mdblist.com logo The Best Spike Lee Directed Movies


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poster
87
8.0
/121901/
78
/3412/
78
/1908/
4.4
/466606/
92
/150/
89
/3376/
93
/26/
cc age 16+

Do the Right Thing (1989)
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.
poster
HBO Max Amazon Channel
87
8.2
/5735/
81
/333/
76
/81/
4.3
/27098/
97
/143/
85
/46/
93
/28/
cc age 12+

David Byrne's American Utopia (2020)
A filmed version of David Byrne's Broadway show, a unifying musical celebration that inspires audiences to connect to each other and to the global community.
poster
HBO Max Amazon Channel
85
7.8
/3832/
76
/123/
72
/47/
4.0
/5623/
100
/25/
90
/116/
88
/16/

4 Little Girls (1997)
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.
poster
83
7.7
/109091/
77
/3011/
75
/1801/
4.3
/171505/
89
/83/
91
/2301/
73
/15/
cc age 13+

Malcolm X (1992)
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.
poster
83
7.5
/308779/
76
/15913/
74
/7882/
4.0
/1053152/
96
/448/
83
/1728/
83
/56/
cc age 15+

BlacKkKlansman (2018)
Colorado Springs, late 1970s. Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer, and Flip Zimmerman, his Jewish colleague, run an undercover operation to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan.
poster
Kanopy
80
7.3
/456/
72
/28/
48
/11/
3.9
/933/
100
/26/
90
/65/
85
/11/

Passing Strange (2009)
A young black artist leaves his Los Angeles digs and travels to Europe to find himself. A theatrical stage production of the original Broadway musical.
poster
78
7.4
/2555/
76
/292/
70
/76/
3.7
/2668/
92
/13/
91
/26/
66
/10/

Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall (2016)
Director Spike Lee chronicles Michael Jackson's early rise to fame.
poster
77
7.6
/190115/
74
/3565/
73
/2476/
3.9
/103877/
80
/176/
85
/4045/
69
/40/
cc age 18+

25th Hour (2002)
In New York City in the days following the events of 9/11, Monty Brogan is a convicted drug dealer about to start a seven-year prison sentence, and his final hours of freedom are devoted to hanging out with his closest buddies and trying to prepare his girlfriend for his extended absence.
poster
77
6.9
/6358/
68
/112/
63
/73/
3.6
/5483/
89
/45/
71
/161/
84
/27/
cc age 16+

Get on the Bus (1996)
Several Black men take a cross-country bus trip to attend the Million Man March in Washington, DC in 1995. On the bus are an eclectic set of characters including a laid-off aircraft worker, a man whose at-risk son is handcuffed to him, a black Republican, a former gangsta, a Hollywood actor, a cop who is of mixed racial background, and a white bus driver. All make the trek discussing issues surrounding the march, including manhood, religion, politics, and race.
poster
Starz
76
7.0
/12126/
74
/295/
68
/154/
3.9
/23562/
79
/33/
89
/751/
65
/16/
cc age 13+

Crooklyn (1994)
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.
poster
Netflix
76
7.6
/419817/
76
/12174/
73
/6134/
3.7
/271000/
86
/210/
85
/14529/
76
/39/
cc age 17+

Inside Man (2006)
When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiations preoccupied with corruption charges he is facing.
poster
Netflix
74
6.5
/56980/
66
/2561/
64
/1134/
3.5
/147347/
92
/315/
53
/665/
82
/49/
cc age 17+

Da 5 Bloods (2020)
Four African-American Vietnam veterans return to Vietnam. They are in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader and the promise of buried treasure. These heroes battle forces of humanity and nature while confronted by the lasting ravages of the immorality of the Vietnam War.
poster
Netflix
74
6.8
/17380/
68
/478/
66
/346/
3.6
/65448/
94
/33/
72
/262/
79
/11/
cc age 17+

