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Inside Man

Inside Man

Overview
Inside Man is a 2006
2006 in film
The year 2006 in film saw many new films released worldwide, including several major mainstream sequels, prequels, and remakes as well as original films.-Top grossing films:...

 crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of one or more rules or laws for which some governing authority, via mechanisms such as police power, may ultimately prescribe a conviction...

-drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective...

 film
Film
Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....

 directed by Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He also teaches film at New York University and Columbia University...

. It stars Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director and film producer. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin Carter, Melvin B...

, Clive Owen
Clive Owen
Clive Owen is an English actor and has been working for nearly two and a half decades. He won a Golden Globe, BAFTA Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for his appearance in the 2004 film, Closer.- Early life :...

, Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
William "Willem" Dafoe is an American film and stage actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...

 and Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian Foster, better known as Jodie Foster , is an American actor, film director and producer.Foster began acting in commercials at 3 years old, and her first significant role came in the 1976 film Taxi Driver as the preteen prostitute, Iris, for which she received a nomination for the...

. The film's screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. A play for television is known as a teleplay.- Format and style :...

 was written by Russell Gewirtz
Russell Gewirtz
Russell Gewirtz is an American screenwriter, best known for writing the screenplay for Spike Lee's Inside Man.- Biography :...

 and produced by Brian Grazer
Brian Grazer
Brian Grazer is an American film and television producer who founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with partner Ron Howard...

. It was released in North America
North America
North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...

 and several Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...

an markets on March 23 and 24, 2006.

The film was shot on location
Filming location
A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage...

 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...

 and features an expansive and diverse ensemble cast
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is a cast in which the principal performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on different characters in different episodes...

. In addition to being a cerebral action-oriented thriller, the film handles issues of good and evil in unexpected sources, corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...

, prejudice
Prejudice
A prejudice is a preconceived belief, opinion or judgment especially toward a group of people characterized by their race, social class, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or religion...

, multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the acceptance of multiple ethnic cultures, for practical reasons and/or for the sake of diversity and applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g. schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities or nations...

 in United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 (and New York City in particular) post-September 11, 2001, and leaves several interpretations of right and wrong open to the audience.

The title comes from several meanings of the term "inside man" and therefore is a use of word play
Word play
For the rapper see WordplayWord play is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work. Puns, phonetic mix-ups such as spoonerisms, obscure words and meanings, clever rhetorical excursions, oddly formed sentences, and telling character names are common...

.

The film begins in media res
In medias res
In medias res, also medias in res , refers to a literary and artistic technique where the narrative starts in the middle of the story instead of from its beginning...

with Dalton Russell (Clive Owen
Clive Owen
Clive Owen is an English actor and has been working for nearly two and a half decades. He won a Golden Globe, BAFTA Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for his appearance in the 2004 film, Closer.- Early life :...

) narrating his plight in the confines of an undisclosed cell, musing about the difference between a cell and a prison.
Discussion
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Quotations

When I said that I planned the perfect bank robbery, I meant precisely that.

You have four seconds. Anyone still standing gets shot.

My friends and I are making a very large withdrawal from this bank. Anybody gets in our way, gets a bullet in the brain.

Peter, think very carefully about how you answer the next question, because if you get it wrong, your headstone will read: "Here lies Peter Hammond, hero who valiantly attempted to prevent a brilliant bank robbery by trying to hide his cellular phone, but wound up getting shot in the fucking head."

Anyone else here smarter than me?

Respect is the ultimate currency.

Or am I just whistling "Dixie (song)|Dixie" out of my ass?

When I'm good and ready, I'm gonna walk right through the front door.

Fact is, all lies, all evil deeds, they stink. You can cover them up for a while, but they don't go away.

Encyclopedia
Inside Man is a 2006
2006 in film
The year 2006 in film saw many new films released worldwide, including several major mainstream sequels, prequels, and remakes as well as original films.-Top grossing films:...

 crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of one or more rules or laws for which some governing authority, via mechanisms such as police power, may ultimately prescribe a conviction...

-drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective...

 film
Film
Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....

 directed by Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He also teaches film at New York University and Columbia University...

