Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American filmmaker and actor. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty, and other political issues. Lee received numerous accolades for his work, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Peabody Awards as well as nominations for three Golden Globe Awards and a Grammy Award.
Lee studied filmmaking at both Morehouse College and the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, where he directed his student film Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983), which won a Student Academy Award. He later founded the production company 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, where he has produced more than 35 films. He made his directorial debut with the comedy She's Gotta Have It (1986). He received widespread critical acclaim for the drama Do the Right Thing (1989), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He directed the historical epic Malcolm X (1992), earning the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. With the biographical crime dramedy BlacKkKlansman (2018), he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix Award.
He has also written and directed films such as School Daze (1988), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), Crooklyn (1994), Clockers (1995), Bamboozled (2000), 25th Hour (2002), Inside Man (2006), Chi-Raq (2015), Da 5 Bloods (2020), and Highest 2 Lowest (2025). Lee has also acted in eleven of his feature films. He is also known for directing numerous documentary projects, including 4 Little Girls (1997), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. He directed the HBO series When the Levees Broke (2006), which won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program and Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking. He also directed the HBO documentary If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise (2010) and the David Byrne concert film American Utopia (2020).
Lee has received several honours, including the Honorary BAFTA Award in 2002, an Honorary César in 2003, the Academy Honorary Award in 2015, and the National Medal of Arts in 2023. Five of his films have been selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". He has received a Gala Tribute from the Film Society of Lincoln Center as well as the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize. His films have featured breakthrough performances from actors such as Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson, Giancarlo Esposito, Rosie Perez, Delroy Lindo, John Turturro, and John David Washington.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Spike Lee, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
| Known For | Directing |
|---|---|
| Most Rating | 2.0721 |
| Birthday | 1957-03-20 |
| Place of Birth | Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
| 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, |
1989
Do the Right Thing
7.772/2071
Sal 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 exh...
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Do the Right Thing
1991
Jungle Fever
6.402/328
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 wo...
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Jungle Fever
1996
When We Were Kings
7.573/260
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....
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When We Were Kings
1992
Malcolm X
7.556/1981
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 b...
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Malcolm X
1990
Lonely in America
4.4/7
An East Indian native immigrates to New York City and stumbles his way onto the corporate fast-track.
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Lonely in America
1994
Crooklyn
6.792/166
From Spike Lee comes this vibrant semi-autobiographical portrait of a school-teacher, her stubborn jazz-musician husband and their five kids living in...
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Crooklyn
1986
She's Gotta Have It
6.6/369
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...
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She's Gotta Have It
2005
Street Fight
6.879/29
This documentary follows the 2002 mayoral campaign in Newark, New Jersey, in which a City Councilman, Cory Booker, attempted to unseat longtime mayor...
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Street Fight
1990
Mo' Better Blues
6.5/267
Talented but self-centered trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed with his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he...
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Mo' Better Blues
1996
Girl 6
5.052/126
A struggling actress in New York City takes a job as a phone sex operator.
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Girl 6
2012
Brooklyn Boheme
6.8/7
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...
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Brooklyn Boheme
2012
Bad 25
7.322/76
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 re...
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Bad 25
2003
The Evolution of an American Filmmaker
7.25/4
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...
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The Evolution of an American Filmmaker
2002
New York at the Movies
9/3
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...
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New York at the Movies
2022
A Daughter's Tribute to Her Father: Souleymane Cissé
0/0
Fatou Cissé accompanies her father, malien director Souleymane Cissé, through a trip down his film career, painting an intimate and poetic picture of...
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A Daughter's Tribute to Her Father: Souleymane Cissé
2017
Be Truly Free
0/0
Spike Lee explains the dream.
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Be Truly Free
2010
Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks
7.652/33
Reggie Miller single-handedly crushed the hearts of Knick fans multiple times. But it was the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals that solidified Mille...
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Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks
2022
Sidney
7.021/48
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Wa...
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Sidney
2011
Guest
6/8
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...
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Guest
2005
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
6/2
A short documentary about the making of Spike Lee's biopic, "Malcolm X."
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By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
1988
School Daze
5.7/116
Fraternity and sorority members clash with other students at a historically black college during homecoming weekend.
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School Daze
1993
The Last Party
5.222/9
A youthful perspective on the 1992 presidential campaign with a witty, cautionary message to young Americans to start participating in democracy or ge...
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The Last Party
1991
MTV's 10th Anniversary Special
0/0
A special commemorating the 10th anniversary of MTV. Included are performances created for this special by contemporary music artists who have been as...
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MTV's 10th Anniversary Special
2012
Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’
5/2
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 Ra...
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Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’
2008
40 x 15: The Forty Years of the Directors' Fortnight
5/1
A history of the Cannes Film Festival's Director's Fortnight selection.
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40 x 15: The Forty Years of the Directors' Fortnight
2014
Do The Right Thing 25 Year Anniversary A Beats Music Experience
0/0
Spike Lee and others reflect on this impactful film, more than two decades later.
