 25th Hour 2002  R, 134 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Tony Siragusa, Levani Outchaneichvili, Misha Kuznetsov, Isiah Whitlock Jr.
While drug dealer Monty Brogan (Edward Norton) faces a seven year jail term, he spends his last 24 hours of freedom making peace with friends and relatives.
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4 Little Girls 1997  N/R, 102 min.
Genre: Documentary
Director: Spike Lee
Spike Lee delivers on the subject of the 1963 bombing of a Birmingham church in which four young girls were killed. This excellent documentary shows how irrational racial hatred robs from all of us a precious element of life: the humanness of those four young girls and their futures as contributing citizens.
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Bamboozled 2000  R, 135 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Damon Wayans, Savion Glover, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tommy Davidson, Michael Rapaport, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Paul Mooney, Sarah Jones, Gillian Iliana Waters, Susan Batson
Spike Lee takes on racial bias in the television industry as Harvard-educated black writer Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans) develops a show for black tap dancers Savion Glover and Tommy Davidson. The catch is that they will be made up in black face and perform in a minstrel show. The show is a hit, but its success does not come without repercussions from all sides.
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Clockers 1995 R, 129 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Harvey Keitel, John Turturro, Delroy Lindo, Keith David, Mekhi Phifer, Isaiah Washington, Regina Taylor, Mike Starr, Spike Lee
Violence spirals out of control in this film adaptation of Richard Price's novel about a young Black man who may–or may not–have murdered a drug dealer. Will policemen (Harvey Keitel and John Turturro) determine if it is Strike (Mekhi Phifer), his brother Victor (Isaiah Washington), or someone else who committed the crime?
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Crooklyn 1994 R, 123 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Alfre Woodard, Delroy Lindo, Zelda Harris, Carlton Williams, Joie Lee, David Patrick Kelly, Spike Lee, Isaiah Washington, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Frances Foster
This film takes a look at the 1970s through the eyes of young Troy (Zelda Harris), and the struggles of an African American family are told.
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Do the Right Thing 1989  R, 120 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, John Turturro, John Savage, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, Paul Benjamin, Frankie Faison, Rick Aiello, Joie Lee, Robin Harris, Miguel Sandoval
Italian-American Sal (Danny Aiello) owns a pizzeria in a Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, and his sons–angry bigoted Pino (John Turturro) and congenial Vito (Richard Edson)–work at the pizzeria. The only Black employee is Mookie (Spike Lee) who drives the delivery truck. One hot summer day, Buggin' Out (Giancarlo Esposito) arranges a boycott of Sal's pizzeria because of the lack of racial diversity. Tensions rise and erupt in violence. Spike Lee created critical attention with his much discussed finale.
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Famous 2000 N/R, 87 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: Lisa Picard Is Famous
Director: Griffin Dunne
Cast: Laura Kirk, Nat DeWolf, Daniel London, Griffin Dunne, Linda Blair, Sandra Bullock, Carrie Fisher, Buck Henry, Spike Lee, Mira Sorvino
Cameo roles by real stars fill the screen in this mockumentary about Lisa Picard (Laura Kirk) who is teetering on the verge of stardom while documentary filmmaker Andrew (Griffin Dunne) follows her every move.
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Get on the Bus 1996 R, 122 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Ossie Davis, Charles S. Dutton, Andre Braugher, Richard Belzer, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Harry Lennix, Isaiah Washington, Roger Guenveur Smith, De'aundre Bonds, Hill Harper, Gabriel Casseus, Albert Hall, Bernie Mac, Steve White, Joie Lee
A group of African-American men board a bus in Los Angeles and head for Minister Louis Farrakhan's Million Man March in Washington, D.C., during October 1995. Along the way, conversations reveal the complex racial problems that exist in the United States as the men strive for unity and understanding.
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Girl 6 1996 R, 110 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Theresa Randle, Isaiah Washington, Spike Lee, Debi Mazar, Jenifer Lewis, John Turturro, Madonna, Quentin Tarantino, Naomi Campbell, Halle Berry
Girl 6 (Theresa Randle) is an aspiring actress who takes a job as a telephone-sex operator and finds that she actually likes her new profession.