. It stars Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director and film producer. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin Carter, Melvin B...

, Clive Owen
Clive Owen
Clive Owen is an English actor and has been working for nearly two and a half decades. He won a Golden Globe, BAFTA Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for his appearance in the 2004 film, Closer.- Early life :...

, Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
William "Willem" Dafoe is an American film and stage actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...

 and Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian Foster, better known as Jodie Foster , is an American actor, film director and producer.Foster began acting in commercials at 3 years old, and her first significant role came in the 1976 film Taxi Driver as the preteen prostitute, Iris, for which she received a nomination for the...

. The film's screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. A play for television is known as a teleplay.- Format and style :...

 was written by Russell Gewirtz
Russell Gewirtz
Russell Gewirtz is an American screenwriter, best known for writing the screenplay for Spike Lee's Inside Man.- Biography :...

 and produced by Brian Grazer
Brian Grazer
Brian Grazer is an American film and television producer who founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with partner Ron Howard...

. It was released in North America
North America
North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...

 and several Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...

an markets on March 23 and 24, 2006.

The film was shot on location
Filming location
A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage...

 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...

 and features an expansive and diverse ensemble cast
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is a cast in which the principal performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on different characters in different episodes...

. In addition to being a cerebral action-oriented thriller, the film handles issues of good and evil in unexpected sources, corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...

, prejudice
Prejudice
A prejudice is a preconceived belief, opinion or judgment especially toward a group of people characterized by their race, social class, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or religion...

, multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the acceptance of multiple ethnic cultures, for practical reasons and/or for the sake of diversity and applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g. schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities or nations...

 in United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 (and New York City in particular) post-September 11, 2001, and leaves several interpretations of right and wrong open to the audience.

The title comes from several meanings of the term "inside man" and therefore is a use of word play
Word play
For the rapper see WordplayWord play is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work. Puns, phonetic mix-ups such as spoonerisms, obscure words and meanings, clever rhetorical excursions, oddly formed sentences, and telling character names are common...

.

Plot


The film begins in media res
In medias res
In medias res, also medias in res , refers to a literary and artistic technique where the narrative starts in the middle of the story instead of from its beginning...

with Dalton Russell (Clive Owen
Clive Owen
Clive Owen is an English actor and has been working for nearly two and a half decades. He won a Golden Globe, BAFTA Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for his appearance in the 2004 film, Closer.- Early life :...

) narrating his plight in the confines of an undisclosed cell, musing about the difference between a cell and a prison. Shortly afterwards, he begins in narration to describe the "perfect" plan for a bank robbery.

In flashback
Flashback
A flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened prior to the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...

, a group of robbers, dressed as painters and utilizing aliases under variants of the name "Steve," are led by Russell into a bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution licensed by a government. Its primary activities include borrowing and lending money.Many other financial activities were allowed over time. For example banks are important players in financial markets and offer financial services such as investment funds...

. The group promptly disables the security cameras
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors.It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly transmitted, though it may employ point to point wireless links...

 before brandishing firearms and taking over the bank, moving customers and staff into the basement where they confiscate all cell phones, keys, and outer clothing. One of the bank employees (Peter Hammond) attempts a bluff but Russell sees through it and delivers him a beating. The robbers force all hostages to change into painter uniforms and cover their faces with kerchiefs, making them nearly indiscernible from the robbers. They then lock the hostages into several rooms, periodically rotating them and introducing the robbers, as their tasks are done, into the groups to further disorient the hostages.

Meanwhile, the police arrive and surround the bank. Detectives Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director and film producer. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin Carter, Melvin B...

) and Bill Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Chiwetel Ejiofor, OBE is a British actor. In 2006 he received 2 Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture and Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series.-Early years:...

) introduce themselves to Captain Darius (Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
William "Willem" Dafoe is an American film and stage actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...

) and briefly discuss the situation.

Meanwhile Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer, CC is a Canadian theater, film and television actor. In a career that spans over five decades and includes substantial roles in film, television, and theater, Plummer is perhaps best known for the role of Captain Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music...

