Spike Lee's account of erupting racial tensions on a summer afternoon in a predominantly black Brooklyn... (Learn more)
Starring: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee (View All)
- Watch on Fancast
- 0Full Length Videos
- 9Clips & Other Videos
Starring: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee
Director Spike Lee dives head-first into a maelstrom of racial and social ills, using as his springboard the hottest day of the year on one block in Brooklyn, NY. Three businesses dominate the block: a storefront radio station, where a smooth-talkin' deejay (Samuel L. Jackson) spins the platters that matter; a convenience store owned by a Korean couple; and Sal's Famous Pizzeria, the only white-operated business in the neighborhood. Sal (Danny Aiello) serves up slices with his two sons, genial Vito (Richard Edson) and angry, racist Pino (John Turturro). Sal has one black employee, Mookie (Spike Lee), who wants to "get paid" but lacks ambition. His sister Jade (Joie Lee, Spike's sister), who has a greater sense of purpose and a "real" job, wants Mookie to start dealing with his responsibilities, most notably his son with girlfriend Tina (Rosie Perez). Two of Mookie's best friends are Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn), a monolith of a man who rarely speaks, preferring to blast Public Enemy's rap song Fight The Power on his massive boom box; and Buggin' Out (Giancarlo Esposito), nicknamed for his coke-bottle glasses and habit of losing his cool. When Buggin' Out notes that Sal's "Wall of Fame," a photo gallery of famous Italian-Americans, includes no people of color, he eventually demands a neighborhood boycott, on a day when tensions are already running high, that incurs tragic consequences. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Something wrong with our information? LET US KNOW
US Release Date
6/30/89
MPAA Rating
Rated R
Running Time
120 mins.
Locations
- New York City, NY
Language
- English
Box Office Total
$25,972,051
Awards
- Winner of the Best Cinematography award at the 1989 New York Film Critics Circle [Festival Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Director award at the 1989 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion award at the 1989 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Screenplay award at the 1989 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Picture - Drama award at the 1989 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Original Screenplay award at the 1989 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Winner of the Best Supporting Actor award at the 1988 Los Angeles Film Critics Association [ Awards.
- Winner of the Best Picture award at the 1988 Los Angeles Film Critics Association [ Awards.
- Winner of the Best Director award at the 1988 Los Angeles Film Critics Association [ Awards.
- Winner of the U.S. National Film Registry award at the 1999 Library of Congress [Festival/Award] Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Supporting Actor award at the 1989 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Winner of the Best Music Score award at the 1988 Los Angeles Film Critics Association [ Awards.
Distributor
- Universal
- Universal Pictures
- Universal Studios Home Entertainment
