Summer of Sam

Summer of Sam
Newspaper cover pages with red lettering daubed over it
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySpike Lee
Written byVictor Colicchio
Michael Imperioli
Spike Lee
Produced byJon Kilik
Spike Lee
Starring
CinematographyEllen Kuras
Edited byBarry Alexander Brown
Music byTerence Blanchard
Production
companies
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release dates
  • May 20, 1999 (1999-05-20) (Cannes)
  • July 2, 1999 (1999-07-02) (United States)
Running time
142 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Italian
Budget$22 million
Box office$19.3 million[2]

Summer of Sam is a 1999 American crime thriller film about the 1977 David Berkowitz (Son of Sam) serial murders and their effect on a group of fictional residents of an Italian-American neighborhood in The Bronx in the late 1970s. It focuses on two young men from the neighborhood: Vinny (John Leguizamo), whose marriage is faltering due to his cheating, and Ritchie (Adrien Brody), Vinny's childhood friend who has embraced punk fashion and music.

The murder investigation and other contemporary events, such as the New York City blackout of 1977 and the New York Yankees' winning season, provide a backdrop to the stories of Vinny, Ritchie, their families and friends.[3] The film was directed and co-produced by Spike Lee, who also co-wrote the film with Michael Imperioli and Victor Colicchio. The film was a box-office disappointment.

  1. ^ "Summer of Sam (18)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
  2. ^ Summer of Sam at Box Office Mojo
  3. ^ Von Tunzelmann, Alex (April 26, 2012). "Summer of Sam is an almost boringly flawless portrait of a real-life monster". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2017.