Menace II Society | |
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Directed by | The Hughes Brothers |
Screenplay by | Tyger Williams |
Story by |
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Produced by | Darin Scott |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Lisa Rinzler |
Edited by | Christopher Koefoed |
Music by | QD III |
Production company | |
Distributed by | New Line Cinema [1] |
Release date |
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Running time | 97 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $3.5 million |
Box office | $30 million [2] |
Menace II Society (pronounced Menace to Society) is a 1993 American teen drama film directed by the Hughes Brothers [3] in their directorial debut. The film is set in Watts and Crenshaw neighborhoods of Los Angeles, and follows the life of Caine Lawson (Tyrin Turner) and his close friends. It gained notoriety for its scenes of violence, profanity, and drug-related content, and also received critical acclaim for the performances of Turner, Jada Pinkett, and Larenz Tate, the direction, and its realistic portrayal of urban violence and powerful underlying messages.
Kaydee "Caine" Lawson and his best friend Kevin "O-Dog" Anderson enter a liquor store to buy some malt liquor, where a Korean cashier and his wife suspiciously watch and rush them to buy their drinks and leave. As they pay and leave, the cashier insults and provokes O-Dog by saying, "I feel sorry for your mother." Consequently, O-Dog argues with him, fatally shoots both the cashier and his wife, takes the surveillance tape, robs the clerk's wallet and the cash register, and flees with Caine.
In a voice-over, Caine reveals that his father Tat, a drug dealer, was killed in a drug deal gone wrong when Caine was 10, and his mother Karen, a heroin addict, died of a drug overdose. This led to his grandparents raising him in the crime-ridden Jordan Downs housing projects.
O-Dog flaunts the surveillance tape to Caine and their admiring friends, greatly annoying Caine. Later, Caine and his cousin Harold are carjacked en route from a party, with Caine being wounded and Harold being murdered. After learning the carjackers' whereabouts, Caine, O-Dog, and their friend A-Wax, an OG, hunt them down and kill them, avenging the death of Harold.
Caine and O-Dog attempt to steal a car and are subsequently caught and bitten by a police dog. The two men get arrested after a failed car theft attempt. Caine's fingerprints match those taken from a beer bottle he dropped in the liquor store on the night of the murders, and though he is interrogated by a detective who tries to trick him by changing the times to confuse him, he soon walks free nonetheless as the police fail to link him due to O-Dog taking the tape. Caine's friends, Stacy and Sharif, try to convince him to accompany them to Kansas, and both his grandfather and Sharif's father warn him that he will either end up dead or imprisoned unless he changes his ways. Caine, nevertheless, ignores all advice.
After buying a Ford Mustang from a chop shop, Caine carjacks a young black man at a fast food restaurant for his gold Dayton wire wheels, his jewelry, and forces him to order some double cheeseburgers. Then Caine purchases a large quantity of cocaine, and plans to sell it as crack. Caine also meets a local girl named Ilena and eventually has sex with her. While driving one night, he and Sharif are pulled over and beaten by cops. The two are dumped by the cops in a Hispanic neighborhood, but the Hispanic gang members surprisingly take them to a hospital rather than further beat them up as the police anticipated. During his hospitalization, Caine's friend Ronnie invites him to accompany her to Atlanta, where she has found a job. Initially hesitant, he ultimately agrees.
At a party, Chauncey, a confederate of Caine in an insurance scam, drunkenly moves sexually towards Ronnie. Caine rescues her and starts pistol-whipping Chauncey, prompting Stacy and Sharif to restrain him. Ilena calls Caine and tells him she's pregnant, but he denies paternity and drops her. Chauncey retaliates by sending his copy of the surveillance tape to the police initially unbeknownst to Caine and O-Dog.