), chairman of the board of directors and founder of the bank, hires fixer
Fixer
-In journalism:* A Fixer is a local guide who assists foreign journalists in volatile countries, they often provide interpretation, personal connections, and transportation as a service.-In legal matters:...

 Madeleine White (Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian Foster, better known as Jodie Foster , is an American actor, film director and producer.Foster began acting in commercials at 3 years old, and her first significant role came in the 1976 film Taxi Driver as the preteen prostitute, Iris, for which she received a nomination for the...

) to try to arrange for the contents of his safe deposit box
Safe deposit box
A safe deposit box is a type of safe usually located in groups inside a bank vault or in the back of a bank or post office...

 at the bank to remain secret. Frazier starts to suspect that Russell may be attempting something else rather than just taking all of the money. He makes a call to Russell asking for more time to organise the plane but actually to find out what his plan really is. Russell decides to trust him and gives him a question that if answered right, gets the police more time. After it's solved successfully Russell asks for the cops to bring sandwiches, rather than pizza, to lessen the chances of bugging the containers. White meets with the mayor, then manipulates Frazier to let her talk to Russell. Mentioning the special interests she wants to protect, she persuades Russell to let her enter the bank to talk. When White requests access to the safe deposit box, Russell shows her a document bearing a swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form or its mirrored left-facing form. Archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates from the Neolithic period and was first found in the Indus Valley Civilization of the Indian...

 symbol, suggesting that Case received money, enough to found his bank, from the Nazis during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 for unspecified services that resulted in Jewish deaths. Russell reveals his motivation, saying, "All lies they stink, you can cover them up for a while but they don't go away." After assuring Russell that Case will make him a very wealthy man if he is able to escape the bank with this document, White leaves.

Attempting a bluff, Frazier informs Russell that the plane he demanded is ready but he needs to know that all the hostages are safe before letting them leave. Russell allows him to enter the bank, and Frazier is given a tour of the building. As they check the hostages, they discuss the situation, and also Frazier's desire to propose to his girlfriend, something which Russell suggests he should do regardless of finances. Upon exiting the bank, Frazier attempts to overpower Russell, only to fail when another robber comes to Russell's aid. Russell still lets Frazier leave unharmed with seemingly no repercussion for his attack. Frazier tells his colleagues that he intentionally tried to provoke Russell, but as Russell did not harm him, he believes that Russell is not a killer.

Soon after, the robbers call and direct the police to point their cameras to a specific window on the second floor where they show the execution of a hostage. An enraged Frazier confronts Russell again, demanding to know their true intentions. Russell simply replies that Frazier is "too damn smart to be a cop
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force. Police officers are generally responsible for apprehending criminals, maintaining public order, and preventing and detecting crimes...

" and closes the door on him.

The hostage incident prompts the ESU team into action, and they plan to raid the building, using rubber bullet
Rubber bullet
Rubber bullets are rubber or rubber-coated projectiles that can be fired from either standard firearms or dedicated riot guns. They are intended to be a less lethal alternative to metal projectiles...

s to knock everyone out. Frazier, however, realizes that the written message Russell sent out has a transmitter inside it. He orders Captain Darius, in command of police on the scene, to recall his men, but Darius ignores him.

Inside the bank, Russell overhears the conversation between Darius and Frazier and is alarmed that the police plan to move in. The robbers detonate smoke bombs throughout the bank and release the hostages, leading to a horde of identically dressed people exiting through the smoke in a mass of confusion. The police detain and interrogate everyone. However, due to the robbers' earlier pretence in the bank, Frazier is unable to identify any of them, including Russell. No money was stolen and no people were killed or seriously injured, as the hostage execution was faked. The weapons left behind were merely toys, it as if the incident had never occurred, prompting Frazier's boss to bury the case.

Frazier, however, keeps searching the bank's records and finds that safe deposit box #392 has never appeared on any records since the bank's founding in 1948. He obtains a search warrant from a judge to open it. He is then confronted by White, who informs him of Case's dealings with the Nazis. She also tries to convince Frazier to drop his investigation, reminding him that she has held up her end of her deal with him (guaranteeing his promotion, and returning money he was implicated in stealing prior to the events of the movie). He refuses, pointing out that he has not agreed to such a deal, and plays back their earlier conversation from a secret audio recording pen, ensuring he is protected.

