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Spike Lee |
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Director / Producer / Screenwriter /
Actor |
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1957 - |
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Born March 20,
Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
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Key
Production Country: USA |
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Key Genres: Drama,
Urban Drama, Crime Drama |
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Key
Collaborators: Terence Blanchard (Composer), Barry Alexander Brown
(Editor), Jon Kilik (Producer), Wynn Thomas (Production Designer), Ernest
Dickerson (Cinematographer), Sam Pollard (Editor/Producer), Denzel
Washington (Leading Player), Ellen Kuras (Cinematographer), Ossie Davis
(Character Player), Lonette McKee (Character
Player) |
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Highly Recommended:
Do
the Right Thing (1989)* |
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Recommended:
She's
Gotta Have It (1986), Malcolm
X (1992), Clockers (1995), 25th Hour (2002)^, When the Levees Broke: A
Requiem in Four Acts [TV] (2006) |
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Worth a Look:
Jungle Fever (1991), Summer of Sam (1999), Inside Man (2006) |
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Approach with Caution:
He Got Game (1998), Bamboozled (2000) |
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* Listed in TSPDT's
1,000 Greatest Films
section; ^
Listed in TSPDT's
21st Century's Most Acclaimed Films
section. |
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Links:
[
Amazon
] [
IMDB ] [
All-Movie
Guide ] [
Film Reference ]
[
Thomson
Gale Biography ] [
Salon Interview ] [
Guardian
Unlimited Interview ] [
eFilmCritic
Interview (1999) ] [
DGA
Interview ] [
Interview:
Four Little Girls ] [
NPR Audio Interview (2006) ] [
Film
Monthly Article ] [
Scotsman
Article (2005)
] [
BBC: Calling the Shots ] |
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Books:
[
Spike
Lee: That's My Story and I'm Sticking to It ] [
Spike
Lee: Filmmaker ] [
Spike
Lee: Interviews ] [
Spike
Lee: On His Own Terms ] |
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"If
Lee is best known for his sometimes provocative studies of
racial prejudice and conflict, the value of his films arguably
lies less in political commentary (which can tend towards the
simplistic) than in his having given a cinematic voice to
contemporary African-Americans. Not only is he adept at
portraying the fabric, texture and sheer variety of the black
American experience but his style, often neglected in favour of
the films' content, is idiosyncratic and assured." -
Geoff
Andrew (The Director's Vision, 1999) |
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"The great thing
about Lee is that he has not tired or faltered. The question
mark still hangs over the degree of his talent... He is capable,
I think, of a great film about New York - and it might be better
if he saw that as his subject and let the responsibility of
being the best black director around look after itself." -
David Thomson (The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, 2002) |
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"Leading
American maker of street-level social dramas, whose narrative
skills are sometimes undercut by seemingly racist (anti-white)
attitudes. Having said that, Lee's films, in which he himself
often plays featured roles, are frequently inspired by real
events... His films, to many of which jazz forms an important
background ingredient, are challenging, thought-provoking and
in-your-face, sometimes too simplistic, but never taking the
easy option, nor offering any ready resolution to the racial
oppression which Lee sees all over America." -
David
Quinlan (Quinlan's Film Directors, 1999)
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Please
note that the rating given for this director (see top-right) is based
only on the films we have seen (listed above). Films by this director
that we haven't seen include
School Daze
(1988), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Crooklyn (1994), Get On the Bus (1996),
Girl 6 (1996), 4 Little Girls (1997), The Original Kings of Comedy
(2000), and She Hate Me (2004). |
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7 |
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"Never
far from holding a mirror up to his own life's experience,
virtually all Lee's films reflect on his family, his
upbringing, the creative professions, New York City, and
being a wicked smart African-American artist in a
whitewashed world. The themes of autobiography and race
quickly become useful for understanding Lee's work... Since
Lee's career shift to being a more ambitious producer, his
work has been uneven. Certain projects are fantastically
good, and sometimes commercially successful, whereas others
are disastrous, from conception to execution, eliciting
shrugs of confusion that someone so great might be brought
so low."
-
Garrett
Chaffin-Quiray, 501 Movie Directors: A Comprehensive Guide
to the Greatest Filmmakers |
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●
Top 250 Directors |
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●
100 Essential Directors (Pop
Matters) |
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●
501 Movie Directors: A
Comprehensive Guide to the Greatest Filmmakers |
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See Also |
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●
Bill Duke (External Link) |
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F. Gary Gray |
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Albert & Allen Hughes (External Link) |
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Sidney Lumet |
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Mira Nair |
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John Sayles |
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Martin Scorsese |
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John Singleton |
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Oliver Stone |
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James Toback |
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Mario Van
Peebles |
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Melvin Van Peebles (External Link) |
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Spike Lee's Favourites |
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A Face in the Crowd (1957)
Elia Kazan,
On the Waterfront (1954)
Elia Kazan,
Pixote (1981)
Hector Babenco.
Source: BBC: Calling the Shots (2004) |
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