SUMMER OF SAM. Directed by Spike Lee. Written by Lee, Victor Colicchio and Michael Imperioli. Running time: 145 minutes. Rated R.

Spike Lee’s “Summer of Sam” is the perfect tonic for the summer of 1999: His excellent film is sparked vibrantly to life not by a computer, but by people, a refreshing change in a cinematic climate overrun with special effects.

Here is a film whose story is big, intellectually stimulating, visually arresting, beautifully written, expertly told, and which is never afraid to take risks. Audiences should run to it.

On the surface, the film is about the serial killer David Berkowitz, nicknamed “Son of Sam” by the tabloids, a vicious man whose murderous rampage took New York City by storm in the summer of 1977.

But Lee’s movie is just as much about its pre-AIDS culture. Its electrifying rush of disco anthems, punk rock, rampant sex, grisly violence and unforgettable machismo all collide in a film that’s a boiling pot of a city gone mad with fear and dread.

Across the board, the performances are strong, particularly those by John Leguizamo and Mira Sorvino. But what is even more impressive is how Lee captures the late 1970s; he sees Berkowitz as just one red flag in a society reeling out of control.

Grade: A

SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER AND UNCUT. Directed by Trey Parker. Written by Parker, Matt Stone and Pam Brady. Running time: 80 minutes. Rated R.

“South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut” is so laced with obscenities, raunch and violence, Tipper Gore might combust if she saw it.

But the film, just like the popular Comedy Central cartoon on which it’s based, also has its moments of brilliance, particularly in its parody of Broadway show tunes, which the film mimics throughout with hilarious panache.

Unlike “Big Daddy,” there is genuine wit fueling “Uncut’s” script, and that’s what saves it from being just another crude summer movie. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone actually have something to say — particularly to those desperate to censor artists — and they say it loudly with a raised middle finger.

Why “Uncut” didn’t get slapped with an NC-17 rating is beyond me — one of its jokes is how it puts Saddam Hussein in bed with Satan — but for those wondering what really can come out of the mouths of babes, well, look no further.

Grade: B+

Christopher Smith’s “The Week in Rewind” appears each Thursday in The Scene. Each Tuesday on WLBZ’s “News Center 5:30 Today” and “News Center Tonight,” he appears in Cinema Center.