In Hollywood, actors and directors getting together after a single collaboration can be pretty common. Tim Burton and Johnny Depp were, at one point, inseparable, and Alfred Hitchcock knew how to design his characters according to James Stewart's range. Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks' collaborative efforts transcended the screen and they even went on production adventures at one point. However, we don't talk enough about what Spike Lee and Denzel Washington made together.
Both rose to stardom during the early '90s, a time when they joined efforts to make their first movie together in 1990. Few creative blends feel as good as this one. Naturally, before they reunite for next year's remake of Kurosawa's High and Low, we took a trip down memory lane and went through their four films together. The ranking on Rotten Tomatoes was exactly like we had imagined, with one of Lee's best movies at the top of the list.
4 'Mo' Better Blues' (1990) Tomatometer: 71% - Popcornmeter: 75%
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Mo' Better Blues DramaRomanceMusicComedy
Release Date August 3, 1990 Runtime 129 minutes Cast Denzel Washington , Spike Lee , Wesley Snipes , Giancarlo Esposito , John Turturro , Charlie Murphy , Nicholas Turturro , Robin Harris , Joie Lee , Cynda Williams , Flavor Flav , Bill Nunn , Dick Anthony Williams , Samuel L. Jackson , Tracy Camilla Johns , Coati Mundi , Scot Anthony Robinson , Abbey Lincoln , Ruben Blades , Diahann Carroll , Leonard L. Thomas Expand
Mo' Better Blues follows Bleek Gilliam, a trumpet player in the Brooklyn jazz scene with a couple of personal problems. He's in love with both Indigo and Clarke, and his band, The Bleek Quintet, is going through a rough patch. The band's manager, Giant, owes money to loan sharks and this has driven him to desperate measures, affecting Bleek in the process. When Bleek tries to help Giant, an injury sends his career down the drain.
Starring Lee and Washington as Giant and Bleek, respectively, Mo' Better Blues is the best jazz film of all time. The film also stars Lee's regulars Giancarlo Esposito, John Turturro, Bill Nunn, as well as Wesley Snipes in one of his finest and most grounded performances. They all achieve a very realistic musical drama (Snipes and Washington trained with real musicians) that features the music of jazz legend Terence Blanchard. You won't be able to get the melody of the song "Mo' Better Blues" out of your head for days.
Mo' Better Blues was released a year after Do the Right Thing, Lee's 1990s masterpiece, but everyone was still celebrating the latter. Although it is a beautiful film about friendship and loyalty in the music scene, Do the Right Thing is still the one that better represents Lee's Hollywood rise.
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Posts 3 'He Got Game' (1998) Tomatometer: 80% - Popcornmeter: 83%.
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He Got Game Drama
Release Date May 1, 1998 Runtime 136 minutes Cast Denzel Washington , Ray Allen , Rosario Dawson , Milla Jovovich , Hill Harper , Ned Beatty , Jim Brown , Joseph Lyle Taylor , Bill Nunn , Michele Shay , John Turturro , Shaquille O'Neal , Charles Barkley , Michael Jordan , Jill Kelly , Chasey Lain , Robin Roberts , Scottie Pippen , Reggie Miller , Bill Walton , Dick Vitale , Bobby Cremins , Rick Pitino , Jim Boeheim , George Karl Expand
He Got Game is the story of Jake Shuttlesworth, a convict in Attica who receives quite an offer from the state: If he can convince his son Jesus to sign up for a prominent college basketball program, then the governor will release him. Jake is given the opportunity to reconnect with his estranged son. However, Jesus is still angry at his father because it was him who accidentally killed Jesus' mother after father and son had a fight.
Washington stars as Jake Shuttlesworth in one of his best films after Malcolm X, even if he's not very keen on that part of his career. He Got Game is a beautiful sports drama that also showcases Lee's screenwriting abilities without pushing for complicated plots or characters. It is a very endearing story that doesn't even need an "artificial" happy ending.
Lee's achievement in the sports drama subgenre also feels important because he was able to capture the drama of Jesus' story with the character being played by a professional athlete rather than a professional actor. NBA star Ray Allen is outstanding alongside Washington in the film, which has one of the best basketball matches in cinema.
2 'Inside Man' (2006) Tomatometer: 86% - Popcornmeter: 85%
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Inside Man
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*Availability in US Release Date March 17, 2006 Runtime 128 Cast Denzel Washington , Clive Owen , Jodie Foster , Christopher Plummer , Willem Dafoe , Chiwetel Ejiofor Main Genre Crime
Inside Man is a superb crime thriller that follows Washington's Detective Keith Frazier trying to do damage control after an incident stains his reputation. When robbers seize control of a bank, Frazier pleads to be the agent in charge of negotiating. Dalton Russell is on the other side of the phone, and he appears to be a non-violent mastermind. When "problem fixer" Madeleine White enters the picture and tries to keep a safe deposit box from being stolen, Frazier realizes there's more in store than millions of dollars.
This is one of Spike Lee's best films that he didn't actually write. Regardless, the heist gem Inside Man is a clever thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat for a little over two hours. It features a final twist that will make you want to see it again to see if you can catch a plot hole. We'll give you a hint: Russell Gewirtz's script and Lee's direction are so good, you will find nothing.
Washington joins a solid ensemble cast that includes Jodie Foster, Clive Owen, Christopher Plummer, Willem Dafoe, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, among others. It is, to this day, Spike Lee's highest-grossing movie in his entire filmography.
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Posts 1 'Malcolm X' (1992) Tomatometer: 89% - Popcornmeter: 91%
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Malcolm X
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*Availability in US Release Date November 18, 1992 Runtime 202 minutes Cast Denzel Washington , Angela Bassett , Albert Hall , Al Freeman Jr. , Delroy Lindo Main Genre Drama
In Malcolm X, Denzel Washington gives life to the African-American activist who was a key figure in the United States during the civil rights movement. The film, a 202-minute biographical epic, depicts Malcolm X's conversion to Islam after being imprisoned and his former exile from the religion when his views became too controversial. This wasn't Washington's first portrayal of the activist, as he had already played him on Broadway back then.
The film is based on Malcolm X's own autobiography, which he wrote with Alex Haley and completed shortly before his assassination. Lee landed the project, which was stuck in development hell, and completely rewrote the script (from its conception, there was controversy about a white man directing the film). Nevertheless, he kept some of the controversial themes that always surrounded the production. For example, Malcolm X's lessons of tolerance for others, instead of absolute racial segregation.
In the mini-universe of Denzel Washington's biopics, Malcolm X is undoubtedly the best. It's painful to disparage Al Pacino's performance in Scent of a Woman, but the fact that he won the Oscar for Best Actor and Washington lost is just uncanny.