# The best Spike Lee movies

From Do the Right Thing to BlacKkKlansman: Spike Lee's films ranked (Paste, Awards Radar, Rotten Tomatoes, Films Fatale).

- 35 votes · 12 items
- Oct 1, 2026 · reelfan_boston
- https://even.best/en/l/2036/the-best-spike-lee-movies

## Top 12

1. **Clockers (1995)** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — A young dealer and a homicide detective, from Richard Price.
2. **Malcolm X (1992)** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Anchored by Denzel Washington's powerful performance.
3. **25th Hour (2002)** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Edward Norton's last day of freedom in post-9/11 New York.
4. **BlacKkKlansman (2018)** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — A Black cop infiltrates the Ku Klux Klan.
5. **Inside Man (2006)** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — An energetic, clever bank-heist thriller.
6. **David Byrne's American Utopia (2020)** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — His concert film, top of his Tomatometer ranking.
7. **Do the Right Thing (1989)** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — The hottest day of the year in Bed-Stuy; his magnum opus.
8. **Da 5 Bloods (2020)** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Vietnam veterans return for their fallen leader and buried gold.
9. **4 Little Girls (1997)** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — The documentary about the 1963 Birmingham church bombing.
10. **Highest 2 Lowest (2025)** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Denzel Washington in his take on Kurosawa's High and Low.
11. **She's Gotta Have It (1986)** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — His black-and-white debut feature.
12. **Crooklyn (1994)** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — A 70s Brooklyn childhood.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.