DO THE RIGHT THING (1989)

Mr Spike Lee in Do The Right Thing, 1989. Photograph courtesy Universal Studios/Kobal Collection

Every character in Mr Spike Lee’s tale of one scorching, tumultuous day in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbourhood glistens with sweat. From the languid early morning to the riotous, tragic night, sitting on stoops, playing in the flow of opened fire hydrants and eating in Sal’s FamousPizzeria. Here is all the romance, profanity and danger of New York City in high summer, simmering along to the boom of Public Enemy. But this was the late 1980s. Now Bed-Stuy’s brownstones are coveted by ex-Manhattanites and the only fights are for spots on the local farm-share.

THE GRADUATE (1967)

Mr Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate, 1967. Photograph by Embassy Pictures/Kobal Collection

What is a fine young man to do? Benjamin Braddock, played by Mr Dustin Hoffman, comes home from college and is told the future lies in graduate school. Drifting through his summer, he succumbs to the beckoning finger of Mrs Robinson. He is spiritually lost in thebleached-out glare of Southern California, until he realises that he loves Elaine, Mrs Robinson’s daughter. Summer is when the graduate yields to temptation before discovering who he is. It is a time of bedroom doors left ajar, of misspent afternoons, lunchtime cocktails, and if you’re lucky, just enough time for redemption.

THE FLAMINGO KID (1984)

Mr Matt Dillon and Ms Janet Jones in The Flamingo Kid, 1984. Photograph by Photoshot

It’s 1963 and a working class boy, Jeff, played by Mr Matt Dillon, takes a job at a fancy Long Island beach club the summer before college. Before long, he has ditched his pork pie hat, bored wives are tucking tips into the pockets of his tight, white trousers, and their daughters are ogling him from beside the pool. It’s a long way from hisBrooklyn family, who warn him not to be taken in by it all. First he’s dazzled, then he learns the treacherous ways of this affluent class on the beach and around the gin rummy table with the rich, older men at the Club Flamingo. It’s the ultimate internship.

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