Jungle Fever (1991)

Average rating

(58%)

Starring:	Wesley Snipes \| Annabella Sciorra \| Spike Lee \| Ossie Davis \| Samuel L. Jackson \| Ruby Dee
Director:	Spike Lee
Studio:	UNIVERSAL PICTURES VIDEO
Run time:	126 mins
Genres:	Drama \| Romance
Languages:	English
Released:	July 07, 2003

This critically acclaimed film from Spike Lee explores the provocative consequences of interracial relationships.

Wesley Snipes portrays Flipper Purify, a black architect who begins an affair with Angie Tucci (Annabella Sciorra), his working class Italian secretary. Their relationship causes them to be scrutinized by their friends, cast out from their families and shunned by neighbors in this moving view of inner-city life.

Featuring a chart-topping original soundtrack by Stevie Wonder, Jungle Fever stars a talented cast including Spike Lee, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L. Jackson, Lonette McKee, John Turturro and two-time Academy Award Winner Anthony Quinn.

Radio Times

Spike Lee's take on interracial romance is typically controversial, but ultimately lacks the visceral power that he brought to Do the Right Thing. The attention this time is directed at a wider slice of life, where successful architect Wesley Snipes falls for his white temp Annabella Sciorra and decides to leave his wife for her. However, their relationship sees them swiftly ostracised by their family and friends. Lee's direction is wonderfully fluid and, as in most of his movies, he is superbly served by the striking cinematography of Ernest Dickerson and strong lead performances. However, there is a glibness to his script, which does not delve fully into the reasons for the animosity they experience — is it because of the bigotry of those around them or because of their infidelity? — and the subplot involving Snipes's junkie brother (Samuel L Jackson) is never successfully integrated into the main story. Nevertheless, Lee once again elicits great performances from the eclectic cast, which also includes John Turturro, Anthony Quinn, Ruby Dee, Tim Robbins and Ossie Davis.

Rating of 2 stars out of 5
Halliwell's Film Guide

Sharply observed drama of racism and prejudice that raises more questions than it attempts to answer.

Highest rated reviews

13 out of 13 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 3.0 stars
To Have and Have Not

Paul from London, 3rd October, 2006

Spike Lee's study of racism, internalised oppression and the deadening equality of poverty comes across as a somewhat dated, but nonetheless challenging perspective on the American dream. Set in the early 90s, the film is a chilling reminder of the greed, fear and indifference shown by the 'haves' to the 'have nots'. A successful black architect is driven to extreme action following the failure of his employers to recognise his contribution. He resigns from his position and begins an unlikely relationship with his Italian secretary. As news of their clandestine relationship spreads through their respective families, the brittle structure of racially divided communities collapses into an outbreak of racial intolerance and family breakdown. For me, the film's main strength lies in the sensitive observation of the consequences of internalised oppression, as families and communities do violence to each other in an effort to avoid recognising the pain of exclusion from the affluent WASP world. These more subtle tensions are sharply contrasted with the raw violence of police racism and set against the backdrop of the chilling equality of the 'Taj Mahal' a local crack den where both whites and blacks are equally free to meet their ruin. In a startling end to the film, Lee shows how black turns against black, father against son, as those living in the shadow of slavery are left powerless and unable to vent their fury against an unremittingly indifferent American culture where money is seen as the only measure of personal worth. Not a classic, maybe, but some powerful performances make this a thought-provoking and nostalgic experience that I recommend you give a go!

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9 out of 12 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 5.0 stars
A searing drama from Spike Lee

Philip Concannon from London, 3rd May, 2004

Spike Lee's compelling film is set on a sweltering day in New York where racial tensions are set to explode. In what remains his best work, Lee pulls together a number of disparate storylines without losing sight of his central theme.

Danny Aiello is excellent as the owner of the pizza parlour whose refusal to place pictures of black heroes on the wall proves the catalyst for violence, but the entire ensemble is impressive with Lee himself, John Tuturro and Samuel L. Jackson on form.

It remains one of the few times Lee has managed to balance his angry polemic with a satisfying story. It's a passionate, provocative film from an always fascinating director.

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3 out of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 2.0 stars
Disappointing

Adam H. Gallimore from the middle of Dorset, 24th January, 2005

Coming from Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese, I expected this film to be very entertaining, but I was in for disappointment. The plot resembles a sort of whodunnit as a cop (Harvey Keitel) tries to figure out who killed a small time dealer. An honest, working man confesses, but his brother, a working as a clocker (drug runner) seems to be a more appropriate suspect. Unlike other Spike Lee films this one is slow and, at times, monotonous. Harvey Keitel and John Turturro don't have the ability to shine in their roles and Mekhi Pfeifer, in his debut, gives a disjointed performance. Delroy Lindo is good but Isiah Washington is excellent but is criminally underused. The script is boring and the climax unsatisfactory but it still has moments of quality. My advice - look to other Spike Lee movies.

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