Film: A
It was a declaration of awareness, the lyrics from Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” that blared out the speakers in 1989 while the then-unknown sultry Rosie Perez snapped her hips angrily on widescreen. The broken landscape of the Bedford-Stuyvesant sector of Brooklyn, New York was sprawled behind her.

“As the rhythm designed to bounce
What counts is that the rhymes
Designed to fill your mind
Now that you’ve realized the prides arrived
We got to pump the stuff to make us tough
from the heart
It’s a start, a work of art
To revolutionize make a change nothin’s strange
People, people we are the same
No we’re not the same
Cause we don’t know the game
What we need is awareness, we can’t get careless
You say what is this?
My beloved lets get down to business
Mental self defensive fitness
(Yo) bum rush the show
You gotta go for what you know
Make everybody see, in order to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say…Fight the Power”
-Excerpt from “Fight the Power” Chuck D, Public Enemy-

Spike Lee had officially arrived on the scene as a filmmaker, encapsulating the climate within black communities at a most troubling time when police excessive violence and brutality had reached critical mass. Do the Right Thing was an alarm and people woke up. It created a media wildfire to those who feared riots would break out; insinuating that people would riot, not intelligent enough to understand that the film was not a blueprint but rather a fire starter for generating discussion within the black community, to stop waiting to be saved and start taking care of their own. People spoke with their vote and above all of that, Lee directed his first truly great film, one that is now 20 years old.

Depth, in Do the Right Thing was felt in every scene. Scenes didn’t start and stop with who was talking on camera, but continued on in conversations off-camera, who was seen in the background, and what was going on all around. Lee captured a living and breathing community, and did so in spades. The tapestry of conversations had to have made Robert Altman proud. There was the signature Spike Lee montage, which was especially memorable with harsh racial epitaphs and stinging slurs that cut so deep, it reached our funny bones. Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, John Turturro, Robin Harris, Danny Aielo, and yes, by even Spike himself reached deep for such vivid characters. Careers were just starting to bud in Samuel Jackson, Martin Lawrence, Richard Edson but the deepest soul, the most piercing sound, and the most truthful was Perez who grew up in Bed-Stuy, untainted by the actor’s creed or methods, simply spoken, (ear-achingly) from the heart.

Lee wanted to convey the theme of heat. The hottest days of the summer are supposed to bring out the worst in people. Murders go up, crime goes up, and on this particular day, in the fragile community of one street block all hell broke loose. He made the center of the wheel Sal’s Famous Pizzeria, which has fed the neighborhood for generations. The spokes that defined the wheel’s size were Sal (Aielo) and his two sons, Pino (Turturro) and Vito (Edson). Their delivery guy, Mookie (Lee) who was focused on getting paid, his hot-blooded Puerto Rican woman (Perez) and kid, and his sister Jade (Joie Lee). Across from Sal’s stood the Korean Fruit and Vegetable Delight (Steve Park and Ginny Yang); a local drunk by the name of Da Mayor (Davis) paced back and forth, trying to catch the eye of Mother-Sister (Dee), an elder slumlord who hung out her sill; three male yentas gossiped all day (Paul Benjamin, Frankie Faison, Harris) and radio dee jay Mister Señor Love Daddy (Jackson) who oversaw everything through a glass window.

For an entire day, Lee kept the wheel spinning with one of Mookie’s friends, Buggin Out (Giancarlo Esposito) who asks Sal the pivotal question, why are there only pictures of white, Italian celebrities on Sal’s Wall of Fame. To which Sal answers, it’s his store, he can put up what he wants and he only wants Italian-Americans on the wall. Buggin Out then states in all of the years Sal has been there there are no whites that give him any business. After being ushered out by Mookie, Buggin Out spends the rest of the day trying to get the community to support a boycott of Sal’s Pizzeria, and is turned down by everyone except for two others who were wronged that day, Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn) and Smiley (Roger Guenveur Smith). As the day came to a close, a poignant moment. Sal expressed his pleasure in a day’s work to his infantry of workers, clueless of Pino’s hate, Mookie’s bottom line, and Vito’s wish to keep the peace. Then the wheel stopped spinning and broke off its axle and the heat finally got to all of them as the boycotters stormed in.

The heat was not an excuse but rather the catalyst to surface the feelings, of love and hate, that laid dormant. Fireworks can’t go off without lighting the fuse and on any other day, what happened probably would have never occurred. There were no guns or drugs that incited the riot (which was important), just the rage and anger stemming from Mayor Edward Koch, who was up for re-election in 1989. From disappointment in the laziness and finger-pointing of black communities, the assertion of other immigrants who are trying to survive as hard as the next person, gentrification, and the realization that selective racism is still racism. It wasn’t until after the cops choked Radio Raheem to death that Mookie boils over from the insanity of it, and lashes out on the symbolic place of hate: Sal’s Famous Pizzeria. What’s soon left is one sad but beautiful mess. Away from the burning rubble, it’s back to the ubiquitous stoops and streets everyone goes only to wonder if any of it had made a bit of difference.

VIDEO: A-
This is so close to a perfect transfer but just falls shy. One couldn’t tell the film was 20 years old, the 1080p high definition transfer is AVC-encoded and at 1.85:1 aspect ratio is a big reason. Details like when the cops drive by the three “wisemen” there’s a little lens flare between the officers’ faces I never noticed before. The red wall behind them looks like it was colored with a Crayola crayon. The different degree of perspiration on each actor’s necks and faces are easy to see. Beard stubble, reflections in windows, and the years of filled up potholes can all be pointed out. In the critical scene with Pino and Sal, you can see the scratches and dirt on the window. Again in the opening credits, the bright primary hues bolt off the screen and exemplify how good Do the Right Thing looks in high definition. Skin tones are full of warmth and life, shadows and contrast are exceptional and all without any artificial edge enhancement. There’s still that acceptable level of grain but as a longtime fan of the film, it’s a joy to see what cinematographer, Ernest Dickerson captured preserved so well.

