Reviews (127)

one of Lee's better films
A Film by Spike Lee

Montgomery Brogan (Edward Norton) is facing a seven year jail term after being caught by the DEA for dealing drugs. This movie is his last 24 hours of freedom before he has to go to prison (for some reason he gets to bring himself to prison when the day ends). He contacts his two friends: Jacob Elinski (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a teacher with an unhealthy interest in his student Mary (Anna Paquin); and Frank Slaughtery (Barry Pepper), a stock broker who thinks too much of his abilities and too little of the money of his clients. The three of them will get together later that night along with Monty's girlfriend, Naturelle Riviera (Rosario Dawson).

The film spends its time examing who Monty is. He's a man who rescues a dog that was abused and left for dead, but he is also a drug dealer with no pity for someone whom he helped become a junkie. We see how he relates to his girlfriend on his last day of freedom, as well as what his relationships are like with his best friends, and what they think of him. Throughout the movie, Monty is re-evaluating his life and what he has done in his life (many bad things). He has to decide how he wants to spend the rest of his life and what kind of man he wants to be. Spike Lee does not give us an answer on whether or not Monty is a good man (or if we should think that he is), but rather leaves the question for us to answer if Monty is doing the right thing throughout the movie. 25th Hour offers condemnation without judgment, if such a thing really is possible.

This movie also is the first one that I have seen that addresses a post-September 11th New York. The opening credit montage has some fairly mournful music that both sets the tone for the movie as well as touching upon the terrorist attacks. The blue lights that we see are the spotlights that shine in the New York skyline in place of the towers. There are also small touches throughout the movie about post 9/11 New York. One of the best sequences in the movie is one where Monty is cursing all of New York, going down a list of stereotypes and realities before he gets to other things that he hates (including Osama Bin Laden) and concluding with himself. It is a beautifully written, if vulgar, speech. It is the money shot of the movie.

This is an excellent movie (excellence in filmmaking), but it is not a great one. I don't know quite what the distinction is, but that as much as I like the movie, 25th Hour did not move me. I would recommend this movie to fans of Spike Lee and drama, in general, but I would not recommend this movie without reservations.

Shocking and Engrossing
A superb cast (and brilliant performances) greatly benefit "25th Hour," Spike Lee's latest directorial effort. Fascinating and frustrating, this is the story of the last twenty four hours Monty Brogan (Edward Norton) gets to spend with his two best friends, Frank (Barry Pepper), a bonds trader, and Jakob (Phillip Seymour Hoffman in another brilliant performance), a high school English teacher, and his girlfriend, Naturelle (Rosario Dawson), before he goes to prison for seven years for pushing heroin, as they party the night away in New York City one last time. Monty spends most of his last day tying up loose ends. There's his dog, a mangy mongrel he rescued after it was burned and left for dead, who needs a new home. There's peace to be made with his father (Brian Cox), who runs a fine Irish bar catering to firefighters. There's a final meeting with his Russian bosses, who play hard and rough. And there's the nagging question: Who ratted him out? Was it, as Jacob and Francis believe, his live-in girlfriend, Naturelle, whose street smarts and supple beauty hint at betrayal?

Adapted by screenwriter David Benioff from his novel that was written before 9/11, the film brilliantly uses this transition in Monty's life as a powerful metaphor for the changes we all went through after that terrible Tuesday in September. Shades of September 11 are everywhere, including the memorable scene in Frank's apartment where we get a clear view of the trgedy's aftermath. There is also the brilliant sequence where Monty looks in the mirror of a restroom and spits out a litany of hate for every group he can think of in New York--every economic, ethnic, sexual and age group gets the f-word, until finally he sees himself in the mirror and includes himself. This scene seems so typical of Spike Lee (it's like an extension of a sequence in "Do the Right Thing") that it's a surprise to find it's in the original novel--but then Benioff's novel may have been inspired by Lee's earlier film.

