Menace II Society - Production

Production

Originally, Tupac Shakur was set to play Sharif and rapper Spice 1 to play Caine, but they were later fired with director Allen Hughes claiming that Tupac was causing trouble on the set. Six months after the firing, Shakur assaulted the director, resulting in Shakur being found guilty of assault and battery. Tupac did not want to play the role of Sharif, not being a Muslim. Tupac wanted to play O-Dog. They were later replaced with Larenz Tate and Tyrin Turner, respectively.

The movie featured realistic dialogue, and is known for its crude and profane language. The word "fuck" and its derivatives are used 300 times in the 97-minute film. This was a record up to that time and the film still holds one of the highest fuck per minute rates at 3.07 times per minute. The movie was slightly edited for an R-rating; edited scenes included Samuel L. Jackson's character's killing of the man in the poker scene, the shooting of the red-sweatered gang member by A-Wax, and Caine's death at the end. The director's cut was first released on laserdisc, then released on DVD in 2008. The film's first DVD release was the R-rated theatrical version. The director's cut has since been re-rated R for strong bloody violence, drug use and pervasive language (instead of strong violence, drug use and language). Several additional scenes were also added, including a scene showing Caine and O-Dog breaking into a car in the garage, the funeral of Caine's cousin, and a scene after the funeral. But according to the Hughes brothers, a prison riot scene, which was cut by the studio to avoid an NC-17 rating, has not been restored.