Spike Lee's underrated jazz drama Mo' Better Blues (1990) turned 30 years old this week, so what better time to share my list of his 10 best films (or 'joints', as he calls them)? Spike Lee's punk rock attitude and creative stylistic choices make him one of my favorite filmmakers, as he has tackled many genres with grace and taught me a lot throughout his movies. Lee's films are never made for mere entertainment - there's always a powerful message or two about society in his works. A classic example of making the world a better place through art.
No honorable mentions this time around, as I've seen only 10 out of his 23 feature films! Maybe someday I'll post an updated list, if I end up watching all of them.
10. She's Gotta Have It (1986)
Spike Lee's directorial debut is a solid, black-and-white low-budget flick. While some of its elements haven't aged well (as Lee himself has expressed regret about; the guy is honestly such a class act), there's still a lot to learn from this early effort. The film follows Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns), a woman with three lovers who tries to decide which of her men she wants to be with in the long run. Johns is great in the lead performance, as are the actors playing her lovers - especially Lee himself, who plays the humoristic Mars Blackmon.
While the director still had a few things to learn at this point, She's Gotta Have It is an entertaining debut film that gives many signs of the elements Lee would expand on in his future works: commentary on race and society, unique humor, and interesting juxtapositions between fact and fiction.
9. Crooklyn (1994)
Co-written by Lee and two of his siblings, and loosely based on their own childhood, Crooklyn is quite an honest and intriguing family portrait. Not shying away from the hardships of growing up poor but also featuring plenty of cozy and heartwarming moments, the films creates a nice balance of gritty realism and blissful nostalgia. The movie doesn't have much of a conventional plot, but it doesn't need one either: we simply follow an unspecified period of time in the life of this family making do in their surroundings.
Lee paints a vibrant picture of 1970's Brooklyn, bringing his trademark mix of entertaining humor and serious drama into the film. The film doesn't have as much to say about our society as most of his films, but it does have a lot to say about growing up and appreciating one's family through the good times and the bad.
8. Inside Man (2006)
For a Spike Lee film, this one is as mainstream as they come - the main focus isn't on race or societal criticism, and the high-budget style gives the impression of quite a 'normal' heist thriller. But it's a damn good heist thriller. Denzel Washington shines in the lead role as a police detective who tries to navigate his way through a difficult hostage situation. Jodie Foster provides a great supporting performance as a mysterious 'fixer' who enters the situation trying to protect her client's interests, making the stakes of the film extra high. Inside Man is an intense and massively entertaining crime drama, proving that Lee can do a mainstream film as well as anyone.
Also, when you focus and read between the lines, the more typical Spike Lee style does rear its head through the cracks of this relatively normal film - there's plenty of racial commentary inserted subtly into the dialogue, the soundtrack by Terence Blanchard sounds similar to the Terence Blanchard soundtracks in several other Spike Lee joints, and the director's infamous signature trademark (the "double dolly shot" where a character appears to glide across the scene) appears at a critical moment.
7. Bamboozled (2000)
Look, I'm very much against the use of blackface and there's a good argument for the use of it never being okay, but hear me out - if there's any situation where blackface is acceptable, it's the context of an African-American filmmaker making a film that criticizes the use of blackface and overall racism in show business by making a film about it, therefore requiring the actors to do blackface in the role of their questionable characters. And that's exactly what Bamboozled does - some say that it slightly crosses the line, but it does so to make a massively important point.
Spike Lee has always tried to make the world a better place with his films, and this one was especially successful in that; the conversation about blackface and its harmful impact was boosted immensely due to this film and its deep look at the subject matter. Bamboozled is a layered look at racism in entertainment, and while all of the film is thought-provoking and enjoyable, the ending montage is definitely its greatest asset - it's heartbreaking to watch, and one of the best fiction/real-life juxtapositions in Spike Lee films.
6. Da 5 Bloods (2020)
Lee's latest film is absolutely amazing. It received very mixed reviews as many viewers found it to be overly bloated, but I personally see it as being similar to The Beatles' White Album (1968) - it's bloated in the best way possible, so filled to the brim with different kinds of great material that I can't bring myself to complain about tonal inconsistencies. I vastly prefer Da 5 Bloods in its current form to a version that would be more restrained and tonally consistent, as that would mean leaving out many of the film's various great elements.
Running at 2 hours and 34 minutes, here are some of the things you can expect from Lee's Netflix hit: a haunting performance by Delroy Rindo as a Trump-supporting, African-American war veteran suffering from PTSD; an incredibly inspiring performance by the fantastic Chadwick Boseman; intertextual references to many classic Vietnam War movies; one of the most tense, edge-of-your-seat scenes in modern cinema; a whole new way of mixing reality with fiction in a Spike Lee joint; sincerely funny humor mixed with extremely gripping material; and Finland's own Jasper Pääkkönen playing a Finnish guy named Seppo in the midst of it all. It's pretty great.