The film is unusual for not having a plot or a payoff. It is about the end of this stage of Monty's life, so there is no goal he is striving for--unless it is closure with Naturelle and his father. He may not see them again; certainly not like this. Perhaps the film's main flaw is that it goes on a good 20 minutes too long, but it manages to pack a wallop nonetheless, for a truly memorable experience.

Came in with High Expectations.
Maybe I came in with to high of expectations? I don't know, but I did not find this movie enjoyable at all. Some people might say that I didn't get all of the hidden meanings and innuendoes. I did pick up on everything and still found myself thinking 'So what, get on with the movie already!'. The only part of the movie I had any interest in was to see what happened between the characters that Hoffman and Anna Paquin played. Was Hoffman going to end up in jail with Norton for sleeping with his student? Might have been a good twist...

With a great cast of actors and people telling me how great this movie was, I think I just came in expecting to much. I was very disappointed...

This IS the best movie I have ever seen, and I've seen a few
25th Hour... A lot of people have already posted reviews of this movie. Some loved it, some hated it. I am in the first category- although it is dark, tense and slow-paced, 25th Hour riveted me from the first scene, where Monty Brogan rescues the abused dog.
I love Edward Norton. Not only is he an incredibly talented actor, but I find his looks very appealing. He's not a pretty boy or a hunk, yet he has major appeal, and yes, he has definitely got a nice build. But most importantly, he has a way of using facial expressions that is irresistable. Fight Club was a great movie, and he is a great actor, but this has to be his finest work to date. I bought 25th Hour because he stars in it, and I loved it because he made the movie. It was well directed in my opinion, and the supporting cast were wonderful, but if it had starred anyone else, 25th Hour would likely have been something not worth watching. Even a well directed film with a great supporting cast can fail if the lead is miscast. In this case, casting was spot-on.
Edward Norton IS Monty Brogan for 25th Hour.
If for just a few scenes, this movie would be worth watching- Monty's f*ck-you rant to the mirror in the bathroom of his father's bar, the scene where his apartment is searched by the DEA, the interrogation scene, the scene between Naturelle (Rosario Dawson) and Francis (Barry Pepper), the 'make me ugly scene'- these scenes could have made a mediocre movie great. But the movie was already great- these scenes made it unforgettable. I watch it once, and as the end credits roll I immediately want to watch it again. That is what denotes a great movie- I'll never tire of 25th Hour. And on top of everything else this movie has the all time BEST pick-up scene- the 18 year old Catholic school girl-looking Naturelle meets for the first time that cute older Irish guy, Monty Brogan.
I think Rosario Dawson was underrated in this film- she comes across to me as a caring girlfriend, and she proves herself as a GREAT actress when she portrays the younger Naturelle- that WAS an 18 year old girl we were seeing. Plus her scene at the club with Barry Pepper is really great.
I bought 25th Hour sight unseen because Edward Norton was in it, and ended up getting the best movie I've yet seen. I intend to buy the DVD as soon as I can. Buy this film. Don't listen to those who will try to discredit it, it is a great movie and a wonderful vehicle for the acting talents of our Edward Norton.

Chornyi

Nothing really happens
25th Hour has some enjoyable elements, and works in a special way. A man is sentenced to jail, and is allowed time on the outside to say goodbye. Naturally he reflects on what might have been, and also questions his friendships. I found the film had alot of hidden meanings, but it did lose some credibility with the freedom aspect. I dont know what it is like in America, but if you were sentenced to jail for being a drug dealer in Australia, you would be kept in custody beforehand for weeks.

I have to admit it was difficult to feel compassion for Norton since his character is that of a drug dealer. Perhaps if he was being sentenced for something different, it might have helped gain my compassion.

