Inside Artwork: Yes Emboss/Deboss: No Finish Type: TBA
Actors: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Spike Lee
Director: Spike Lee
Language: English: DTS:X, English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit), French (Canada): DTS 5.1, Spanish: DTS 5.1a
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Region: Region Free
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number of Discs: 2 (Digital Copy)
Rating: R
Orig. Release Date: 1989
Studio: Criterion
Release Date: 2/2/2021
Run Time: 120 Min.
- Do the Right Thing: 20 Years Later (1080i, 35:47): Image Nation held a celebratory 20th anniversary screening of Do the Right Thing, drawing together a good number of the cast and crew, and Spike Lee took the opportunity to interview them about their experiences. This piece is one of the most entertaining supplements, namely because almost everyone involved has some sort of crazy story about the production. Rosie Perez, who planned on becoming a biochemist, had a chance encounter with Spike in a reggae club that would change her life. John Turturro was concerned, after he saw the dailies, that he might get beat up on the subway. And John Savage, who had claimed for years that Larry Bird gave him the Celtics jersey he wears in the film, has this claim refuted hilariously by Spike, who says he bought the shirt himself.
- Deleted and Extended Scenes (1080p, 14:14): Note that while these eleven scenes are indeed broadcast in high-def, they haven't been mastered to the level of the finished film and are generally marred by ample scratches and flecks.
- Feature Commentary: Recorded in 2005, this track will be familiar to owners of previous DVD incarnations of the film. The commentary features Spike Lee, Director of Photography Ernest Dickerson, Production Designer Wynn Thomas, and Actor Joie Lee (though not all at the same time).
- 20th Anniversary Edition Feature Commentary: This new track proves to be a bit livelier story-wise than the previous one, and although there's some topical over-lap between the two, the new commentary is certainly welcome. Be forewarned though, there are several scenes where it seems like Spike is content to just sit back and watch the film.
- Behind the Scenes (480p, 57:59): Featuring a series of Hi-8 tapes shot by Spike Lee and his brother, this lengthy section is broken, by theme, into a number of smaller pieces. Highlights include an early meet-and-greet read- through with the principles actors, Giancarlo Esposito generating a ridiculous back-story for his bug-eyed character, and the crew presenting Spike with some gag gifts during the film's wrap party. While only die-hard fans will manage to sit through the whole affair, the tapes have some enlightening moments that are there for those who want them.
- Making Do the Right Thing (480p, 1:01:01): As Spike says in his intro, this is not one of those "regular, bullshit EPK things." Directed by St. Clair Bourne and shot during the film's production, this documentary chronicles the creation of Do the Right Thing, focusing especially on the Bed-Stuy neighborhood in which the film takes place. At the time, Bed-Stuy was a moderately dangerous place to shoot, and a few crack houses were even shut down by the production before filming took place. The production spent six weeks prepping the neighborhood, tried to hire as many local workers as possible, and even invited the whole community out for a massive block party to herald the start of filming. While some community members were thrilled by the film's presence, others were annoyed by having to tip-toe around their own neighborhood. Though it runs a little long, the documentary is worth watching, if only for the slice-of-life look at Brooklyn in the mid-1980's.
- "Back to Bed-Stuy" segment that follows Spike as he walks through the neighborhood and reminisces about shooting.
- Editor Barry Brown (480p, 9:38): Barry Brown discusses how he met Spike, the pacing of the film, and problems that were encountered during the filming/editing process.
- The Riot Sequence: This small section includes an introduction by Spike Lee, in which he briefly talks about doing storyboards for the riot scene, and a 1080p gallery of the storyboards themselves.
- Cannes, 1989 (480p, 42:00): This Q&A panel session was filmed, appropriately enough, on Malcolm X's birthday, and Spike Lee provides some illuminating answers regarding the use of the Malcolm X quote at the end of the film. Taking part in the panel are Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Spike Lee, Joie Lee, and Richard Edson. While many of the questions and answers are interesting, the session is presented untrimmed and it gets occasionally tiring to wait in silence while the journalists' inquiries are translated for the panel members.
- Theatrical trailer
- Two TV spots
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.
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