Highest rated as cast or director
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
2006 · 1 Season
4 Little Girls
1997
BlacKkKlansman
2018
Bad 25
2012
Biography
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American filmmaker and actor. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty, and other political issues. Lee received numerous accolades for his work, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Peabody Awards as well as nominations for three Golden Globe Awards and a Grammy Award. Lee studied filmmaking at both Morehouse College and the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, where he directed his student film Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983), which won a Student Academy Award. He later founded the production company 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, where he has produced more than 35 films. He made his directorial debut with the comedy She's Gotta Have It (1986). He received widespread critical acclaim for the drama Do the Right Thing (1989), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He directed the historical epic Malcolm X (1992), earning the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. With the biographical crime dramedy BlacKkKlansman (2018), he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix Award. He has also written and directed films such as School Daze (1988), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), Crooklyn (1994), Clockers (1995), Bamboozled (2000), 25th Hour (2002), Inside Man (2006), Chi-Raq (2015), Da 5 Bloods (2020), and Highest 2 Lowest (2025). Lee has also acted in eleven of his feature films. He is also known for directing numerous documentary projects, including 4 Little Girls (1997), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. He directed the HBO series When the Levees Broke (2006), which won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program and Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking. He also directed the HBO documentary If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise (2010) and the David Byrne concert film American Utopia (2020). Lee has received several honours, including the Honorary BAFTA Award in 2002, an Honorary César in 2003, the Academy Honorary Award in 2015, and the National Medal of Arts in 2023. Five of his films have been selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". He has received a Gala Tribute from the Film Society of Lincoln Center as well as the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize. His films have featured breakthrough performances from actors such as Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson, Giancarlo Esposito, Rosie Perez, Delroy Lindo, John Turturro, and John David Washington. Description above from the Wikipedia article Spike Lee, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Directed 74
2020s
- 2025
- 2021
- 2020
3 Brothers: Radio Raheem, Eric Garner and George Floyd
Director
New York New York
Director
2010s
- 2019
Land of the Free
Director
- 2018
- 2017
Be Truly Free
Director
- 2016
2 Fists Up
Director
Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall
Director
- 2015
Spike Lee's Lil' Joints: The Greatest Catch Ever
Director
Spike Lee's Lil' Joints: Italian Imports
Assistant Director
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus
Director
Ray Allen/AKA- Jesus Shuttlesworth
Director
- 2014
Do The Right Thing 25 Year Anniversary A Beats Music Experience
Director
Katt Williams: Priceless: Afterlife
Director
I Can't Breathe
Director
- 2013
- 2012
Red Hook Summer
Director
- 2010
2000s
- 2009
Passing Strange
Director
Do the Right Thing: 20 Years Later
Director
Kobe Doin' Work
Director
- 2008
- 2006
- 2005
Jesus Children of America
Director
Miracle's Boys
Director
- 2004
Sucker Free City
Director
- 2002
Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet
Director
Jim Brown: All-American
Director
- 2001
The Concert for New York City
Director
A Huey P. Newton Story
Director
The Making of 'Bamboozled'