Worth seeing, even if it is rather depressing at times. ... Read more

Description

A Huey P. Newton Story is an intimate portrait of Huey P. Newton, thelate co-founder of the Black Panther Party. Director Spike Lee and Roger GuenveurSmith collaborate for the 7th time to bring Newton's thoughts, philosophies, history andflavour to life.Adapted from Robert Guenveur Smith's Obie Award winning off-Broadway solo performance of the same name, Spike Lee brings the play from the stageto the screen as only he could. Shot before a live audience, Spike Lee uses his signaturemixture of film and archival footage, to capture Newton's "inner mind." The film iscomplemented by period material and original compositions from sound designer MarcAnthony Thompson, who received an Obie and Audelco Award for his work.Accompanied by an outstanding performance, starring and written by Roger GuenveurSmith, Nominated for two NAACP Image Awards and for winning the Peabody Award.This film is a piece of history that will bring the meaning to"Without Struggle There isNo Life". ... Read more

Reviews (1)

GREAT FILM- AWFUL DVD
I reviewed this befroe and they would not put it up, why? I did not cuss, I merely suggested that something was quite foul smelling with the way this man is STILL being treated. I suggested that Spike Lee, could of sold his basketball tickets for the dough it would cost to at least put some chapter stops on this DVD. American wedding,the movie with all the white folks in it gets audio commentary, six documentaries,16 page booklet. But make a film about Huey Newton, and you get no booklet, no chapter stops, no biography, or documentaries. You could of jammed this DVD with hours of documentaries, and t.v. appearances that HUEY did but NO! Not even CHAPTER STOPS, poor huey. ... Read more

Reviews (94)

A brilliant, scorching movie
Spike Lee takes us to a single block in Brooklyn on the hottest day of the year in his awesomely brilliant movie "Do The Right Thing". The movie opens on a sultry early morning; by the time it ends, on a sweltering midnight of the same day, the heat, and the movie, have built up unbearable tensions that explode in in a confrontation that engulfs the street and everyone in it. At the heart of the block and the movie is Sal's Famous Pizzeria, run by Sal and his two sons from Bensonhurst (also in Brooklyn but it might as well be on the other side of the planet), with its "Wall of Fame" covered with photographs of famous Italian-Americans, glaringly out of place and insultingly insensitive on this African-American street in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The movie presents us with an unforgettable set of characters, including Danny Aiello in a great performance as Sal, Spike Lee as Mookie, his delivery man, Rosie Perez as Mookie's long-suffering and neglected girlfriend, Giancarlo Esposito as Mookie's radical friend Buggin' Out, Bill Nunn as Radio Raheem with his suitcase-size boom box that eats up 20 D batteries at a clip, the nearly legendary husband-wife acting team of Ossie Davis and Ruby Lee as Da Mayor, the street bum, and Mother Sister, the neighborhood snoop (every neighborhood has to have one), Samuel L. Jackson as Senor Love Daddy, and Joie Lee, Spike Lee's real-life sister, who plays Mookie's sister Jade in the film. Among a host of minor characters, the best are the three men parked on the sidewalk, ML, played by Paul Benjamin, Coconut Sid, played by Frankie Faison, and Sweet Dick Willie, played by the late Robin Harris, who act as a kind of Greek chorus to the unfolding events. Much of the speaking parts of these three was ad-libbed on camera, and the actors seem to have had a ball with their characterizations (Buggin' Out: "You wanna boycott Sal's Famous Pizzeria?" Sweet Dick Willie, observing Buggin' Out's every-which-way haircut: "You oughta boycott that barber who f---ed up your head.") Always present, and intrusive, are a squad car with two white cops, who view the neighborhood inhabitants, and are viewed by them, with undisguised contempt. The street, and the environs, are so convincingly portrayed that the heat is palpable; we can almost feel their discomfort as we sympathize at their attempts to alleviate it. One of the most priceless scenes in the film is the loudmouthed "alien" who drives through the block in an open Cadillac convertible and dares the kids to get it wet (when he finally manages to pull over and open the door, Niagara Falls spills out). A demand by Buggin' Out that Sal put some photographs of blacks on the Wall of Fame, which Sal dismisses out of hand, sets the stage for the confrontation that will blow sky-high. Buggin' Out returns to the pizzeria just before closing time with Radio Raheem, boom box blasting away at full volume, and Sal, his last nerve shot, silences the noise with a baseball bat. The resulting free-for-all spills out into the street just as the police arrive; Radio Raheem is pulled off Sal, who he is choking silly, and killed by the police with an illegal choke-hold. The police speed off (one could say they fled the scene of their crime), leaving Sal and his sons alone to face the neighborhood's rage. The pizzeria is torched, the neighborhood riots, and the firetruck arrives with firehoses turned on the rioters instead of the pizzeria, in a scene reminiscent of Sheriff Bull Connor in 1960's Alabama. "Do The Right Thing" is one of the most searing commentaries on American race relations that has ever been put on film. It's provocative, it's insightful, it's profound, it's a masterpiece, and it's definitely Spike Lee's best movie.

