JustWatch

Do the Right Thing

1989

It's the hottest day of the summer. You can do nothing, you can do something, or you can …

Salvatore "Sal" Fragione 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.

Danny Aiello Spike Lee Ossie Davis Richard Edson John Turturro Ruby Dee Bill Nunn Giancarlo Esposito Rosie Perez Roger Guenveur Smith Samuel L. Jackson Paul Benjamin Frankie Faison Robin Harris Joie Lee Miguel Sandoval Rick Aiello Steve Park Ginny Yang John Savage Steve White Martin Lawrence Leonard L. Thomas Christa Rivers Frank Vincent Luis Antonio Ramos Richard Habersham Gwen McGee Sherwin Park Show All…

Alternative Titles

Haz lo que debas, 循规蹈矩, 为所应为, Faça a Coisa Certa, 똑바로 살아라, Fà La Cosa Giusta, Rób, co należy, ドゥ・ザ・ライト・シング：1989, Fa' la cosa giusta, La pizzeria en révolte, Делай как надо, Уради праву ствар, Κάνε το Σωστό, עשה את הדבר הנכון, Não Dês Bronca, Jednej správně, Doğruyu Seç, Роби як треба!, ドゥ・ザ・ライト・シング, Fă ce e bine, Szemet szemért, Haz lo correcto, Elkis teisingai, 為所應為, Do the Right Thing - kuuma päivä

Genre

Drama

Themes

Politics and human rights Racism and the powerful fight for justice Tragic sadness and captivating beauty Violent crime and drugs Show All…

Premiere

19 May 1989

France Cannes Film Festival

Theatrical limited

30 Jun 1989

USAR

Theatrical

14 Jun 1989

FranceTP

23 Jun 1989

Ireland18
UK18

13 Jul 1989

Germany12

27 Jul 1989

Greece16
Netherlands16

03 Oct 1989

Spain16

17 Nov 1989

Italy

14 Dec 1989

AustraliaR18+

Physical

24 Oct 2001

France

10 Jun 2004

Netherlands16

03 Feb 2013

France

09 Oct 2013

Netherlands16

03 Feb 2021

France

Australia

14 Dec 1989

TheatricalR18+

France

19 May 1989

Premiere Cannes Film Festival

14 Jun 1989

TheatricalTP

24 Oct 2001

Physical DVD

03 Feb 2013

Physical Blu-Ray

03 Feb 2021

Physical 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Germany

13 Jul 1989

Theatrical12

Greece

27 Jul 1989

Theatrical16

Ireland

23 Jun 1989

Theatrical18

Italy

17 Nov 1989

Theatrical

Netherlands

27 Jul 1989

Theatrical16

10 Jun 2004

Physical16 DVD

09 Oct 2013

Physical16 Blu ray

Spain

03 Oct 1989

Theatrical16 ICAA: 18952

UK

23 Jun 1989

Theatrical18

USA

30 Jun 1989

Theatrical limitedR

120 mins More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by evilbjork ★★★★★ 15

"It's a free country isn't it?"
"I should knock you out for saying that dumb shit alone!"
Review by Karst ★★★★★ 10

Sat on it for a year, rewatched, and yeah this is easily a top 10 for me. Few movies out there that know how to toy with emotion through music the way this one does. Can safely say it’s like a different movie the second time around. Lots of ideas being tossed around in every conversation that all make a lot more sense and hit just that much harder when you know how the entire films plays out. I don’t even blame Spike for not being able to make a film as critically acclaimed as this, how can you top THIS? I love this movie a lot.
Review by Ayo Edebiri ★★★★★

it’s not just that nothing’s changed. it’s that this shit has been in our DNA for years and years and years. and a lot of y’all don’t care. or you do care but you don’t want to live in the discomfort or pain or mourning alongside us. and then we turn this shit into art for you. we turn it into something meaningful. because we need to make meaning for ourselves. and you say thank you for giving you a window. and you cry and are sad for an evening and then maybe you write a letterboxd review. but you don’t talk to your family members. you don’t disrupt. you don’t advocate for us. and I write a letterboxd review.…
Review by lauren ★★★★½ 3

kendall jenner and her cans of pepsi..........where were they
Review by Wesley Stenzel ★★★★★ 38

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

If you don’t think Sal is a racist, you should probably rewatch this movie. His climactic use of racial slurs can’t be chalked up to a lapse of judgement. He repeatedly clarifies that he only tolerates black people because they haven’t done anything bad to him, and because they provide his livelihood. His respect for the black community is entirely conditional and transaction-based — as soon as his “terms” of respect (essentially not having any major negative encounters with any black people) are violated, he becomes a full-fledged enemy.
To focus the conversation about Do the Right Thing on Sal, though, is to embody the racism that it tries to uncover. I watched this movie twice in classes at a predominantly-white…
Review by Josh Lewis ★★★★★ 7

