Inside Man

"It looked like the perfect bank robbery. But you can’t judge a crime by its cover."

2006 2h 9m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

🍅

86%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.6

IMDB

★7.4TMDB · 6,603🍅86%Rotten Tomatoes●76Metacritic★7.6IMDB · 422,850

CrimeDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiations preoccupied with corruption charges he is facing.

“It looked like the perfect bank robbery. But you can’t judge a crime by its cover.”

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Cast

Denzel Washington
Keith Frazier
Clive Owen
Dalton Russell
Jodie Foster
Madeleine White
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Case
Willem Dafoe
John Darius
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Bill Mitchell
Carlos Andrés Gómez
Steve
Kim Director
Stevie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Spike Lee
Writers: Russell Gewirtz, Dan Maslen
Languages: English, Albanian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 20 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Albanian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Inside Man Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Spike Lee, shot by Matthew Libatique. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Terence Blanchard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Barry Alexander Brown shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Denzel Washington and Clive Owen and Jodie Foster carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Spike Lee directs. Matthew Libatique behind the camera. Terence Blanchard scores. Barry Alexander Brown cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Albanian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 4.1× over at the box office.
2Released 20 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Albanian.
4Part of the "Inside Man Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Spike Lee, shot by Matthew Libatique. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Terence Blanchard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Barry Alexander Brown shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Denzel Washington and Clive Owen and Jodie Foster carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "It looked like the perfect bank robbery. But you can’t judge a crime by its cover.".
10IMDB entry: tt0454848 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 10 themes, including "new york city", "hostage", "ultimatum", "heist".
12Released under 44 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Matthew Libatique
Original score: Terence Blanchard
Editing: Barry Alexander Brown
Production design: Wynn Thomas
Costume design: Donna Berwick
Makeup / hair: Anita Gibson
Sound: Bob Chefalas
Stunt coordinator: Jeff Ward
Runtime: 129 min · 2h 9m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $45,000,000
Box office: $186,003,591
Return: 413% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Inside Man (2006)
Rotten Tomatoes: 86% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 76/100
IMDB rating: 7.6/10 · 422,850 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

5 wins & 12 nominations total

Part of

Inside Man Collection

Inside Man is a 2006 American heist thriller film directed by Spike Lee and written by Russell Gewirtz. It centers on an elaborate bank heist on Wall Street over a 24-hour period. The film stars Denzel Washington as Detective Keith Frazier, the NYPD's hostage negotiator, Clive Owen as Dalton Russell, the mastermind who orchestrates the heist, and Jodie Foster as Madeleine White, a Manhattan power broker who becomes involved at the request of the bank's founder, Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer), to keep something in his safe deposit box protected from the robbers. In 2019, a sequel titled Inside Man: Most Wanted was released direct-to-video and streaming on Netflix.

Also by

Spike Lee

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-03-27
★ 7/10
As heist films go, this isn't at all bad. Spike Lee and Denzel Washington's "Det. Frazier" keep the drama going and although quite few, the twists do keep you guessing. Jodie Foster and Christopher Plummer appear sparingly, but they contribute quite substantially to the rather more evil and interesting sub-plot - despite the presence of the unusually stolid Clive Owen whose role as "Russell" is pivotal to the accruing sense of peril and cleverly planned mischief. This movie touches upon social and religious mores a little, though I wouldn't say this was Lee at his most political - and this all adds to an enjoyable multi-layered story. A good watch.
The Movie Mob2022-09-16
★ 8/10
Inside Man is the most clever and interesting bank robbery film I have ever seen! Inside Man is mind-blowing, clever, fast-paced, well-crafted, and downright brilliant. With an all-star cast led by Denzel Washington and Clive Owen, Inside Man takes twists and turns you never see coming. Denzel’s clever charm combats Clive’s steely calm intensity leaving the audience intrigued and engaged, wondering what is happening from start to finish. The genius writing makes the crazy robbery scheme seem believable and actually possible. Inside Man makes you root for both sides of the law wanting the burglars to succeed and the cops to get their man with a highly satisfying and rewarding resolution. My only complaints would be the final 20 minutes falters in pacing a little as it attempts to tie all the threads together, and all the foul language was unnecessary. All in all, Inside Man is a brilliant must-see for any heist film enthusiast, Denzel Washington fan, or movie lover in general.