New ‘Chi-Raq’ Trailer: Spike Lee Hasn’t Made A Comedy
Days ago a release date forSpike Lee’s newest film,Chi-Raq, wasannounced. Shortly after, a wild trailer for the picturewas released, promising a passionate, energetic, and satirical story. The film deals with the overwhelming gun violence in Chicago in recent years, so some were taken aback by the somewhat humorous tone of the footage. As a response, a more serious trailer forChi-Raqhas been released.
Watch the newChi-Raqtrailer after the jump.
Chi-RaqstarsSamuel L. Jackson(The Hateful Eight),Teyonah Parris(Dear White People),John Cusack(Love & Mercy),Wesley Snipes(Brooklyn’s Finest),Nick Cannon(America’s Got Talent),Angela Bassett(American Horror Story), andJennifer Hudson(Dreamgirls).
The latest trailer starts off with Spike Lee explaining his intentions withChi-Raq. I can’t think of the last time a trailer featured a filmmaker explaining their goals for a film. A director shouldn’t have to do that, as the trailer and the actual movie should do the talking. But after the slight uproar caused by the first trailer, it’s understandable Lee would want to clear the air.
Here’s the latestChi-Raqtrailer:
Bringing satirical elements to a story this brutal and timely won’t be easy. It’s a fine line to walk, but Lee has successfully mixed humor and drama in the past with this heavier films.Chi-Raq, an Amazon film, is based on the tale of Lysistrata, from 400 BC. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, Angie broke it down in her writeup of the last trailer:
The original tale of Lysistrata hails from around 400 BC. In it, a woman named Lysistrata hits a novel strategy to end the Peloponnesian War: she convinces the women of Greece to refuse to sleep with their husbands until they agree to stop the fighting. The premise sounds wacky at first, and Lee definitely has some fun with it, like by having Samuel L. Jackson show up as a one-man Greek chorus.
If there’s any man that can play a one-man Greek chorus, it’s Samuel L. Jackson, a frequent collaborator of Lee’s. The star I’m most excited to see in Lee’s film, though, is John Cusack. He looks like he’s giving this role his all, as he did inLove & Mercy. This is a good year for the actor.
Chi-Raqopens in theatersDecember 4and will be made available on Amazon Prime soon after.
