Spike Lee: Interviews

Conversations With Filmmakers Series

by Cynthia Fuchs (Editor)

Since his first feature movie, She's Gotta Have It (1986), gave him critical and commercial success, Spike Lee has challenged audiences with one controversial film after another, sparking debates about race, sex, American politics and film production, and garnering award nominations along the way.

Spike Lee: Interviews collects the best interviews and profiles of America's most prominent African American filmmaker. The collection features interviews with such luminaries as Charlie Rose, Elvis Mitchell, Michael Sragow, and actor Delroy Lindo.

Lee has made a broad range of movies, including documentaries (4 Little Girls), musicals (School Daze), crime dramas (Clockers), biopics (Malcolm X). An early advocate of digital video, he used the technology to film both of his 2000 releases, The Original Kings of Comedy and Bamboozled.

Reactions to Do the Right Thing (1989) and Jungle Fever (1990) propelled Lee into a constant presence in the public eye as media currency. He directed commercials for Nike, Levi's, and the U.S. Navy, directed music videos, published seven books, and conducted many interviews explaining and clarifying his views. As Lee puts it, -I've been blessed with the opportunity to express the views of black people who otherwise don't have access to power and media. I have to take advantage of that while I'm still bankable.-

Articulate and deeply passionate, Lee reveals a degree of subtlety and wit that is often lost in sound bites and headlines about him. The range of his interests is as diverse as the subjects of, and approaches to, his films.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film

276 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2002

Reviews

[Andrew Corsini · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is invaluable for any Spike Lee fan or really anyone interested in some of the most daring independent films of the last forty years. Disclosure: I'm a huge Spike Lee fan. That said, there's something here for any kind of intrepid film scholar. I'd single out an American Cinematographer article on Clockers as being of particular interest. Spike is always fascinating and frank. His admiration for Scorcese is something that frequently comes up in this collection. What makes this of additional value is the attention dedicated to some of Spike's overlooked works like Bamboozled, 4 girls, and (my personal favourite) He Got Game.

[Michael Jolls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me just say, as a non-Spike Lee fan, I'm adding this to my list of all time best film books! "Spike Lee: Interviews" was put together SO well, that it really opens up the 'joints' and makes the viewing experience much richer. I really think this book is one of the best in the series.

[Stephen Gillespie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spike Lee doesn’t give that many interviews. Not really. He does the press tours but he doesn’t seem to like to engage and he is accused of being combative or prickly. From this, though, you get some real gold. It motivates this book’s approach, also, which has had to glean really good stuff.

This is a curated selection of really fascinating interviews that cover She’s Gotta Have it up to Bamboozled (my personal favourite Spike Lee film). There is some great, crunchy film detail about cinematography and process — that stuff is great — and it is also a great insight into Spike Lee being Spike Lee.

These are often heated exchanges, and often have bad interviewers saying rough things. But Lee goes for it, and strikes back. There are no platitudes or mollifying statements here, it’s all really interesting. Like his movies, even when he misses the mark he does so in a very compelling and interesting way.

A superb selection of interviews that covers so much.

[Woo Yi · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of details about what Spike Lee did and who he worked with to accomplish his filmmaking goals. I wrote a lot of notes in this book and want to go back and re-read this.

[j_ay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Up to Bamboozled.

[Molly]

spike lee is a genius