White confronts Case about his dealings with the Nazis, in which he confesses everything to her. She also correctly surmised that the safe must have contained diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is the second most stable form of carbon, after graphite; however, the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is...

s that satisfied the criminal intentions; Case then specified a Cartier
Cartier SA
Cartiers SA is a French jeweller and watch manufacturer that is a subsidiary of Switzerland's Compagnie Financière Richemont SA. The corporation carries the name of the Cartier family of jewelers whose control ended in 1964 and who were known for numerous pieces including the "Bestiary" , the diamond...

 ring, belonging to a Jew
Jew
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

ish friend whom he allowed to die at the hands of the Nazis in exchange for money. He is remorseful for what he did, and had thus led a life of international philanthropy
Philanthropy
Philanthropy is the effort or inclination to increase the well-being of humankind, as by charitable aid or donations.- Definition :It is generally agreed that the word was coined 2500 years ago in ancient Greece, by the playwright Aeschylus, or whom ever else wrote Prometheus Bound...

 to try to assuage his guilt.

It is then revealed that Russell hid behind a fake wall erected inside the supply room by the multi-skilled thugs (literally making himself the "inside man"), where he was narrating the story at the beginning (and near end) of the movie. He emerges a week after the "robbery" was committed, deliberately bumping into Frazier (who does not recognize him) in the lobby. Russell is picked up by his associates, and is presumably never caught. Russell's associates ask him for the ring, and Russell reveals it is in good hands, namely, Frazier's.

Frazier opens the safe deposit box to find the Cartier ring and a message: "Follow the ring." He confronts Case, informing him of his intention to investigate the ring. He finds White, telling her that the ring was linked to Case's past. He offers White the pen with the recording, and gives her a card for the Office of War Crimes Issues
Office of War Crimes Issues
The Office of War Crimes Issues is a office within the United States Department of State.It is charged with advising the Secretary of State and formulating U.S. policy relating to war crimes and other atrocities. The office reports to the United States Deputy Secretary of State.The Department of...

 at the U.S. State Department, to request they look into the situation.

After his final encounter with White, Frazier goes home and finds a loose one-carat diamond in his pocket, realizing that it must have been slipped to him by the man he bumped into in the bank--Russell. As the movie ends, it is implied that Frazier will use the diamond to propose to his girlfriend.

Cast

  • Denzel Washington
    Denzel Washington
    Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director and film producer. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin Carter, Melvin B...

     ... Detective Keith Frazier
  • Clive Owen
    Clive Owen
    Clive Owen is an English actor and has been working for nearly two and a half decades. He won a Golden Globe, BAFTA Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for his appearance in the 2004 film, Closer.- Early life :...

     ... Dalton Russell
  • Jodie Foster
    Jodie Foster
    Alicia Christian Foster, better known as Jodie Foster , is an American actor, film director and producer.Foster began acting in commercials at 3 years old, and her first significant role came in the 1976 film Taxi Driver as the preteen prostitute, Iris, for which she received a nomination for the...

     ... Madeleine White
  • Christopher Plummer
    Christopher Plummer
    Christopher Plummer, CC is a Canadian theater, film and television actor. In a career that spans over five decades and includes substantial roles in film, television, and theater, Plummer is perhaps best known for the role of Captain Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music...

     ... Arthur Case
  • Willem Dafoe
    Willem Dafoe
    William "Willem" Dafoe is an American film and stage actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...

     ... Captain John Darius
  • Chiwetel Ejiofor
    Chiwetel Ejiofor
    Chiwetel Ejiofor, OBE is a British actor. In 2006 he received 2 Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture and Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series.-Early years:...

     ... Detective Bill Mitchell
  • Carlos Andrés Gómez ... Steve Damerjian
  • Kim Director
    Kim Director
    -Biography:Director was born in Florida, graduated from Upper St. Clair High School, in Upper St. Clair Township, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in 1993 and attended Carnegie Mellon University where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting...

