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Summer Of Sam

New York, Summer 1977 and, in addition to one of the hottest heat waves the city has ever experienced, David Berkowitz - The Son of Sam - prowls the neighbourhoods for over a year killing indescrimately. However, although Berkowitz' activities form the central backdrop to the story, the film is far more interesting, presenting as it does more of a snapshot of neighbourhood life at the time. Director Spike Lee is an acknowledged master of the genre (whose work is akin to that of Britain's Mike Leigh) and he utilises the usual elements to reinforce his points. A montage of genuine footage and news reports interject with the story of John Leguizamo's (Vinny) adulterous marriage to Mira Sorvino and his best friend Adrien Brody (Richie, complete with awful English accent early in the film). Richie is a bi-sexual-by-convenience punk rocker who is totally misunderstood and eventually outcast by the low-life neighbourhood wise-guys, ultimately becoming their target as the most likely Son of Sam suspect. Vinny's divided loyalties to both the local bone-heads in regard his friend Richie and the consequences of his numerous affairs once uncovered by his wife nicely heighten the personal tension felt by the whole community. And the understandable paranoia is all here: the rush for brunettes to turn blonde overnight (Berkowitx seemed to favour the murder of dark haired individuals), the local cops forming an unholy alliance with the neighbourhood Godfather for help in the case, the heat wave and ensuing blackout that led to widespread looting, fingers being pointed by everyone at anyone for the most tenuous of reasons. A smouldering melting-pot then of story-telling, nostalgia and, indeed, fear. Berkowitz' crimes are summarised by sledgehammer inserts which, although brief, do truly shock and Lee takes time out to give a brief insight into the madness that spurned him on, right down to the infamous black dog he purported as telling him to "kill, kill, kill"! With a film score utilising Club hits of the day (disco, disco, disco!), the obligatory punk workout and even some tracks from The Who (who we could take issue with as being proclaimed "The Fathers of Punk" but as Lee wasn't in the UK when Punk was born we can let this slide, just this once), there's some nice touches with cameo slots given over to the Studio 54 and Platos Retreat scenes. All in all, this is another solid accomplishment from Lee that not only does justice to a number of entwining stories but is also an accomplished piece of nostalgia. Way above average, this definitely deserves two hours of your attention. The Mad Ferret, London, England

Treacherous Title, Talky Script

I wish Spike Lee had chosen a different title for his film. "Summer Of Sam" conveys the impression that the film is about the infamous serial killer, David Berkowitz. It's not. It's a gritty, earthy portrait of NYC street life during the hot summer of '77 when Berkowitz terrorized that city.The film follows several young fictional characters in an Italian-American neighborhood, and their reactions to the Son of Sam threat. There's Vinny and his wife Dionna; there's Richie and Ruby, and several other characters.The problem is that these characters are not likable. They are routinely annoying, and at times unbearable. Lee then belabors their high energy, chaotic lives, which are filled with anger, lust, and general turmoil. There are at least two protracted fight scenes between Vinny and his wife, redundant disco dance scenes, countless gabfests ... Over and over I kept wondering: where's the film editor?Meanwhile, with all that bulk, the film passes up the chance to convey any real sense of fear or dread arising from the Son of Sam menace, which is too much in the background. Lee is more successful at showing a different kind of menace, that arising from neighborhood vigilante groups.The acting is uniformly good. That, combined with 70's disco music, and lavish attention to costumes and production design, make you really feel like you are in an Italian-American neighborhood in NYC in 1977.The film's atmospheric authenticity, however, is not nearly enough to offset a rambling, overblown script about the lives of grossly irritating people.

...but what I'd really like to do is ACT."

It seems other viewers have pretty much covered this film. I'd just like to say to Mr. Lee: "Stay out of your movies please!" Even though this film was not perfect, it does try to put the viewer in a time and a place. So why does Spike show up as a "TV reporter" who can't act his way out of a paper bag? As soon as he starts talking, I'm no longer in 1977, I'm watching Spike try to act. I mean, when he's interviewing non-actors on the street, he comes off as a worse actor than any of them! Is that on purpose?

fantastic

The best film of this year so far. Lee does a fantastic job of looking at a NYC neighborhood and keeping the Son of Sam murders an underlying theme of the film. A must see..