Do the Right Thing Review
It's the hottest day of the summer and racial tensions run deep in the Bed-Stuy section of Brooklyn, New York. This is the backdrop for Spike Lee's controversial 1989 film, "Do The Right Thing". Many critics and movie-goers were quick to blast this film for being what they perceived to be a "racist" movie. Most people who say this have probably only seen the movie once and were so quick to complain about its tension-filled ending.

"Right Thing" stars writer-director Lee as Mookie, a somewhat lazy pizza delivery boy who works at the local pizzeria run by Sal and his Italian-American sons. Through Mookie's many trips through the neighborhood, we get acquainted with some of the other "characters" such as the block's "wise man" (or "town drunk", depending on how you perceive him), "Da Mayor" (Ossie Davis). We also get introduced to the trouble-making Buggin' It Out who is intent on boycotting Sal's Famous until they "put some brothas on the wall". Then, there's Radio Raheem, whose boombox blasts Public Enemy's "Fight The Power" loudly through out the movie. He doesn't speak much as the music seems to be his outlet of expression. It also happens to get him in a lot of trouble as the movie progresses.

Lee's treatmant of certain characters in "Right Thing" is questionable at times. He seems to feel strongly that many of the white characters in this New York neighborhood would root for Boston sports teams because their top players are also white. At times, Danny Aiello's Sal seems sympathetic and kind while in the end, he is more or less portrayed as a "closet racist". This might be why some of us are so fast to make observations about the film's racial biases but I've never felt that "Do The Right Thing" has ever been about who is right and who is wrong. In the end, everyone loses out because rather than go about handling certain small problems by compromising, people choose to argue over who is "doing the right thing" and who isn't. In the end, people are hurt and killed, property is destroyed, and all that seems to remain is animosity.

While I may argue with the way that Spike wrote certain characters, this is "his" movie. Would the ending situation have been any different if he had re-wrote them? Probably not. So many of its critics fail to see the big picture with "Do The Right Thing". It isn't about whether Sal was right or whether Mookie was right or Buggin' It Out. The original problem was so small, so minor, and each of the characters allowed it to balloon into a big one. Even the less important characters contributed to the problem by instigating it further. The only character who seemed to understand what was going on was Samuel L. Jackson's almost narrator-like radio DJ, Senor Love Daddy. He understands it, he sees the tension esculating, and he is telling everyone to relax but it's too late. "And that's the triple truth, Ruth".

"The left hand is hate. The right hand is love."
This movie is largely an angry, outrageous film. But it is also a beautiful and enlightening one. DO THE RIGHT THING garnered Spike Lee, writer, director, and star of the film, both praise and criticism. But what you must remember, those who either praise it or look down upon it, is that DO THE RIGHT THING couldn't be further from the truth.

DO THE RIGHT THING was an introduction to Lee's brazen and bold style of filmmaking. He had a part in every aspect: direction, cast, production, writing the screenplay, etc. That's why, if someone is interested in seeing a "Spike Lee joint", I will definitely recommend DO THE RIGHT THING first and foremost.

It's a look at race relations in America circa 1989, a drastic glimpse in which the outsiders, meaning the audience, can feel as if they are right there in Harlem with Mookie (Spike Lee).