She's Gotta Have It (1986)
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.
poster
Starz Apple TV Channel
74
6.9
/54241/
71
/1180/
67
/765/
3.6
/48768/
82
/65/
83
/1375/
64
/21/
cc age 17+

He Got Game (1998)
A basketball player's father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter prison sentence.
poster
73
6.8
/3508/
65
/54/
62
/68/
3.5
/3980/
100
/6/
77
/47/

Lumière & Company (1995)
40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no synchronized sound was permitted, and (3) no more than three takes.
poster
Kanopy
73
6.8
/6352/
77
/412/
64
/64/
3.6
/5270/
82
/101/
79
/526/
73
/37/

The Original Kings of Comedy (2000)
The house is rockin' and the laughs are rollin' as comedians Steve Harvey (The Steve Harvey Show), D.L. Hughley (The Hughleys), Cedric The Entertainer (The Steve Harvey Show) and Bernie Mac (Life) meet in this riotously comedy summit directed by Spike Lee.
poster
Starz Apple TV Channel
73
6.9
/24643/
70
/552/
66
/340/
3.7
/22119/
75
/64/
74
/454/
71
/20/
cc age 17+

Clockers (1995)
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.
poster
72
6.6
/20821/
65
/374/
64
/303/
3.5
/18583/
81
/52/
67
/458/
78
/24/

Jungle Fever (1991)
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.
poster
Amazon Prime Video
71
6.1
/1195/
69
/45/
60
/17/
3.5
/2008/
93
/14/
58
/4/
76
/8/

Pass Over (2018)
Moses and Kitch, two young black men, chat their way through a long, aimless day on a Chicago street corner. Periodically ducking bullets and managing visits from a genial but ominous stranger and an overtly hostile police officer, Moses and Kitch rely on their poetic, funny, at times profane banter to get them through a day that is a hopeless retread of every other day, even as they continue to dream of their deliverance.
poster
Netflix
70
6.2
/700/
60
/36/
51
/14/
3.6
/1068/
100
/9/
55
/2/
78
/5/
cc age 15+

Rodney King (2017)
25 years ago, four LAPD officers were acquitted in a state court for beating King, sparking three days of rioting that left 53 people dead. Now, around the anniversary, this Spike Lee-produced one-man show (Roger Guenver Smith) will be streaming on Netflix. A complex, semi-tragic figure, King drowned in 2012. His life was rarely smooth, or simple – its telling makes for a sober, moving watch.
poster
Apple TV
69
5.6
/27543/
61
/2524/
55
/362/
2.8
/109072/
84
/228/
84
/579/
74
/47/
cc age 15+

Highest 2 Lowest (2025)
When a titan music mogul, widely known as having the "best ears in the business", is targeted with a ransom plot, he is jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma.
poster
Starz Apple TV Channel
69
6.7
/14766/
68
/342/
65
/250/
3.7
/21525/
71
/35/
75
/382/
61
/23/

Mo' Better Blues (1990)
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.
poster
Amazon Prime Video
69
5.9
/11204/
65
/589/
57
/214/
3.3
/18456/
82
/149/
53
/288/
77
/37/
cc age 18+

Chi-Raq (2015)
A modern day adaptation of the ancient Greek play Lysistrata by Aristophanes, set against the backdrop of gang violence in Chicago.
poster
79
66
7.9
/2540/
81
/126/
73
/72/
3.9
/2625/
92
/12/
87
/28/
69
/13/

Bad 25 (2012)
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.
poster
Hoopla
66
6.7
/43685/
66
/760/
65
/508/
3.5
/37299/
50
/103/
60
/933/
67
/26/

Summer of Sam (1999)
Spike Lee's take on the "Son of Sam" murders in New York City during the summer of 1977 centering on the residents of an Italian-American Northeast Bronx neighborhood who live in fear and distrust of one another.
poster
65
6.1
/8608/
68
/256/
56
/109/
3.3
/13414/
58
/31/
78
/501/
52
/12/
cc age 16+