"I don't want to be here... They don't want us here."
"Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps."
A sweltering masterpiece of humanity that will hopefully one day feel dated. Motherfuck a window.
Review by SilentDawn ★★★★★ 10

98/100
Do the Right Thing is an exploding fire-hydrant of colliding extremes and blazing hatred, shrunk down into a tension-fueled environment overflowing with humanity, humor, danger, sadness, pain and violence. Spike Lee's masterwork doesn't just break down the foundations of 'right' and 'wrong'; it also comments on the despair and agony behind those established protocols. Do the Right Thing is important, commanding, vibrant, and necessary. There's no other way to describe it.
Also, apparently my younger self didn't understand cinema, because about five years ago, I shrugged this off as MERELY excellent. Do the Right Thing isn't just excellent, It's life-changing and profoundly influential.
An all-time favorite.
Review by Penny ★★★★★ 23

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Spoilers ahead.
“Always do the right thing.” 
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
On the commentary track found on the Criterion release for this movie (which is great by the way, shit looks crispy), Spike Lee says that the title “Do The Right Thing” was never supposed to refer to Mookie throwing the trash can through the window. Of course, that doesn’t stop people from asking Spike whether he thinks Mookie did the right thing. Spike also says that only white people have asked him that question; never a black person. He says that people who ask the question are more concerned with the destruction of property than a black man’s life.
I for one, have to agree with him. Once you…
Review by James (Schaffrillas) ★★★★½ 10

God, I'm overwhelmed by just about everything in this movie. The writing. The performances. The cinematography. EVERYTHING.
There are some slow patches here and there, but those are easy to overlook when you take into account how masterfully this film sets up its pieces over time only to knock them all down in one enthralling, breathtaking final act.
Fuck, man. THIS is a movie.
Review by nick wibert ★★★★★ 4

Spike Lee has unequivocally proven that we do, indeed, live in a society
Review by Jamelle Bouie ★★★★★ 2

This is maybe my third time watching this movie and, on this viewing, the thing I feel most is sadness. That is because, for as much as Spike Lee gestures to capital-I Issues like structural racism and police abuse, this isn’t a movie about Issues, it is a movie about community: about the individuals that make up any community, about the challenges and fears and resentments and anxieties and joys and happiness that fill their lives, and about the ways racism frays the bonds of community with suspicion and hatred.
The bright colors and hyper-stylization cannot hide the fact that DO THE RIGHT THING is a profoundly sad film, one attuned to how we can’t avoid the burden of our…
Review by tru ★★★★★ 20

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Good movie

Where to watch

Do the Right Thing

Synopsis

It's the hottest day of the summer. You can do nothing, you can do something, or you can …

Cast

Director Director

Producers Producers

Writer Writer

Casting Casting

Editor Editor

Cinematography Cinematography

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

Lighting Lighting

Camera Operators Camera Operators

Additional Photography Add. Photography

Production Design Production Design

Art Direction Art Direction

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Special Effects Special Effects

Stunts Stunts

Composer Composer

Sound Sound

Costume Design Costume Design

Makeup Makeup

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Studios

Country

Language

Alternative Titles

Genre

Themes

Premiere

19 May 1989

Theatrical limited

30 Jun 1989

Theatrical

14 Jun 1989

23 Jun 1989

13 Jul 1989

27 Jul 1989

03 Oct 1989

17 Nov 1989

14 Dec 1989

Physical

24 Oct 2001

10 Jun 2004

03 Feb 2013

09 Oct 2013

03 Feb 2021

Australia

14 Dec 1989

France

19 May 1989

14 Jun 1989

24 Oct 2001

03 Feb 2013

03 Feb 2021

Germany

13 Jul 1989

Greece

27 Jul 1989

Ireland

23 Jun 1989

Italy

17 Nov 1989

Netherlands

27 Jul 1989

10 Jun 2004

09 Oct 2013

Spain

03 Oct 1989

UK

23 Jun 1989

USA

30 Jun 1989

Popular reviews

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Mentioned by

Director

Producers

Writer

Casting

Editor

Cinematography

Assistant Directors

Lighting

Camera Operators

Additional Photography

Production Design

Art Direction

Set Decoration

Special Effects

Stunts

Composer

Sound

Costume Design

Makeup

Hairstyling