Set It Off (1996)

Director:

F. Gary Gray

Writers (WGA):

Takashi Bufford (story)
Takashi Bufford (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

6 November 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

Four Black women, all of whom have suffered for lack of money and at the hands of the majority, undertake to rob banks...

Plot Keywords:

Robbery | Shot In The Head | Human Relationship | Lesbianism | Tattoo

Awards:

5 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

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

MPAA:

Rated R for strong graphic violence, pervasive language, some sex and drug use.; Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, some sex and drug use. (director's cut)

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:18 | Philippines:X | UK:15 (new rating) | UK:15 (re-rating) (2008) | USA:R (certificate #45339) (director's cut) | Australia:MA | Canada:18A | France:-12 | Germany:16 (w) | Ireland:18 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Singapore:R(A)

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

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

Goofs:

Factual errors: 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.

Quotes:

Lida 'Stony' Newsom: [holding up a check] Look! Did your sister come through for you or what?
Stevie Newsom: Where did you get this?
Lida 'Stony' Newsom: Don't worry about where I got it from. That ain't none of your business. Just look at the digits!
Stevie Newsom: Look, Stony, there's something I got to tell you.
Lida 'Stony' Newsom: Look, Stevie, I know this is hardly enough money. But I swear, I will get every...
Stevie Newsom: No, no, listen to me. I didn't get into U.C.L.A., and I'm not going because I didn't get accepted.
Lida 'Stony' Newsom: [angrily slaps Stevie] You didn't get IN?
Stevie Newsom: Come on, Stony, don't go off on me now...
Lida 'Stony' Newsom: DON'T you tell me not to go off on you! Do you have any IDEA what I had to go through? Do you?
Stevie Newsom: I'm not staying around for this.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Waist Deep (2006)

Soundtrack:

I'll Be Missing You

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