Do the Right Thing

Do the Right Thing

It's the hottest day of the summer. You can do nothing, you can do something, or you can...

Directed by Spike Lee

Produced by Universal Pictures, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks

1989120 min7.8 / 10

A searing, deliberately unresolved examination of racism, community, and moral choice set against a sweltering Brooklyn heatwave that builds toward explosive confrontation.

Sal is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin' Out, becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria's Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors. Buggin' Out believes a pizzeria in a black neighborhood should showcase black actors, but Sal disagrees. The wall becomes a symbol of racism and hate to Buggin' Out and to other people in the neighborhood, and tensions rise.

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Questions people ask

  • Is Do the Right Thing one of a kind? Yes, very. More singular than 96% of films.

  • Is Do the Right Thing violent? Yes. More violent than 80% of films.

  • Is Do the Right Thing easy watching? Not especially. Less comforting than 74% of films.

  • Does Do the Right Thing end with hope? Not especially. Less hopeful than 64% of films.

  • Is Do the Right Thing scary? Somewhat. More frightening than 61% of films.

  • Is Do the Right Thing sad? Somewhat. More sad than 61% of films.

These describe how the film comes across, measured across the whole film and compared with other well-known films. They are not a content list — nothing here was counted or checked scene by scene, so for age-suitability or specific content use a classification board or a dedicated content-warning service.

Written about

88/ 100

Cinnamon Score

How much this film gives you that nothing else will, and whether it delivers.

There is almost nothing else like this.

Rarity95

How unlike any other film this one feels

Surprise74

How much more it delivers than it promises

Love95

How much audiences actually like it

The highest scores in the catalogue →

Ensemble

Everything like Do the Right Thing, and what each one shares →

Like Do the Right Thing

Nearest across the full emotional profile.

Same Mood as Do the Right Thing

Nearest on what's most distinctive about this one.

Like Do the Right Thing, But Darker

Similar, pushed toward heavier and more intense.

Like Do the Right Thing, But Lighter

Similar, pushed toward warmer and easier.

Like Do the Right Thing, But Less Popular

Same territory, far fewer people have seen it.

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