Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Summer of Sam

Play trailer Poster for Summer of Sam R 1999 2h 22m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
50% Tomatometer 103 Reviews 60% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
During the summer of 1977, a killer known as the Son of Sam keeps all of New York City on edge with a series of brutal murders. The philandering Vinny (John Leguizamo) unwittingly almost becomes a victim of the psychopath, and soon he and numerous people in his orbit -- including his wife, Dionna (Mira Sorvino), his punk-rocker friend, Ritchie (Adrien Brody), and aspiring porn star Ruby (Jennifer Esposito) -- are trying to figure out the identity of the killer, before it's too late.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Summer of Sam

Summer of Sam

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Spike Lee offers intense visuals but his storytelling feels crowded and overambitious.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
Adam Nayman The Ringer 03/25/2019
...a scorching melodrama about childhood friends-played by John Leguizamo and Adrien Brody-whose relationship reaches an emotional boiling point. Go to Full Review
David Ansen Newsweek 03/02/2018
Summer of Sam, for all its flash and well-crafted fury, is only superficially disturbing. It's a nightmare stroll down memory lane: feel-bad nostalgia. Go to Full Review
Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader 09/23/2008
Like most of Lee's work, this bites off more than it can chew, but the breadth and energy are impressive. Go to Full Review
Leonardo Garcia Tsao La Jornada 09/06/2022
Lee doesn't manage to thread the diverse anecdotes into a cohesive narrative. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault 09/02/2022
C-
Spike Lee exhausts his bag of tricks, trying to keep the energy level up, and parts of the movie are affecting or exciting. But after a while you grow weary of being pelted with the director’s pyrotechnics. Go to Full Review
Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com 08/10/2020
1/5
Never quite pays off, with stilted dialoguing plaguing otherwise fine performances from Mira Sorvino and John Leguizamo. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
C P. @BahnianBabby Jan 18 Entertaining yet flawed, this film is maybe the best example of Spike Lee's limitations as a director. Instead of letting powerful scenes speak, theyre reduced by blaring 1970s pop songs. Oscar worthy acting by the leads is overshadowed by the caricature like backing characters, the Italian neighborhood guys, who have no depth yet get tons of screen time. The Son of Sam himself is acted and shot in a hammy, goofy way which doesnt sit with the rest of the film, and most of those scenes should have been cut in Editing. The costumes and sets are cheap, and worse, Lee inserts himself as a news reporter, yet he makes no attempts at acting, which again draws the audience out of the moment. Despite these immense flaws, the film is a pulpy joy to watch and doesnt ever pretend to ve serious, so we have to accept it for what it is: a period piece and character study, and it meets those goals admirably despite Lee's flawed Direction. Probably the worst Spike Lee film, and its still very good. See more Oaklee D @ODie63 Sep 12 I went into this one thinking I was going to really enjoy it but instead I found the film to be completely underwhelming. The best way I can describe this film for those that haven't seen it is that it's 2 and a half hours of watching someone scream at a dog while sid the sloth cheats on his wife repeatedly. See more Zero W Jul 4 Once again Spike Lee shows off his antiwhitism.🤮 See more thiago s @Thiagostone Jul 4 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more Gregory S Jun 25 It is a pretty good movie. It does a pretty great job illustrating the effect Birkowitz had in the community. I will say this though… I have never busted up laughing as much as I did when the dog started talking. Haha, epic. See more Weston L 01/18/2025 I love this film. It's vibrant yet dark, filled with great performances, colorful characters, and terrific style. Cultures are pitted against each other in a New York heatwave that causes power outages hysteria, and paranoia. Friends turn against each other during the madness. Original and uncompromising. Boiling to an authentic lesson in what happens when you lose your head. Even the smallest roles are played to perfection with amazing actors to create a who's who of unique characters. This is the original true crime masterpiece laying the groundwork so often used today. Ambitious and provocative, the payoffs are bold and in your face. See more Read all reviews
Summer of Sam

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
He Got Game 82% 83% He Got Game Watchlist Bringing Out the Dead 74% 70% Bringing Out the Dead Watchlist 25th Hour 80% 85% 25th Hour Watchlist Instinct 27% 67% Instinct Watchlist Girl 6 39% 36% Girl 6 Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis During the summer of 1977, a killer known as the Son of Sam keeps all of New York City on edge with a series of brutal murders. The philandering Vinny (John Leguizamo) unwittingly almost becomes a victim of the psychopath, and soon he and numerous people in his orbit -- including his wife, Dionna (Mira Sorvino), his punk-rocker friend, Ritchie (Adrien Brody), and aspiring porn star Ruby (Jennifer Esposito) -- are trying to figure out the identity of the killer, before it's too late.
Director
Spike Lee
Producer
Jon Kilik, Spike Lee
Screenwriter
Victor Colicchio, Spike Lee, Michael Imperioli
Distributor
MFA Filmdistribution [de], Opening Distribution, Downtown Pictures [gb], Buena Vista International [us], Touchstone Pictures, Buena Vista Pictures, New Films International
Production Co
Touchstone Pictures, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 2, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 1, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$19.3M
Runtime
2h 22m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.37:1)
Most Popular at Home Now