Do the Right Thing - The Criterion Collection (Blu‑ray)

Set on one block of Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy Do or Die neighborhood, at the height of summer, this 1989 masterpiece by Spike Lee confirmed him as a writer and filmmaker of peerless vision and passionate social engagement. Over the course of a single day, the easygoing interactions of a cast of unforgettable characters—Da Mayor, Mother Sister, Mister Señor Love Daddy, Tina, Sweet Dick Willie, Buggin Out, Radio Raheem, Sal, Pino, Vito, and Lee’s Mookie among them—give way to heated confrontations as tensions rise along racial fault lines, ultimately exploding into violence. Punctuated by the anthemic refrain of Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power,” Do the Right Thing is a landmark in American cinema, as politically and emotionally charged and as relevant now as when it first hit the big screen.

United States
1989
120 minutes
Color
1.85:1
English
Spine #97

DIRECTOR-APPROVEdition TWO-BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

- New 4K digital restoration, approved by cinematographer Ernest Dickerson, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- Audio commentary from 1995 featuring director Spike Lee, Dickerson, production designer Wynn Thomas, and actor Joie Lee
- Introductions by Lee
- Making “Do the Right Thing,” a documentary from 1989 by St. Clair Bourne, in a new 2K digital transfer
- New interviews with costume designer Ruth E. Carter, New York City Council Member Robert Cornegy Jr., writer Nelson George, and filmmaker Darnell Martin
- Three programs from 2000 and 2009, featuring Lee and cast and crew members Barry Alexander Brown, Chuck D, Dickerson, Richard Edson, Frankie Faison, Jon Kilik, Kevin Ladson, Steve Park, Rosie Perez, Luis Ramos, Monty Ross, John Savage, Roger Guenveur Smith, and John Turturro
- Music video for Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power,” directed by Lee, with remarks from rapper Chuck D
- Cannes Film Festival press conference from 1989 featuring Lee along with actors Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Edson, and Joie Lee
- Behind-the-scenes footage
- Deleted and extended scenes
- Original storyboards, trailer, and TV spots
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Vinson Cunningham and extensive excerpts from the journal Lee kept during the preparation for and production of the film

*New cover, featuring a mural painted by Danielle Mastrion