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Clockers
Tagline: When there's murder on the streets, everyone is a suspect.
Directed by	Spike Lee
Produced by	Jon Kilik Spike Lee Martin Scorsese
Written by	Richard Price (novel and screenplay) Spike Lee (screenplay)
Starring	Harvey Keitel John Turturro Delroy Lindo Mekhi Phifer
Music by	Terence Blanchard
Cinematography	Malik Hassan Sayeed
Editing by	Samuel D. Pollard
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	September 13, 1995
Running time	128 min.
Language	English
Budget	$25,000,000 (est.)
IMDb profile

Clockers is a 1995 film directed by Spike Lee, based on the novel by Richard Price. The film stars Mekhi Phifer in his first role.

The plot summary in this article or section is too long compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

The movie opens with montage of African-American men shot to death as the credits roll. When the credits end, Strike, (Mekhi Phifer) a low-level drug dealer-- a clocker-- walks up to sit on a step, drinking chocolate milk. Rocco Klein (Harvey Keitel), and Larry Mazilli (John Turturro), police homicide detectives, ride around in a sedan, eyeing the neighborhood. After the car passes, Strike catches up with the other clockers in the neighborhood. Suddenly, other detectives run up to Strike and the gang, searching them through pat-downs and even pulling Strike’s underwear down. Rodney Little (Delroy Lindo), the clockers’ boss, drives up to them.

Later that night, Rodney and Strike are riding in a car together, as they pull up to a burger joint named Ahab’s. Rodney tells Strike that Ahab’s cleaner, Darryl Adams, is stealing from him. Rodney tells Strike that Darryl "got to be got", not really being clear if he wants Strike to kill him. He goes into a bar, where he meets his brother, Victor Dunham (Isaiah Washington). Strike lies and tells Victor that Darryl beat innocent daughter of an angry mother.

Soon after, Rocco and Larry, the homicide detectives, are riding to the scene of a murder in front of Ahab’s. Strike is in the crowd, watching the body bag in awe. When the detectives open the body bag, they recognize Darryl Adams. The aftermath of Darryl's mortal wounds are shown: he was shot in his teeth, the back of his head, and two more places. The white detectives are then seen making racial remarks about him, saying that Darryl is "one less nubian to worry about". Strike is leaves Ahab’s and runs into Errol Barnes (Thomas Jefferson Byrd), a violent, erratic, sociopathic gangster who works with Rodney.

After the murder, Andre (Keith David), a muscular, no-nonsense cop hastily checks Strike for drugs, as he tells everyone to leave the gang life alone. Andre is a resident of their projects himself who then goes to a young boy named Tyrone Pee Wee Love whom he tells to stop hanging around the clockers. However, Tyrone and Strike develop a friendship, much to the objections to Tyrone's mother.

Det. Rocco Klein (Harvey Keitel), Ronald "Strike" Dunham (Mekhi Phifer), and Det. Larry Mazilli (John Turturro) at the murder scene

Larry and Rocco pick up Victor at church to question him for the murder. In the interrogation room, Victor tells Rocco that he was the one that shot Darryl over self-defense. Rocco doesn't believe it because, unlike his brother Strike, Victor does not have a criminal record.

Complications with the murder case ensue as Rocco tries to piece together what had really happened by going to the projects, Strike, and Rodney; for Strike, he ponders about leaving the gang life but does not know how to escape from Rodney's clutches.

The movie was critically acclaimed by many film critics. Roger Ebert gave the movie a three-and-a-half stars, and it earned a 76% "fresh" rating from Rotten Tomatoes. The movie (along with the novel) would foreshadow similar projects, such as The Wire, for which author/screenwriter Richard Price is also a writer.

Critics and film buffs were quick to notice that the poster, designed by Art Sims, was extremely similar to Saul Bass' art for Otto Preminger's 1959 film Anatomy of a Murder. Sims claimed that it was a homage, but Bass nonetheless regarded that as a rip-off. [1]

• Harvey Keitel – Det. Rocco Klein
• John Turturro – Det. Larry Mazilli
• Delroy Lindo – Rodney Little
• Sticky Fingaz – Scientific
• Mekhi Phifer – Ronald 'Strike' Dunham
• Isaiah Washington – Victor Dunham
• Keith David – André the Giant
• Peewee Love – Tyrone 'Shorty' Jeeter
• Regina Taylor – Iris Jeeter
• Fredro Starr – Go
• Elvis Nolasco – Horace
• Thomas Jefferson Byrd – Errol Barnes
• Lawrence B. Adisa – Stan
• Hassan Johnson – Skills
• Frances Foster – Gloria

• Clockers at the Internet Movie Database
• Clockers at Rotten Tomatoes