This movie was a waste of my time and money

I am an Italian-American from the Bronx and this movie was filmed 5 minutes from my house. I was even going to be an extra in the film, but i was away during the filming. Since I wasn't alive during the time period when the movie took place, I was hoping to see a good movie about the fear that my neighborhood had in the 70's. I was wrong. First of all, John Leguizamo is not even italian. He is hispanic. Thank you Spike Lee for having a hispanic play an italian-american. Aren't there enough Italian actors?? Second of all, the movie didn't even have ONE normal person in it. I think that the Bronx and New York in general have enough negative stereotypes associated with it that we don't need these wackos representing our neighborhood. If you want to see a GREAT movie about Italians in the Bronx, rent "A Bronx Tale". Summer of Sam was a great disappointment. I learned more about the summer of 1977 by talking with my mom for 5 minutes than I did for watching this movie.

Heat Waves, Black Labs, and Disco

Summer of Sam is a film about the events of the last few New York summers of the seventies, and the bizzare killing spree of the .44 caliber killer. But while the portrayal of David Berkowitz is spectacular and, I immagine, realistic, and while Spike Lee captured the intesity of these events, the film is not really about the Son of Sam himself.

In fact, this film is probably closer to a film like The Last Days of Disco, than a work like Silence of the Lambs. And while Son of Sam is the catalyst for much of the film's action, the decadent freedom of the seventies is the real main character.

Spike Lee does an excelent job of paralleling the madness and the frenzy of David Berkowitz with that of the disco age in NYC. The complexity of a generation in the middle of a burnout is also well captured with a fine attention to detail that is comparable to even that of the New York kid, Martin Scorcesse, himself. The thing that really surprised me about the direction was that it was done by Spike Lee. While I do think Spike's "Joints" are masterful, they have a distinctly different flavor to them.

Overall, this is a powerfully well made film with an amazing young cast and some of the best "frenzy" cinematography I have seen in a long time. And while I can find some fault with some of the finer points of the writing, I wholeheartedly reccoment this film. After all, how often does the Who's "We won't get fooled again" appear in a film from 40 Acres and a Mule Productions.

Also, watch for Spike's near perfect, somewhat self deprecating cameo and the one point in the film where the audience is sudenly forced into the film's world.

MR_GFUNK@YAHOO.COM 3/3/00

Spike Lee is not at his best

Roger Ebert liked it and gave it 3 1/5 stars. I thought it was boring. Positive side: very stylish, great soundtrack. Negative side: I watched it carefully but can only GUESS what it is (exactly) about.
Highly recommended for Spike Lee's fans, not recommended for people looking for a very entertaining movie.

Yuck, yuck, yuck (And did I mention yuck?)

Summer of Sam had some interesting components and the potential to be a good movie, but it had too much going against it. First of all, I was put off by the unnecessary and gratuitous sexual content and the use of the F-word every two seconds. There were way too many subplots involving blatantly stereotypical characters, and as a result the movie seemed to drag on forever. The only good thing about the it was the performance of Adrien Brody, but some aspects of his storyline seemed pointless and almost embarrassing. Also, Spike Lee should have thought twice about casting himself, even in a bit part: he spoke v-e-r-y
s-l-o-w-l-y (seemingly because he can't remember what he's supposed to say)which made him very unrealistic as a reporter covering a hot story. Summer of Sam is not a horrible movie, but you need a strong stomach and the patience to try and make sense of it all.

From bad to worse...