Still, this is not the cleanest transfer. Specks and the occasional bit of dirt that can be seen, when hunting for them. The opening title sequence especially has lots of dirt which has a bit of an urban grit appeal to it perhaps very few clean negatives exist, but unfortunately that’s not the last time the debris flashes on the screen as it can be seen throughout the rest of the film. It’s more noticeable when the camera is stationary, not panning or in extreme close-ups. The debris isn’t distracting by any means but I have to call it when I see it. So now that I’ve got that out of the way, I can STILL say that this is the best I’ve ever seen this film. And I’ve seen it a lot.

AUDIO: A-
I hate to use the opening credits as an example again but that is the liveliest Do the Right Thing will get in its English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. With a helicopter chugging around the room and planes flying, your head will be spinning to follow the sound. The bass gets a boost full of Public Enemy as the film’s anthem is an undercurrent to the emotions that boil over and the fifteen or so scenes in the film where its played get the same audio treatment. It’s easy to overlook the sweet and soft jazzy score composed by Spike’s father, Bill Lee. It’s in there and even at low volumes is as important as Fight the Power. The surround channels get music, street chatter, and various noise but the strength is in the center channel reproduction of the dialogue. Also available are Spanish and French 5.1 DTS audio tracks and subtitles are available in English SDH, Spanish and French.

EXTRAS: A-
The last time Do the Right Thing was released it was on a superb Criterion Collection DVD from which all of those extras have been exported over. Exclusive to the blu-ray disc are two extras including a new commentary by Spike Lee and a retrospective look back. The rest of the extras are in standard definition, MPEG-2 encoded and in Dolby Digital 2.0.

Audio Commentary by Spike Lee looks back at his breakthrough film as he works through trying to remember stories and reflections on his third film. This is not a rehashing of the same stories on the previous commentary, they are some new thoughts and reflections especially for the 20th anniversary. Some anecdotes (for example his dealing with the Sinatras) are more entertaining to hear this time around because Spike’s describes them in much more detail and without the seriousness he held in the first one.

The second Audio Commentary is with Lee, Director of Photography Ernest Dickerson, Production Designer Wynn Thomas and Actor Joie Lee is ported over from the Criterion Collection release, a fine gathering of many of important players in DTRT. Dickerson in particular shares his technical knowledge, Spike recalls troubles and stories that developed in making the film, and Joie addresses some of the outsiders’ concerns with the film.

Do the Right Thing: 20 Years Later HD (35:47) – A trip back memory lane includes the use of color to convey heat, a where are they now segment, stories about stretching props, the Larry Bird jersey and how Fight the Power came to be. This is the only featurette in high def.

Deleted and Extended Scenes SD (14:14) – Eleven scenes were cut including another pizza delivery for Mookie, Sal’s Cadillac being used as a frying pan, lots more Jade, and more Martin Lawrence silliness. Many of these could have easily been put back in with no problem.

Behind the Scenes SD (57:59) – A bunch of handheld videos of Spike leading early script readings with the cast, interviews with Rosie Perez and her observations as a first time actress having lived in Bed-Stuy, wrap-up parties, and a clip of Sal’s Famous Pizzeria being constructed. Caution to those who get queasy with hand-held camera work.

Making Do the Right Thing SD with Spike Lee Intro (1:01:49) opens up this deeper look into the Bed-Stuy neighborhood, how shooting the film affected their daily lives, how the locals got involved with the film, and what the locals tried to do to keep the drugs away from the shoot. This was a smart extra to include as you get to hear from people in Bed-Stuy speaking the reality of life there. And as an epilogue, Back to Bed-Stuy SD (4:49) A trip back to the street block where DTRT was shot to see the faded murals and what else has changed since 1989.

Editor Barry Brown SD (9:38) – talks about meeting Spike, composing the film, finding relevant artists for Senor Love’s roll call, and making one scene look more genuine.

The Riot Sequence SD (1:30) – Lee normally does not storyboard but this is one of the few instances where a scene was planned and drawn out in full detail prior to shooting. After an intro, one can peruse through each page of that storyboard.

Cannes, 1989 SD (42:22) – an exceptional Q&A press conference after the screening at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival that included the typical misconceptions for those who didn’t understand Mookie’s actions, the neighborhood of Bed-Stuy, race relations, life vs. art, the debate over the two quotes at the end of the film, and why there was no mention of drugs. Also much of the foreign press wanted to make it seem like such racial problems were only an American problem.

Trailers SD there is one Theatrical Trailer (2:12) and two TV Spots (0:31 and 0:31) sadly all in standard definition.

The Fight is Not Over. Overall Shock Value: A-
Do the Right Thing turns 20. It’s a shocker that one of my touchstone films has reached that age. Universal did it proper by preserving and in fact, enhancing it on blu-ray because I don’t recall seeing it this good. Spike Lee’s breakout film still holds up with race relations still a struggle, no matter how big the band-aid. In America, President Obama is proof of some progress, but as long as we continue to dwell on our differences, instead of embracing our similarities, we will always be marching uphill. Prejudice is still holding us back whether it’s race, religion, sexual orientation or two tribes in Rwanda. It’s not local to America, the inner cities or the suburbs, but continues to strap us down from healing, changing and evolving, So when the temperature gets hot, literally and figuratively, it’s Highly Recommended that YOU do the right thing.