Meanwhile, Caine brutally stomps Ilena's cousin when he confronts Caine outside his grandparents' house about the pregnancy. After witnessing the stomping, Caine's grandparents tell Caine he cannot live with them anymore, while firmly standing by their decision and rejecting Caine's plea to stay until he moves to Atlanta. As the police now have Chauncey's copy of the surveillance tape confirming Caine's and O-Dog's involvement in the liquor store murder, they start looking for a now-wanted Caine and O-Dog. Learning from their friend Doc that Chauncey sold them out to the police, Caine and O-Dog begin hiding out at Ronnie's and other friends' houses. O-Dog vows revenge on Chauncey while Ilena's cousin gathers his friends to seek revenge on Caine.
As Caine and Ronnie are preparing to leave for Atlanta, Ilena's cousin and his friends drive by Ronnie's house and engage in a drive-by shootout. Sharif is killed instantly, while Caine is fatally wounded trying to protect Ronnie's son, Anthony. O-Dog shoots back at the attackers and is unharmed. After the shootout, Stacy and Ronnie come running out of the house. Ronnie tends to Anthony and Stacy tends to Caine, forcing O-Dog to get help for him. As Caine's life flashes before him, he sees the near-future of O-Dog being caught and arrested for the liquor store murder, and is put inside a police car. Caine recalls his grandfather asking him if he cares whether he lives or dies, and he realizes in his dying moment that he does. By now though, it is too late.
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Originally, rapper MC Ren was set to play A-Wax, but later turned down the role when he joined the Nation of Islam in late 1992. MC Eiht replaced MC Ren's role as A-Wax. Rappers Spice 1 and Tupac Shakur were initially set to play Caine and Sharif respectively, but they were later fired, with director Allen Hughes stating that Shakur was causing trouble on the set. Shakur was angry for not being told why Sharif would turn Muslim. When Shakur was cast in the role of Sharif who, as described in the film was "an ex-knucklehead turned Muslim", he did not agree with how the character was written. While many of his rap music contemporaries were portraying roles similar to their gangsta rap personas, Sharif would have required Shakur to portray the character as a stoic & pious Muslim. According to MC Eiht, who played A-Wax in the film:
My take on it was, everytime we got ready to rehearse, he had an opinion about his character…He wanted them to write in the script WHY he turned Muslim...Show me why I turned Muslim and they wouldn't do it and that's what angered him...You're not just going to give people that ideal that Tupac is just this yeah you know, "preach my brother", fuck that! [4]
Six months after the firing, Shakur assaulted Hughes, resulting in Shakur being found guilty of assault and battery. [5] [6] Nonetheless, after Tupac's death, Allen Hughes praised the actor, stating "If 'Pac had been in the movie he would've outshined everyone." [7]
Menace II Society received generally positive reviews from critics. [8] The film has an 85% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 46 reviews, with an average rating of 7.40/10. The consensus reads, "Told with grit and verve by the Hughes brothers in their feature debut, Menace II Society is a gangland epic that breathes with authenticity while steeped in style." [9] Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [10]
Chicago Reader critic Jonathan Rosenbaum stated, "This is a powerful, convincing, and terrifying look at teenage crime in contemporary Watts." [11] Owen Gleiberman from Entertainment Weekly gave it a positive review, stating, "Menace II Society is bleak, brilliant, and unsparing." [12]
Emanuel Levy gave the film an A, saying it is "The most stunning feature debut in the new African American cinema, even more so than Boyz n the Hood to which the coming of age feature bears thematic resemblance." [13] The film was placed on both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert's 10 best films of 1993 lists, with Ebert praising "the way the filmmakers tell Caine's story without making him seem either the hero or victim". [14] [15]
However, the film has also received some negative reviews. Geoff Andrew of Time Out stated, "Regrettably, the Hughes Brothers' first feature is a compendium of clichés." [16] Stephen Holden of The New York Times stated, "If Menace II Society is terrific on ambiance, it is considerably less successful in revealing character." [17] At the 1994 MTV Movie Awards, the film was awarded Best Movie, beating out the likes of Philadelphia , Jurassic Park and Schindler's List . [18] At the Independent Spirit Award, The film had nominated an for Best First Feature, but lost to El Mariachi (the first installment in the Robert Rodriguez's Mexico Trilogy ). [19]