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He Got Game 1998 R, 135 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Milla Jovovich, Ned Beatty, Jim Brown, Lonette McKee, Zelda Harris, John Turturro, Jennifer Esposito, Bill Nunn
Jesus Shuttlesworth (Ray Allen) is a talented high-school basketball player who is being courted by many colleges. The governor wants Jesus to play for his alma mater and, as part of the enticement, arranges for Jesus' father to be released from prison for one week.
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 Hoop Dreams 1994  PG-13, 165 min.
Genre: Documentary
Director: Steve James
Cast: Steve James, William Gates, Arthur Agee, Emma Gates, Curtis Gates, Sheila Agee, Arthur "Bo" Agee, Spike Lee, Isiah Thomas, Earl Smith, Bill Gleason, Patricia Weir, Marjorie Heard, Luther Bedford, Aretha Mitchell
This film was made over a five-year period during which the filmmakers follow the ups and downs of two African-American youths who aspire to become basketball champions. The important lesson of this film is that the luck and work required to become a sports hero often makes it impossible to achieve academic success at the same time. If the dream fails, lack of education exacerbates the problem. This film provides a good look at Chicago's inner-city world.
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 Inside Man 2006 R, 129 min.
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer, Willem Dafoe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Carlos Andres Gomez, Kim Director, James Ransone, Bernard Rachelle, Peter Gerety, Victor Colicchio, Cassandra Freeman, Peter Frechette, Gerry Vichi
When a gang led by Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) attempts to rob the Manhattan Trust Bank, NYPD Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) and his partner, Bill Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor), are sent to negotiate. But, negotiating is not going to be an easy task. First, Frazier and Mitchell must deal with other police officers–Captain Darius (Willem Dafoe) wants to storm the bank. Then, the hostages are forced to dress in jumpsuits and masks like the robbers making it difficult to separate the good guys from the bad guys. As if that were not enough, a bank executive (Christopher Plummer) hires a "fixer," Madeline White (Jodie Foster) to intercede and deal with the robbers. Trouble, trouble, and more troubles ensue.
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Jungle Fever 1991 R, 132 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Spike Lee, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L. Jackson, Lonette McKee, John Turturro, Frank Vincent, Anthony Quinn
This Spike Lee offering, "Jungle Fever" (Lee's term for an unhealthy interracial sexual affair), is very amusing, psychologically powerful, and supported by impressive performances. The story involves a married Black man who has an affair with a White woman and how their actions affect those around them.
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The Last Party 1993 N/R, 95 min.
Genre: Documentary
Director: Mark Benjamin
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Sean Penn, Bill Clinton, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, William Baldwin, Christian Slater, Mary Stuart Masterson, Robert Downey Sr., Arnold Schwarzenegger
This documentary examines the 1992 Presidential campaign and the politics of the current era. From Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton to Spike Lee, from G. Gordon Liddy and Ollie North to Arnold Schwarzenegger–they're all here.
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 Malcolm X 1992 PG-13, 201 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Al Freeman Jr., Delroy Lindo, Spike Lee, Theresa Randle, Lonette McKee, Debi Mazar, Joe Seneca, Kate Vernon, Tommy Hollis, James McDaniel, LaTanya Richardson
This is a very good biographical film about Malcolm X (Denzel Washington) and his rise from Black activist to influential leader of the Nation of Islam and his assassination at age 39.
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Miracle at St. Anna 2008  R, 160 min.
Genre: Action / Drama / Thriller
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alfonso, Omar Benson Miller, Pierfrancesco Favino, Valentina Cervi, Matteo Sciabordi, John Turturro, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Leguizamo, Kerry Washington, D.B. Sweeney, Omero Antonutti, Robert John Burke, Omari Hardwick
In the 1980s, postal worker Hector Negron (Laz Alfonso) unexpectedly shoots a customer, and now Daily News reporter Tim Boyle (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) searches for the story behind the shooting. Through flashbacks, the story is told about four World War II soldiers–Cpl. Negron, Sgt. Stamps (Derek Luke), Sgt. Cummings (Michael Ealy), and Pfc. Train (Omar Benson Miller)–from the all-Black "Buffalo Soldier" Division who are trapped behind enemy lines. Their fellow soldiers have been killed, and they are the sole survivors, but they find relative safety in an Italian village and relate to some of the residents. As the flashbacks progress, they reveal how Negron's shooting relates to an encounter in that village 40 years ago.
