Where to watch Summer of Sam online

Storyline

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.

Released

1999-06-28
Revenue

$19,288,130
Budget

$22,000,000
Runtime

2hr 22m
Genre

Crime, Drama, Thriller
Status

Released
Language

English, Italiano
6.7
Production

40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, Touchstone Pictures

Crew

Spike Lee

Director

Michael Imperioli

Writer

Jon Kilik

Producer

Keywords:

distrust italian american 1970s paranoia intolerance punk rock serial killer summer bigotry bronx, new york city son of sam desperate

Stream and watch Summer of Sam

similar movies

Low Down

Policewoman

Willenbrock

Do the Right Thing

Halloween

Dirty Harry

Pray for the Hunters

Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead

Driving Miss Daisy

Popular Music

Caché

A Beautiful Mind

Pi

Drugstore Cowboy

Shaft

Monster

M

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The Color Purple

A History of Violence

Cast

Videos and Photos

Movie Reviews

Reviews for Summer of Sam

A Review by John Chard 8

Written by John Chard on 2020-03-28

There's a homicidal maniac wandering around the neighbourhood. You don't want to do anything about it? Summer of Sam is directed by Spik... read more

There's a homicidal maniac wandering around the neighbourhood. You don't want to do anything about it? Summer of Sam is directed by Spike Lee and Lee co-writes the screenplay with Victor Colicchio and Michael Imperioli. It stars John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino, Jennifer Esposito, Michael Rispoli, Saverio Guerra, Brian Tarantina, Al Palagonia, Ken Garito, Bebe Neuwirth and Michael Badalucco. Music is by Terence Blanchard and cinematography by Ellen Duras. It was met with some indifference upon release, for many film fans went into it expecting another "Se7en" type serial killer thriller. What we get is Spike Lee doing a clinical character piece of how the residents in a South Bronx neighbourhood react to having a serial killer in their midst. It's 1977 and it's the time of the "Son of Sam" murders in New York City, mistrust and vile character traits start to come to the fore... Lets face it, Spike Lee is often about as subtle as a sledgehammer over the head, but when it comes to characterisations - particularly when it comes to New York - he's one of the best around. He positively revels in dropping a group of unsound characters into a pressure cooker atmosphere and let them play out their respective human fallibilities. Who else could run a concurrent strand of a serial killer with a serial adulterer and produce such edgy and sly rewards?. The musical backdrop to the plotting gives us the move from disco into the punk explosion, with the juxtaposition between good friends - Leguizamo's disco dancing philanderer and Brody's (excellent) punk rocker turning gay tricks to pay for his musical aspirations - proving to be more pivotal than "Son of Sam" (Badalucco off the chain) himself. All while the "hood" lowlifes gather themselves as an army to seek out the serial killer themselves, which unfortunately means anyone remotely not in their circle of friends is a suspect!. It's no Lee masterpiece, for it's a touch too long and could have been trimmed by 15 minutes of pointless sexual exposition, while it sometimes feels like Lee is stuck between blaxploitation verve and mainstream appeasing ticket selling. Yet it's a bold piece of film making, with some genuinely jaw dropping sequences within. Prepare for a film that's big on characters during the reign of a serial killer and you might just appreciate Summer of Sam much more. 8/10

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)

A Review by John Chard

A Review by John Chard 8

Written by John Chard on 2020-03-28

There's a homicidal maniac wandering around the neighbourhood. You don't want to do anything about it? Summer of Sam is directed by Spike Lee and Lee co-writes the screenplay with Victor Colicchio...