Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

vincentlynch-moonoi As I was reading through some of the other member reviews here, I decided to respond to arthurpewty's review. At quick glance, and in large part because of the title of the film, this appears to be about Black men wanting White women and White women wanting Black men. And if that's what you think this film is primarily about, then the way the film ends, and the subplot involving the crack-addicted son will be confusing. I actually think that the more definitive message of this film -- one that is explored through a racial theme -- is that lots of families (of all colors) are pretty screwed up. If you look at the film from that perspective, it becomes an ensemble film, rather than a "starring" film, and it explores how screwed up multiple families are, all tied together in some way.There was a time when I thought that Wesley Snipes would be the reigning Black male actor for some time. This film was my introduction to him, and I was impressed. Then along came "White Men Can't Jump" and "Passenger 57", and "Murder At 1600" and several other films that I thought were cementing his future. And then he got way too wrapped up in martial arts and such, and his career fizzled. Unfortunately, he didn't learn to stay diverse in the roles he selected, and so we lost a very actor.This was also my introduction to Annabella Sciorra, whom I also enjoyed very much in "What Dreams May Come".As an actor, Spike Lee is nearly irrelevant in this film, but he deserves high praise for his direction. This is probably the only time I have ever been unimpressed with Ossie Davis; he seemed rather wooden here as the reverend who is Wesley's Snipe's father. On the other hand, I rather enjoyed Ruby Dee's performance. Samuel L. Jackson is not an actor I admire, but he was rather good here. I'm not much of a fan of John Turturro, but his performance here was very good (and this may have been the first time I ever really noticed him as an actor). Why did Anthony Quinn take this role? It was beneath him.This is not a perfect film, and it is -- now -- perhaps a tad dated (although the sentiments expressed here still exist in many places by many people). Highly recommended.

jobberishness Someone above made a terrible comment on this, implying that Jungle Fever is, for some reason, hateful towards Christians. It's important to stress that while Spike Lee often comes under fire from all sides for allegedly putting his own views across - be it homophobic, sexist, anti-semitic, or most commonly, racist - this is more a measure of the issues his films cover, and a strange excuse to pick holes in great films, than a genuine argument.No, Jungle Fever is a brilliant film that both answers questions of his critics and raises new ones. With a similar cast to Spike's classic two years previous, Do The Right Thing (which, if you haven't seen, look up or watch), with future stars Samuel L. Jackson and Halle Berry, there's a sense of the familiar. Samuel in particular gives such an incredible performance that at the Cannes Film Festival, a 'Best Supporting Actor' award was created especially for him.For those who have seen Spike's previous work - it's similar to Do The Right Thing, in a way. Most of the characters are characters are hard to warm to the same way as that film, and, overall, it's not as good a film - but it's not the same film. It concerns sexual myths, and somehow managing not to feel tacked on, drugs (critics demanded to know where the drugs were in Do The Right Thing upon release - Spike responded by asking where the drugs were in Oliver Stone's Wall Street, then obliged with Jungle Fever).If you haven't, expect a look at the issue of mixed relationships, tinged with humour and tragedy, and a rather good soundtrack. But come armed with an open mind.

do-bye This movie really brought to the limelight how the world deals with interracial dating. Snipes has a loving wife and child. Even with that, he manages to befriend and fall for a white woman. I think that he just wanted to experience something different. In my opinion, I would never date outside of my race because I feel comfortable with black women. The latter part of the film shows the evil side of interracial dating. When Sciorra fathers finds out, he mercifully whips her and kicks her out of the house. Snipes's wife banishes him from his home. Both families learn the meaning of stereotyping and try to come to grips with the adversity they face.

MisterWhiplash Spike Lee's films are consistent in one respect, even for the lesser ones, which is that they're always pressing buttons. In the case of Jungle Fever, it's another work where messages come out more than from a guy on a postal route. But that's perhaps part of the point, where such points come in many forms and sometimes like a barrage. This time, it doesn't completely gel as well as Lee's Do the Right Thing, which also held anger, contemplation, humor, and pathos about city life. But this time it's also a tale of sexual morays, where both white and black sides have their share of racism and prejudices, and at the core is a story of outcasts. The interesting thing then about Jungle Fever is how Lee's own decisions in casting and in the unique way he shoots his subjects and implements a subjective take more often then not trump what comes out in his script. Then again, maybe it's close to being inevitable with how the elements mix, and at the end there are some parts of the film that are the best that Lee's done so far as a filmmaker.Wesley Snipes and Anabella Sciora star as the said 'jungle fever' couple, the man being married with a kid, of all things to a woman who is also light-skinned and with her own 'issues', and the woman having an 'old-fashioned' Italian father. When their affair becomes known to both sides, the costs come out and they both become outcasts. And at the end of all of the points that are made in Jungle Fever by Lee, even through the ones that are pounded and (of the period) quite topical and prominent, this notion of society and culture being the biggest culprit is hard to ignore. This main point is made very well by Lee's script, and even as sometimes the script doesn't have the best dialog or lines a little 'too easy', if that makes any sense, there are many scenes which do support this to the fullest. And as the job of any good director is to cast right, this film is filled with a who's-who's of professionals and character actors.One could go on as to who appears in the film, from Anthony Quinn to Tim Robbins to Ossie Davis to John Turturro, and they all fit their parts and contribute to adding a level of fascination in each. When the less desirable aspects peak in even more, it only adds to what ends up working on screen. Sometimes the script, as mentioned, is a little derivative and trying to touch ALL bases, with a but the film is more often than not alive due to (some of) the music at times. Maybe the most genius pieces of casting were Samuel L. Jackson, in (arguably) one of his very best performances, and Halle Berry. In a sense there are similar points made in the "A" storyline and the "B" one, where there is some extra interest in the supporting characters and their connection with the main ones. Jackson and Berry are crack-heads, and outcasts, and to their own degree have the same crap end of the stick as the leads to. Among many scenes where confrontations reach a great emotional intensity, the best comes with Snipes going into the crack-house and seeing just the purest dark side of society, what really does bring people down.In the end, Jungle Fever is one of the Lee movies that is worth seeing, that may prove on a repeat viewing to bring even more thought than previous. It's energetic, somber, occasionally funny and shocking in equal measure.