Incandescent with rage, inflammatory, searing and sweat-soaked, Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing is one of the greatest films made about race in America; part war-cry, part examination, and not to mention stylish as hell. Released in 1989, the film retains its power today, especially in an America currently undergoing one of its most significant black movements in decades. It's both brilliant and a shame that this film will never not feel prescient. One of two Lee masterpieces (25th Hour is the other), Do The Right Thing is also his most significant acting role, his Mookie the centre of the film, the character who we are tasked with deciding whether he did indeed do the Right Thing or not. That's no easy question to answer, and Lee's film is anything but simple in its quest for answers to questions about race relations on one excruciatingly hot summer's day in New York City. As a director Lee is deeply divisive, and it's true that for every Do The Right Thing there's a Clockers; however, when his undeniable talent isn't burdened by his own agenda, the results can be immaculate, a notion no better exemplified anywhere than here.
