Da 5 Bloods

by | Aug 22, 2021 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

I finally got around to watching Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods and I was deeply impressed. While a part of me questioned the whole digging up the gold story (echoes of Treasure of the Sierra Madre?), the way the film interpolated elements of African-American history (so deftly! so economically) as well as the history of the Vietnam (or American) War and the acting/characterizations were terrific. I never saw Apocalypse Now, but I have seen or read enough about it to recognize the obvious references in Da 5 Bloods. I’ve only glanced at one review, which seems to cite these references as a shortcoming, but of course Lee would have to acknowledge and grapple with that film. [btw, photo at the top of this post is not from Lee’s film, but is a photo available for free use that evokes the film.]