School Daze (1988)
Fraternity and sorority members clash with other students at a historically black college during homecoming weekend.
poster
63
6.7
/12941/
68
/251/
62
/147/
3.9
/24346/
53
/107/
74
/623/
56
/39/
cc age 16+

Bamboozled (2000)
Frustrated when network brass reject his sitcom idea, producer Pierre Delacroix pitches the worst idea he can think of in an attempt to get fired: a 21st century minstrel show. The network not only airs it, but it becomes a smash hit.
poster
74
60
7.1
/3772/
70
/38/
67
/41/
3.7
/3555/
86
/7/
77
/32/

Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002)
Ten Minutes Older is a 2002 film project consisting of two compilation feature films entitled The Trumpet and The Cello. The project was conceived by the producer Nicolas McClintock as a reflection on the theme of time at the turn of the Millennium. Fifteen celebrated film-makers were invited to create their own vision of what time means in ten minutes of film.
poster
Amazon Prime Video
55
6.1
/19609/
64
/447/
61
/388/
2.9
/6668/
33
/120/
51
/1576/
37
/31/
cc age 18+

Miracle at St. Anna (2008)
Miracle at St. Anna chronicles the story of four American soldiers who are members of the all-black 92nd "Buffalo Soldier" Division stationed in Tuscany, Italy during World War II.
poster
Hoopla
53
5.3
/2049/
64
/44/
55
/24/
2.9
/3024/
57
/65/
34
/78/
48
/25/
cc age 16+

Red Hook Summer (2012)
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.
poster
71
53
7.4
/4424/
72
/43/
70
/69/
3.6
/1031/
71
/67/

All the Invisible Children (2006)
Seven short films - each one focused on the plight of a different child protagonist.
poster
52
5.8
/84125/
63
/3759/
59
/2059/
2.1
/69760/
39
/150/
37
/1240/
49
/41/
cc age 18+

Oldboy (2013)
A man has only three and a half days and limited resources to discover why he was imprisoned in a nondescript room for 20 years without any explanation.
poster
50
5.4
/6903/
60
/98/
49
/118/
3.5
/9352/
39
/36/
36
/135/
44
/23/

Girl 6 (1996)
A struggling actress in New York City takes a job as a phone sex operator.
poster
50
5.3
/8516/
61
/147/
51
/117/
2.7
/5163/
19
/101/
59
/421/
30
/37/
cc age 18+

She Hate Me (2004)
Fired from his job, a former executive turns to impregnating wealthy lesbians for profit.
poster
Hoopla
49
4.5
/2074/
56
/81/
47
/67/
2.7
/3863/
49
/43/
20
/25/
52
/19/
cc age 17+

Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (2015)
Dr. Hess Green becomes cursed by a mysterious ancient African artifact and is overwhelmed with a newfound thirst for blood. Soon after his transformation he enters into a dangerous romance with Ganja Hightower that questions the very nature of love, addiction, sex, and status.
poster
HBO Max Amazon Channel
69
48
7.3
/3319/
72
/133/
70
/61/
3.4
/1229/
66
/17/

Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth (2013)
Mike Tyson's one-man show is a fascinating journey into his storied life and career. MIKE TYSON: UNDISPUTED TRUTH is a rare, personal look inside the life and mind of one of the most feared men ever to wear the heavyweight crown. Directed by Academy Award® nominee Spike Lee, this riveting one-man show goes beyond the headlines, behind the scenes and between the lines to deliver a must-see theatrical knockout.
poster
Starz
73
46
7.2
/890/
55
/14/
51
/9/
3.6
/692/
100
/9/
85
/43/
78
/5/

A Huey P. Newton Story (2001)
The story of how the radical Huey P. Newton developed the Black Panther Party based on his 10-point program for social reform.
poster
66
33
6.7
/1450/
73
/17/
59
/25/
3.3
/557/
69
/399/

