Do the Right Thing

This article is dedicated to Bill Nun (October 20, 1953 – September 24, 2016), Ossie Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005), and Danny Aiello (June 20, 1933 – December 12, 2019).

Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American comedy-drama film produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee. It stars Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, and Samuel L. Jackson, and is the feature film debut of Martin Lawrence and Rosie Perez. The story explores a Brooklyn neighborhood's simmering racial tension between its African-American residents and the Italian-American owners of a local pizzeria, culminating in tragedy and violence on a hot summer day.

The film was a critical and commercial success and received numerous accolades, including Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Aiello's portrayal of Sal the pizzeria owner. It is often listed among the greatest films of all time. In 1999, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress, and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Plot
This film looks at life in the Bedford-Stuyvesant district of Brooklyn on a hot summer Sunday. As he does everyday, Sal Fragione opens the pizza parlor he's owned for 25 years. The neighborhood has changed considerably in the time he's been there and is now composed primarily of African-Americans and Hispanics. His son Pino hates it there and would like nothing better than to relocate the eatery to their own neighborhood. For Sal however, the restaurant represents something that is part of his life and sees it as a part of the community. What begins as a simple complaint by one of his customers, Buggin Out - who wonders why he has only pictures of famous Italian-Americans on the wall when most of his customers are black - eventually disintegrates into violence as frustration seemingly brings out the worst in everyone.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Pretty good and compelling story.
 * 2) Well-done dramatic moments.
 * 3) Great direction and writing from Spike Lee which is pretty impressive when you consider that he wrote the script in two weeks.
 * 4) Mookie is a likable male protagonist and Spike Lee’s performance as Mookie was spot on.
 * 5) The film takes a look at how race relations are handled in the post Civil Rights world.
 * 6) Good references to important African-American culture, especially tons of references to Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X who were important figures who fought for Civil Rights.
 * 7) The film shows that all races are equal and that neither is above the other.
 * 8) *For example, there's this scene in which various characters speak racial stereotypes to the camera in a pejorative way; it shows that no race is free from hatred or prejudice towards another.
 * 9) Memorable characters such as Buggin' Out, Radio Raheem, Da Mayor, and Mister Señor Love Daddy.
 * 10) There are certain moments that are amusing, especially scenes where Da Mayor (Ossie Davis' character) and Mother Sister (Ruby Dee's character) have amusing conversations with their chemistry helped by the fact that both their actors were married in real life.
 * 11) Awesome and interesting dialogue, like in the scene where Mookie and Pino talk about race and Radio Raheem's "Love and Hate" monologue.
 * 12) Danny Aiello’s performance as Sal was very convincing.
 * 13) Important moral about not being racist.
 * 14) Sal’s Pizzeria looks awesome and how it was made looks beautifully done.
 * 15) Although Sal had a bad attitude, he was happy to serve pizza to anyone who loved his food and he respected Mookie a lot.
 * 16) Funny running gag of Da Mayor tipping his hat when he finishes a conversation.
 * 17) The film’s closing scene ends with an image of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X along with quotes about racial hostility and how people should remember that racial hostility has been a big issue for many years and that Dr. King had non-violent viewpoints while Malcolm X's viewpoints were rather controversial in many ways, but were helpful too.
 * 18) Interesting hidden details, per instance: the graffiti on the wall behind Mookie and Jade reads "Tawana told the truth" in reference to the Tawana Brawley alleged rape and abduction case of 1987.
 * 19) All of the scenes of the corner men (Robin Harris, Paul Benjamin, and Frankie Faison) were improvised.
 * 20) Memorable quotes like “Boycott Sal’s!” and “Two slices”.
 * 21) Spike Lee dedicated the film to many victims of police brutality.
 * 22) Whereas other films have a more simplified take on racism, it shows that racism is lot more complex than one would think which pits all of the characters in a grey zone providing no definitive outcome.
 * 23) It was shot entirely in the film's setting of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
 * 24) The following cast members such as Danny Aiello (Sal), John Turturro (Pino), Rose Perez (Tina), Joie Lee (Jade), Steve White (Ahmad), Rick Aiello (Officer Gary Long), Richard Parnell Habersham (Eddie Lovell), and Nicholas Turturro (Extra who is uncredited) are New York City natives while Spike Lee (Mookie), Giancarlo Esposito (Buggin' Out), and Ruby Dee (Mother Sister) were raised there. Also, Ginny Yang is a South Korean immigrant to the United States like her character (Kim).
 * 25) Sal, Pino, and Charlie were played by Italian American actors (Danny Aiello, John Turturro, and Frank Vincent respectively) while Tina, Stevie, and the Puerto Rican Icee Man were played by actors who are Puerto Rican or of Puerto Rican descent (Rosie Perez, Luis Antonio Ramos, and Shawn Elliott respectively).
 * 26) FIGHT THE POWER!!!