Mookie is an unmarried father, a boyfriend to Tina (Rosie Perez), loud and outspoken with her buxom figure. She pushes Mookie to spend more time with her and their son, complaining about him being a deadbeat dad. His excuse? Work.

True, much of Mookie's time is spent working at Sal's, a pizzeria in Harlem, run by white Italians in a neighborhood where the population appears to be around 99.5 percent black.

Other characters include Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn), Da Mayor (Ossie Davis), Mother Sister (Ruby Dee), Buggin' Out (Giancarlo Esposito) and Jade, Mookie's sister (Joie Lee). Radio Raheem's dialogue throughout the film it limited - he more or less expresses his freedom through his incessantly blaring radio. In fact, throughout the entire movie, Public Enemy's "FIGHT THE POWER" blasts throughout the neighborhood. Buggin' Out is irked with a situation at Sal's that he feels must immediately be taken care of. He just wants Sal to "put some brothas" up on his restaurant's walls, right beside pics of Frank Sinatra and Clark Gable. Sal (Danny Aiello) refuses to comply with Buggin' Out's request.

In the end, Radio Raheem and Buggin' Out fuel an argument that quickly evolves into a neighborhoodwide conflagration. Alas, Mookie fuels the fire by hurling a trashcan through the glass window of the pizzeria - his boss' pizzeria - and the brawl proceeds, with Sal and his sons standing on the sidelines.

DO THE RIGHT THING is an odd title for a film like this, some people may think. Is the right thing done? Does Lee believe that the characters in his film did the right thing? I'm not sure. The title can be interpreted in a number of ways, I suppose. First, I suspected it was irony. No, Mookie didn't do the right thing! He fueled the fire and instigated the riot to mammoth proportions! Property was destroyed and damaged! My second conclusion was merely that "doing the right thing" serves as an argument for the people, for people unwilling to make compromises or verbally come to an agreement through reasonable, mature conversation. In reality, the film isn't about who is right and who is wrong and why. You had people like Mookie, who seemed to act on impulse, and then you had Da Mayor, trying to calm the livid people down, trying to talk sense into their heads. People evidently followed Mookie's lead and in the process, they hurt and killed others, seriously damaged and neighborhood properties. Not only that, but mere misunderstanding and hate seems to exist between them, even after the riot ends. That's a sad thing, yet it's also a very true thing.

Lee's picture clarifies the fact that yes, misunderstanding between peoples does fuel hate, which, in turn, fuels even bigger and uglier physical problems. DO THE RIGHT THING was taboo for how it portrayed peoples of different races, yet for film's time, the state of Harlem and its residents was portrayed with frank and genuine realness that simply can't be denied. Certain characters, settings, and events rung clear and true. DO THE RIGHT THING is arguably one of the finest examples of race relations illustrated in film. You can watch and rewatch - and learn - from this tumultuous and dramatic "Spike Lee joint".

An EYE OPENER
The eye opener of the year...I loved it. Excellent story line and a must see movie by mature audiences only. Very compelling!

That¿s the double-truth¿ Ruth
In all likelihood Spike Lee's most important achievement - as director, writer and actor (though to my taste Mo' Better Blues is just as good a picture) and one of the strongest films you'll see about race relations, 'Do The Right Thing' looks dated at times, but it lost none of its impact and relevance. The movie takes place in a particularly hot day in a primarily African-American neighborhood in Brooklyn, and follows the various personalities who live there throughout the day; the center of the story is Sal's Famous Pizzeria - its owners, some of the few white people living in the neighborhood: Sal (Oscar nominated performance for Danny Aiello) and his two sons (John Torturro and Richard Edson), and Mookie (Spike Lee himself), the black delivery boy. What starts out as a light, entertaining movie with some amusing characters and light humor, gradually builds up tension to the point of being unbearable, up to the dramatic and tragic climax. Spike doesn't put as much emphasis on the characters themselves as he does on the relationships and the tension between them; and in this image of a very specific and small frame in time and place, makes a strong and important message about racism and race relations in general.

