Spike Lee
Also Known As: Спайк Ли, سبايك لي, 스파이크 리, スパイク・リー, สไปค์ ลี, 史派克·李, Σπάικ Λι, اسپایک لی, Shelton Jackson Lee
Biography: Spike Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American filmmaker and actor. He was born Shelton Lee in Atlanta, Georgia. At a very young age, he moved from pre-civil rights Georgia, to Brooklyn, New York. His father was a jazz musician, and his mother, a school teacher. His mother dubbed him Spike, due to his tough nature. He attended school in Morehouse College in Atlanta and developed his film making skills at Clark Atlanta University. After graduating, he went to the Tisch School of Arts graduate film program. He made a controversial short, The Answer (1980), a reworking of D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915) -- a ten-minute film. Lee went on to produce a 45-minute film Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983), which won a student academy award. Lee's next film, "The Messenger," in 1984, was somewhat biographical. In 1986, Spike Lee made the film, She's Gotta Have It (1986), a comedy about sexual relationships. The movie was made for 175,000 dollars, and made seven million. Since then, Lee has become a well-known, intelligent, and talented film maker. His next movie was School Daze (1988), which was set in a historically black school and focused mostly on the conflict between the school and the Fraternities, of which he was a strong critic, portraying them as materialistic, irresponsible, and uncaring. Lee went on to do his landmark film, Do the Right Thing (1989), a movie specifically about his own town in Brooklyn, New York. The movie garnered an Oscar nomination, for Danny Aiello, for supporting actor. It also sparked a debate on racial relations. Lee went on to produce the jazz biopic Mo' Better Blues (1990) which showed his talent for directing and acting, and was the first of many Spike Lee films to feature Denzel Washington. His next film, Jungle Fever (1991), was about interracial dating. Lee's handling of the subject proved yet again highly controversial. Lee's next film was the self-titled biography of Malcolm X (1992), which had Denzel Washington portraying the civil rights leader. The movie was a success, and resulted in an Oscar nomination for Washington. His next films were the comparatively light, Crooklyn (1994), and the intense crime drama, Clockers (1995). In 1996, Lee directed two movies: the badly received comedy, Girl 6 (1996), and the politically pointed, Get on the Bus (1996), about a group of men going to the Million Man March. His next film, He Got Game (1998), proved to be another excursion into the collegiate world as he shows the darker side of recruiting college athletes. The movie, in limited release, yet again featured Denzel Washington. In 2000 came Bamboozled which made a mockery out of television and the way African-Americans are perceived by white America and the way African-Americans perceive themselves. The movie, however, was a resounding critical success. Lee also has produced films like New Jersey Drive (1995), Tales from the Hood (1995), and Drop Squad (1994). He also has produced and or directed movies about Huey P. Newton, Jim Brown, and has commented in many documentaries about varied subjects. Lee is an obsessive New York Knicks fan. He and his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, have two children.
Department: Directing
Place of Birth: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Adult: No
Birthday: March 20, 1957
Age: 68 years old
Gender: Male
Popularity:
Known For:
Do the Right Thing
Overview: 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.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-06-14
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Jungle Fever
Overview: A successful and married black man contemplates having an affair with a white girl from work. He's quite rightly worried that the racial difference would make an already taboo relationship even worse.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-06-07
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When We Were Kings
Overview: It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.
Genres: Documentary TV Movie History Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1996-10-25
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Malcolm X
Overview: A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left a legacy of self-determination and racial pride.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1992-11-18
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Lonely in America
Overview: An East Indian native immigrates to New York City and stumbles his way onto the corporate fast-track.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1990-09-30
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Crooklyn
Overview: From Spike Lee comes this vibrant semi-autobiographical portrait of a school-teacher, her stubborn jazz-musician husband and their five kids living in '70s Brooklyn.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1994-05-13
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She's Gotta Have It
Overview: The story of Nola Darling's simultaneous sexual relationships with three different men is told by her and by her partners and other friends. All three men wanted her to commit solely to them; Nola resists being "owned" by a single partner.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1986-08-08
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Street Fight
Overview: This documentary follows the 2002 mayoral campaign in Newark, New Jersey, in which a City Councilman, Cory Booker, attempted to unseat longtime mayor Sharpe James.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-04-23
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Mo' Better Blues
Overview: Talented but self-centered trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed with his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he is forced to come to the aid of his manager and childhood friend, Bleek finds his world more fragile than he ever imagined.