The film grossed $27.9 million in the United States and Canada but only $1.6 million internationally for a worldwide total of $29.5 million. [20] [2]
1993 Independent Spirit Awards
A soundtrack containing hip hop music was released on May 26, 1993, by Jive Records. It peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
The director's cut of Menace II Society was released on LaserDisc in January 1994 via The Criterion Collection. [21] [22] In August 2021, Criterion announced that Menace II Society, alongside 5 other films, would be released as a part of its first 4K Ultra HD releases. Criterion indicated each title will be available in a 4K UHD+Blu-ray combo pack including a 4K UHD disc of the feature film as well as the film and special features on the companion Blu-ray. The titles were released in November 2021. [23]
In 2013, rapper and record producer Kanye West cited Menace II Society as one of his "most-watched" favorite films on an episode of the Bret Easton Ellis Podcast. [24]
Tupac Amaru Shakur, also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and songwriter. He is considered to be one of the most influential and successful rappers and African-American music artists of all time. Academics regard him as one of the most influential music artists of the 20th century and also a politically conscious activist voice for Black America. Shakur is among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. His lyrical content has been noted for addressing social injustice, political issues, and the marginalization of Black Americans, but he was also synonymous with gangsta rap and violent lyrics.
Jada Koren Pinkett Smith is an American actress, singer and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show Red Table Talk, for which she has won a Daytime Emmy Award. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021.
Larenz Tate is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles as O-Dog in Menace II Society, Anthony Curtis in Dead Presidents, and as Councilman Rashad Tate in Power. Tate's other films and television series include the films Love Jones, A Man Apart, Crash, Waist Deep, Ray and the television series Rush and Game of Silence.
Tyrin Turner is an American actor. He is best known for playing the lead role of Caine Lawson in the critically acclaimed 1993 urban drama Menace II Society.
Aaron Bernard Tyler, better known by his stage name MC Eiht, is an American rapper. Many of his songs are based on his life in Compton. His stage name was partly inspired by the numeral in KRS-One's name. He chose Eiht for its links to "hood culture", including Olde English 800 and .38 caliber firearms. He is the de facto leader of West Coast hip hop group Compton's Most Wanted, which also included fellow Compton-based rappers Boom Bam, The Unknown DJ, Tha Chill, DJ Mike T, DJ Slip and Ant Capone. He is also known for his role as A-Wax in the 1993 film Menace II Society, as well as playing the character Ryder in the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes, known together professionally as the Hughes brothers, are American film directors and producers. The pair, who are twins, are known for co-directing visceral, and often violent, movies, including 1993's Menace II Society, 1995's Dead Presidents, 2001's From Hell and 2010's The Book of Eli. The brothers did most of their collaboration between 1993 and 2001. Since 2004, when Albert moved to Prague, Czech Republic, he and Allen have only directed one film together, The Book of Eli in 2010. They have been involved in directing and producing film and television projects separately since 2005.
Poetic Justice is a 1993 American romantic drama film written and directed by John Singleton, and starring Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur, with Regina King and Joe Torry in supporting roles. Poetic Justice follows Justice (Jackson), a poet mourning the loss of her boyfriend from gun violence, who goes on a road trip from South Central L.A. to Oakland on a mail truck along with her friend (King) and a postal worker (Shakur) who she initially cannot stand but soon helps Justice deal with her depression.
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood is a 1996 American hood comedy film directed by Paris Barclay in his feature directorial debut and written by Phil Beauman, with additional contributions by and starring Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans. In the film, two cousins explore the surreal, comedic world of South Central Los Angeles.
Gridlock'd is a 1997 American black comedy crime film written and directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall, and starring Tupac Shakur, Tim Roth, Lucy Liu and Thandiwe Newton. It was the directorial debut of Curtis-Hall, who also has a small role in the film. The film's opening was relatively low, despite critical acclaim; its opening weekend netted only $2,678,372 and it finished with a little over $5.5 million. Shakur died four months before the film's release.