     ... Stevie, Valerie Keepsake
  • James Ransone
    James Ransone
    James Ransone is an American actor. He is most famous for his roles as Ziggy Sobotka in the second season of HBO's The Wire, and Corporal Josh Ray Person in the Iraq war-based mini-series Generation Kill.-Filmography:...

     ... Steve-O
  • Bernie Rachelle ... Chaim
  • Peter Gerety
    Peter Gerety
    Peter Gerety is an American actor.Gerety began acting while a student at Boston University, participating in productions at the Charles Playhouse. In 1965, he joined the Trinity Square Repertory Company, a theater troupe in Providence, Rhode Island where he appeared in over 125 productions.Gerety...

     ... Captain Coughlin
  • Victor Colicchio ... Sergeant Collins
  • Cassandra Freeman ... Sylvia
  • Peter Frechette
    Peter Frechette
    Peter Frechette is an American film, stage and television actor.Born and raised in Coventry, Rhode Island, Frechette earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater from the University of Rhode Island. Off-Broadway he has appeared in Absent Friends, The Destiny of Me, What the Butler Saw, and The...

     ... Peter Hammond
  • Florina Petcu ... Ilina Miritia

Production


Originally Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American film director and producer, as well as an actor. Howard came to prominence in the 1960s while playing Andy Griffith's TV son, Opie Taylor, on The Andy Griffith Show , and later in the 1970s as Howard Cunningham's son and Arthur Fonzarelli's best friend,...

 was to direct the movie, but he backed out to do Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man is a 2005 American drama film by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard, Penny Marshall, and Brian Grazer.-Plot synopsis:...

. Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He also teaches film at New York University and Columbia University...

, a native New Yorker, was happy to direct a New York-based movie.

Much of the filming of Inside Man was done in Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...

 at or near 20 Exchange Place, off William Street and Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street is a street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. It runs east from Broadway to South Street on the East River, through the historical center of the Financial District. It is the first permanent home of the New York Stock Exchange; over time Wall Street became the...

 and just blocks from the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in lower Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. It is the largest stock exchange in the world by United States dollar value of its listed companies' securities...

 and South Street Seaport
South Street Seaport
The South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located where Fulton Street meets the East River, and adjacent to the Financial District. The Seaport is usually considered a historical district, distinct from the neighboring Financial District...

. Over three-quarters of the film's stage work was completed in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...

, making the production eligible for the city's "Made in New York
Made in New York
Made in New York is an incentive program by which any film or television show with 75% or greater of their work taking place in New York City gains several bonuses from the city government. Such bonuses include tax credits, cheaper advertising within the greater New York area, discount cards, and...

" incentives program.

Soundtrack



Inside Man is the film score to the 2006 movie of the same name. It was composed by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....

 musician and composer Terence Blanchard
Terence Blanchard
Terence Blanchard is a jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, arranger, and Golden Globe-nominated film score composer. Since he emerged on the scene in 1980 with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra and then shortly thereafter with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Blanchard has been a leading artist in...

 with additional orchestration by soundtrack composer Howard Drossin
Howard Drossin
Howard Drossin is a music composer for film, television, commercials, and video games. He is best known for his score on the Tony Jaa martial arts film, The Protector, which he co-composed with legendary hip-hop producer RZA....

.

Although not featured on the soundtrack album, the film prominently features a remix of the song "Chaiyya Chaiyya
Chaiyya Chaiyya
"Chaiyya Chaiyya" is the first song in the famous Hindi film Dil Se directed by Mani Ratnam.The song was composed by film composer A.R. Rahman, written by Gulzar, and sung by Sukhwinder Singh. It became extremely popular quickly upon release and its music video gained the same status, partly...

" (from the movie Dil Se
Dil Se
Dil Se is a 1998 Hindi film directed by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Shahrukh Khan, Manisha Koirala, and Preity Zinta. Mani Ratnam also wrote the screenplay for the film...