Genres: Drama Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1990-08-03
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Girl 6
Overview: A struggling actress in New York City takes a job as a phone sex operator.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1996-03-22
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Brooklyn Boheme
Overview: Brooklyn Boheme is a love letter to a vibrant African American artistic community who resided in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill Brooklyn during the 80's and 90's that included the great Spike Lee, Chris Rock, Branford Marsalis, Rosie Perez, Saul Williams, Lorna Simpson, Talib Kweli just to name a few. Narrated and written by Fort Greene resident Nelson George, this feature length documentary celebrates "Brooklyn's equivalent of the Harlem Renaissance" and follows the rise of a new kind of African American artist, the Brooklyn Boheme.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2012-02-27
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Bad 25
Overview: Spike Lee pays tribute to Michael Jackson's Bad on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the epochal album, offering behind-the-scenes footage of Jackson recording the album and interviews with confidants, musicians, choreographers, and such music-world superstars as Kanye West, Sheryl Crow, Cee Lo Green and Mariah Carey.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2012-11-22
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The Evolution of an American Filmmaker
Overview: Spike Lee's filmmaking career is examined in this partial making-of for the film 25th Hour (2002). Interviews with cast members from this film and his past successes give us an idea what kind of dedicated person he truly is.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-05-20
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New York at the Movies
Overview: Meryl Streep conducts us to a trip to New York City as presented in many films during the 20th Century, and how its cultural importance and impact are important to viewers. With a comprehensive gathering of clips from films between 1910's and 1990's, the documentary presents the mandatory classic films that presented the city and its multiple cultural variations, situations and the great stories filmed there. Actors and directors also discuss how they view the city in reality and also through the pictures.
Genres: History Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2002-07-07
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Seen It All
Overview: A celebration of the 50th anniversary of Nike.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2022-05-16
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A Daughter's Tribute to Her Father: Souleymane Cissé
Overview: Fatou Cissé accompanies her father, malien director Souleymane Cissé, through a trip down his film career, painting an intimate and poetic picture of one of Africa’s most celebrated actors.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2022-05-17
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Be Truly Free
Overview: Spike Lee explains the dream.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2017-03-01
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Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks
Overview: Reggie Miller single-handedly crushed the hearts of Knick fans multiple times. But it was the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals that solidified Miller as Public Enemy #1 in New York City. With moments to go in Game 1, and facing a seemingly insurmountable deficit of 105-99, Miller scored eight points in 8.9 seconds to give his Indiana Pacers an astonishing victory. This career-defining performance, combined with his give-and-take with Knicks fan Spike Lee, made Miller and the Knicks a highlight of the 1995 NBA playoffs. Peabody Award-winning director Dan Klores will explore how Miller proudly built his legend as "The Garden's Greatest Villain".
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2010-03-14
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Sidney
Overview: This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2022-09-10
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Guest
Overview: Filmmaker José Luis Guerin documents his experience during a year of traveling as a guest of film festivals to present his previous film. What emerges is a wonderfully humane and sincere portrayal of the people that he meets when he goes off the beaten track in some of the world's major cities.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2011-03-25
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Axé: Music of a People
Overview: Originally from Bahia and considered today one of the most globalised musical movements in the world, Axé is a musical rhythm that carries in its essence a good part of all the musical and cultural syncretism of Bahia. The documentary brings together interviews and archive images outlining the birth of Axé.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: pt
Release Date: 2017-01-19
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By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
Overview: A short documentary about the making of Spike Lee's biopic, "Malcolm X."
