Summer of Sam

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Summer of Sam ★★½ 1999 (R)

Spike Lee's take on the summer of 1977, when serial killer Son of Sam traumatized New York City. The plot does not center on the actual crimes of David Berkowitz, but on the repercussions they had in the neighborhoods of New York. Leguizamo and Sorvino play a married Bronx couple who grow to question pal Ritchie (Brody), a newly converted punk rocker who leads a double life as a gay dancer. As the killer's attacks continue, fear begins to rise along with the temperature, and the neighborhood begins to tear itself apart. Lee's film drew highly publicized protests from the families of Berkowitz's victims. 142m/C VHS, DVD . Adrien Brody, John Leguizamo, Spike Lee, Mira Sorvino, Jennifer Esposito, Michael Badalucco, Anthony LaPaglia, Patti LuPone, Ben Gazzara, Bebe Neuwirth, John Savage, Roger Guenveur Smith, Michael Rispoli; D: Spike Lee; W: Spike Lee; C: Ellen Kuras; M: Terence Blanchard.