Bamboozled

Bamboozled
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySpike Lee
Written bySpike Lee
Produced byJon Kilik
Spike Lee
Starring
CinematographyEllen Kuras
Edited bySam Pollard
Music byTerence Blanchard
Production
company
Distributed byNew Line Cinema
Release date
  • October 6, 2000 (2000-10-06) (United States)
Running time
135 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million
Box office$2.5 million[1]

Bamboozled is a 2000 American satirical black comedy-drama film written and directed by Spike Lee about a modern televised minstrel show featuring black actors donning blackface makeup and the resulting violent fallout from the show's success. It features an ensemble cast including Damon Wayans, Jada Pinkett Smith, Savion Glover, Tommy Davidson, and Michael Rapaport.

The film was given a limited release by New Line Cinema during the fall of 2000 and was released on DVD the following year.[2] Critical reception was mixed,[3][4] and the film was unsuccessful financially, becoming a box office bomb.[1] Despite its initial reception, Bamboozled later achieved cult film status for its satirical look at stereotypical depictions of black people in both historical and contemporary American film and television productions.[5][6][7][8][9]

In 2023, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[10]

  1. ^ a b "Bamboozled (2000)". Box Office Mojo. August 28, 2002. Archived from the original on February 10, 2003. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference DVDBeaver was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference RottenTomatoes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Metacritic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference RollingStone was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Collins, K. Austin (March 23, 2020). "Spike Lee's Bamboozled Is Still Sharp, Stinging, and Utterly Vital". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  7. ^ Barone, Matt (November 12, 2015). "Revisiting Spike Lee's BAMBOOZLED and Its Endlessly Relevant Themes". Tribeca. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  8. ^ Daniels, Robert (April 20, 2020). "'Bamboozled' Is Spike Lee's Regrettably Timeless Masterpiece". theplaylist.net. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  9. ^ Clark, Ashley (October 6, 2015). "Bamboozled: Spike Lee's masterpiece on race in America is as relevant as ever". the Guardian. Archived from the original on September 12, 2024. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  10. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (December 13, 2023). "National Film Registry: 'Apollo 13', 'Home Alone', 'Terminator 2', '12 Years A Slave' Among 25 Titles Added This Year". Deadline. Archived from the original on December 23, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.