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-02-08
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School Daze
Overview: Fraternity and sorority members clash with other students at a historically black college during homecoming weekend.
Genres: Comedy Drama Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-02-12
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The Last Party
Overview: A youthful perspective on the 1992 presidential campaign with a witty, cautionary message to young Americans to start participating in democracy or get the kind of government they deserve.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1993-08-27
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MTV's 10th Anniversary Special
Overview: A special commemorating the 10th anniversary of MTV. Included are performances created for this special by contemporary music artists who have been associated with MTV throughout the years as well as celebrity interviews, animation and a look at MTV around the world.
Genres: Music Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-06-06
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Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’
Overview: A provocative look into the seven-year history of the series that gave hip hop a voice and broke color barriers, integrating MTV with rap. "Yo! MTV Raps" premiered on August 6, 1988 with hosts Fab 5 Freddy, Ed Lover and Doctor Dré, and shaped the careers of many of today’s hip hop superstars, while simultaneously making groundbreaking strides in introducing hip hop to the mainstream.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2012-06-07
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40 x 15: The Forty Years of the Directors' Fortnight
Overview: A hstory of the Cannes Film Festival's Director's Fortnight selection.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2008-05-18
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Do The Right Thing 25 Year Anniversary A Beats Music Experience
Overview: Spike Lee and others reflect on this impactful film, more than two decades later.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date:
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Sous les marches du palais
Overview:
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1991-09-14
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Denzel Washington: A Model American
Overview: In 30 years of a deeply committed career and 50 roles, Denzel Washington, double-Oscar winner, placed the figure of the Black man in all its complexity at the heart of the American paradoxes: from Black activist, rebel soldier to gangster torn between violence and charity. Voted best actor of the 21st century by the New York Times a few months ago, Denzel Washington, 65, has risen to the top of American cinema. As an Actor, director and producer, he has shaken up a "color line" as immutable as it is subtle. Often identified with his characters, he reveals himself to be disconcerting and paradoxical. As if he were holding up a mirror to America in which all of its contradictions and failings were reflected. A documentary that chronicles the extraordinary career of the world-renowned African-American actor.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2022-10-15
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Plankton Salesmen
Overview: A nostalgic look at the birth and death of arthouse film distribution in the early 2000s in Russia. The story of the Cinema Without Borders company and its two founders, Sam Klebanov and Anton Mazurov.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: ru
Release Date: 2017-10-29
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Champs
Overview: A documentary about the sport of boxing, as seen through the eyes of champions Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Bernard Hopkins.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2015-03-13
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Be A Part of It
Overview: Spike Lee’s tribute to the Bronx in promotion of the Yankees’ 2024 season opener.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2024-04-04
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Red Hook Summer
Overview: When his mom deposits him at the Red Hook housing project in Brooklyn to spend the summer with the grandfather he’s never met, young Flik may as well have landed on Mars. Fresh from his cushy life in Atlanta, he’s bored and friendless, and his strict grandfather, Enoch, a firebrand preacher, is bent on getting him to accept Jesus Christ as his personal savior. Only Chazz, the feisty girl from church, provides a diversion from the drudgery. As hot summer simmers and Sunday mornings brim with Enoch’s operatic sermons, things turn anything but dull as people’s conflicting agendas collide.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2012-08-10
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Michael Jordan to the Max
Overview: This documentary showcases basketball player Michael Jordan's awe-inspiring moves, providing behind-the-scenes and on-the-court action, including footage of Jordan and the Chicago Bulls going head-to-head against the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals. Phil Jackson and Bob Costas are interviewed (among others), and the awesome soundtrack includes songs by Earth, Wind and Fire, Fatboy Slim and Freddie King.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2000-05-05
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French Cinema Mon Amour
Overview: French Cinema Mon Amour is an ensemble film in which each contributor brings their own voice, their own particular approach, their culture, and their language to produce a portrait of French cinema.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2015-07-06
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3 A.M.