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Mo' Better Blues 1990 R, 130 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes, Giancarlo Esposito, Robin Harris, Joie Lee, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, Dick Anthony Williams, Cynda Williams
Director Spike Lee delves into the jazz world with this entry that follows Bleek Gilliam (Denzel Washington), a trumpeter who forms a jazz quartet and seeks world-class status. Bleek also has two girlfriends who want commitments, but no one can take priority over his trumpet. Mix this with his manager and best friend Giant (Spike Lee), a compulsive gambler routinely finding himself in trouble with his bookie, and you have an entertaining film.
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The Original Kings of Comedy 2000 R, 117 min.
Genre: Documentary
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Cedric the Entertainer, Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Bernie Mac
Spike Lee presents this film documentary of a Charlotte, North Carolina, stop during the Kings of Comedy concert tour in which four Black comics–Cedric the Entertainer, Steve Harvey, D.I. Hughley, and Bernie Mac–perform routines about racial relations, sex, and the perils of coming from humble beginnings. Very funny.
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 School Daze 1988 R, 120 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, Tisha Campbell, Joe Seneca, Ellen Holly, Kyme, Art Evans, Ossie Davis, Spike Lee, Bill Nunn
Through the medium of comedy, Spike Lee shows the racial problems that exist throughout the world. The message is clear that there are injustices that must be fought, and one student activist takes the lead in fighting for the cause of sense at a college in the South.
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 She Hate Me 2004  R, 140 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Kerry Washington, Ellen Barkin, Monica Bellucci, Jim Brown, Ossie Davis, Jamel Debbouze, Brian Dennehy, Woody Harrelson, Reynaldo Rosales, John Turturro, Q-Tip
Jack Armstrong (Anthony Mackie) was fired after he exposed corrupt business practices, and now he is desperate for cash–until a big deal comes along: Jack will impregnate lesbians and get paid big money for it.
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 Summer of Sam 1999 R, 145 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino, Jennifer Esposito, Michael Rispoli, Saverio Guerra, Brian Tarantina, Bebe Neuwirth, Anthony LaPaglia, Ben Gazzara
Set during the summer of 1977, when "Son of Sam"–David Berkowitz–was on his killing spree in the Bronx, this Spike Lee drama examines the sexual freedom of the era. The plot revolves around a group of Italian-Americans who love the disco life but are affected by the fear Berkowitz caused when one murder victim after another is discovered in their neighborhood.
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When We Were Kings 1996 PG, 88 min.
Genre: Documentary
Director: Leon Gast
Cast: Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, James Brown, Don King, George Plimpton, Spike Lee, B.B. King, Mobutu Sese Seko, Norman Mailer, Thomas Hauser, Malick Bowens, Lloyd Price
This Oscar-winning documentary is centered on the 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" heavyweight fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. The film will intrigue fight fans and provide good entertainment for a world that remembers the star status of both boxers–in and out of the ring.
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| 1. 25th Hour (2002)
2. 4 Little Girls (1997)
3. Bamboozled (2000)
4. Clockers (1995)
5. Crooklyn (1994)
6. Do the Right Thing (1989)
7. Famous (2000)
aka: Lisa Picard Is Famous
8. Get on the Bus (1996)
9. Girl 6 (1996)
10. He Got Game (1998)
11. Hoop Dreams (1994)
12. Inside Man (2006)
13. Jungle Fever (1991)
14. The Last Party (1993)
15. Lumiere and Company (1995)
16. Malcolm X (1992)
17. Miracle at St. Anna (2008)
18. Mo' Better Blues (1990)
19. The Original Kings of Comedy (2000)
20. School Daze (1988)
21. She Hate Me (2004)
22. Summer of Sam (1999)
23. When We Were Kings (1996)
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