Set It Off (1996)

Desperation drives four inner-city women to bank robbery in Los Angeles, then they start mistrusting each other.

Director:

F. Gary Gray

Writers:

Takashi Bufford (story), Takashi Bufford (screenplay)

Stars:

Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox

5 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	Stony (as Jada Pinkett)
Queen Latifah	...	Cleo
Vivica A. Fox	...	Frankie
Kimberly Elise	...	Tisean
John C. McGinley	...	Detective Strode
Blair Underwood	...	Keith
Vincent Baum	...	Jajuan
Van Baum	...	Jajuan
Chaz Lamar Shepherd	...	Stevie (as Chaz Lamar Shepard)
Thomas Jefferson Byrd	...	Luther (as Thom Byrd)
Charles Robinson	...	Nate (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:

bank teller | bank robber | 1990s | african american | black woman | 

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Taglines:

Deal with this. The only breaks you get are the ones you take.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

18A

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jada Pinkett Smith and Vivica A Fox would later star together in Kingdom Come (2001). Although they play close friends in this movie they play family relatives in Kingdom Come.

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Goofs

During the initial bank robbery, Darnell is holding a hostage in a headlock. He is to the right of the hostage and facing teller Frankie. He has his revolver pressed against the right temple of the hostage. He fires the gun and in the next scene, the hostage falls to the ground and a gunshot wound can be seen on the left temple of the hostage. The right temple can also be seen, but it is absent of any marks or wounds.

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Quotes

Francesca 'Frankie' Sutton: [to Detective Strode with Frankie's gun to his head] So, what's the procedure when you have a gun to your head? What's the fucking procedure when you have a gun to your head?

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Alternate Versions

In the Directors Cut, after Stoney attacks Detective Strode, a scene is inserted where Cleo, Frankie & Tisean comfort a grieving Stoney in her house.

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Connections

Referenced in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Living Out Loud/Unmade Beds/American History X/John Carpenter's Vampires/The Celebration (1998)

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Soundtracks

Love Theme from The Godfather
Performed by Nino Rota
Written by Nino Rota
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

User Reviews

very good but very sad too...

I thought this was great. I am not being biased because of the fact that F. Gary Gray directed this but this was actually a very good movie. There is so much in this movie that really made me feel bad for the female quartet of bank robbers: (1. Stony degrades herself in order to put her brother through college only to find out he didn't get in and to see him shot dead minutes later (2. T.T., a single mom gets her pay docked, and is forced to bring her son to work who is hospitalized there as well (3. Frankie is robbed at gunpoint by some rockheads from her hood and loses her job because she didn't follow the procedure, and knowin' the game you're not supposed to snitch on someone from your own block 'cause that puts you at risk and (4. Cleo, the trigger happy, dyked out robber of the bunch has led a life of crime and has no one to turn to but her girlfriend and best friends.

This was such a wonderful movie because the action was definitely present here and the acting(especially Jada Pinkett and Queen Latifah) was great! Not only was the action there but the sentiment of the girls and what they've been through and what they go through shows how unfortunate they were and even worse, I damn near almost started crying at the ending 'cause it made me feel so bad. Christopher Young score well with the BGM of this flick to put the cherry on top.

very wonderful movie with a conscience 10/10

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 November 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Armées et dangereuses

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,812,105, 10 November 1996

Gross USA:

$36,461,139

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$41,590,886

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