Overview: The feature film directing debut of Spike Lee protege Lee Davis takes the viewer into the world of taxi drivers. Developed in the Sundance Laboratory, this film offers dove-tailing stories centering on the lives of individual taxi drivers as they reflect on and experience romance, politics, sociology, and spirituality.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2001-07-01
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4 Little Girls
Overview: On September 15, 1963, a bomb destroyed a black church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four young girls who were there for Sunday school. It was a crime that shocked the nation--and a defining moment in the history of the civil-rights movement. Spike Lee re-examines the full story of the bombing, including a revealing interview with former Alabama Governor George Wallace.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-07-09
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How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It)
Overview: Melvin Van Peebles was one of the first black directors to challenge the white establishment in his films, which include "Watermelon Man" and "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song." In this documentary, the life of Van Peebles is discussed, including his work not only in film, but also as a novelist, actor, musician, stock trader and even Air Force pilot. Interview subjects include Gil Scott-Heron, Spike Lee and Melvin's son and fellow filmmaker, Mario Van Peebles.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-04-07
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Making 'Do the Right Thing'
Overview: The Behind-the-Scenes documentary of the dramatic comedy Do the Right Thing.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-11-03
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Number 4
Overview: Spike Lee and Denzel Washington discuss their fourth film together Inside Man.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date:
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Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn
Overview: The 30-year legacy of the murder of black teenager Yusuf Hawkins by a group of young white men in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, as his family and friends reflect on the tragedy and the subsequent fight for justice that inspired and divided New York City.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2020-08-12
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Birth of a Movement
Overview: In 1915, Boston-based African American newspaper editor and activist William M. Trotter waged a battle against D.W. Griffith’s technically groundbreaking but notoriously Ku Klux Klan-friendly The Birth of a Nation, unleashing a fight that still rages today about race relations, media representation, and the power and influence of Hollywood. Birth of a Movement, based on Dick Lehr's book The Birth of a Movement: How Birth of a Nation Ignited the Battle for Civil Rights, captures the backdrop to this prescient clash between human rights, freedom of speech, and a changing media landscape.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2017-02-06
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Life O' The Party: On the Road with Prince and the New Power Generation
Overview: On the road documentary with Prince and the New Power Generation during their 2004 Musicology tour from the west coast Los Angeles' House of Blues to the east coast's Madison Square Garden in New York City with press stops along the way and behind the scenes concert footage.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-06-07
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Lisa Picard Is Famous
Overview: A documentarian decides to follow the career of New York actress Lisa Picard, believing she is on the brink of fame. Instead, he bears witness to Lisa's continued, humorous, struggles as an actress, as well as the conflict that arises when Lisa's best friend Tate hits it big with an off-Broadway one-man show.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2000-05-14
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The Fine Art of Separating People from Their Money
Overview: An examination of the evolution of commercials as an artistic medium, featuring interviews with media luminaries who relate how the in-your-face stylistic conventions of commercials have influenced feature films and the visual arts. A documentary film talking about art and advertising divided in three parts: 1. Crossing Over - from cinema to ads from ads to cinema 2. Humour - How humour affects us in advertising 3. Shock - The way shock is used to sell
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1996-11-17
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Clockers
Overview: Strike is a young city drug pusher under the tutelage of drug lord Rodney Little. When a night manager at a fast-food restaurant is found with four bullets in his body, Strike’s older brother turns himself in as the killer. Detective Rocco Klein doesn’t buy the story, however, setting out to find the truth, and it seems that all the fingers point toward Strike & Rodney.
