- Clockers (film)
-
Clockers 
Directed by Spike Lee Produced by Jon Kilik
Spike Lee
Martin ScorseseWritten by Screenplay:
Richard Price
Spike Lee
Novel:
Richard PriceStarring Harvey Keitel
John Turturro
Delroy Lindo
Mekhi PhiferMusic by Terence Blanchard Cinematography Malik Hassan Sayeed Editing by Samuel D. Pollard Studio 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks Distributed by Universal Pictures Release date(s) September 13, 1995 Running time 128 minutes Language English Budget $25,000,000 (est.) Box office $13,071,518 Clockers is a 1995 thriller film directed by Spike Lee. The screenplay, written by Lee and Richard Price, is based on Price's novel of the same name. The film stars Mekhi Phifer in his first role.
Contents
Plot summary
In a Brooklyn housing project, a group of "clockers" - street-level drug dealers - sell drugs for Rodney Little (Delroy Lindo), a local drug lord. Rodney tells Ronald "Strike" Dunham (Mekhi Phifer), one of his lead clockers, that another dealer, Darryl Adams (Steve White), is stealing from him and "got to be got", implying that he wants Strike to kill Darryl. Strike then meets with his brother, Victor Dunham (Isaiah Washington) and tries to persuade Victor to kill Darryl Adams.
Rocco Klein (Harvey Keitel) and Larry Mazilli (John Turturro), homicide detectives, ride to the scene of Darryl Adams' murder. Larry and Rocco receive a phone call from another detective who says a man has confessed at a local church that he killed Darryl. The police meet Strike's older brother Victor at the church and take him in for questioning. In the interrogation room, Victor tells Rocco that he shot Darryl Adams in self-defense. Rocco finds holes in this story and starts looking into Victor's background which includes two jobs, a wife, two children, no criminal record, and aspirations to move out of the projects; Rocco comes to the conclusion that Victor is covering for his younger brother.
Rocco pressures Strike but Victor sticks to his story, so Rocco convinces Rodney that Strike has confessed and informed on Rodney's drug ring. Rocco arrests Rodney and then humiliates Strike in front of his crew. Strike gets together some money and decides to leave town, but a younger boy who admired Strike shoots Errol, Rodney's enforcer, with Strike's gun. Rocco lets Strike leave town.
Reception
The film received generally positive reviews. Roger Ebert gave the movie a three-and-a-half stars,[1] and it earned a 67% "fresh" rating from Rotten Tomatoes.[2] The movie (along with the novel) would foreshadow similar projects, such as The Wire, for which author/screenwriter Richard Price is also a writer and Fredro Starr and Hassan Johnson cast members.[citation needed]
Film poster
Critics and film buffs were quick to notice that the poster, designed by Art Sims, was similar to Saul Bass' art for Otto Preminger's 1959 film Anatomy of a Murder. Sims claimed that it was a homage, but Bass regarded it as a rip-off.[3]
Cast
- Harvey Keitel — Det. Rocco Klein
- John Turturro — Det. Larry Mazilli
- Delroy Lindo — Rodney Little
- Sticky Fingaz — Scientific
- Mekhi Phifer — Ronald 'Strike' Dunham
- Isaiah Washington — Victor Dunham
- Keith David — André the Giant
- Pee Wee Love — Tyrone 'Shorty' Jeter
- Regina Taylor — Iris Jeeter
- Fredro Starr — Go
- Elvis Nolasco — Horace
- Thomas Jefferson Byrd — Errol Barnes
- Lawrence B. Adisa — Stan
- Hassan Johnson — Skills
- Frances Foster — Gloria
- Michael Imperioli — Detective Jo-Jo
- Mike Starr — Thumper
- Lisa Arrindell Anderson - Sharon
- Brandon Jay McLaren — Johnny
Soundtrack
Title Composer Performer "People in Search of a Life" Raymond Jones Marc Dorsey "Children of the Ghetto" Christopher Amoo & Edward Amoo Philip Bailey "Reality Check" Branford Marsalis and Ricky Dacosta Buckshot Lefonque "Silent Hero" Des'ree and Prince Sampson Des'ree "Changes" Gordon Chambers & Ike Lee III Marc Dorsey "Reality" Duron Edwards & Shawn McFadden Brooklynytes "Sex Soldier" George Kahni & Mekael Henningham Rebelz of Authority "Love Me Still" Chaka Khan and Bruce Hornsby "Crazy" Seal "Bird of Freedom" Seal "Blast of the Iron" Rebelz of Authority and Salaam Remi Gibbs Rebelz of Authority "Newborn Friend" Seal "Outta Here" Lawrence Parker and DJ Premier KRS-One "Survival of the Fittest/Return of the Crooklyn Dodgers" Chubb Rock O.C., Jeru The Damaja and DJ Premier Crooklyn Dodgers '95 "Illa Killa" Rasheed Brown Strictly Difficult "Bad Boy No Go a Jail" Monk Higgins and Garth Williams Mega Banton "Posidrive" John Fiddy John Fiddy and Sammy Burdson References
- ^ http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19950913/REVIEWS/509130301/1023
- ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/clockers/
- ^ Schaefer, Stephen (1995-09-08). "Poster Imposter | News". EW.com. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,298637,00.html. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
External links
Films directed by Spike Lee 1980s 1990s Mo' Better Blues (1990) · Jungle Fever (1991) · Malcolm X (1992) · Crooklyn (1994) · Clockers (1995) · Girl 6 (1996) · Get on the Bus (1996) · He Got Game (1998) · Summer of Sam (1999)2000s Bamboozled (2000) · 25th Hour (2002) · She Hate Me (2004) · Inside Man (2006) · Miracle at St. Anna (2008)2010s Red Hook SummerDocumentaries 4 Little Girls (1997) · Freak (1998) · Pavarotti and Friends for the Children of Liberia (1998) · Pavarotti and Friends for Guatemala and Kosovo (1999) · The Original Kings of Comedy (2000) · A Huey P. Newton Story (2001) · The Concert for New York City (2001) · Jim Brown: All-American (2002) · When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006) · Kobe Doin' Work (2009) · Passing Strange (2009) · If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise (2010)Short films Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983) · Lumière and Company (1995) · Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002) · All the Invisible Children (2005)Television Related Martin Scorsese filmography 1960s 1970s Boxcar Bertha (1972) • Mean Streets (1973) • Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) • Taxi Driver (1976) • New York, New York (1977)1980s Raging Bull (1980) • The King of Comedy (1983) • After Hours (1985) • The Color of Money (1986) • The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)1990s Goodfellas (1990) • Cape Fear (1991) • The Age of Innocence (1993) • Casino (1995) • Kundun (1997) • Bringing Out the Dead (1999)2000s Gangs of New York (2002) • The Aviator (2004) • The Departed (2006)2010s Shutter Island (2010) • Hugo (2011)Short films What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? (1963) • It's Not Just You, Murray! (1964) • The Big Shave (1967) • Bad (1987) • Life Lessons (1989) • Made in Milan (1990) • The Key to Reserva (2007)Documentaries Street Scenes (1970) • Italianamerican (1974) • American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince (1978) • The Last Waltz (1978) • A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995) • My Voyage to Italy (1999) • The Blues: Feel Like Going Home (2003) • No Direction Home (2005) • Shine a Light (2008) • A Letter to Elia (2010) • Public Speaking (2010) • George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011)Produced The Grifters (1990) • Mad Dog and Glory (1993) • Clockers (1995) • The Hi-Lo Country (1998) • You Can Count on Me (2000) • Nyfes (2004) • The Young Victoria (2009) • Boardwalk Empire (2010–present)Categories:- 1990s drama films
- 1995 films
- 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks films
- African American films
- American coming-of-age films
- American crime drama films
- Drug-related films
- English-language films
- Films directed by Spike Lee
- Films set in Brooklyn
- Films shot in New York City
- Films shot in New Mexico
- Hip hop films
- Hood films
- Universal Pictures films
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