Spike Lee’s first two feature films clearly established
him as a filmmaker concerned with issues within the African American community
(She’s Gotta Have It showed him also
being particularly sensitive to feminist issues), but his third time at bat
proved to be the magnum opus – the film that would tie together race relations
on Stuyvesant Avenue in Brooklyn, a microcosm perhaps for the entire borough or
even the whole city of New York. Do the
Right Thing remains to this day one of his greatest accomplishments for the
skill in direction and writing to bring together good entertainment value,
social issues, sound filmmaking techniques, and a clearly delineated personal
vision into one concise film.