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Despite making a lot of good films, Spike Lee has earned a reputation for being a controversial filmmaker and this film is arguably the most controversial film he has made throughout his career in film. Lee is also known for making controversial statements even when he isn’t making films.
 * 2) Racial slurs are used a lot.
 * 3) The scene where Radio Raheem gets killed by the police may be hard to watch for some audiences.
 * 4) The ending scene offended many people when the film was theatrically released.

Reception
Do the Right Thing currently holds a 90% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average of 8.9 out of 10 and a critic consensus that reads "Smart, vibrant, and urgent without being didactic, Do the Right Thing is one of Spike Lee's most fully realized efforts and one of the most important films of the 1980s." Film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert gave the film a "two thumbs up", four stars and named it the best film of 1989. Roger Ebert even listed the film as one of The Great Movies. Gene Siskel described the film as "an entertaining antidote to the mostly insipid summer blockbusters." Roger Ebert stated "Do the Right Thing" tells an honest, unsentimental story about those who are left behind."

Despite the praise from critics and audiences, the film also sparked controversy for many reasons including a scene where Spike Lee's character, Mookie angrily throws a trash can in a window of Sal's Pizzeria after his friend Radio Raheem was killed after being choked by a police officer's choke holder and many viewers (primarily white) have asked if Mookie did the right thing or not. In June 2006, Do the Right Thing film was placed at #22 on Entertainment Weekly's list of The 25 Most Controversial Movies Ever. The film was preserved in the National Film Registry in 1999.

Box Office
Do the Right Thing opened at #8 on its opening weekend with a domestic gross of $3,563,535. The total domestic gross would later go up to $27,545,445. In foreign markets, it made $9,750,000. The film made a total worldwide gross of $37,295,445 against its $6 million budget.

Awards and nominations
Do the Right Thing was nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Original Screenplay for Spike Lee and Best Supporting Actor for Danny Aiello. At the 1990 Chicago Film Critics Association, the film won three Awards including Best Picture, Best Director for Spike Lee and Best Supporting Actor for Danny Aiello.

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Trivia

 * Robert De Niro was the original pick for the role of Sal (Salvatore Fragione), however he declined to take part when he stated that the character was too similar to roles that he had played before. After De Niro dropped out, Danny Aiello was offered the role and accepted the offer to play Sal. Although De Niro turned down the role of Sal, a picture of De Niro is featured on Sal's Wall of Fame.
 * The title is inspired by a quote from Malcolm X that states "You've got to do the right thing."
 * Aside from Robert De Niro, other famous Italian-Americans that are featured on the Wall of Fame include John Travolta, Sylvester Stallone, Al Pacino, Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio.
 * Joe Pesci and Joe Mantegna were also offered to play Sal.
 * Wesley Snipes was offered a role in the film, but turned it down to star in another film that was released in 1989, which was the sports comedy Major League.
 * Paramount was Spike Lee's original choice for film distribution, but Paramount turned down the offer due to the film's tone. Lee then offered the project to Universal, which accepted the script.
 * The film's script was written in two weeks.
 * Is on Steven Schneider's list of "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die".
 * It got snubbed to Driving Miss Daisy at the Academy Awards for Best Picture, and bringing up that film to Spike Lee always results in him using profanities against that film.