Do the Right Thing

This article is about the film. For other uses, see Do the Right Thing (disambiguation).

Do the Right Thing
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySpike Lee
Written bySpike Lee
Produced bySpike Lee
Starring
CinematographyErnest Dickerson
Edited byBarry Alexander Brown
Music byBill Lee
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
  • May 19, 1989 (1989-05-19) (Cannes)
  • June 30, 1989 (1989-06-30) (United States)
Running time
120 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6.2 million
Box office$37.3 million[2][3]

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's day.

A critical and commercial success, the film received accolades, including Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (for Aiello's portrayal of Sal, the pizzeria owner). In 1999, it was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, citing its preservation as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".[4][5] In 2022, the film was ranked the 24th greatest of all time in Sight and Sound magazine's decennial poll of international critics, programmers, curators, archivists and academics.[6] It has since been featured on many other lists of the greatest films of all time by numerous critics.[7][8][9][10][11]

  1. ^ "Do the Right Thing (15)". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  2. ^ "Do the Right Thing (1989) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  3. ^ "Do the Right Thing (1989)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on March 31, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2008.
  4. ^ "Preserving the Silver Screen (December 1999) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin". www.loc.gov. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  5. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  6. ^ "The Greatest Films of All Time". Sight and Sound. London: British Film Institute. December 1, 2022. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  7. ^ "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)" Archived June 4, 2012, at archive.today. American Film Institute. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  8. ^ Thompson, Anne. "Lists: 50 Best Movies of All Time, Again". Variety. Internet Archive. Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  9. ^ "100 Essential Films by the National Society of Film Critics". National Society of Film Critics. Published by AMC FilmSite.org. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
  10. ^ The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made The New York Times via Internet Archive. Published April 29, 2003. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  11. ^ "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time, Feature | Movies - Empire". Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.