How many of you saw this when it was in theaters? During the late summer, I recall asking for reactions from you folks, but not many responded, so I'm guessing that a lot of you didn't and likely still haven't seen it. I'm also basing this on the fact that it grossed just over $338,000 in box office receipts. Obviously it didn't play wide either (its widest release was 41 theaters), which also factors into its gross.
If you didn't see it, and were interested, you should know that Spike Lee's Red Hook Summer will be out on DVD and Blu-ray via Image Entertainment’s One Village label, this Friday, December 21, 2012.
Recapping, it's synopsis reads:
RED HOOK SUMMER tells the story of Flik Royale (Jules Brown), a sullen young boy from middle-class Atlanta who has come to spend the summer with his deeply religious grandfather, Bishop Enoch Rouse (Clarke Peters), in the housing projects of Red Hook. Having never met before, things quickly get off on the wrong foot as Bishop Enoch relentlessly attempts to convert Flik into a follower of Jesus Christ. Between his grandfather's constant preaching and the culture shock of inner-city life, Flik's summer appears to be a total disaster–until he meets Chazz Morningstar (Toni Lysaith), a pretty girl his age, who shows Flik the brighter side of Brooklyn. Through her love and the love of his grandfather, Flik begins to realize that the world is a lot bigger, and perhaps a lot better, than he'd ever imagined.
I saw the film at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, as most of you know, where it stimulated lots of discussion/debate, after its premiere there. I reviewed the film as well (read my review HERE), which generated lots of conversation afterward, both on- and offline.
The 121-minute (shaved down from the 135-minute cut that premiered at Sundance) was released in theaters (via Variance Films) beginning on August 10, here in the USA. As far as I know, it hasn't opened commercially outside the USA.
I'll get to finally chat with Spike later on today, although it'll be a brief conversation, so I don't know exactly how much I'll be able to get in, but I'l do my best, and report on that conversation likely by the end of this week, so look out for that interview.
In the meantime, S&A has been given an exclusive clip from the film, ahead of its home video release this Friday, and it's embedded below. I apologize in advance for the clip being out-of-synch, but I tried several times to fix it, and it plays just fine on my laptop; however, on the upload to the web, something happens that kicks it out-of-synch. I could continue messing with it, to try and fix it, but, in the interest of time, I opted to go ahead and post as is, with this disclaimer. I've sent it over to a "pro" to try and fix for me, so if he's able to figure out what's wrong, I'll replace the clip with one that's in-synch.
Watch:
