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Clockers
1995 128 min United States of America R 18+
★7.0
Crime, Drama, Mystery
Director: Spike Lee
📖 Based on the novel
«Clockers»
byRichard Price
Trailers
Description
Strike is a young city drug pusher under the tutelage of drug lord Rodney Little. When a night manager at a fast-food restaurant is found with four bullets in his body, Strike’s older brother turns himself in as the killer. Detective Rocco Klein doesn’t buy the story, however, setting out to find the truth, and it seems that all the fingers point toward Strike & Rodney.
Budget:
$25M
US Gross:
$13.07M
Worldwide:
$13.1M
Starring
Harvey Keitel
Actor
John Turturro
Actor
Delroy Lindo
Actor
Awards
Venice Film Festival 1995
— Golden Lion
Key opinion
Clockers is widely regarded as a distinct, soulful entry in Spike Lee’s filmography that favors grounded social observation over traditional crime tropes. While many critics praise the film’s meticulous technical craft and standout performances, others find the slow-burn narrative unengaging or lacking in compelling character depth.
| Acting | Harvey Keitel delivers a career-high, standout performance that elevates the detective archetype. | |
| Cinematography | Cinematographer Malik Hassan Saïd provides a visually dynamic experience through expert use of camera angles and focus shifts. | |
| Score | The soundtrack effectively blends evocative blues motifs with 90s hip-hop and vocal tracks to create a rich atmosphere. | |
| Acting | Mekhi Phifer’s lead performance creates a vivid, sympathetic portrayal of a young man driven by the necessity of survival. | |
| Pacing | The film's contemplative, street-level pace creates a deeply immersive social portrait for some, while others find the lack of traditional action boring and unengaging. | |
| Screenplay | Critics are divided on the screenplay, with some praising its honest, non-cliché dialogue and social accuracy, while others view the writing as flat and the characters as underdeveloped. |