Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads is a 1983 student film by American filmmaker Spike Lee.[1] Lee submitted the film as his master's degree thesis at the Tisch School of the Arts.[2]
| Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads | |
|---|---|
 Title screen | |
| Directed by | Spike Lee |
| Written by | Spike Lee |
| Produced by | Spike Lee Zimmie Shelton |
| Starring | Monty Ross |
| Cinematography | Ernest R. Dickerson |
| Edited by | Spike Lee |
| Music by | Bill Lee |
| Distributed by | First Run Features |
Release date |
|
Running time | 60 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Production
editLee's classmates Ang Lee and Ernest R. Dickerson worked on the film as assistant director and cinematographer, respectively. The film was the first student film to be showcased in Lincoln Center's New Directors New Films Festival. Lee's father, Bill Lee, composed the score.[3] The film won a Student Academy Award.[4]
Plot
editThe film is set in a Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn barbershop where customers come to hang out, discuss various issues, and get a haircut. The manager, Zack, took over after Joe was killed by a gangster who used the shop as a front for a numbers racket. Zack wants to keep the shop legitimate but the gangster wants to continue the deal he had with Joe.[5]
See also
edit- American Taboo-another student film that also won the Student Academy Award the same year as Spike's film
- 1983 in film
References
edit- ^ WorldCat.org
- ^ "Oeuvre: Spike Lee: Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads". Spectrum Culture. 2012-03-15. Archived from the original on March 17, 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
- ^ Library of Congress
- ^ STUDENT ACADEMY AWARD 40TH ANNIVERSARY FILM posted by Gary Tellalian on Vimeo
- ^ Revisited: Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads - CutPrintFilm