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Do The Right Thing 25 Year Anniversary A Beats Music Experience
1991
Sous les marches du palais
0/0
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Sous les marches du palais
2022
Denzel Washington: A Model American
7.045/11
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 complexit...
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Denzel Washington: A Model American
2015
Champs
6.319/47
A documentary about the sport of boxing, as seen through the eyes of champions Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Bernard Hopkins.
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Champs
2012
Red Hook Summer
5.357/28
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...
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Red Hook Summer
2000
Michael Jordan to the Max
7.5/37
This documentary showcases basketball player Michael Jordan's awe-inspiring moves, providing behind-the-scenes and on-the-court action, including foot...
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Michael Jordan to the Max
2015
French Cinema Mon Amour
5.2/2
French Cinema Mon Amour is an ensemble film in which each contributor brings their own voice, their own particular approach, their culture, and their...
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French Cinema Mon Amour
2001
3 A.M.
5.75/34
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,...
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3 A.M.
1997
4 Little Girls
7.1/59
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 cri...
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4 Little Girls
2005
How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It)
7.2/5
Melvin Van Peebles was one of the first black directors to challenge the white establishment in his films, which include "Watermelon Man" and "Sweet S...
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How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It)
1989
Making 'Do the Right Thing'
6.9/8
The Behind-the-Scenes documentary of the dramatic comedy Do the Right Thing.
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Making 'Do the Right Thing'
2017
Birth of a Movement
6.4/5
In 1915, Boston-based African American newspaper editor and activist William M. Trotter waged a battle against D.W. Griffith’s technically groundbreak...
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Birth of a Movement
2005
Life O' The Party: On the Road with Prince and the New Power Generation
0/0
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...
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Life O' The Party: On the Road with Prince and the New Power Generation
2000
Lisa Picard Is Famous
4.636/11
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...
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Lisa Picard Is Famous
1996
The Fine Art of Separating People from Their Money
5.545/11
An examination of the evolution of commercials as an artistic medium, featuring interviews with media luminaries who relate how the in-your-face styli...
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The Fine Art of Separating People from Their Money
1995
Clockers
6.7/370
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 bu...
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Clockers
2004
Best Sellers or: Peter Sellers and 'Dr. Strangelove'
5.8/5
Documentary about actor Peter Sellers and one of his most memorable film roles.
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Best Sellers or: Peter Sellers and 'Dr. Strangelove'
2007
Pixote In Memoriam
7.333/3
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)....
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Pixote In Memoriam
1993
Seven Songs for Malcolm X
10/1
The Black Audio Film Collective’s seventh film envisioned the death and life of the African American revolutionary as a seven part study in iconograph...
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Seven Songs for Malcolm X
2011
A Man's Story
6.9/8
Documentary about British fashion designer Ozwald Boateng.
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A Man's Story
1989
First Works
7/1
First Works is an exciting collection of uncensored interviews with this generation's most successful filmmakers. Academy Award winners Ron Howard (A...
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First Works
1999
Summer of Sam
6.505/549
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 Br...
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Summer of Sam
2018
Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists
7.1/9
Directors Jonathan Alter, John Block and Steve McCarthy bring New York columnists Jimmy Breslin and Pete Hamill’s courageous writing to life, celebrat...
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Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists
2009
PoliWood
6.5/4
An in-depth look at the Democratic and Republican national conventions held during the 2008 U.S. Presidential election year.
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PoliWood
2002
It's Black Entertainment
8.667/3
A star-studded tribute (from the creators of That's Entertainment) to the contributions of Afro-Americans in film over the last century. Vanessa Willi...
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It's Black Entertainment
2009
Do the Right Thing: 20 Years Later
7/3
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 twenti...
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Do the Right Thing: 20 Years Later
2004
No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat
5.833/6
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...
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No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat
2001
The Making of 'Bamboozled'
5.5/2
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of Spike Lee's satirical take on the American entertainment industry.
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The Making of 'Bamboozled'
2009
Kobe Doin' Work
6.595/21
A documentary following Kobe Bryant during one day of the 2008 NBA playoffs.
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Kobe Doin' Work
1989
Decade
8.5/2
Interviews with personalities including John Mellencamp, Spike Lee, Lou Reed, Roseanne Barr, David Byrne, George Michael and more, as they reflect on...
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Decade
1990
Spike & Co. Do It a-Cappella
10/1
A 1990 PBS documentary around the topic of A cappella music. Artists that performed as part of the documentary include The Mint Juleps, Ladysmith Blac...
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Spike & Co. Do It a-Cappella
1993
Farewell, Babylon!
0/0
Arrabal's sixth film based on his novel from 1969 with the same name as the movie.
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Farewell, Babylon!
2018
Unbanned: The Legend of AJ1
6.5/6
Unbanned explores the dynamic life of AJ1 from its unlikely origins to its role in disrupting NBA rules, birthing sneaker culture, and influencing a s...
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Unbanned: The Legend of AJ1
1995
Below the Rim
8/1
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 th...
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Below the Rim
2014
We the People: From Crispus Attucks to President Barack Obama
0/0
The Election of President Barack Obama began on March 5, 1770 at the Boston Massacre with the death of Crispus Attucks.