Genres: Crime Drama Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1995-09-15
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Best Sellers or: Peter Sellers and 'Dr. Strangelove'
Overview: Documentary about actor Peter Sellers and one of his most memorable film roles.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2004-10-28
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Pixote In Memoriam
Overview: A tribute documentary on Fernando Ramos da Silva, the famous child star of the acclaimed film by Hector Babenco, "Pixote, a Lei do Mais Fraco" (1981). 20 years after his assassination by the police, his co-stars and Babenco talk about Fernando's contributions to the film, his troubled life when his acting works didn't took off as expected (since he was typecast) and which made him turn back to his past life of poverty and crimes. The project also presents that film's influence to many directors and artists around the world.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: pt
Release Date: 2007-10-30
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Seven Songs for Malcolm X
Overview: The Black Audio Film Collective’s seventh film envisioned the death and life of the African American revolutionary as a seven part study in iconography as narrated by novelist Toni Cade Bambara and actor Giancarlo Espesito. The stylized tableaux vivants that memorialise Malcolm’s life referenced the early 20th century funeral photography of James Van der Zee’s The Harlem Book of the Dead and the elemental static cinematography of Sergei Paradjanov’s The Colour of Pomegranates.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1993-10-01
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A Man's Story
Overview: Documentary about British fashion designer Ozwald Boateng.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2011-10-08
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First Works
Overview: It's a mixed bag in the age of illuminating DVD supplements, but First Works effectively demonstrates the early promise of 13 successful filmmakers. Culled from programs originally broadcast on Showtime in 1990, this crude compilation combines student films, early professional work, and interviews with now-famous directors at various stages of commercial and artistic achievement.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-10-10
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Summer of Sam
Overview: During the summer of 1977, a killer known as the Son of Sam keeps all of New York City on edge with a series of brutal murders.
Genres: Crime Drama Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1999-06-28
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Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists
Overview: Directors Jonathan Alter, John Block and Steve McCarthy bring New York columnists Jimmy Breslin and Pete Hamill’s courageous writing to life, celebrating the acclaimed journalists and the city they loved.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2018-11-15
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PoliWood
Overview: An in-depth look at the Democratic and Republican national conventions held during the 2008 U.S. Presidential election year.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2009-07-03
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It's Black Entertainment
Overview: A star-studded tribute (from the creators of That's Entertainment) to the contributions of Afro-Americans in film over the last century. Vanessa Williams traces the struggles and triumphs of the superstars of music and film. Among the many artists featured are: Whitney Houston, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Cab Calloway, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Little Richard, Also included are today's contemporary superstars: Snoop Dogg, Ice T, Quincy Jones, Spike Lee, Russell Simmons, and many, more! 80 minutes plus DVD bonus features.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2002-02-08
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Do the Right Thing: 20 Years Later
Overview: In this documentary directed by Spike Lee, he interviews the cast and crew of his 1989 film DO THE RIGHT THING. It also includes footage from a twentieth-anniversary screening of the film.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2009-06-30
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No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat
Overview: A documentary exploring the historical concept of the narrative of Stanley Kubrick's 1964 film "Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb." This short documentary compares the film with the actual events concerning the Cold War and the Cuban Missle Crisis.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2004-10-28
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The Making of 'Bamboozled'
Overview: A behind-the-scenes look at the making of Spike Lee's satirical take on the American entertainment industry.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2001-04-17
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Kobe Doin' Work
Overview: A documentary following Kobe Bryant during one day of the 2008 NBA playoffs.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2009-05-16
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Decade
Overview: Interviews with personalities including John Mellencamp, Spike Lee, Lou Reed, Roseanne Barr, David Byrne, George Michael and more, as they reflect on the 1980s.
Genres: Documentary Music History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-12-09
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Spike Lee & Company: Do It a Cappella
Overview: A 1990 PBS documentary around the topic of A cappella music. Artists that performed as part of the documentary include The Mint Juleps, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Rockapella and The Persuasions. It also stars Spike Lee, Debbie Allen and a cameo appearance by Samuel L. Jackson.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1990-01-01
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Farewell, Babylon!
Overview: Arrabal's sixth film based on his novel from 1969 with the same name as the movie.
