25th HOUR

It might have slipped under the radar during its first release but 25th Hour is a modern masterpiece, firmly rooted in the city Spike Lee loves.

Thanks to excellent performances, a well-wrought screenplay and Spike Lee's never-better direction 25th Hour - set during a drug dealer's final hours of freedom before a 7-year stint in prison - works brilliantly as a tale of missed opportunities and profound regrets.

But what elevates the movie to a true modern-day classic is its post-9/11 sensibility. 25th Hour thus becomes an elegy for a mourning city trying to make sense of a new, shared reality.

In a melting pot of prejudice and stereotypes, filled with shattered dreams, Spike Lee delivers a touching love letter to the indomitable spirit of New York City and - along with it – his finest achievement as a filmmaker thus far.

release: 2002

director: Spike Lee

starring: Edward Norton, Rosario Dawson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Brian Cox