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Menace II Society (pronounced Menace to Society) is a 1993 American teen drama film directed by the Hughes Brothers[2] in their directorial debut. The film is set in Watts and Crenshaw neighborhoods of Los Angeles, and follows the life of Kaydee "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.

Menace II Society
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	The Hughes Brothers
Screenplay by	Tyger Williams
Story by	Allen Hughes Albert Hughes Tyger Williams
Produced by	Darin Scott
Starring	Tyrin Turner Jada Pinkett Bill Duke Charles S. Dutton
Cinematography	Lisa Rinzler
Edited by	Christopher Koefoed
Music by	QDIII
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release date	May 26, 1993 (1993-05-26)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$3.5 million
Box office	$30 million[1]

Plot

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 rush them to pay for their drinks and leave, suspecting that they might be trying to steal something. After their purchase, 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 his 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 Harold's death.

Caine and O-Dog attempted to steal a car then got 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 tricks him by changing the times to confuse him, he soon walks free nonetheless as the police fail to link him. 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 another young black man for his gold Dayton wire wheels and his jewelry, subsequently orders some double cheeseburgers at the fast food restaurant, then purchases a large quantity of cocaine, planning to sell it as crack. Caine also meets a local girl named Illena and eventually has sex with her. While driving one night, he and Sharif are pulled over and beaten by cops. The two are dumped in a Hispanic neighborhood, but the Hispanic gang members surprisingly take them to a hospital rather than beat them further as feared. 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. Illena calls Caine and tells him she's pregnant, but he denies paternity and drops her. Chauncey retaliates by sending a copy of the surveillance tape to the police, who begin hunting Caine and O-Dog, now wanted for the liquor store crimes. Doc, Caine & O-Dog's friend, alerts O-Dog and others of Chauncey's actions, forcing O-Dog and Caine to hide out at Ronnie's and other friends' houses. O-Dog vows to murder Chauncey if the police don't catch him first.

Meanwhile, Caine beats up Illena's cousin when he confronts Caine outside his grandparents' house about the pregnancy. After witnessing the beating, Caine's grandparents decide that it is best for him to not live with them anymore, despite his pleas to stay until he moves to Atlanta. Meanwhile, Illena's cousin gathers his friends to get revenge on Caine.

As Caine and Ronnie are preparing to leave for Atlanta, Illena'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. Stacy and Ronnie come running out of the house screaming for help. O-Dog retaliates at the attackers and is unharmed and Stacy tells him to get help. As Caine slowly dies, he recalls his grandfather asking him if he cares whether he lives or dies, and he realizes in his dying moment that he does.

Cast

Production

This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2014)

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, that were also staring in the film, were portraying roles similar to their gangsta rap personas, playing Sharif would have required Shakur to portray the character with 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 reherse, 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!” [3]

Six months after the firing, Shakur assaulted Hughes, resulting in Shakur being found guilty of assault and battery.[4][5] Shakur did not want to play the role of Sharif, as he did not believe, in regard to the authenticity of such a role, that a Muslim could also be a gangbanger. He wanted to play O-Dog, which was later played by Larenz Tate. Tyrin Turner replaced Spice 1's role as Caine, and Vonte Sweet replaced Shakur's role as Sharif.[6]

Reception

Menace II Society received generally positive reviews from critics.[7] The film has an 84% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 43 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."[8]

Chicago Reader critic Jonathan Rosenbaum stated, "This is a powerful, convincing, and terrifying look at teenage crime in contemporary Watts."[9] Owen Gleiberman from Entertainment Weekly gave it a positive review, stating, "Menace II Society is bleak, brilliant, and unsparing."[10]

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."[11] 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".[12][13]

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."[14] Stephen Holden of The New York Times stated, "If Menace II Society is terrific on ambiance, it is considerably less successful in revealing character."[15] At the 1994 MTV Movie Awards, the film was awarded Best Movie, beating out the likes of Philadelphia, Jurassic Park and Schindler's List.[16] The film also won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography and was nominated for Best First Feature, but lost to El Mariachi (the first installment in the Robert Rodriguez's Mexico Trilogy).[17]

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.[18][1]

Soundtrack

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.

Home media

The director's cut of Menace II Society was released on LaserDisc in 1994 via The Criterion Collection.[19] 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.[20]

Legacy

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.[21]

See also

• List of films featuring surveillance
• List of hood films
• Boyz n the Hood
• Colors
• New Jack City
• Juice
• Deep Cover
• Strapped

References

External links

• Menace II Society at IMDb
• Menace II Society at AllMovie
• Menace II Society at Rotten Tomatoes
• Menace II Society at Metacritic
• Menace II Society at Box Office Mojo

На других языках

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- [en] Menace II Society

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[es] Menace II Society

Menace II Society es una película estadounidense de 1993, dirigida por Albert y Allen Hughes.

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[it] Nella giungla di cemento

Nella giungla di cemento (Menace II Society) è un film diretto da Albert e Allen Hughes.

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[ru] Угроза обществу

«Угроза обществу» (англ. Menace II Society) — американский фильм 1993 года, режиссёрский дебют братьев-близнецов Аллена и Альберта Хьюзов, рассказывающий о тяжёлой жизни в гетто, и известный обилием сцен с графическим насилием, нецензурной речью (слово «fuck» употребляется около 300 раз) и наркотиками.

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