Summer of Sam
During the summer of 1977, a killer known as the Son of Sam keeps all of New York City on edge with a series of brutal murders. A gang makes a list of everyone they think is a freak-o. The witch-hunt is on, with an aspiring punk rocker becoming the focus of their suspicion and an easy scapegoat for their fears.
27 February 1943, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
24 November 1976, Bartow, Florida, USA
27 March 1959, New York City, New York, USA
9 September 1950, New York City, New York, USA
January 8 in Columbus, Ohio, USA
27 December 1968, Brooklyn, New York, USA
June 30, 2016
A deliberately overblown MEAN STREETS parody
August 07, 2008
The film is sloppy and ill-formed, its tone lurching drunkenly from turgid soap opera to soft-core porn, descending at times to low camp.
June 24, 2006
Trouble is, the overlong narrative, however entertaining from minute to minute, is a mess.
December 06, 2005
Whatever you think of Spike Lee, when he has the faith in his talent and material and is able to be political without the dogma, he's one of the best filmmakers to come out of America in the 1980's.
February 14, 2001
Lee is a powerful filmmaker who certainly knows how to have an impact on an audience, but those who survive his ministrations are likely to wonder if in this case the battle was worth the bruises.
April 27, 2007
This is trashy exploitation at its clumsiest. Once more, a Spike Lee movie has been undone by the earnestness of being important.
January 01, 2000
Summer of Sam scatters most of its force by straying far from the compelling, plenty-complex business at hand.
March 22, 2002
The disappointment with Summer of Sam is not that it's exploitative; it's just difficult to figure out what it's supposed to be about.
September 23, 2008
This ultimately disappoints, but it is good to see Lee branch out into subjects which don't immediately lend themselves to his single-minded politicizing.
April 09, 2005
Lee does capture the terror a serial killer can wreak upon the community, but his concentration on the weak characters hurts in the long run.
September 23, 2008
Like most of Lee's work, this bites off more than it can chew, but the breadth and energy are impressive.
May 26, 2006
I needed stronger and more balanced characters to really care what happened.
