Best Spike Lee Movies

Lifestyle - Listing

by Birsen Oray

Spike Lee was born on March 20, 1957 in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of a teacher and a jazz musician. “Spike”, the nickname his mother gave to Shelton Jackson Lee during his childhood years, became the name on which the successful director built his career. Spike Lee, who shot his first movie during his college years, completed his education life with a master's degree in film and television. He won the Student Academy Award with the short film he shot as his master's thesis.

Spike Lee showed his perspective as a director with his first feature film “She's Gotta Have It”, which was released in 1986. After his critically acclaimed movie project, he directed a music video for Miles Davis and paved the way for his career for many years to come. Spike Lee has sat in the director's chair of music videos for numerous singers throughout his career, including legendary names such as Tracy Chapman, Stevie Wonder, Eros Ramazzotti and Michael Jackson.

An important springboard in Spike Lee's career, 1989's “Do the Right Thing” earned him his first Oscar nomination. However, this nomination did not come, as many expected, for Best Picture or Best Director. He managed to come back to the agenda with the movie “Jungle Fever”, which he wrote, starred in and directed in 1991. A year later, he wrote and directed the movie “Malcolm X”. We watched Spike Lee's successful acting performance again in this movie.

Spike Lee's 1997 documentary “4 Little Girls” was nominated for an Oscar. Spike Lee has consistently maintained his versatility throughout his career. Spike Lee, who pays attention to a work of art in each of his projects, is a director who does not hesitate to say what he wants to say in any of his productions. Spike Lee, who has directed movies in many different genres, from biography to comedy, from action to romance, demonstrates his versatility at this point as well.

Spike Lee received the Honorary Award, a lifetime achievement award from the Academy, in 2016. Three years after this award, he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2019 for the movie “BlacKkKlansman”. The most outstanding aspect of Spike Lee, who has also signed off on successful projects as a writer, producer and actor, has always been his directing ability. Season ticket holder since 1985, Spike Lee is well-known as a New York Knicks fan.

Spike Lee, a director who succeeded in bringing the actors in his movies to Oscar nominations, has many productions in his career that he directed, produced, wrote and acted in. I wanted to bring together the best Spike Lee movies and focused on the movies that he was in the director's chair. I have selected the best movies directed by Spike Lee and made a list for you. Let's take a look at the best Spike Lee movies that built Spike Lee's career step by step.