This is definitely the worse movie of the summer because one of several things. Spike Lee who wields his authority as a director like a gun is expected to meet a high standard with his films and maybe its our fault in expecting too much. Summer of Sam was by a landslide a failure even though it had a big name director like Spike Lee. Yet while Summer of Sam was largely stylistic, its a wasted effort in that it has no other redeemable quality. Its mixture of sex and violence is perhaps too much. Spike Lee is relentless is exploiting the limits of an R-rating. Meanwhile this movie seems to be trying to paint a picture of an atmosphere -a period flick of the paranoid, heat-struck underbelly of New York. From references to NWOBR and punk, to vigilante Italians, to sexual deviants, this movie does no one a favor in arguing their case. If he wasn't, then why the emphasis and focus? Maybe it was the over-extended focus on several characters that made the movie unable to communicate the intended message. Maybe it was the shoddy story-plotting that made this movie...tiring. As for the lead roles, it was a weak case for both Mira Sorvino and John Leguizamo. Their stories seem to loosely and barely stitched together with the Son of Sam story. Adrien Brody though, manages to make a startling performance. Spike Lee however, made first year mistakes in the approach of the movie. David Berkowitz, the 44-Caliber Killer, Son of Sam in fact confessed that his insanity was a ploy long instigated to escape punishment through the Mnaughten Rule. While in one scene, Spike Lee with special effects (not a subtle mix) portrays David Berkowitz as succumbing to his demons. In this instance, the demon being a talking demon-dog. This would be an admission by Spike Lee that is not altogether true and totally an interpretation contrary to fact. I saw this movie twice just to be sure that I didn't like it and in both instances, seventy-five percent of the crowd left. A teenager responded once, "this movie was a F--cking porno..." And even then, as I asked him if he had like the movie or not he responded, "no." But I admit I like the soundtrack.

Flawed film, great ensemble performances

As he often does, Spike Lee has crafted a movie containing moments of brilliance, offset by moments of self-indulgent excess. The "Son of Sam" murders are graphically violent, but well-filmed (particularly in the case of the victim who tried in vain to shield herself with a book)...which would be an admirable achievement, if this were based on fiction and not fact.
These are young people who really died, and it disturbs me that the cinematography and editing of their murders was more involving than the tragedy of their fates. The victims remain anonymous...even the closing credits offer no more identification than "Woman in Car," "Woman Victim," etc. (And with so many of them, these vague descriptions don't even help the viewer distinguish which actress played which victim!) Donna Lauria, Christine Freund, Virginia Voskerichian, Alexander Esau, Valentina Suriani, and Stacy Moskowitz, as well as the survivors of Berkowitz' attacks, all deserve better than that.That said, the performances of the ensemble cast are consistently excellent, with Adrien Brody a standout as the young man whose punk lifestyle makes him a suspect in the eyes of his friends.The "vigilante squad" subplot is interesting...although it's not spelled out explicitly, it seems clear to me that these guys are not so much interested in catching the killer as they are in using the murders as an excuse to harass anyone they don't like. A fascinating depiction of mob hysteria.

Very Average

I Feel Spike Lee is a Film Genius but he has had Duds.and this is one of them.This Film Trys Too Hard Too Capture a TIme PEriod.if i didn't know that this was about The Son Of Sam',I would have thought this was a 2nd tier take or Spoof on Boogie Nights.John Leguizamo is still one of the most Underrated Actors Today.He does really well here also Mira Sorvino&Michael Rispoli.but alot of the film is Missing Structure.also since Girl 6 Spike has Gotten caught up in the Music Video aspect.way Overplaying music here too fit a Scene.sometimes it works but often it doesn't.Still I Give Him Credit for always trying something different but Knowing the Spike Pattern his Next Film will Be Real Good.

Very good Spike Lee and cast members are brilliant

Spike Lee has another hit. Mira Sorvino, John Leguizamo and Adrian Brody are very convicing! The story is very intreging and the script is believable. One of the best movies if not the best movie ever.

A dark, powerful movie...

Yes, I know that people complain about the lack of David Berkowitz in this movie, but just because the whole movie didn't show him shooting everyone is no reason to bag the movie.

