Do the Right Thing

1989 · directed by Spike Lee

Rating

97/100

Hit

yes

Prestige lists

AFI 100, BFI Top 100, Criterion, NFR

Sal is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin' Out, becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria's Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors. Buggin' Out believes a pizzeria in a black neighborhood should showcase black actors, but Sal disagrees. The wall becomes a symbol of racism and hate to Buggin' Out and to other people in the neighborhood, and tensions rise.

Do the Right Thing (1989), directed by Spike Lee, rates 97/100 — a hit. See how its director, cast and crew rate across their careers.

Cast

• Danny Aiello
• Ossie Davis
• Ruby Dee
• Richard Edson
• Giancarlo Esposito
• Spike Lee
• Bill Nunn
• John Turturro
• Paul Benjamin
• Frankie Faison

Crew

• Ernest R. Dickerson — Director of Photography
• Barry Alexander Brown — Editor
• Bill Lee — Original Music Composer
• Spike Lee — Screenplay

More from Spike Lee

1. HIStory on Film, Volume II (1997) — 86/100 · hit
2. David Byrne's American Utopia (2020) — 85/100 · hit
3. 4 Little Girls (1997) — 82/100 · hit
4. BlacKkKlansman (2018) — 81/100 · hit
5. Lumière & Company (1995) — 80/100 · hit
6. Malcolm X (1992) — 78/100

How these numbers work: Methodology