After waiting with bated breath, the first glimpse into Spike Lee’s film Chi-Raq was revealed to the public earlier this week and as always, controversy ensued.
“The trailer was released and there are very humorous moments in the trailer,” Lee revealed in a video message. “Now some people are going to twist it and say that Chi-Raq is a comedy. Chi-Raq is not a comedy. Chi-Raq is a satire.”
A May report from Screen Daily, however, claimed Chiraq would be a reimagined production of the ancient Greek comedy Lysistrata, a story where women withhold sexual privileges to try to stop the Peloponnesian War.
The movie was filmed in Chicago over the summer with many Chicagoans standing in as extras. It features several stars, including Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Hudson, Teyonah Parris, Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusack, who appears to be a priest and activist, according to a shot in the trailer.
The film, released by Amazon Studios, is the first-ever Amazon Original Movie. The company said the movie could be Lee’s “greatest, and definitely his boldest, film yet.”
The film is set to be released on December 4 in select theaters.
Check out the clips from the films below:
CHI-RAQ Trailer from 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks on Vimeo.