Genres: Drama Comedy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1993-08-28
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Unbanned: The Legend of AJ1
Overview: Unbanned explores the dynamic life of AJ1 from its unlikely origins to its role in disrupting NBA rules, birthing sneaker culture, and influencing a social and cultural revolution. This is the story of a shoe that changed the world.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2018-04-22
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Below the Rim
Overview: Men among giants, the NBA's little big men are the unsung heroes of the court. Defying the odds, these players rise to levels above and beyond even their own expectations. Marvel at the men who beat the odds to make it in a big man's game: Mark Price's amazing long-range shooting, Spud Webb's incredible dunks, and Tim Hardaway's killer cross-over.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1995-01-01
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We the People: From Crispus Attucks to President Barack Obama
Overview: The Election of President Barack Obama began on March 5, 1770 at the Boston Massacre with the death of Crispus Attucks.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2014-02-11
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Director Spike Lee's New York City
Overview: Director Spike Lee (Malcolm X) has lived and worked in New York City for his entire career. He loves New York City and talks about the movies he has shot in Brooklyn: “I grew up here, it’s my home. It developed who I am and what I’ve become, so it’s been the subject or location of a lot of my films - She’s Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, Crooklyn, and Clockers are stories that take place here, about the people in Brooklyn, New York.” A brief travel documentary for VisitTheUSA.com
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2015-04-10
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Through the Fire
Overview: "Through the Fire" chronicles the journey of Coney Island basketball star, Sebastian Telfair, from famed Lincoln High School straight to the NBA.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-01-01
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Lights, Action, Music
Overview: A wonderful journey through the meaning and relevance of film music composition. Featuring great, albeit brief, insights from some of the modern greats.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2007-08-06
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Beyond Wiseguys: Italian Americans & the Movies
Overview: Documentary portrays the saga of how Italian Americans went from being outsiders who were stereotyped as gangsters in American movies to insiders in Hollywood who took control of their own stories. Interviews, film clips and home movies from Italian American filmmakers highlight personal experiences and comment on Hollywood's politics and cultural impact.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2008-01-20
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On the Shoulders of Giants
Overview: The story of the Harlem Rens: the greatest basketball team you never heard of.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2011-02-11
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Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
Overview: In this open-letter style documentary, Ruby Dee & Ossie Davis' rich lives guide their grandson on his personal quest to master lasting love, conscious art, and undying activism.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2014-06-22
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Branford Marsalis: Steep
Overview: Recorded live on 13th November, 1987, at the Spirit Square Arts Centre, North Carolina, USA.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-01-04
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Our Hollywood Education
Overview: In this documentary, a variety of directors and actors, many of them well known, give answers to questions the viewer never hears -- answers which, on the face of it, call into question the validity of the whole filmmaking enterprise and the culture which spawned it. The narration asserts that the theme is "art versus enterprise," but critics objected that the film is not sufficiently focused to back up that claim. It does, however, reveal a strong anti-Hollywood bias.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1992-05-28
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Hoop Dreams
Overview: Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school well-known for the excellence of its basketball program. Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way. This acclaimed documentary was shot over the course of five years.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1994-09-12
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A Century of Cinema
Overview: A look back at the first 100 years of the movies.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1994-01-01
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The Universal Story
Overview: Richard Dreyfuss hosts a celebration of the 80 year history of Universal Studios. Founded as IMP by Carl Leammle to oppose Edison's Motion Picture Tust, it soon grew under the leadership of 21 year old production head Irving Thalberg with classic silents from artists like John Ford, Erich Von Stroheim, and Lon Chaney and prospered further in the Sound Era under the leadership of Carl Leammle Jr. with such classics as "All Quiet on The Western Front," "Showboat," and the studio's signature monster franchises, "Frankenstein" and "Dracula."
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1996-04-21
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Ray Allen/AKA- Jesus Shuttlesworth
Overview: Spike Lee takes us into the world of NBA nicknames, focusing on how Ray Allen's starring role in Lee's HE GOT GAME, forever associated him with his character, Jesus Shuttlesworth.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2015-02-06
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The Making and Meaning of 'We Are Family'
Overview: Featuring inverviews from: Afrika Bambaataa, Ashford & Simpson, Jackson Browne, Kim Burell, Taylor Dayne, Carmen Electra, Faith Evans, Roberta Flack, Joel Gray, Kc & the Sunshine Band, Eartha Kitt, Patti Labelle, Queen Latifah and more?