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We the People: From Crispus Attucks to President Barack Obama
2015
Director Spike Lee's New York City
0/0
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 s...
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Director Spike Lee's New York City
2005
Through the Fire
7.083/6
"Through the Fire" chronicles the journey of Coney Island basketball star, Sebastian Telfair, from famed Lincoln High School straight to the NBA.
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Through the Fire
2007
Lights, Action, Music
7/1
A wonderful journey through the meaning and relevance of film music composition. Featuring great, albeit brief, insights from some of the modern grea...
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Lights, Action, Music
2008
Beyond Wiseguys: Italian Americans & the Movies
7/1
Documentary portrays the saga of how Italian Americans went from being outsiders who were stereotyped as gangsters in American movies to insiders in H...
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Beyond Wiseguys: Italian Americans & the Movies
2011
On the Shoulders of Giants
6.3/3
The story of the Harlem Rens: the greatest basketball team you never heard of.
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On the Shoulders of Giants
2014
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
1.5/1
In this open-letter style documentary, Ruby Dee & Ossie Davis' rich lives guide their grandson on his personal quest to master lasting love, conscious...
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Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
1991
Branford Marsalis: Steep
0/0
Recorded live on 13th November, 1987, at the Spirit Square Arts Centre, North Carolina, USA.
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Branford Marsalis: Steep
1992
Our Hollywood Education
8/1
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...
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Our Hollywood Education
1994
Hoop Dreams
7.592/343
Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High Schoo...
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Hoop Dreams
1994
A Century of Cinema
8.333/3
A look back at the first 100 years of the movies.
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A Century of Cinema
1996
The Universal Story
8/4
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 Tus...
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The Universal Story
2015
Ray Allen/AKA- Jesus Shuttlesworth
0/0
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 ch...
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Ray Allen/AKA- Jesus Shuttlesworth
2002
The Making and Meaning of 'We Are Family'
9/2
Featuring inverviews from: Afrika Bambaataa, Ashford & Simpson, Jackson Browne, Kim Burell, Taylor Dayne, Carmen Electra, Faith Evans, Roberta Flack,...
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The Making and Meaning of 'We Are Family'
2021
Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
8/14
An intimate look at the Oscar-nominated actor’s incomparable artistry, and the acting process which informed his transformative performances. Viola Da...
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Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
2021
A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks
6.85/20
This documentary chronicles renaissance man Gordon Parks’ stellar career from staff photographer for LIFE magazine, through his artistic development p...
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A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks
1989
Public Enemy: Fight the Power... Live!
0/0
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 N...
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Public Enemy: Fight the Power... Live!
2004
Five Directors On The Battle of Algiers
10/1
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 t...
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Five Directors On The Battle of Algiers
2010
Four Days in October
6.833/21
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...
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Four Days in October
2023
Samuel L. Jackson: Did I Stutter?
9/2
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...
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Samuel L. Jackson: Did I Stutter?
2016
Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall
7.037/81
Director Spike Lee chronicles Michael Jackson's early rise to fame.
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Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall
2025
Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
7.714/21
Untold stories behind the culture-defining and newsmaking musical performances, sketches and cameos of the past 50 years.
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Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
1994
Drop Squad
3.5/12
Controversial film about an underground organization that kidnaps and 'deprograms' African Americans who sell out or deny their cultural heritage. Spi...
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Drop Squad
2022
Gold Blooded
0/0
This 7-part documentary is narrated by Andre Iguodala and tells the story of the Golden State Warriors run to the 2022 NBA Championship.
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Gold Blooded
2017
Plankton Salesmen
0/0
A nostalgic look at the birth and death of arthouse film distribution in Russia in the early 2000s. The story of the company Cinema Without Borders an...
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Plankton Salesmen
1995
Lumière & Company
6.336/73
40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under condition...
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Lumière & Company
2015
Spike Lee's Lil' Joints: The Greatest Catch Ever
0/0
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Spike Lee's Lil' Joints: The Greatest Catch Ever
2023
The Moviemakers: Spike Lee
0/1
A highly driven and motivated trailblazer, Spike Lee has always been a controversial and political filmmaker whose films speak for themselves. Over 40...
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The Moviemakers: Spike Lee
1990
Spike & Co.: Do It a Cappella
0/0
Spike Lee & Company: Do It a Cappella is a 1990 PBS documentary, directed by Spike Lee, around the topic of A cappella music. Artists that performed a...
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Spike & Co.: Do It a Cappella
2026
AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Eddie Murphy
5.333/3
Comedy trailblazer Eddie Murphy celebrates his legendary film career in this star-studded tribute filmed live in Los Angeles.
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AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Eddie Murphy
2024
13 Steps - Die unglaubliche Karriere von Edwin Moses
5/1
For nine years, nine months and nine days, track superstar Edwin Moses went unbeaten in the notoriously difficult 400-meter hurdles.The Olympic champi...
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13 Steps - Die unglaubliche Karriere von Edwin Moses
2026
Sophie Marceau, à voix haute
7/1
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