostly plane, seemingly knowing his final moments on this Earth are just about to play out.
There you have it! My Top Ten (or eleven, as the case may be) from Spike Lee. May his life extend onwards as fully and for as long as possible as I am anxious to see anything and everything he comes up with next. And for those of you who are unfamiliar with his works, head to your video emporium and collect a few of these titles.
And after you watch, let me know what you think...
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