This movie shows what it was like to live in N.Y in the summer of '77. Lovers were cheating on each other at the drop of a hat, punk rock was still in its youth, disco was on its way out, being bleach-blonde was at its height of fashion, and EVERYBODY was living in total fear.

I know people complain about the sex scenes & the huge amount of swearing in the movie, but I can only remember 1 sex scene that was actually worth complaining about. As for the swearing, I remember hearing twice as much in "Pulp fiction", but no-one ever complained about that.

If you're expecting a gory movie with lots of blood and guts,I advise u not to watch this because there is not much of that. But if you want a powerful, well-filmed & well-written movie, then this is definatley for you.

What was Spike Lee thinking?

I am in disbelief at what the other reviewers have written. Perhaps we watched different films? This has to be one of the worst films I have ever seen. I was thoroughly disappointed, especially since this is a Spike Lee film. While the actors gave stellar performances, you can only do so much with so little. Adrien Brody was excellent playing the only character of any depth. Every stereotype, good or bad, of a NY'er and/or an Italian is depicted in this film. It does nothing to shatter the image, it perpetuates and exaggerates it. For example, if I had a dime for everytime the F-word was used, I could retire at 25.

This movie is disjointed and the characters are unsympathetic. The plot does not involve the audience and seemingly goes nowhere. My greatest concern through the movie was not about the characters and what will happen next, but wondering when will this movie end? It just kept going and going, with no end in sight. The only saving grace was Spike Lee's paper cut-out portrayal of a local New York news figure, John Jeffries- a caricature of real life John Johnson of ABC. As a Long Islander, I enjoyed that trip down memory lane, but even that couldn't outweigh how bad this movie was. I am sorry I gave up 140 minutes of my life for this drivel.

a filmmaker brave enough to make movies about something

I greatly enjoyed this movie and admired Spike Lee's continuing courage in making dense, intelligent, challenging films. At a time when filmmakers get all their ideas from other movies(Tarantino and his copycats) or make movies about nothing (the Michael Bays and virtually every other director in Hollywood), Spike gets his ideas from real life, from society, from how you and I interact with each other.The critics should praise such a valuable artist rather than take cheap shots at him. This movie is no more anti-Italian than Saturday Night Fever, which contained much of the same behavior and was also directed by a non-Italian. Keep 'em coming, Spike!

This film was tedious

What a waste of time this film was. Its director, Spike Lee, seems to have an obsession with Italian American people. This is probably the third film that he's made dealing with them. Um, is somebody infatuated? Spike's direction is okay, but his acting is lousy (he should have done a walk-on like Alfred Hitchcock used to do)! With the proper make-up on, the actor John Leguizamo (who plays Vinny in the film) does manage to look like an Italian American. Kudos to his make-up artist. The film became painfully boring, especially during its final quarter, because it was overlong and didn't stick to one theme. In fact, it had little to do with Sam and seemed more like a sloppy, amateurish attempt at Italian soap opera. If you want good drama about Italian people then watch "The Godfather Saga" or "The Soprano's", instead!

One of my al time favorites!

I saw the movie in theaters and thouroughly enjoyed it! The incorporation of the music into the plot is wonderful and adds to the film's overall excellence. I pre-purchased this DVD and have been waiting impatiently for it to ship! I also purchased the soundtrack, when it was released, which is a great survey of the music from that time.

Perhaps Lee's weakest film but still of value

Spike Lee's long, flawed, frustrating, and compelling film Summer of Sam deals with the summer of '77 of New York City. As the city suffers from a sweltering heat wave, a serial killer who calls himself Son of Sam wanders through the night killing dark-haired women. Punk rock, the newest English import, takes a hold on disenfranchished youth who gather at the Mud Club while the decadent party at Studio 54 enters its own wasteful decline. This is the society that Lee recreates in this film and if that sounds like a huge subject, it is. The film often feels disorganized and seems, at times, to be wandering as aimlessly as its leading characters. But -- so what!? Spike Lee is one of our greatest filmmakers. A lot of people dislike Spike Lee -- he's young, rich, arrogant, and cocky. These are traits that would make a white artist an antihero. However, an African-American artist is expected to fulfill some sort of white liberal ideal of sainthood and when he fails to live up to the image of Sidney Poitier, he's resented. Therefore, Lee's films have always been attacked with a certain glee; a hope that Lee will turn out to be untalented. Summer of Sam was no different.

