Set It Off (1996)

Four Black women, all of whom have suffered for lack of money and at the hands of the majority, undertake to rob banks. While initially successful, a policeman who was involved in shooting ... See full summary »

Director:

F. Gary Gray

Writers:

Takashi Bufford (story), Takashi Bufford (screenplay),

Stars:

Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox

5 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	Lida 'Stony' Newsom (as Jada Pinkett)
Queen Latifah	...	Cleopatra 'Cleo' Sims
Vivica A. Fox	...	Francesca 'Frankie' Sutton
Kimberly Elise	...	Tisean 'T.T.' Williams
John C. McGinley	...	Detective Strode
Blair Underwood	...	Keith Weston
Vincent Baum	...	Jajuan
Van Baum	...	Jajuan
Chaz Lamar Shepherd	...	Stevie Newsom (as Chaz Lamar Shepard)
Thomas Jefferson Byrd	...	Luther (as Thom Byrd)
Charles Robinson	...	Nate Andrews (as Charlie Robinson)
Ella Joyce	...	Detective Waller
Anna Maria Horsford	...	Ms. Wells
Samantha MacLachlan	...	Ursula
Samuel Monroe Jr.	...	Lorenz

Storyline

Four Black women, all of whom have suffered for lack of money and at the hands of the majority, undertake to rob banks. While initially successful, a policeman who was involved in shooting one of the women's brothers is on their trail. As the women add to the loot, their tastes and interests begin to change and their suspicions of each other increase on the way to a climactic robbery.

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Plot Keywords:

money | bank | robbery | tragedy | machine gun | 

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Taglines:

It's about crime. It's about payback. It's about survival.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong graphic violence, pervasive language, some sex and drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 November 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

A nagy dobás

Filming Locations:

Biltmore Hotel - 506 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$11,807,451 (USA) (8 November 1996)

Gross:

$36,049,108 (USA) (28 February 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Peak Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kimberly Elise was discovered by producer Dale Pollock at a restaurant where she waitressed at the start of her career.

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Goofs

Numerous errors in gun visual/sound effects and operation. During the final bank shootout, Stony's gun runs out of ammunition (evidenced by the slide locking back). However, she continues to pull the trigger generating a "click click" sound. Modern semi-automatic pistols such as the Glock Stony is using do not return the trigger to a ready-to-fire position until the slide closes and another round is chambered. Therefore, it is impossible to generate several audible clicks with an empty weapon.

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Quotes

Captain Fredricks: What part of "no" don't you understand, Strode? The "N" or the "O"?

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Connections

Featured in Setting It Straight: Making 'Set It Off' (2009)

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Soundtracks

"I'll Be Missing You"
Written by Brandy Norwood
Performed by Brandy Norwood, Tamia, Chaka Khan, and Gladys Knight

User Reviews

It has its flaws, but when it works, wow.

Here's a movie that bombed because nobody had any idea how to advertise it. It turns out that "Set it Off" is the devastatingly sad story behind a string of unusual bank robberies. I highly recommend it as you really grow to care about the characters, which makes the final act all the more harrowing. My only problem is that the romantic subplot seems out of place. Other then that, make sure you have a box of tissues ready.