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2002-01-09
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Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
Overview: An intimate look at the Oscar-nominated actor’s incomparable artistry, and the acting process which informed his transformative performances. Viola Davis, Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, George C. Wolfe, Branford Marsalis, Phylicia Rashad and more take us behind the scenes to explore Boseman's extraordinary commitment to his craft.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2021-04-17
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A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks
Overview: This documentary chronicles renaissance man Gordon Parks’ stellar career from staff photographer for LIFE magazine, through his artistic development photographing everyday Americans, through his evolution as a novelist and groundbreaking filmmaker.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2021-06-18
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Public Enemy: Fight the Power... Live!
Overview: THE BLACK PANTHERS OF RAPP-CHUCK D, FLAVOR FLAY, TERMINATOR X, PROFESSOR GRIFF, AND THE S1W'S BRING THE NOISE HOME TO NASSAU COLISEUM, STRONG ISLAND NEW YORK. PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE CAPTURED AT RIKER'S ISLAND, IN PHILADELPHIA, AT THE "STOP THE VIOLENCE" DEMONSTRATION IN HARLEM. CHECK OUT RAP'S PROPHETS OF RAGE RAM-PAGING LIVE IN JAPAN, EUROPE, AND ACROSS AMERICA!
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-01-01
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Five Directors On The Battle of Algiers
Overview: This 17-minute documentary is featured on the 3-Disc Criterion Collection DVD of The Battle of Algiers (1966), released in 2004. An in-depth look at the Battle of Algiers through the eyes of five established and accomplished filmmakers; Spike Lee, Steven Soderbergh, Oliver Stone, Julian Schnabel and Mira Nair. They discuss how the shots, cinematography, set design, sound and editing directly influenced their own work and how the film's sequences look incredibly realistic, despite the claim that everything in the film was staged .
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2004-08-01
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Four Days in October
Overview: When the night of October 16, 2004 came to a merciful end, the Curse of the Bambino was alive and well. The vaunted Yankee lineup, led by A-Rod, Jeter, and Sheffield, had just extended their ALCS lead to three games to none, pounding out 19 runs against their hated rivals. The next night, in Game 4, the Yankees took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning, then turned the game over to Mariano Rivera, the best relief pitcher in postseason history, to secure yet another trip to the World Series. But after a walk and a hard-fought stolen base, the cold October winds of change began to blow. Over four consecutive days and nights, this unlikely group of Red Sox miraculously won four straight games to overcome the inevitability of their destiny. Major League Baseball Productions will produce a film in "real-time" that takes an in-depth look at the 96 hours that brought salvation to Red Sox Nation and made baseball history in the process.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2010-10-05
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Samuel L. Jackson: Did I Stutter?
Overview: With a work ethic like no other and a filmography boosting over 150 films, it's hard to doubt Samuel L. Jackson's status as one of the most prominent figures in cinematic history.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2023-07-08
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Megadoc
Overview: A behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date:
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Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall
Overview: Director Spike Lee chronicles Michael Jackson's early rise to fame.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2016-02-06
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BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
Overview: Preeminent West African curator and scholar Funmilayo Akechukwu’s magnum opus, The Resonance Field, leads her to the heart of the Atlantic Ocean, drawing a journalist into a journey that shatters her understanding of consciousness and time.
Genres: Science Fiction
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2025-01-27
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Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
Overview: Untold stories behind the culture-defining and newsmaking musical performances, sketches and cameos of the past 50 years.
Genres: Music Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2025-01-27
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Drop Squad
Overview: Controversial film about an underground organization that kidnaps and 'deprograms' African Americans who sell out or deny their cultural heritage. Spike Lee is the Executive Producer.
Genres: Drama Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1994-10-28
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