Summer of Sam

Summer of Sam (1999)

65%
522votes
3popularity
142min

"No one is safe from Son of Sam."
Budget:$22,000,000
Revenue:$19,288,130
Release:6/28/1999
Genres:Crime | Drama | Thriller
Original language:English
Spoken languages:Italian | English
Countries:United States of America

Overview:

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 Bronx neighborhood who live in fear and distrust of one another.… Expand

Production companies:

40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks
United States of America
Touchstone Pictures
United States of America

Cast

Cast

Videos

Summer of Sam (1999) ORIGINAL TRAILER
3/27/2024Trailer

Videos

Recommendations

Movie
1990
74%
The Godfather Part III
Movie
1974
86%
The Godfather Part II
Movie
1993
79%
A Bronx Tale
Movie
2021
63%
The Many Saints of Newark
Movie
2025
68%
Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer
Movie
1980
69%
Gloria
Movie
2013
61%
Blood Ties
Movie
2000
60%
Shaft
Movie
1973
71%
Mean Streets
Movie
1984
84%
Once Upon a Time in America
Movie
1989
78%
Do the Right Thing
Movie
1993
78%
Carlito's Way
Movie
2015
62%
A Bigger Splash
Movie
2023
62%
Somewhere in Queens
Movie
1999
72%
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Movie
1990
69%
State of Grace
Movie
1976
58%
God Told Me To
Movie
2019
64%
Luce
Movie
1980
66%
Cruising
Movie
1975
78%
Dog Day Afternoon

Recommendations

Reviews

80%
John Chard
- Created:3/28/2020
- Updated:5/16/2024
There's a homicidal maniac wandering around the neighbourhood. You don't want to do anything about it? Summer of Sam is directed by Spike Lee and Lee co-writes the screenplay with Victor Colicchio and Michael Imperioli. It stars John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino, Jennifer Esposito, Michael Rispoli, Saverio Guerra, Brian Tarantina, Al Palagonia, Ken Garito, Bebe Neuwirth and Michael Badalucco. Music is by Terence Blanchard and cinematography by Ellen Duras. It was met with some indifference upon release, for many film fans went into it expecting another "Se7en" type serial killer thriller. What we get is Spike Lee doing a clinical character piece of how the residents in a South Bronx neighbourhood react to having a serial killer in their midst. It's 1977 and it's the time of the "Son of Sam" murders in New York City, mistrust and vile character traits start to come to the fore... Lets face it, Spike Lee is often about as subtle as a sledgehammer over the head, but when it comes to characterisations - particularly when it comes to New York - he's one of the best around. He positively revels in dropping a group of unsound characters into a pressure cooker atmosphere and let them play out their respective human fallibilities. Who else could run a concurrent strand of a serial killer with a serial adulterer and produce such edgy and sly rewards?. The musical backdrop to the plotting gives us the move from disco into the punk explosion, with the juxtaposition between good friends - Leguizamo's disco dancing philanderer and Brody's (excellent) punk rocker turning gay tricks to pay for his musical aspirations - proving to be more pivotal than "Son of Sam" (Badalucco off the chain) himself. All while the "hood" lowlifes gather themselves as an army to seek out the serial killer themselves, which unfortunately means anyone remotely not in their circle of friends is a suspect!. It's no Lee masterpiece, for it's a touch too long and could have been trimmed by 15 minutes of pointless sexual exposition, while it sometimes feels like Lee is stuck between blaxploitation verve and mainstream appeasing ticket selling. Yet it's a bold piece of film making, with some genuinely jaw dropping sequences within. Prepare for a film that's big on characters during the reign of a serial killer and you might just appreciate Summer of Sam much more. 8/10… Expand

Filmoteka

Summer of Sam (1999)

Cast

Cast

Videos

Videos

Recommendations

Recommendations

Reviews

Reviews

Videos

Reviews

Recommendations