Top 5 – Spike Lee Joints

There once was a time where it looked like Spike Lee may have lost it.  The visceral director who’s projects always pushed the boundaries of cinema, both thematically and visually, had a string of duds that made us question if Lee had lost his greatness.  However, with 2018’s BlackKklansman, Lee proved he was still one of our great directors working today.  With Lee’s latest film, Da 5 Bloods, dropping this weekend on Netflix, let’s look back at the best Spike Lee joints.

5 – MALCOLM X (1992)

• Malcolm X is a sprawling epic that only Lee could have made.  Telling the story of the legendary civil rights leader, Lee shows us everything from X’s life, from his time as a small-time gangster to becoming one of the biggest civil rights activists and a member of the Nation of Islam.  The film is huge in scope, but really shows us the smaller, intimate moments that made X who he was.  It also features a masterful, uncanny performance by Denzel Washington, which is one of the greatest performances I have ever seen on film.  This is one of the truly great biopics we’ve ever gotten.

4 – HE GOT GAME (1998)

• This film is way more than just a great sports movie.  It dives into the world of high school athletics and college recruiting tactics.  But mostly, the film is about the father/son bond and about redemption.  Lee gets another great performance from Denzel Washington as an imprisoned man trying make things right after an unfortunate tragedy strikes his family and former NBA star Ray Allen is also very convincing as his extremely talented and highly recruited son.  Filled with Lee’s usual visual flare and a lot of heart, He Got Game is vintage Spike.

3 – BLACKKKLANSMAN (2018)

• BlackKklansman is the incredible true story of how black police officer Ron Stallworth (John David Washington, in a star-making performance) infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970’s is a story only Lee could have made.  It had been years since Lee had been in this form.  There is an anger and fury in the way Lee tells this story.  There are plenty of visual flourishes, along with a stellar ensemble, that bring this story to life.  For a film set in the 1970’s, Lee ties it back to our current time and forces us to look in the mirror.  The America of the 70’s isn’t much different than the America we live in today, and that message is hammered home in the finale montage.  Lee made a shocking film, yet one of the most important films of the 2010’s.

2 – 25TH HOUR (2002)

• 25th Hour is one of the best movies of the millennium, and also one of the most underrated.  Following a New York drug dealer Monty (a brilliant Ed Norton) and the 24 hours he has before he is sent to jail.  Monty must tie up loose ends and reevaluate his life, including questioning the loyalty of his friends and girlfriend, and feel the guilt of his father about his life decisions.  25th Hour is a complex look at friendship, regret, and post 9/11 New York.  It features an all-star cast all on the top of their game and a riveting story.  This one flies under the radar most of the time, but it is a Spike Lee masterpiece.

1 – DO THE RIGHT THING (1989)

• Do the Right Thing shows us the boiling racial tensions of a Brooklyn neighborhood on the hottest day of 1989.  Lee takes on modern racism, showing us that decades after the civil rights movement, racism is as strong and dangerous as ever.  This is filmmaking at its finest, with some stunning images, memorable scenes, and production design that all have meaning to the story.  This is a hot-blooded, passionate, tremendous cinematic achievement that is as relevant today as it was in 1989.  The most impressive thing about Do the Right Thing is how relevant the movie is 31-years after it’s release.  It’s a sad reality we live in, but Lee painted a dark picture of race in America that has only gotten worse over the years.  Do the Right Thing is one of the greatest movies ever made and Spike Lee’s masterpiece.

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