Director
- 2000
The Original Kings of Comedy
Director
Bernie Mac: Live from Charlotte
Director
1990s
- 1999
Pavarotti & Friends 99 for Guatemala and Kosovo
Director
- 1998
John Leguizamo: Freak
Director
Pavarotti & Friends - For the Children of Liberia
Director
- 1997
HIStory on Film, Volume II
Director
- 1996
Get on the Bus
Director
- 1995
Lumière & Company
Director
- 1994
- 1992
Prince and the N.P.G.: Diamonds and Pearls Video Collection
Director
- 1991
- 1990
Spike & Co.: Do It a Cappella
Director
1980s
- 1989
- 1988
School Daze
Director
- 1986
Horn of Plenty
Director
- 1983
Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads
Director
- 1980
The Answer
Director
No release date
Boner
Director
Produced 85
2020s
- 2026
Talk Me
Executive Producer
- 2025
From Sidney, with Love
Executive Producer
How I Learned to Die
Executive Producer
Nervous Energy
Executive Producer
- 2024
Brownies
Executive Producer
PUNTER
Executive Producer
F*ck That Guy
Executive Producer
- 2023
In Freedom
Executive Producer
- 2022
You Resemble Me
Executive Producer
Off-Time
Associate Producer
- 2021
- 2020
2010s
- 2019
- 2018
Amazing Grace
Producer
Cherish
Executive Producer
Time 2 Surrender
Executive Producer
Nigerian Prince
Executive Producer
The Black 14
Executive Producer
- 2017
- 2016
Spike Lee's Lil' Joints: $15 Kicks
Executive Producer
Spike Lee's Lil' Joints: Redemption Song
Executive Producer
2 Fists Up
Producer
Touched with Fire
Executive Producer
- 2015
Spike Lee's Lil' Joints: Of the Father and of the Son
Executive Producer
Spike Lee's Lil' Joints: The Greatest Catch Ever
Executive Producer
Spike Lee's Lil' Joints: The Ice Breaker
Executive Producer
Spike Lee's Lil' Joints: Italian Imports
Executive Producer
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus
Producer
- 2014
Katt Williams: Priceless: Afterlife
Producer
Dirty Hands
Executive Producer
Evolution of a Criminal
Executive Producer
- 2013
- 2012
Red Hook Summer
Producer
You're Nobody 'til Somebody Kills You
Executive Producer
- 2011
Doubles with Slight Pepper
Executive Producer
- 2010
Saint John of Las Vegas
Executive Producer
2000s
- 2009
Kobe Doin' Work
Producer
- 2008
- 2006
- 2004
- 2003
Good Fences
Executive Producer
- 2002
Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet
Producer
Jim Brown: All-American
Producer
- 2001
3 A.M.
Producer, Co-Executive Producer
- 2000
The Original Kings of Comedy
Producer
Love & Basketball
Producer
1990s
- 1999
- 1998
- 1997
- 1996
Get on the Bus
Executive Producer
- 1995
New Jersey Drive
Executive Producer
- 1994
Drop Squad
Executive Producer
- 1992
- 1991
- 1990
1980s
- 1989
- 1988
School Daze
Producer
- 1986
- 1983
Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads
Producer
No release date
Boner
Producer
Acted in 29
2020s
- 2024
13 Steps - Die unglaubliche Karriere von Edwin Moses
Movie
2010s
- 2017
- 2015
Ray Allen/AKA- Jesus Shuttlesworth
Movie
- 2012
Red Hook Summer
Mr. Mookie
- 2011
On the Shoulders of Giants
Movie
2000s
- 2005
How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It)
Movie
Through the Fire
Movie
- 2001
3 A.M.
Filmmaker
- 2000
Lisa Picard Is Famous
Spike Lee
1990s
- 1999
- 1997
- 1996
- 1995
Below the Rim
Movie
- 1994
- 1993
Seven Songs for Malcolm X
Movie
- 1992
- 1991
- 1990
Lonely in America
Spike Lee (Newsstand Customer) (uncredited)
Spike & Co.: Do It a Cappella
Movie
1980s
- 1989
Public Enemy: Fight the Power... Live!
Movie
- 1988
School Daze
Darrell 'Half-Pint' Dunlap
- 1986
Wrote 23
2020s
- 2026
Apart
Writer
- 2020
2010s
- 2018
- 2015
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus
Screenplay
- 2014
I Can't Breathe
Writer
- 2012
Red Hook Summer
Screenplay
2000s
- 2004
- 2000
1990s
- 1999
- 1998
- 1997
- 1995
- 1994
- 1992
- 1991
- 1990
1980s
- 1989
- 1988
School Daze
Writer
- 1986
Horn of Plenty
Writer
- 1983
Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads
Writer
No release date
Boner
Writer
Other crew 3
2010s
- 2017
- 2012
2000s
- 2005
C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America
Presenter
Created 3
Camera 2
2000s
- 2008
Genesis | Come Rain or Shine
Camera Operator
- 2001
The Concert for New York City
Director of Photography
Edited 2
1980s
- 1986
- 1983
Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads
Editor
Appearances92
2020s
- 2026
Sophie Marceau, à voix haute
Self (archive footage)
- 2025
- 2024
- 2023
Samuel L. Jackson: Did I Stutter?
self
The Moviemakers: Spike Lee
Self
- 2022
A Daughter's Tribute to Her Father: Souleymane Cissé
Self
- 2021
Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
Self
- 2020
2010s
- 2019
- 2018
- 2017
Be Truly Free
Narrator (voice)
Birth of a Movement
Self
- 2016
Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall
Self
- 2015
Spike Lee's Lil' Joints: The Greatest Catch Ever
self
French Cinema Mon Amour
Self
Champs
Self
- 2014
Do The Right Thing 25 Year Anniversary A Beats Music Experience
self
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
Self
We the People: From Crispus Attucks to President Barack Obama
Self
- 2012
Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’
Self
Brooklyn Boheme
Self
- 2011
A Man's Story
Self
- 2010
2000s
- 2009
PoliWood
Self
Do the Right Thing: 20 Years Later
Self
Kobe Doin' Work
Self
- 2008
40 x 15: The Forty Years of the Directors' Fortnight
Self
- 2007
Lights, Action, Music
Self
- 2005
Life O' The Party: On the Road with Prince and the New Power Generation
Self
Street Fight
Self
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
Self
- 2004
Best Sellers or: Peter Sellers and 'Dr. Strangelove'
Self
No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat
Self
Five Directors On The Battle of Algiers
Self
- 2003
The Evolution of an American Filmmaker
Self
- 2002
It's Black Entertainment
Self
- 2001
The Making of 'Bamboozled'
Self
- 2000
Michael Jordan to the Max
Self
1990s
- 1999
- 1997
- 1996
The Fine Art of Separating People from Their Money
Self
The Universal Story
Self (archive footage)
- 1995
Lumière & Company
Self (segment "Sarah Moon")
- 1994
Drop Squad
Himself
Inside the Actors Studio
Self · 1 episode
A Century of Cinema
Self
- 1993
Farewell, Babylon!
Self
The Last Party
Self
- 1991
Sous les marches du palais
Self
MTV's 10th Anniversary Special
Self
Branford Marsalis: Steep
Self
- 1990
Spike & Co. Do It a-Cappella
Self
1980s
- 1989
Decade
Self
First Works
Self
- 1988
1970s
- 1973
- 1971
