Every Spike Lee Movie Ranked Worst To Best
15. Summer Of Sam (1999)
Spike Lee is a master of shedding light on social strain, both past and present. For Summer of Sam, he takes things back to the late 70s, when serial killer David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz plagued New York City and had far-reaching effects on its panic-stricken residents.
The crime-drama follows a group of Italian-Americans in the Bronx (including John Leguizamo, Mira Sorvino and a shockingly poor Adrien Brody), all of whom are overcome with paranoia and distrust as Berkowitz's killing spree sweeps the nation.
A striking assessment of the era's complexities and Berkowitz's effects on the country as a whole, Summer of Sam is a gritty and intriguing film, even if it's noticeably overlong and features some glaringly misguided ethnic stereotypes that have aged like fine milk.