Clockers

"When there’s murder on the streets, everyone is a suspect."

1995 2h 8m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 374

CrimeDramaMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“When there’s murder on the streets, everyone is a suspect.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Harvey Keitel
Det. Rocco Klein
John Turturro
Det. Larry Mazilli
Delroy Lindo
Rodney Little
Mekhi Phifer
Ronald 'Strike' Dunham
Isaiah Washington
Victor Dunham
Keith David
André the Giant
Peewee Love
Tyrone 'Shorty' Jeeter
Regina Taylor
Iris Jeeter

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Spike Lee
Writers: Richard Price, Spike Lee
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 52% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Spike Lee, shot by Malik Hassan Sayeed. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Terence Blanchard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Sam Pollard shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Harvey Keitel and John Turturro and Delroy Lindo carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "When there’s murder on the streets, everyone is a suspect.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0112688 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Spike Lee directs. Malik Hassan Sayeed behind the camera. Terence Blanchard scores. Sam Pollard cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 52% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
231 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Spike Lee, shot by Malik Hassan Sayeed. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Terence Blanchard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Sam Pollard shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Harvey Keitel and John Turturro and Delroy Lindo carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "When there’s murder on the streets, everyone is a suspect.".
8IMDB entry: tt0112688 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Malik Hassan Sayeed
Original score: Terence Blanchard
Editing: Sam Pollard
Production design: Andrew McAlpine
Costume design: Ruth E. Carter
Makeup / hair: Larry M. Cherry
Sound: Skip Lievsay
Stunt coordinator: Jeff Ward
Runtime: 128 min · 2h 8m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $13,100,000
Return: 52% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Clockers (1995)

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Spike Lee

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Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-04-17
★ 7/10
Spike Lee is an unfortunate instance of a very talented filmmaker who's obvious talent in craftsmanship doesn't come across in contemporary mainstream cinema because of issues having nothing to do with cinema itself. I realize that in becoming great at anything in one's life, other things have to suffer, and with him it seems, at least to me, that for everything he has undoubtedly accomplished in the filmic realm, it's created a type of 'idiot savant' (it's simply an existing term--I certainly don't mean it pejoratively)--that is, in social skills, at least pertaining to self-marketing, or getting across one's persona in the field, he is lacking--and it negatively impacts his cinema. And that's a dirty rotten shame, because this was a fine film. He and his excellent approach to cinema remind me of the Heisenberg principle and make me: a) wish Lee could find more happiness in his life, so that he can come across better, and thus have his personality not negatively influence cinephiles like me; and b) wonder, like in 'A Beautiful Mind', if he was happier and more pleasant, if it would negatively impact his filmmaking? Philosophical questions such as this tend to keep me up at night, unless I have some red wine, milk or chamomile tea to wear me out and soothe me. 'Clockers' worked for me. Keitel was really on a roll when he worked in this, with 'Bad Lieutenant', 'Reservoir Dogs', 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Smoke' all around this time. It was certainly a great vintage for him, and a fine time to sample his acting.
Badlands12017-08-03
★ 10/10
This is a criminally underrated gem, a urban movie about drug dealers that feels nothin like your typical gangsta movie, it doesn't have constant rap playing the whole way through, but a poignant classical soundtrack from Blanchard, Albeit still great 90's hip hop in it. The emotion and color of the sets are tangible. I wouldn't really call this a Spike Lee joint, because Scorsese produced it, it has a much more professional and serious feel than Spikes previous corny work. The 90's Brooklyn hip hop street reality feel is there but this film hits a much deeper note in the soul, skip the mainstream trailer, it might be the reason this failed in the mainstream, when it sours with true underground heads.
Andre Gonzales2023-05-08
★ 5/10
Thought this movie would've been better. Pretty boring not much action or anything to keep you interested.