Spike Lee in film

Writer/director Spike Lee has made an indelible mark on cinema, immersing audiences in a world of his making. Usually set in an urban setting amid racial tensions, crime and often, poverty. Lee's movies explore the imaginative and real through his unique lens.

Keep clicking for a look at some of the movies that have defined his career and helped cement his status as one of Hollywood's leading creative forces.

Lee is seen here at the premier of "Red Hook Summer" at the DGA Theater on August 6, 2012 in New York City.

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

In "School Daze" (1988) a not-so-popular young man (played by Spike Lee, seen here with Giancarlo Esposito) wants to pledge a popular fraternity at his historically black college.

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

"Do the Right Thing" (1989) tells the story of the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. It's when everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.

From left, John Turturro, Danny Aiello, and Richard Edson in "Do the Right Thing."

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

In "Mo' Better Blues," a jazz trumpeter makes questionable decisions in his professional and romantic life.

Denzel Washington with Spike Lee in a still from the film.

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

"Jungle Fever" (1991) tells the story of a married black architect who has an affair with an Italian secretary and its effects on the friends and family who surround them.

A still of Wesley Snipes and Annabella Sciorra in "Jungle Fever."

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

"Malcolm X" (1992) is the biopic of the controversial and influential black nationalist leader.

Denzel Washington and Angela Bassett with other cast members in "Malcolm X."

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

The 1995 movie "Clockers" tells the story of young drug pushers in the projects of Brooklyn who live hard, dangerous lives, trapped between their drug bosses and the detectives out to stop them.

Regina Taylor and Mekhi Phifer are seen together in this still from the film.

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

"Crooklyn" is a tale about a family living in the 1970s in Brooklyn.

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

Fox Searchlight Pictures/40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

"Girl 6" (1996) looks at the life of an aspiring actress in New York, from her screen tests to a turn as a phone-sex operator. Spike Lee plays Theresa Randle's neighbor, Jimmy, in the film.

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

Touchstone Pictures/40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

"He Got Game" stars Denzel Washington and basketball professional Ray Allen. The movie tells the story of Jesus Shuttlesworth, the most sought-after high school basketball prospect in the nation. Jesus and his dream to make it to the big ranks in professional basketball are overshadowed by his father, Jake, who is spending his life in prison for killing Jesus' mother.

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

In the 1999 movie "Summer of Sam" Spike Lee takes on the story of the infamous murders in New York City during the summer of 1977. Racial tensions among people - a common theme in Lee's movies - flare in the South Bronx neighborhood at the center of the film.

John Leguizamo and Adrien Brody as seen in "Summer of Sam."

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

In "Bamboozled," a frustrated African-American TV writer proposes a blackface minstrel show in protest, but to his chagrin it becomes a hit.

A still of Tommy Davidson and Savion Glover in "Bamboozled."

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

Fired from his job for exposing corrupt business practices, a former biotech executive turns to impregnating wealthy lesbians for profit in "She Hate Me" (2004).

Dania Ramirez, left, Anthony Mackie and Kerry Washington in "She Hate Me."

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

Universal Pictures/Imagine Entertainment/40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Clive Owen is seen here in the 2006 film "Inside Man" about a cop who has to talk down a bank robber after the criminal's perfect heist spirals into a hostage situation.

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks/HBO Documentary Films

Five years after his award-winning 2006 documentary "When the Levees Broke," Spike Lee returns to New Orleans for "If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise." In this follow-up documentary, Lee takes a look at how the plans to reinvent the city are developing.

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

"The 25th Hour" (2002) is about a New York drug dealer, played by Edward Norton, who is forced to reevaluate his life in the 24 hours before he begins a seven-year jail term.

In this photo (from left), Barry Pepper, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Norton.

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

In the TV movie, "Freak," Lee captures John Leguizamo's one-man stand-up performance as himself.

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

"Get on the Bus" (1996) follows several black men on a cross country bus trip to the Million Man March. On the bus are an eclectic set of characters, including a laid off aircraft worker, a former gang banger, a Hollywood actor, a cop who is of mixed racial background, and a white bus driver. On the way, they discuss issues surrounding the march, manhood, religion, politics, and race.

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

"Kobe Doin' Work" is a documentary following Kobe Bryant during one day of the 2008 NBA playoffs.

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

Set in 1944 Italy, "Miracle at St. Anna" is the story of four black American soldiers who get trapped in a Tuscan village during WWII.

A still of Laz Alonso and Matteo Sciabordi in "Miracle at St. Anna."

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture

Lee's film "Red Hook Summer" (2012) is about a middle-class boy from Atlanta who finds his worldview changed as he spends the summer with his deeply religious grandfather in the housing projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Seen here: Clarke Peters, Toni Lysaith and Jules Brown in "Red Hook Summer."

Spike Lee critiques Hollywood's blockbuster culture