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Summer of Sam (1999)
Summer of Sam is a 1999 American historical crime drama film directed and co-produced by Spike Lee, co-written by Lee, Michael Imperioli, and Victor Colicchio, and starring John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, and Mira Sorvino, with Michael Rispoli, Bebe Neuwirth, Patti LuPone, Anthony LaPaglia, and Ben Gazzara appear in supporting roles. Set in the Bronx in 1977, the film follows a group of residents in an…
Directed by Spike Lee · Shot by Ellen Kuras · Cut by Barry Alexander Brown · Music by Terence Blanchard · 136 min
How it was made
- Adrien Brody learned to play guitar to prepare for his role as the punk rocker Ritchie.
- The production filmed at the real CBGB club, with the contemporary New York punk band L.E.S. Stitches appearing on screen playing the gig.
- Marie's Beauty Lounge, the salon where Vinny works in the film, was a real, functioning salon on Morris Park Avenue in the Bronx.
- Brody's nose was broken for real during filming of the climactic fight scene in which his character is beaten by his friends.
- The MPAA threatened the film with an NC-17 rating over the Plato's Retreat orgy scene, forcing the removal of more explicit shots that had been in the original cut.
Behind the scenes
Elsewhere
More by Spike Lee
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