), by A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian film composer, record producer, musician and singer. His film scoring career began in the early 1990s...

 with Panjabi MC
Panjabi MC
Rajinder Singh , better known by his stage name Panjabi MC is a British Indian musician. He was born on 18 August 1969 in Coventry, England.-Career:...

 called "Chaiyya Chaiyya Bollywood Joint".

Track listing
  1. Chaiyya Chaiyya
    Chaiyya Chaiyya
    "Chaiyya Chaiyya" is the first song in the famous Hindi film Dil Se directed by Mani Ratnam.The song was composed by film composer A.R. Rahman, written by Gulzar, and sung by Sukhwinder Singh. It became extremely popular quickly upon release and its music video gained the same status, partly...

      (6:44)
  2. Ten Thirty (1:58)
  3. Thrown a Bone (2:36)
  4. Steve Switcheroo (1:35)
  5. Dalton's World (0:45)
  6. 357 (0:58)
  7. 392 (1:39)
  8. 2nd Floor Window (0:46)
  9. Defend Brooklyn (1:17)
  10. Food Chain (1:11)
  11. Above Your Pay Grade (1:27)
  12. Everything Hunky Dory (1:29)
  13. Frazier's Tour (4:52)
  14. Press Here to Play (1:41)
  15. Nothing Yet (2:06)
  16. Demands In Place (1:00)
  17. Here Lies Peter Hammond (2:34)
  18. Nazis Pay Too Well (3:54)
  19. Nice Talking to You (1:18)
  20. They Bugged Us (1:45)
  21. Hostage Takedown (2:49)
  22. Dr. Phil  (1:12)
  23. Photo Ops (2:00)
  24. ESU Search (1:26)
  25. Dalton's Cell (1:11)
  26. Follow the Ring (4:17)
  27. Good and Ready (2:20)

Reception


Inside Man earned acclaim from several well-known critics. On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films. The name derives from the historical cliché of throwing tomatoes and other produce at stage performers if a performance was particularly bad.- History :...

, it currently stands with an 87% rating, making it "Certified Fresh".
  • Allmovie 
  • Empire
    Empire (magazine)
    Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...

     
  • Roger Ebert
    Roger Ebert
    Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter.He is known for his film review column and for two television programs Sneak Previews and Siskel & Ebert at the Movies, which he co-hosted for a combined 23 years with Gene Siskel...

     
  • Rolling Stone
    Rolling Stone
    Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...

     
  • Premiere
    Premiere (magazine)
    Premiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, , was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there....

     


It was named one of the 10 best films of 2006 by the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...

. Director Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter and director, as well as a comic book writer, author, and actor. He is also the co-founder, with Scott Mosier, of View Askew Productions and owner of Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash comic and novelty store in Red Bank, New Jersey. He also hosts a...

 listed Inside Man on his Top Ten List of 2006.

As of December 21, 2006, the film has grossed a total of US$88,513,495 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 box office and US$184,376,254 worldwide. Inside Man was Spike Lee's most financially successful movie, and it led to many offers for the director to make more bank heist films.

Possible sequel


Spike Lee and Brian Grazer are developing a sequel to Inside Man, scheduled for release in 2010. Terry George
Terry George
Terry George is an Irish screenwriter and director. Born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland much of his film work involves the Troubles in Northern Ireland...

, the screenwriter that wrote Hotel Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda is a historical drama film about the hotelier Paul Rusesabagina during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. The film, which has been called an African Schindler's List, documents Rusesabagina's acts to save the lives of his family and more than a thousand other refugees, by granting them...

, is currently writing the script. Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He also teaches film at New York University and Columbia University...

 will reunite with the cast to direct the sequel. It has been confirmed that Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director and film producer. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin Carter, Melvin B...

 and Clive Owen
Clive Owen
Clive Owen is an English actor and has been working for nearly two and a half decades. He won a Golden Globe, BAFTA Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for his appearance in the 2004 film, Closer.- Early life :...

 will return to portray their characters. It is unconfirmed if Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian Foster, better known as Jodie Foster , is an American actor, film director and producer.Foster began acting in commercials at 3 years old, and her first significant role came in the 1976 film Taxi Driver as the preteen prostitute, Iris, for which she received a nomination for the...

's character will return in the sequel.

External links