Well, its not a perfect film. There are flaws -- the huge cast is full of one dimensional characters and the choice of John Leguizamo to play the film's central character -- a womanizing hairdresser wracked with Catholic guilt -- was a huge mistake. Leguizamo is simply too goofy to be a compelling hero. As well, the Son of Sam aspect is never credible. Michael Balducci's performance makes him to obvious a psycho whereas the real of Son of Sam was so disturbing precisely because he looked like any other anonymous nerd. As well, actually having a dog come on screen and tell him to kill wasn't a good idea. Especially since the dog speaks with John Turturro's voice. (Doesn't help that Turturro uses the same accent he used in The Big Lebowski).

However, the film features a brilliant performance from Adrien Brody as a former Italian street kid turned punk rocker and especially Mira Sorvino who plays Leguizamo's young wife and has never been sexier or more touchingly vulnerable. For once, she allows her icy facade to melt away. But in the end, this film isn't about characters. Its about New York -- a city that Lee knows and loves. As a director, Lee knows how to shoot the streets of New York and its Lee's vision of sweltering streets on the verge of exploding that give this film, whatever its flaws, a power that keeps you watching.

Lastly, it is true that this was the first film Lee made where the main characters were all white. This got a lot of attention and no one seemed to realize how truly offensive it was that, with all his obvious ability, the only coverage given to this film was that a black director made a film about white people. Nobody ever seems troubled when a white director, such as Norman Jewison, presumes to make films about the "black experience" in America -- even though those films inetivably reduce their black characters to bland, comforting stereotypes. At least Lee is willing to let his white characters come across as human beings.

Superb movie all around

This brilliant movie uses the Son of Sam murders as a backdrop to a riveting tale about the lives of ordinary people struggling to get by when an entire city is held hostage by terror. John Leguizamo is amazing in the lead role, adroitly capturing all facets of his character. The audience is forced to love and hate the character, pity and admonish him. He's a good person who makes stupid choices and gets in way over his head. Sounds like the perfect everyman to me!Adrien Brody is likewise magnificent. His character's tortured intellect is both striking and foolish; a difficult dichotomy to carry off so well.I watched this primarily to see Anthony LaPaglia, but unfortunately, he's not in it that much. His brief scenes are good, though.

"What took you so long?"- David Berkowitz

In the Summer of 1977, the .44 Caliber Killer, also called the Son of Sam ruled the streets of New York City. Similar to the Zodiac Killer of the 1960s, the Son of Sam shot couples and sent letters to the police and media. After a year and a half of bloodshed, the Son of Sam was finally identified as David Berkowitz.This historical fiction film does not follow the killer itself, but is about a fictional group of friends who live in 1977 the Bronx, one of Berkowitz's hunting grounds. Vinny (John Leguizamo) is the main character, he is an unfaithful hair-dresser married to Dionna (Mira Sorvino). Soon Vinny, his friends, and the Mafia begin to set their sights on Vinny's friend Richie (Adrien Brody), who's lifestyle and dress-sense attracts their attention.Don't get turned off if you want to see the killer more, he is a focus of the story. In between interactions you see David Berkowitz (Michael Badalucco) battle his demons and the story also makes reference to the infamous "dog made me do it" story. Badalucco does a great job in his rather short screen time.This captures the atmosphere of the 1970s very well. It also paints a great picture of how massive chaos and paranoia can be created by one man and ruin many lives. Director Spike Lee is backed by a superb cast, great sets, and a great storyline. This is probably one of the best crime-dramas I have ever seen.