Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (2014)

How sad is this?

A Masterpiece!

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

this is by far the worst movie i have ever watch because of how pointless it was i also feel a shame to share the same name as the director. the only thing interesting about this movie is the dancing in the beginning. but Honestly, this movie goes against the formula because the hero is not really a hero and there is no tragedy that is overcome there is no victory instead the movie ends the same way it began in confusion. this movie is about addiction and i do understand that the writer is trying to show that all addiction is similar from caffeine to crack and hes also trys to show how all addictions will lead to a person hurting the people closet to them or getting them addicted as well. but spike Lee could have brought out all those points with a better script this movie cost 1.45 million dollars and while thats not close to the amount most directors had to work with. there are other movies that became classics that spent less movies such as Juno,Friday these were classic movies that also did not have big budget but were both great movies and truly spike lee never had a lot of budget money to us in his other movies. and after watching this movie i no why they didn't give him more money.the title of the movie does not make sense its more of trick to get you interested and the opening sermon with the fake preacher. the title is the da sweet blood of Jesus which is a old gospel hymn but the church seen preacher is not talking about the Jewish Jesus its actually referring to a black Jesus which the hip hop community has made up to rebel against what they read in scripture, i know this because i am an African American also, now also the title represent Jesus blood being spilled for the benefits of others but the movie shows this false Jesus as a murderer spoiling other peoples blood. that's why this movie should get a 2.1 IMDb rating this movie is not worth watching

While I was surfing through the channels late at night due to a cold and not being able to sleep, I ran across this movie. At the end of the movie I reflected back and thought it was well put together. Beautiful actors, a story line that makes sense of just another addiction and the extremes people go to satisfy these addictions. This all coming from a old white guy with an open mind while watching this movie.

The last half hour of this film is so great and quite emotional that I wish the rest of the film had the same depth of feeling. The scenes in the baptist Church and the ending in the shadow of the Cross are Great work!!! (Look- there is Lee's signature dolly shot -backwards no less)The first half of the film leans towards coolness and detachment which seems to arise from the character of Hess and the Nantucket of the very rich. While there is a point to this, contrasting the orderly sterile lives of the wealthy with disorderly vibrant lives of every one else, it somehow works against the film a bit.One of the most memorable and haunting scenes for me is where Hess picks up the mother(possibly an addict already) on the park bench with her child. It is his confidence and wealth that make her powerless much like a vampire's trance. When Hess is leaving and he tickles the baby's chin, we see what he has done to the mother. Now she will be a different kind of addict! When he meets the mother and child again it is clear she has fed on her child to fulfill her need for blood.I'm not sure I parse it's meaning fully but it is definitely contrasting the old Ashanti culture's "addiction" to blood with Christian salvation by the blood of Jesus. Hess trades in his addiction for salvation by "Da sweet Blood", where as Ganja comes to embrace the old ways.I saw the original Ganja and Hess years ago and I have sometimes remembered it in the same way as I do another early 70's original, Let's scare Jessica to Death: as a one of a kind. Dreamy, haunting , regional, low budget and also a UNIQUE take on the vampire theme. I see it's now on DVD so I will be definitely check it out again.BTW people-I don't think Ganja and Hess is really a blaxploitation film.

A remake of a Blaxpolation film called Ganja & Hess, Dr. Green is a expert on African artifacts who after a botched murder, suicide begins a strange addiction to blood that makes him indestructible.A very strange low key indi vampire (sort of) picture. Reminds me of last years, Only Lovers Left Alive by Jim Jarmusch, but Mr. Lee is asking me to have a far more opened mind than Mr. Jarmush did. The premise of the movie is about an African tribe who drank blood like it was alcohol or drugs, and a doctor who begins to practice this particular custom, feeling that it's society that made this addiction stranger than all others. I did enjoy the premise of not using the Eastern European origins of what is a vampire, at the same time, Spike use this as a comp out for when people come up to him and say "your vampire film really sucks"(bad pun cause no biting went on in the movie).For the most part, I got the Impression that the film is more about addiction and how it can drive you and the people around you. I saw a movie no different than Requiem for a Dream, but the drug of choice was blood.It definitely had the feel of a Spike Lee film all over it. His signature style was all over This cheap independent production and reminded me of his recent film, Red Hook Summer and his first film She's Gotta have it. The Jazz composed score really help push the story along too. So this is what that Kickstarter campaign was all about, huh? Overall, it showed that Spike still has a foot inside true independent cinema, and it was something truly different an unexpected from the maker of Do the Right Thing. I think it has the makings of a Midnight Movie cult following. Way better than Old Boy