Do the Right Thing (1989)

Do the Right Thing (1989) is a blistering, vibrant portrait of one sweltering day in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant, directed by Spike Lee. Centered on Mookie, a pizza deliveryman who works for Sal’s longtime neighborhood pizzeria, the film follows a cast of vivid, outspoken characters—Sal and his sons, Buggin Out, Radio Raheem, Da Mayor, and others—whose small everyday conflicts and long‑standing resentments simmer under the city heat until they combust into violence. Watching the film you’ll feel the temperature: literal heat and a growing social pressure. You’ll hear an insistent, streetwise soundtrack (notably Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power”), feel the urgency in Spike Lee’s kinetic camera work and bold color palette, and be pulled into the rhythms, humor and banter of the block. The movie moves between comic exchanges and moments of raw emotional intensity, making community life feel immediate and lived-in while never shying away from the racist tensions and injustices that puncture it. Do the Right Thing doesn’t hand you easy answers. It builds empathy for conflicting viewpoints and then forces a moral reckoning—viewers experience mounting discomfort as ordinary grievances escalate into destructive choices and tragic consequences. The film is provocative, funny, painful and unforgettable: a visceral, sharply observed examination of race, identity, and responsibility that leaves you thinking and arguing long after the credits roll.

Actors: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee

Director: Spike Lee

Runtime: 120 min

Genres: Comedy, Drama

7.3 /10 93 /100 8.0 /10 8.2 /10