Product Details

• Actors: Alfre Woodard, Delroy Lindo, David Patrick Kelly, Zelda Harris, Carlton Williams
• Directors: Spike Lee
• Writers: Spike Lee, Cinqué Lee, Joie Lee
• Producers: Cinqué Lee, Joie Lee, Jon Kilik, Monty Ross
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: May 23, 1995
• Run Time: 115 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0783211201
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #149,060 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Spike Lee's semiautobiographical, 1994 film about the good and bad times for a Brooklyn family in the '70s has passion and nostalgic good feeling, but it is also a mess of random reflections and arbitrary storytelling. The centerpiece of the movie is a little girl (Zelda Harris) who views the ups and downs of her parents' experiences (mom and dad are played by Delroy Lindo and Alfre Woodard), and who navigates the life of her neighborhood. Lee tosses in a lot of '70s detail (watching The Partridge Family) and other diversions (Harris's journey through suburbia), but he has no master sensibility controlling the flow of it all. The film is more wearying than anything, although bright spots include Lindo's fine performance as a talented man suffering from irrelevance. --Tom Keogh

Amazon.com

Spike Lee's semiautobiographical, 1994 film about the good and bad times for a Brooklyn family in the '70s has passion and nostalgic good feeling, but it is also a mess of random reflections and arbitrary storytelling. The centerpiece of the movie is a little girl (Zelda Harris) who views the ups and downs of her parents' experiences (mom and dad are played by Delroy Lindo and Alfre Woodard), and who navigates the life of her neighborhood. Lee tosses in a lot of '70s detail (watching The Partridge Family) and other diversions (Harris's journey through suburbia), but he has no master sensibility controlling the flow of it all. The film is more wearying than anything, although bright spots include Lindo's fine performance as a talented man suffering from irrelevance. --Tom Keogh

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly unique & superior effort from Spike Lee, December 7, 1999

By 

MilesAndTrane (Chicago, Il USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crooklyn (DVD)

Being a huge Spike Lee fan, it means much when I say that "Crooklyn" ranks very high, just beneath "Do The Right Thing" and "Malcolm X". Naturally, this coming-of-age family comedy set in Brooklyn during the 70's obviously has a strong autobiographical slant to it (the screenplay was written by Spike and two of his siblings, the story itself was credited solely to his sister, Joie), but if you've read Spike's out-of-print diary of the making of his first film "She's Gotta Have It", then you get an even stronger idea of how personal this film is to Spike; the Clinton character is obviously molded after him. The acting, cinematography, cultural references, music and acting are all superior. Most creative was the debut of Spike's "slimmed-in" cinematography during the Virginia sequence, which would soon become a Spike Lee trademark. Fans of Delroy Lindo who haven't seen this film will be surprised with his gentle & sensitive performance.

I'll tell you why this film has such a profound impact on me. I, like many others, have seen hundreds of films set in different times, places, etc. But very few films have been able to transport me back to another time & place as effectively as "Crooklyn". For the duration of the film, I really feel as if I'm enjoying an intimate portrait of a working-class black family in Brooklyn during the 1970's, it's like I'm right there. The irony is, I'm a middle-class white boy from Chicago who was born in 1974. This film is a grand artistic & personal triumph for Spike Lee.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quit Hatin!, October 27, 2004

By 

Peanut "Nutter" (Toledo, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crooklyn (DVD)

I saw this movie for the first time 10 years ago with my family and fell in love with it. I was however like 9 so I decided to watch it again to see if I still liked it and I must say that this is one of the best movies I have ever seen. It reminds me so much of my own personal life it was scary. All these people who didnt like the movie are too focused on the unimportant facts of a movie and not looking at the movie itself. It has alot of truths in it and I think it is well worth th time and money to explore it and figure out where it parallels your life.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great film by Spike Lee, February 27, 2007

By 

Arnel "Evans-Deavers" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crooklyn (DVD)

The first time I saw this film, I was at my aunt's house. Each character had their own uniqueness, especially Troy. I loved her. The film is one of those timeless classics. Growing up in Brooklyn, this has to be one of my favorite films. I was born in 1982, but the film still resonates with me, because it shows me how life was back in the 1970s. Spike Lee, when is Hollywood going to give you an Oscar?