Jungle fever

I like the freewheeling way Spike Lee makes films, giving the impression, despite his often slightly overwritten dialogue, of lives being lived in all their arbitrary messiness.This is an impressive movie from 1991, with a stunning cast headed by Wesley Snipes, who is superb as the splendidly named Flipper Purify, who falls into an affair with Italian colleague Angie, played beautifully by the luminous Annabella Sciorra. The perils of a black married man dating an Italian woman are explored with wit and emotional honesty, as friends and family of both get involved.These include Angie’s violent father {Frank Vincent} and Flipper’s wife {Lonette Mckee}, as well as Angie’s anguished boyfriend {John Turturro, terrific}, his brother {Nick Turturro, his own brother, later an NYPD Blue regular}, and his father, played with ripe relish by none other than Anthony Quinn!Real-life couple Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee are excellent as Flipper’s God-fearing parents, with Samuel L Jackson searingly good as his wayward brother ‘Gator’.Other parts are played by Tim Robbins and Brad Dourif, oddly wooden in some awkward scenes as Flipper’s bosses, Queen Latifah as a surly waitress, Michael Imperioli {later a lead Soprano} and, as Gator’s drug-buddy, Halle Berry in her first film.It all looks good, and the apt soundtrack is by Stevie Wonder.Movies which linger in the memory tend to be the best ones, and this Spike Lee joint does just that.

This might not be Spike Lee's most critically-acclaimed film, but it's definitely my favourite. The visuals are just great. Some of the devices Lee used on this looked a bit strange at the time (e.g. Flipper and Cyrus floating instead of walking, the balletic crack-pipes in the Taj Mahal) but they now look nothing other than genius. It would have been very easy for the director to have taken the easy route into social 'realism' i.e. a bleeding heart patronising look at externals, but these devices are a strong reminder that this - when all is said and done - is a work of the imagination. Showing inner lives, hopes, beliefs, mistakes.The politics of the film are what they are - but there's no didactic vibe: questions are asked, things are explored, but it's up to you to draw your own conclusions.Much of the acting in this film is memorable:John Turturro's character Paulie psychologically kicking his father out of a prolonged denial stage of grieving: "I'm not your ____ing wife!".Samuel L. Jackson's character Gator, "Mama, I smoked the TV". Also his zombie dance move before (spoiler warning) his dad shoots him in the stomach.Wesley Snipes' character Flipper is played with subtlety - watch his readiness to laugh in the earlier parts of the film compared with who he becomes at the end.Watching this for the first time since its original VHS release, the thing that strikes you most is that it's a love story - simple as that. Flipper and Drew, Paulie and Orin. Spike Lee's biggest piece of magic here is that the characters are big enough to withstand the exigencies of the film's plot. I wish I could say the same about Love Actually, but I can't.

In this 1991 social drama, Flipper Purify (Wesley Snipes), is a successful afro-american architect and is angered when he discovers his new temporary secretary is an Italian-American white woman, Angie Tucci (Annabella Sciorra). Despite the inauspicious start, they soon find common ground and have an affair. But what happens when the news gets out?The film illustrates quite easily how a secret can soon spiral out of control and although being ’another’ inter –racial love story, this shows how it affects many people from many differing angles, from the family, in the workplace, in restaurants, public places, but most tellingly of all, within friendship circles. It’s not just about black/white or any colour combination, but explores many social stereotypes such as ethnic communities, cultural expectations, drug abuse, religion and even post code snobbery as he’s from Harlem and she’s from Bensonhurst .The single disc opens to a language selection screen offering 7 [mainly Scandinavian ] languages. Main menu offers play, scenes, bonus [featurette and 3 trailers], audio [English/German] and subtitles [as for language screen]. The music is mainly Stevie Wonder but all the music fits well with the story, including Frank Sinatra.With nudity, sex and swearing from the start this is an 18 rating even before the adult themes kick in. The main issue with this film is that it’s now politically outdated, not in it’s social message, but in it’s language, a prime example is the conversation that kicks off their initial friendship, now they would both be hauled in by Human Resources and be sent on an ‘Orientation’ or ‘Racial Awareness’ course or something similar, if not fired. Much of the everyday dialogue is similar and it’s difficult to imagine this being made now. Yet this remains a worthwhile ***** watch although the message does tend to drone on in a very pessimistic way.

Classic film highlighting the negatives of interracial dating and how it can destroy family relationships,careers and opinions of one's character. Came on time and I'd highly recommend

Good

I have given this film 3 stars mainly because the ending was not what I was expecting it to be; however, the acting was brilliant. I would recommend. Thank you.

A very good and enjoyable DVD. I would recommend this DVD if you like Wesley Snipe and Annabelle Sciorra. It is only suitable for over 18s.

great watch