Spike Lee Got It 'Right' the First Time

"Do the Right Thing" -- the Spike Lee joint that kick-started tough conversations about racism and prompted boom boxes across the country to blast "Fight the Power" -- celebrates its 20th anniversary this week with a new DVD ($29.98) and Blu-ray ($39.98) release, both of which feature digitally remastered versions of the film, perfectly polished for the new millennium. The question is: Does this day-in-the-life-of-Bed-Stuy saga still hold up in the era of Barack Obama?

The answer is a resounding yes. "Do the Right Thing" remains arguably the most honest, funny and brave film about racism in American cinema. True, certain details -- notably the hi-top fade haircuts, the Air Jordans and the references to controversial incidents such as the Tawana Brawley rape case -- place the movie squarely in the late '80s. But the confidence of Lee's direction and the issues he confronts are as relevant as ever. Two decades later, we still debate why Mookie (played by Lee) throws that trash can through the front window of Sal's Famous Pizzeria, inciting a riot and stoking the flames of summertime rage already simmering in one Brooklyn community.

This special edition of "Do the Right Thing" comes with some new extras, most notably the retrospective "Do the Right Thing: 20 Years Later," directed by Lee and featuring him in conversation with cast members (including Rosie Perez and John Turturro) and other key contributors. Also created for this edition: new commentary by Lee, and 11 interesting if not terribly enlightening deleted and extended scenes, including a longer take of the final, rancorous exchange between Mookie and Sal (Danny Aiello).

It's all good stuff. But on the whole, it doesn't quite match the quality of the numerous featurettes found on the second disc in this set, all of which appeared on the 2001 Criterion Collection DVD. Of course, if you don't own that release, you'll be more than pleased to check out what's here, particularly the best piece of bonus material, "Making 'Do the Right Thing,' " a one-hour, behind-the-scenes documentary that captures such footage as Lee running lines with Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee and real residents of Bedford-Stuyvesant expressing skepticism about welcoming a Hollywood shoot to their block. ("The president of the United States [could] come through here," one man says. "They'll clean the street for one day, but that's it.")

Really, this DVD needs only one more key thing: a retrospective that puts "Do the Right Thing" in a cultural context. It is clear that this film is significant, but for newcomers to Mookie's world -- especially those who don't quite remember the '80s -- this release only partially explains why. We don't get much information about the controversy the film generated or the impact it had on other artists.

There is no question that "Do the Right Thing" is a must-add to any serious film lover's library, and this version certainly won't disappoint most. But the very best DVDs not only give us a great movie, they tell the full story behind that movie. In this 20th-anniversary edition, we get excellent chapters, to be sure, but I'm still hoping for a release that covers the whole, terrific "Thing."