Robert Lee Greene Jr., better known by his stage name Spice 1, is an American rapper from Hayward, California. He began releasing albums in 1992, where he gained popularity as a pioneer of the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Area hip-hop scene.
Bokeem Woodbine is an American actor. In 1994, he portrayed Joshua, the main character's troubled brother, in Jason's Lyric. He won a Black Reel Award and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for his role as Kansas City mob enforcer Mike Milligan in the second season of Fargo. Woodbine also portrayed Daniel in season 2 of the WGN series Underground, Herman Schultz/Shocker in the film Spider-Man: Homecoming, and saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman in the Oscar-winning Ray Charles biopic Ray.
Juice is a 1992 American crime drama thriller film directed by Ernest R. Dickerson, and written by Dickerson and Gerard Brown. It stars Omar Epps, Tupac Shakur, Jermaine Hopkins and Khalil Kain. The film touches on the lives of four black youths growing up in Harlem, following their day-to-day activities, their struggles with police harassment, rival neighborhood gangs and their families.
Dennis the Menace is a 1993 American family comedy film based on the Hank Ketcham comic strip of the same name, directed by Nick Castle, written and coproduced by John Hughes and distributed by Warner Bros. under its Family Entertainment label.
Arnold Herbert Johnson was an American actor who played the lead role in the film Putney Swope (1969). The film was directed by Robert Downey Sr. Johnson appeared in Shaft (1971) as Cul, a friend of John Shaft and the owner of a shoeshine parlor. He also had roles in Rocky (1976) and Menace II Society (1993), as Thomas, the religious Christian grandfather of the lead character Caine.
Reggie Gibson, better known as Saafir, is an American rapper, producer, and actor. He is also a member of the rap group "Golden State Project" with Ras Kass and Xzibit. Born in Oakland, California, he lived with Tupac Shakur and became a dancer for Digital Underground.
The East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry was a dispute between artists and fans of the East Coast hip hop and West Coast hip hop scenes in the United States, especially from the mid-1990s. A focal point of the rivalry was the feud between East Coast–based rapper the Notorious B.I.G. signed by Puff Daddy and their New York City–based label, Bad Boy Records, and West Coast–based rapper Tupac Shakur signed by Suge Knight and their Los Angeles–based label, Death Row Records. Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. were murdered in drive-by shootings within six months of each other, after which the feud soon ended with a "peace" summit in 1997 at the behest of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
"Streiht Up Menace" is a song and the debut solo single by American rapper MC Eiht. It was released on May 31, 1993 through Jive Records as the second single off the soundtrack of 1993 film Menace II Society. Written and produced by Eiht himself together with fellow Compton's Most Wanted groupmate DJ Slip, it peaked at number 72 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 46 on the Hot R&B Singles. A remix to the song was also heard in the film, but was not included in the soundtrack album.
Menace II Society (The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack for Albert and Allen Hughes' 1993 teen hood drama film Menace II Society. It was released on May 26, 1993 via Jive Records, and consists primarily of hip hop music. The album is composed of sixteen songs and features performances by Boogie Down Productions, Brand Nubian, Da Lench Mob, DJ Quik, Hi-Five, Juanita Stokes, Kenya Gruv, MC Eiht of Compton's Most Wanted, Mz Kilo, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, The Cutthroats, The Dangerous Crew, UGK and YG'z.
Tupac Assassination: Conspiracy or Revenge is a documentary film about the unsolved murder of rapper Tupac Shakur produced by Frank Alexander, a Shakur bodyguard who was with the rapper at the time of the shooting, produced and directed by Richard Bond.
Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni and Tupac Shakur is an American television documentary miniseries directed by Allen Hughes, about Tupac Shakur and his mother Afeni Shakur. It premiered on FX on April 21, 2023. It received critical acclaim.