Spike Lee and Denzel Washington reunited for the first time since 1992’s Malcolm X for this searing family drama. Washington plays an ex-con who pins his hopes on his estranged son, a high school basketball star (real-life NBA pro Ray Allen). Lee’s unusually eclectic music choices for the film feature both new songs by Public Enemy and the classic orchestral Americana of Aaron Copland.

DIRECTOR: Spike Lee. WRITTEN BY: Spike Lee. CAST: Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Milla Jovovich, Rosario Dawson. 1998. 136 min. USA. Color. English. 35mm.

All film screenings in the Director’s Inspiration: Spike Lee series are available here.  

Academy Museum film programming generously funded by the Richard Roth Foundation.