5. Mo' Better Blues (1990)
The activist in me appreciates the societal themes in this film - they're not present as strongly as in most Spike Lee joints, but they're still present all right. The movie buff in me appreciates Lee's ever-skillful directing as he creates a vibrant New York jazz scene atmosphere, as well as the acting by Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes and Giancarlo Esposito as chief members of the central jazz quintet. And finally, the musician in me absolutely adores everything in this film, from the atmospheric soundtrack and tribute-paying to jazz greats like Miles Davis and John Coltrane all the way to the music theory -filled dialogue and the long sequences of the band performing. This film is an absolute treat for people who enjoy jazz music, while also managing to tell a deep, character-driven story.
4. 25th Hour (2002)
25th Hour is a deep look at life. We follow the last free day of drug dealer Monty Brogan (Edward Norton), who is due to start his prison sentence the following morning. Norton is one of the greatest actors from the past few decades, and this is one his most incredible performances. Throughout his interactions with his girlfriend (Rosario Dawson) and close friends (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Barry Pepper) we examine his regrets, his inner conflicts and his desire to take another shot at life in a profound manner. The film's ending is truly spectacular and unexpected as well. Here's a cool double feature idea: watch this film, where Edward Norton is about to go to prison, and then watch American History X (1998), where Edward Norton has just gotten out of prison.
Also, there's the 9/11 element. When the attack on the World Trade Center happened, many filmmakers who had scripts in production found it easiest to ignore the event's impact on the world, often simply editing the Twin Towers out of shots set in New York. Spike Lee, however, decided to incorporate the attack's impact into his film. While 25th Hour isn't about the aftermath of 9/11 first and foremost, it does heavily work into the film, as the dialogue and overall bleak atmosphere in the movie paint a gripping picture of post-9/11 New York.
3. Malcolm X (1992)
Denzel Washington as the controversial activist Malcolm X may be the greatest casting choice of all time. Having Spike Lee direct the biopic and having the runtime be 3 hours and 22 minutes were also quite the strokes of genius. A good biography should be unbiased and show the good and bad sides of whoever the story is about, and Malcolm X certainly does that. Through various words of wisdom and inspiring speeches, we see why Malcolm X became such an important and respected icon in the civil rights movement - but through various controversial statements and actions, the film definitely doesn't shy away from the fact that Malcolm was far from perfect, with many extremist ideas in his ideology. The film doesn't overly glorify nor vilify him, but simply tells his story as it happened.
Whether or not you agree with the man's ideologies, watching this film will definitely make you think. There is so much profound dialogue about religion, race and politics, and so many different points of view being a part of the story throughout its characters, that watching Malcolm X makes for quite the societal thought experiment. And I simply can't praise Denzel's performance enough - it's my favorite performance from any Spike Lee film, with Ed Norton in 25th Hour coming in as a close second.
2. BlacKKKlansman (2018)
I must confess that I hadn't seen a single Spike Lee film when I went to see BlacKKKlansman in the movie theater about two years ago. The film was so amazing that it motivated me to get a lot more familiar with Lee's filmography. It's a more-or-less perfect mixture of light-hearted comedy and extremely serious drama, of entertaining cinema and thought-provoking cinema, of historical events and modern-day themes. The bulk of the film focuses on the incredible true story of Ron Stallworth, an African-American police officer who managed to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970's. Featuring stellar performances from Denzel's son John David Washington as Ron Stallworth, Adam Driver as his colleague Flip Zimmerman, and Topher Grace as David Duke, the film comes together wonderfully to tell Stallworth's story.
And then there's the ending. I won't spoil it to people who haven't seen the film (please watch it, it's on Netflix now and everything), but let's just say that Spike Lee once again manages to connect current-day events with the stories he tells in quite a profound manner. I cried my eyes out when watching that last scene - it's just all too real.
1. Do The Right Thing (1989)
The mixture of rambunctious comedy and dead-serious themes in this film is one of the most impressive accomplishments in movie history. We follow a very hot day in a very diverse neighborhood, that features its own subcultures of African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Italian-Americans and Hispanic-Americans. The film takes a gripping look at racial issues in the U.S., as the various groups have a hard time getting along with one another, with the unbearable weather only furthering their tensions to a breaking point. The film is full of entertaining dialogue, memorable characters and funny moments, but at the same time it's a harrowing look at various forms of racism and cultural tensions.
Do The Right Thing is the quintessential Spike Lee joint, featuring all of his most recognizable trademarks (the double dolly shot, Lee himself playing a character, important societal messages, interjections of real-life events into the story et cetera). The Oscar-nominated script and unfairly not-Oscar-nominated directing are incredible, feeling very punk rock yet very precise at the same time. As the film ends, we see two different quotes from two very different activists before the credits start to roll, and those quotes truly stay with you as the film's central themes are condensed into harrowing words that really make one think. Do The Right Thing is not only the greatest film Spike Lee has made, but one of the greatest films ever made in my opinion.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next Thursday for my list of 10 insights about COVID-19's impact on the film industry.
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