Sucker Free City (2004)
The film follows three young men as they are drawn into lives of crime. Nick (Crowley) uses his entry-level corporate job to commit credit card fraud and deals drugs on the side. K-Luv (Mackie) is a member of the "V-Dubs", an African-American street gang. Lincoln (Leung) is a rising figure in the Chinese mafia. Gentrification forces Nick's family to move out of their home in the Mission District into Hunter's Point where they are harassed by the V-Dubs. K-Luv's side business of selling bootleg compact discs leads him to enlist Nick's help to bootleg CDs and to negotiate a truce with Lincoln. Lincoln conducts an affair with his boss' daughter Angela (Carpio), a Stanford student engaged to a medical student classmate.
poster
65
33
6.6
/1596/
68
/38/
65
/20/
3.6
/1290/
58
/23/

Kobe Doin' Work (2009)
A documentary following Kobe Bryant during one day of the 2008 NBA playoffs.
poster
72
28
8.1
/1263/
76
/35/
58
/23/
3.6
/814/

John Leguizamo: Freak (1998)
John Leguizamo's semi-falsified, one-man stand-up performance as...himself. This is his autobiographical story, about his life growing up, and his journey to try to be accepted by his father. We see this story through a bizarre myriad of characters and situations, which include the eccentric Uncle Sanny, the Fat Boy Called Bitch (John's little brother, Poochie), his mom, his evil grandmothers, and Lee Stratsberg, not to mention a brief appearance by Cantinflas as God.
poster
HBO Max Amazon Channel
66
24
6.9
/763/
65
/72/
63
/10/
3.4
/1290/

Jerrod Carmichael: Love at the Store (2014)
Rising comedy star Jerrod Carmichael takes to the stage of The Comedy Store in Hollywood, CA where he comically subverts such subjects as poverty, wealth, crime and race and presents his unique take on national tragedies, female empowerment, and more.
poster
67
22
6.4
/598/
77
/127/
62
/17/
3.3
/398/

Katt Williams: Priceless: Afterlife (2014)
Katt Williams performs in an all-new stand-up special recorded in front of a live audience at the Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, California. Williams takes the stage and launches into an hour of frenetic stand-up comedy, covering such topics as the allure of California weed dispensaries; how America handles tragedies; getting rid of racism in 2014; his inspirations and his favorite TV show; homophobia and the first openly gay players in major sports; aggressive police tactics; being sent to a mental institution; doctors and the problem with drug commercials; the pros and cons of being single versus being in a relationship; and more.
poster
62
21
5.6
/423/
60
/7/
58
/5/
3.3
/512/
71
/59/

Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983)
Zack Homer takes over managing the barbershop after Joe is killed for trying to rip off his "investor", Mr. Lovejoy. All Zack wants to do is run a traditional barbershop giving traditional haircuts, but modern styles have passed him by and business is slow. One evening, Mr. Lovejoy shows up to offer Zack the same deal he gave to Joe. It could turn his business around, but what will he have to give in return?
poster
61
18
6.5
/944/
65
/18/
48
/15/
3.4
/692/

The Concert for New York City (2001)
The Concert for New York City (2001) captures the star-studded benefit held at Madison Square Garden on October 20, 2001, honoring the city’s resilience and the heroism of first responders after 9/11. Attended by thousands of firefighters, police officers, and rescue workers, the concert features performances by Paul McCartney, The Who, Elton John, Billy Joel, and other music legends in a powerful tribute to unity, courage, and recovery.
poster
67
15
6.5
/210/
60
/3/
78
/5/
3.3
/1167/

New York New York (2020)
Spike Lee's video valentine to New York City during the Coronavirus outbreak of 2020.
poster
?
10
/1/

Spike Lee Presents Mike Tyson (1990)
Spike Lee interviews Mike Tyson and those around him.
poster
?
40
/4/

Come Rain or Come Shine (2001)
Spike Lee's tribute to the New York Yankees.
poster
?
20
/1/
30
/1/

Bernie Mac: Live from Charlotte (2000)
Bernie Mac on the "Kings of Comedy tour", this time live from Charlotte, N.C.


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