“Spike Lee is about to drag you into a sizzling kitchen called DO THE RIGHT THING.” - Desson Thomson, Washington Post
“Lee's oft-maligned scattershot style of storytelling works to perfection here, creating irreplaceable parts of a neighborhood collage that feels truly alive, with all the messiness that entails.” - Kambole Campbell, Little White Lies
Monday, August 4, 8:15 p.m. & Friday, August 29, 6:00 p.m. | It’s the hottest day of the year in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, and pizza delivery man Mookie (Spike Lee) is working for Sal (Danny Aiello), the Italian-American owner of a pizzeria in the predominantly Black community. The residents of the neighborhood—including boombox-blasting Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn), activist Buggin’ Out (Giancarlo Esposito), and Korean shopkeeper Sonny (Steve Park)—coexist tenuously, until a dispute over the pizzeria’s “Wall of Fame”—which showcases famous Italian-Americans, but no Black celebrities—ignites a violent chain of events that ends in tragedy. Lee’s magnum opus is blistering commentary on race, police brutality, and justice, and burns timelessly as one of the most significant films of the 20th century.
Related Events
- HIGHEST 2 LOWEST (2025) - Now playing through Thursday, September 4
- MALCOLM X (4K, 1992) - Saturday, September 6, 7:00 p.m. & Sunday, September 14, 2:15 p.m.
Awards & Nominations
Nominee - Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Danny Aiello), Best Original Screenplay, Academy Awards
Nominee - Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival
Winner, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Danny Aiello), Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
Scorchers | August 2–31, 2025
Hot enough for you? Welcome to the dog days of summer, when the temperatures reach their peak and it feels like you could fry an egg on the sidewalk. In Scorchers, we explore 10 films where stifling heat has a starring role. In these cinematic sizzlers, characters fan themselves and wipe their brows—and as the degrees rise, so do the stakes. When we’re stripped down, exhausted, and oppressed by an atmosphere warmer than our body temperature, things are bound to explode.
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu