Do you want to see ‘Do the Right Thing’?

Do the Right Thing (1989)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 8.8/10
Reviews Counted: 51
Fresh: 49 | Rotten: 2

No consensus yet.

Average Rating: 7.9/10
Critic Reviews: 7
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 1

No consensus yet.

audience

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Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 68,159

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Movie Info

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

R, 2 hr.

Drama, Comedy

Directed By: Spike Lee

Written By: Spike Lee

In Theaters: Jun 14, 1989 Wide

On DVD: Jun 30, 2009

Universal Pictures

Do the Right Thing Trailer & Photos

Cast

Danny Aiello
Sal
Spike Lee
Mookie
Richard Edson
Vito
John Turturro
Pino
Giancarlo Esposito
Buggin Out
Rosie Perez
Tina
Bill Nunn
Radio Raheem
Ossie Davis
Da Mayor
Ruby Dee
Mother Sister
Paul Benjamin
ML
Frankie Faison
Coconut Sid
Robin Harris
Sweet Dick Willie
Joie Lee
Jade
Samuel L. Jackson
Mister Senor Love Daddy
Martin Lawrence
Cee
John Savage
Clifton
Rick Aiello
Officer Long
Shawn Elliott
Puerto Rican Ice Man
Richard Habersham
Eddie
Dominic Marcus
Stephen Park
Sonny
Eric Payne
Angel Ramirez
Stevie's Friends
Luis Antonio Ramos
Stevie
Christa Rivers
Ella
Miguel Sandoval
Officer Ponte
Roger Guenveur Smith
Smiley
Leonard Thomas
Punchy
Nelson Vasquez
Stevie's Friends
Frank Vincent
Charlie
David Weinberg
Plain Clothes Detective
Ginny Yang
Kim
Erik Koniger
Steve White
Ahmad
Tom Wright
Gwen McGee
Louise
Joel Nagle
Sergeant
Diva Osorio
Carmen
Sherwin Park
Korean Child
Travell Lee Toulson
Hector
Robi Reed
Roy Thomas

Critic Reviews for Do the Right Thing

All Critics (51) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (58) | Rotten (2) | DVD (28)

Lee cagily provides a litmus test for racial attitudes in 1989, but he does so by destroying the integrity of his characters, black and white.

April 24, 2009 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine

| Comments (18)

Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

Top Critic

A powerful and persuasive look at an ethnic community and what makes it tick--funky, entertaining, packed with insight, and political in the best, most responsible sense.

June 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment (1)

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

Mr. Lee's movie is anything but minimalist. It is bursting with character, color, incident and music, including a militant rap number performed by Public Enemy.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment

Vincent Canby

New York Times

Top Critic

Spike Lee combines a forceful statement on race relations with solid entertainment values.

February 13, 2001 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Variety

Top Critic

Comes closer to reflecting the current state of race relations in America than any other movie of our time

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

A movie made by filmmaker working in sync with his times -- an exciting, disturbing, provocative film.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post

| Comment

Hal Hinson

Washington Post

Top Critic

The many joys of the film are equaled only by the fiery injustice it bears witness to in the apocalyptic third act.

August 1, 2011 Full Review Source: Projection Booth

| Comment

Rob Humanick

Projection Booth

Sure, the movie opens up the racial problems of everyday life in New York, but it also has a very forgiving tone to what one could label as the oppressed.

September 21, 2010 Full Review Source: 7M Pictures

| Comment (1)

Kevin Carr

7M Pictures

Spike Lee's masterwork of racial unrest; discuss with kids.

December 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment

Renee Schonfeld

Common Sense Media

It's perhaps one of the greatest summer movies of all time. Do the Right Thing is as perfect as a film can get.

August 26, 2009 Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com

| Comment

Brian Orndorf

BrianOrndorf.com

Lee shows us both sides of the situation, and lets us decide for ourselves. The results are devastating.

July 8, 2009 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com

| Comment

Bill Gibron

Filmcritic.com

[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.

July 2, 2009 Full Review Source: Seanax.com

| Comment

Sean Axmaker

Seanax.com

A riveting drama which remains just as intense as when it debuted in 1989.

June 29, 2009 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze

| Comment

Kam Williams

NewsBlaze

A riveting drama which remains just as intense as when it debuted in 1989.

June 29, 2009 Full Review Source: Sly Fox

| Comment

Kam Williams

Sly Fox

A towering achievement in American cinema, Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing takes a hard look at a community in crisis. [Blu-ray]

June 28, 2009 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews

| Comment

Peter Canavese

Groucho Reviews Source: Groucho Reviews

As Mister Se�or Love Daddy commands, "WAKE UP" to this absolutely essential home video.

June 16, 2009 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine

| Comment

Eric Henderson

Slant Magazine

Like Rear Window to Alfred Hitchcock, like Nashville to Robert Altman, like Playtime to Jacques Tati, Lee's Do the Right Thing is an undiluted representation of its creator's artistic command.

June 16, 2009 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine

| Comment

Eric Henderson

Slant Magazine

A pulsating homage to life on New York's streets, achieved thanks to Lee's sleepless eye, but a passionate-yet-dignified study of racism, too.

March 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine

| Comment

Lloyd Bradley

Empire Magazine

The fact that a filmmaker as gifted as Lee has yet to top the movie says a lot about its power.

March 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4

| Comment

Film4

Maybe Mookie does the wrong thing. But he does it for the right reason.

August 22, 2006 Full Review Source: Cinemania

| Comment

Dan Jardine

Cinemania

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Do the Right Thing

View All

Spike Lee displays racism in the most brutal way possible, creating an atmosphere that will make you laugh, cry, and wish you could get in on the commotion. As life in the 80's, in the streets of Brooklyn, racial groups roamed the town, trying to find any way they can annoy another ethnic group. Although the characters

October 19, 2011

KJ Proulx

Super Reviewer

The hottest day of the year on a block in Brooklyn, NY, this masterpiece from Spike Lee is an amazing look at race relations. Also filled with vibrant colors, a beautiful score and many standout performances. One of my favorite scenes is the tale of love and hate delivered by Radio Raheem which is an homage to another great film, The Night Of The Hunter.

October 30, 2011

Graham Jones

Super Reviewer

Do the Right Thing Quotes

View All

1. Buggin Out: Sal! We gonna boycott your fat pasta ass!
– Submitted by Nathaniel B (2 months ago)
1. Ahmad: What? I ain't boycotting jack you string cheese head mother fucker! I'm about to go get a slice right now!
– Submitted by Nathaniel B (2 months ago)
1. Mookie: Pino, fuck you, fuck your fuckin' pizza, and fuck Frank Sinatra.
2. Pino: Yeah? Well fuck you, too, and fuck Michael Jackson.
– Submitted by Chris P (9 months ago)
1. Buggin Out: Yo, Mookie.
2. Mookie: What?
3. Buggin Out: Stay Black.
– Submitted by Chris P (9 months ago)
1. Da Mayor: Always do the right thing.
2. Mookie: That's it?
3. Da Mayor: That's it.
4. Mookie: I got it, I'm gone.
– Submitted by Chris P (9 months ago)

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