The film is populated with many different characters, all of them very memorable and each one a representative of a certain belief, mode of behavior or state of mind - on both sides of the conflict. From the uninhibited anger of Buggin Out (Giancarlo Esposito) and Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn) on one side and Pino (John Torturro) on the other side, to Jade (Joie Lee, Spike's sister in the film and in real life) and Vito (Richard Edson), who are trying to connect and live at peace with the other side, to Da Mayor (Ossie Davis), in his isolated but peaceful state of mind, living in complete peace with the world around him, and Smiley (Roger Smith), living in his own isolated existence. Then there's Mookie, who is stuck in the middle, torn between his commitment and responsibilities to both sides. Finally we have Mister Senor Love Daddy - played gorgeously by the one and only Samuel L. Jackson, in one of his finest performances - half active character and half all-knowing narrator - who represents the voice of reason in the conflict, the reason which is bound, ultimately, to collapse. Each and every character plays an important part in the climatic and dramatic conflict to which the movie builds up, and though it's the radical ones - Buggin Out and Radio Raheem - who trigger the events that cause the tragedy, they are not necessarily the ones who finish it. It is Mookie and Sal, in fact, who ultimately play the main part.

Do The Right Thing is not an easy watch; it's a mesmerizing, tense, difficult film that breaks many taboos and slaughters many holy cows. But in the end of it - hopefully - you'll be wiser than you were in the beginning, and that's what Lee have always tried to achieve in all his films. Watch it to get a real view on racism that doesn't duck the difficult issues and isn't afraid to tackle the real problem, and to see a master director at work. It's one of the best films of its time. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

I've gotta have it
Yo Spike, you've gotta be kidding what's the hold up. Can ya help a brother out and see what you can do to put your (baby) on DVD. This is a high crime. This movie was (is) a straigh-up winner. I heard that you didn't particularly like it, but we your fans think it's great. Sometimes the man in the mirror is blinded by the new kids on his block. Your other films are great also, but this one has its own place in history. Great script, great acting, the whole enchilada. Please do the right thing and help me and others complete or DVD collection. Thanks

PUT THIS MOVIE ON DVD NOW
This is the film that gave Spike Lee his rise. It is a brilliant first film. Why is the movie viewing public having to wait for the release of this historical film on DVD and for that matter why is Girl 6 not on DVD. Every Spike Lee film ever made should now be available on DVD. She's Got to Have It on DVD NOW!

Spike Lee's first movie.
The first thing you will notice that makes this movie special is
that is shot in black & white. It is the story of three men vying
for the attention and affection of 1 woman. As the story unfolds
it's a question of "Who's Zoomin Who" And who if anybody will ride the "Freeway Of Love". This is not a typical date movie,
but if you choose to watch it with you main squeeze. Don't scratch where it don't itch. In other words, you could wonder where they are and who they're with when their not with you.
But don't ask. This was Spike debut as actor and director.
For a movie made on a shoestring budget,the plot, though slow at
times, kept me interested.

good debut
mars do you do you know? this line and other lines have been used endlessly.spike lee was on to something and this film showcases a genius in action.three diffrent men trying to win the affection of one woman.

Unhibited sex from a black female's point of view.
I rented this movie because I read Spike Lee's The Best Seat in the House book (an excellent book) and it contained several dialog quotes from this movie (Mars Blackmon and Jamie Oversteet talking about the NBA). I specifically rented it to hear the line about Larry Bird. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. It was ahead of its time and showed an attractive black female with three admirers vying for her affection. She was not afraid of sex and had no intentions of hiding what she wanted. I paid attention to the soundtrack because I know Spile Lee's father composed the film's music and it was very good. I also liked how Spike Lee (Shelton Jackson Lee)cast his sister Joie in the film too.

I loved Spike Lee's book and enjoyed this film. I had no idea he was that knowledgeable about the NBA and I loved his tales about Pippen, Miller and the 69-70, 72-73 New York Knicks championship teams. ... Read more