Blu-ray Movie Reviews

It's the hottest day of the year in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. As the thermometer rises, so do tempers in the racially charged atmosphere. Local Italian pizza man Sal (Danny Aiello), proprietor of Sal's Famous, runs the restaurant with his two sons and employs Mookie (Spike Lee) as their delivery boy. When local radical Buggin Out (Giancarlo Esposito) takes umbrage with the restaurant's lack of "brothers" on its "wall of fame," all hell breaks loose when the businessmen are pushed too far and the police must intercede.

A lot has changed in the 20 years since Spike Lee's poignant film hit theaters—for example, our president is an African-American. So in some respects, we have grown as a nation. But that's not to say racism is eradicated, because it isn't. What doesn't get mentioned enough is that racism is a two-way street—it doesn't flow in just one direction, and that's where Do the Right Thing forces viewers to contemplate their own attitudes.

Is it wrong for Sal to be proud of Italian-Americans and refuse to put up African-Americans on his wall of fame, just because his clientele is African-American? Isn't it his choice as a business owner to display what he wants? Is he a racist? These are the questions Lee asks us to ponder.

The AVC 1080p encode looks fantastic for a 20-year-old film. Vibrant colors leap off the screen, particularly red. Depth is outstanding thanks to consistent contrast and inky blacks. Detail on medium and long shots can look a tad soft, but close-ups are sharp as a tack. Grain is present, although never intrusive, and digital noise is virtually non-existent.

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack is surprisingly good given its stereo roots. Dialog is usually intelligible, although there are a few instances where the ambience can overpower it, especially when the urban soundtrack kicks in. The film opens with Public Enemy's "Fight the Power," which features prominent bass that prepares the subwoofer for a two-hour workout. Surround effects are used sparingly, but when called upon, they offer an outstanding experience, especially during the "boom box" battle.

Befitting its 20-year anniversary, the Blu-ray is loaded with bonus features. The best featurette is "Do the Right Thing: 20 Years Later," a 35-minute modern-day retrospective that includes interviews with the original cast (HD). Also in HD are some deleted/extended scenes, although the footage doesn't look nearly as good as the feature film. The last "new" feature exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a 20th anniversary audio commentary from Spike Lee.

Additional supplements include an older commentary by Lee along with director of photography Ernest Dickerson, production designer Wynn Thomas, and actor Joie Lee, a "making-of" featurette, behind-the-scenes footage, a storyboard sequence (HD), a short piece on the editing, footage from the 1989 Cannes Film Festival press conference, theatrical trailer, and TV spots.

Do the Right Thing holds the distinction of being deemed a "culturally significant" film by the Library of Congress and is preserved in the National Film Registry, and rightfully so. Although our country has come a long way with regard to race relations in the past 100 years, we still have a way to go before we can be considered a color-blind society. Lee's masterpiece looks and sounds fantastic on Blu-ray, and its statement is still significant 20 years after its initial theatrical release. Highly recommended.

Release Date:June 30, 2009
Studio: Universal

Movie: 8/10
Picture: 9/10
Sound: 9/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics