See reviews at Metacritic





Directed by
Spike Lee

Starring:
Clive Owen
-Dalton Russell
Denzel Washington
- Frazier
Jodie Foster
- Madaline
Willem Dafoe
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Christopher Plummer

Writing credits
Menno Meyjes

Produced by
Brian Grazer .... producer
Scott Stuber .... executive producer

Production Companies
Imagine Entertainment [us]
Distributors
Universal Pictures [us] (2006) (USA) (theatrical)

Plot from Dave's Movie News Blog:

The Inside Man takes places during a hostage situation in which a tough cop matches wits a clever bank robber, who sets to pull the the perfect heist.

Washington stars as New York police detective Keith Miller, a tough, street-smart cop fighting for a promotion while trying to live down accusations of misconduct connected to his last case. When he and his partner are dispatched to the scene of an in-progress bank robbery and hostage crisis, Miller must face off against a well-educated criminal (Owen) masterminding a concisely plotted operation. As negotiations grow more strained, a powerful lawyer with mysterious ties (Foster) becomes involved in the crisis... and Miller slowly begins to realize that in this ultimate game of cat and mouse, rules are arbitrary, all roles are up for grabs and the black-and-white of right an wrong has blurred to a shadowy landscape of gray.

Links:

Blackfilm.com

IMDb

Universal Pictures Page

Official Site

NEWS

Updated August 1, 2006

Universal's Inside Man DVD Page

Reuters: Inside Man tops Box Office -- "Denzel Washington and director Spike Lee scored the best opening of their careers on Sunday, as the heist thriller "Inside Man" grabbed the No. 1 spot at the weekend box office in North America with estimated ticket sales of $29 million. The film, which also stars Clive Owen and Jodie Foster, was the top picture overseas as well, with sales of $9.6 million from 18 countries, including No. 1 openings in Britain and Germany, according to distributor Universal Pictures."

The Boston Herald: New fame gets Clive Owen ‘Inside’ - By Stephen Schaefer - Thanks, Doro

The Flick Filosopher (For USA residents) - Win a hat and T shirt from Inside Man (Write a caption) - Thanks, Doro

Inside Man review - The NY Times - Manohla Dargis: "To watch Mr. Washington breeze into a scene smooth as silk, smooth as Bogart and Easy Rawlins combined, or to listen to Mr. Owen murmur sweet nothings into the camera, is to experience the ineffable pleasures that only big-screen stars can provide. Mr. Lee rarely treats his actresses or female characters as well as their male counterparts, but whether by design or neglect, he helps Ms. Foster deliver her wittiest, most relaxed performance in ages. Part Mata Hari, part Ilsa the She Wolf, she stalks the sets in form-fitting suits and nose-bleed heels that show off her spectacular legs wonderfully. (She could kill with those things!) In a story dominated by men, in which most of the women are either desexualized or double-D babes, her character presents an amusing fantasy of female power. One of those mysterioso brokers who circumvent both the law and the criminal element for the deepest pockets in town, Madeline isn't the equal of any man: she's superior. And you thought dominatrixes wore only black leather."

IM Reviews also at Metacritic

CBS News: Clive Owen Is On A Roll - Nice interview, video and more - Thanks, Doro

Moviefone: Inside Man behind the scenes - Thanks, Yvette

Related - The UK Times: It's a new Spike with a soft tip -- Spike Lee has changed, Kaleem Aftab discovers. Why, he even has a new enemy to blame

Get links to all the Inside Man reviews at Rotten Tomatoes

EW.com: Inside Man is a hybrid of studio action pic and Spike Lee joint. Or else it's a cross between a 2006 Spike Lee joint and a 1970s-style movie indictment of urban unease. It's also a blend of Dog Day Afternoon and a Foster tough-lady thriller; of a Foster thriller and a smooth Owen sleight-of-hand drama; and of an Owen caper and a Washington out-for-justice pic. Some unwieldy hybrid — and yet the gamble pays off. Everyone gets a piece of the deal. Everyone gets a piece of the city with the brutally changed skyline, in all its new paranoia. - Thanks, Steph

Rolling Stone IM Review: "And watch the canny way that Owen, required to do a lot of acting behind a mask (shades of Hugo Weaving in V for Vendetta), brings nuance and wit to the robbery ringmaster. He reacts in shock to a child playing a gory video game called Kill Dat Nigga and then turns ruthless himself in a split second. The scene in which he catches a hostage lying about a cell phone is a model of how to build and sustain tension." - Thanks, mgill

Sacramento Bee: Lee infuses 'Inside Man' with energy - Thanks, mgill

Wireimages of the premiere (Do NOT right click and save)

USA Today: Inside the premiere of Inside Man - "...For Owen, concealing his face for the most of the film was "weird. You get this great script, this great part, and then you put a mask on and hide your face. But you get used to it. I told Spike all the time, 'Anyone could be doing this part.' "

Small pics of the IM premiere at Patrick McMullan - Thanks, Yvettte

Hello Magazine at the premiere

New Yorker review of Inside Man (not great) - Better one at Time Out London -

A new interview with Clive on IM at coming soon.net

Another good IM review - New York Magazine -

The Chicago Sun Times - Interview with Denzel Washington - Thanks, Steph -- (Denzel will be on Letterman Tomorrow [Monday 3/20].)

Clive interview at Black Film.com - Thanks, Steph

Another good review for Inside Man - At Variety - "...the mastermind, Owen is commanding despite being hidden behind a mask much for the time..." - Thanks, Steph

The Hollywood Reporter - Inside Man review (A good one) - "...The head robber, Clive Owen's Dalton Russell, is a character at least as old as Alan Rickman's Eurotrash villain in "Die Hard," but this guy is somehow different: Unusually cool and calm, he is fully in control of the situation as he keeps a step or even a step and a half ahead of Frazier at all times." - Thanks, Steph

Emmanuel Levy's review of the film - Thanks, mgill

Emmanual Levy.com: Great article and comments from Spike on Inside Man - On Clive Owen - Clive Owen is great, and he took on a big risk, because the audience can't see his face. Denzel said it was hard for him to act with Clive because he fed off Clive's expressions, and there were scenes when his face was completely masked. To give the actors more "face" time and allow the audience into the clever robber's head, we carefully reviewed the script and found places where Owen's character could be filmed unmasked. - Thanks, mgill, Steph

The Comicbook Bin: Inside Man review - Thanks, Steph

Box Office Prophets - March openings - Inside Man (Scroll to number four and click on the name of the film for more information

Big Flicks of 2006: March continues the action with 'V for Vendetta' (March 17), in which 'Star Wars' princess NATALIE PORTMAN is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked vigilante known only as "V," set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain. The same day, DENZEL WASHINGTON, CLIVE OWEN and JODIE FOSTER engage in a deadly game of cat and mouse during a volatile bank robbery in 'Inside Man.' - Thanks, Steph

Nice review for the Inside Man trailer at Can Magazine

Inside Man Trailer at Apple - Thanks, Steph (This looks like a good one!) - Snaps from trailer HERE

Comments at the IMDb message board for Inside Man on a pre-screening in CA - Thanks, Steph

The Times Union: Spike's World (Spike Lee) - Thanks, Kyle

Spike Lee podcast for Inside Man (Free to download. Spike talks about Inside Man and other films. Do a search at i tunes under podcasts for "Inside Man." There are three episodes. You can listen to them on line) - Thanks, Steph

7/22/05 - Getty Image pictures of Clive, Spike. Defoe with Governor Pataki on the set 7/21

7/11/05 - Blackfilm.com: Over the weekend, blackfilm.com obtained some set photos of Spike Lee's film, INSIDE MAN - Courtesy of Harkrider Enterprises. - Thanks, Chris V

6/28/05 - Variety: MAN ON THE 'INSIDE' - Ejiofor teams with Washington on cop pic: "Dirty Pretty Things" star Chiwetel Ejiofor will play Denzel Washington's cop partner in "The Inside Man," the Imagine Entertainment drama that Spike Lee is directing and Brian Grazer's producing for Univeral.

6/17/05 - Reuters/The Hollywood Reporter: Willem Dafoe has joined Clive Owen, Denzel Washington and Jodie Foster in the cast of a second Universal feature, "Inside Man," which Spike Lee is directing. Dafoe's recent credits include "XXX: State of the Union" and "The Aviator."

6/8/05 - Spike Lee to Shoot Inside Man in Brooklyn - Thanks, Steph (Info on Steiner Studios)

5/3/05 - Variety: Lee, Schulberg taking on 'Louis' - By ARMY ARCHERD: "GOOD MORNING: Spike Lee starts "Save Us Joe Louis," his long-planned Joe Louis feature, immediately after completing "Inside Man" with Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster and Clive Owen for producer Brian Grazer at Universal. Lee and Budd Schulberg have been working (writing) the Joe Louis project for five years. It's the story of the two Louis-Max Schmeling championship bouts (1936 and 1938) and the global ramifications. Lee says characters involved in the pic will include FDR, Hitler, Mussolini and Sugar Ray Robinson for starters, adding Schulberg was on hand for the 1938 fight. Lee tells me, "Budd (93) is going strong. This is a David Lean caliber film." As for "Inside Man," he said, "this is an intelligent bank heist film -- no shooting. It's about criminals who use their brains, not guns." When I spoke with Lee last week, he was readying to take his "Inside Man" co-star Clive Owen to see Denzel Washington (whom Lee has directed three times previously) in "Julius Caesar" at the Belasco. Lee directs his 15 mins. seg for "All the Invisible Children" this week." Thanks, Bea

Empire on line: 4/18/05 - The film has at this stage been described as a complex cops and robbers tale (with a twist, of course), pitting bank robber Clive Owen against cop Denzel Washington. The bank robber is trying to pull off that elusive 'perfect heist'. Fate has other ideas, and the standoff ensues. Foster enters the already tense scenario playing a lawyer who further complicates the situation. Never one to coast, we're expecting Jodie to wring every last drop out of the role, and raise this already promising premise. We're thinking Heat, we're thinking Dog Day Afternoon, we're thinking the good bits of The Negotiator.

4/18/05 - Variety -- Jodie Foster & The "Inside Man" Author: Garth Franklin: "Universal Pictures has pegged Jodie Foster to star opposite Denzel Washington and Clive Owen in "Inside Man," Imagine Entertainment's new drama that will be directed by Spike Lee reports Variety. Brian Grazer is producing and Russell Gewirtz has scripted the drama which pits a cop against a clever bank robber who's trying to pull off the perfect heist, and finds himself in the middle of a hostage situation. Foster will play a well-connected lawyer/power broker who is brought in to represent certain behind-the-scenes interests, complicating an already tense standoff. The project will shoot in early summer. Foster's last lead role was in 2002's "Panic Room" and will next be seen in the Robert Schwentke-directed thriller "Flight Plan" this Fall." Thanks, Steph

PR Newswire: Looks like Owen is confirmed to be in Inside Man… "Donna Langley was named Executive Vice President, Production for Universal Pictures in October of 2003. Since that time she has been intimately involved in the development and production of numerous Universal feature films including 2004's world-wide smash "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" and the critical and audience favorite "In Good Company." She is currently working on the upcoming "Inside Man," starring Denzel Washington and Clive Owen and directed by Spike Lee, which is set for production later this year; the comedy "You Me and Dupree," starring Owen Wilson; and the romantic comedy, "Prime,"starring Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep. Langley has been actively involved in the update of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" starring Keira Knightly for Universal's Focus Features due in theatres later this year." - Thanks, Steph, Chris

Denzel Washington, Spike Lee Team for 'Inside' Job - Wed Apr 6, 2:30 AM ET Movies - Reuters - By Borys Kit LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Oscar winner Denzel Washington is set star in the upcoming hostage drama "Inside Man," which Spike Lee is directing for Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment. Clive Owen is in negotiations to join the movie, which Imagine's Brian Grazer is producing. "Inside" takes place during a tense hostage situation in which a tough cop matches wits with a clever bank robber, who sets out to pull off the perfect heist. Russell Gewirtz and Menno Meyjes wrote the screenplay. "Inside" would be the fourth Washington-Lee pairing. The two teamed up on 1990's "Mo' Better Blues," 1992's "Malcolm X" and 1998's "He Got Game." Washington, who won a best actor Oscar for his role as a rogue cop in "Training Day," currently stars on Broadway as Brutus in "Julius Caesar." He also won an Academy Award for his supporting role in the Civil War tale "Glory." Last year, the actor starred in "Man on Fire" and "The Manchurian Candidate." Owen was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for his performance in "Closer." He is currently featured in the hyper-noir film "Sin City" and next stars in "Derailed." Lee's recent credits include "25th Hour," "She Hate Me" and the upcoming Showtime limited series "Sucker Free City." - Thanks, Mari

The cast includes Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Willem Dafoe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Plummer, Peter Gerety, Peter Frechette, Jason Manuel Olazabal, Darryl 'Chill" Mitchell, and Ashlie Atkinson.
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