Spike Lee

Synopsis
Writer-director Spike Lee’s epic portrayal of the life and times of the slain civil rights leader Malcolm X begins with the cross-cut imagery of the police beating of black motorist Rodney King juxtaposed with an American flag burning into the shape of the letter X. When the film’s narrative begins moments later, it jumps back to World War II-era Boston, where Malcolm Little (Denzel Washington) is making his living as a hustler. The son of a Baptist preacher who was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan, Little was raised by foster parents after his mother was deemed clinically insane; as an adult, he turned to a life of crime, which leads to his imprisonment on burglary charges.Read More »

From Spike Lee, the legendary director of Do the Right Thing, Mo’ Better Blues, Malcolm X, Clockers and BlacKkKlansman, comes this vibrant semi-autobiographical portrait of a school teacher, her stubborn jazz musician husband and their five kids living in Brooklyn in 1973. Make yourself at home with the Carmichael family as they experience one very special summer in their Brooklyn neighborhood that they’ve affectionately nicknamed Crooklyn. Lee fashions a bold, flavorful picture of family life starring the wonderful Alfre Woodard as Carolyn, a loving, but fiercely independent mother who, along with her musician husband Woody (Delroy Lindo), struggles to raise their family in difficult but often wonderful circumstances. Complemented by an energizing, vintage R&B soundtrack, this tender and colorful film was beautifully shot by Arthur Jafa (Daughters of the Dust). The strong supporting cast includes Spike Lee, David Patrick Kelly, Zelda Harris, Isaiah Washington, José Zúñiga and Vondie Curtis-Hall.Read More »

Quote:
Self-professed sports fanatic Spike Lee steps back into the documentary arena (4 LITTLE GIRLS) with this reverent tribute to one of Black America’s most notorious cultural icons. At New York’s exclusive Manhasset High School, Jim Brown shattered school records as a triple-threat athlete, where he excelled in lacrosse, basketball, and football. After a successful four-year reign at Syracuse University, Brown embarked on one of professional football’s most celebrated careers. A devastatingly imposing physical specimen, Brown’s strength, quickness, and mental toughness enabled him to intimidate opponents before he even stepped onto the field. Stepping off the gridiron nine years later, Brown used his overflowing masculinity and sexuality to establish his name in Hollywood, starring in films such as THE DIRTY DOZEN and THREE THE HARD WAY. Read More »

Synopsis
Spike Lee’s award-winning documentary follows the events that preceded and followed Hurricane Katrina’s catastrophic passage through New Orleans in 2005.Read More »

Criterion wrote:
With this blisteringly funny, unapologetically confrontational satire, writer-director Spike Lee examined the past, present, and future of racism in American popular culture, issuing a daring provocation to creators and consumers alike. Under pressure to help revive his network’s low ratings, television writer Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans) hits on an explosively offensive idea: bringing back blackface with The New Millennium Minstrel Show. The white network executives love it, and so do audiences, forcing Pierre and his collaborators to confront their public’s insatiable appetite for dehumanizing stereotypes. Shot primarily on unvarnished digital video and boasting spot-on performances from Wayans, Savion Glover, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tommy Davidson, Michael Rapaport, Mos Def, and Paul Mooney, Bamboozled is a stinging indictment of mass entertainment at the turn of the twenty-first century that looks more damning with each passing year.Read More »