Heat (1995 film): Difference between revisions
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'''''Heat''''' is a [[1995 in film|1995]] [[Cinema of the United States|American]] [[ |
'''''Heat''''' is a [[1995 in film|1995]] [[Cinema of the United States|American]] [[Action film|action drama]] [[film]] written and directed by [[Michael Mann (film director)|Michael Mann]]. It stars [[Al Pacino]], [[Robert De Niro]], and [[Val Kilmer]]. The film was released on [[December 15]], [[1995]]. |
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[[Robert De Niro|De Niro]] plays a professional burglar who is a calm and methodical introvert, while [[Al Pacino|Pacino]] plays a veteran [[Los Angeles Police Department|LAPD]] [[homicide detective]] whose devotion to his job causes him to neglect his personal problems. The central conflict of the film was based on the experiences of former Chicago police officer Chuck Adamson and his pursuit of a criminal named McCauley in the 1960s, from which the name of De Niro's character, Neil McCauley, was derived. |
[[Robert De Niro|De Niro]] plays a professional burglar who is a calm and methodical introvert, while [[Al Pacino|Pacino]] plays a veteran [[Los Angeles Police Department|LAPD]] [[homicide detective]] whose devotion to his job causes him to neglect his personal problems. The central conflict of the film was based on the experiences of former Chicago police officer Chuck Adamson and his pursuit of a criminal named McCauley in the 1960s, from which the name of De Niro's character, Neil McCauley, was derived. |
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Revision as of 11:18, 27 November 2008
 | This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. (November 2008) |
| Heat | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Michael Mann |
| Written by | Michael Mann |
| Produced by | Michael Mann Art Linson |
| Starring | Al Pacino Robert De Niro Tom Sizemore Diane Venora Amy Brenneman Ashley Judd Mykelti Williamson Wes Studi Ted Levine Dennis Haysbert William Fichtner Natalie Portman Tom Noonan Kevin Gage Hank Azaria Danny Trejo with Jon Voight and Val Kilmer |
| Cinematography | Dante Spinotti |
| Edited by | Pasquale Buba William Goldenberg Dov Hoenig Tom Rolf |
| Music by | Elliot Goldenthal |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates | December 15, 1995 |
Running time | 171 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $60,000,000 (estimated) |
| Box office | $187,436,818 (worldwide) |
Heat is a 1995 American action drama film written and directed by Michael Mann. It stars Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Val Kilmer. The film was released on December 15, 1995.
De Niro plays a professional burglar who is a calm and methodical introvert, while Pacino plays a veteran LAPD homicide detective whose devotion to his job causes him to neglect his personal problems. The central conflict of the film was based on the experiences of former Chicago police officer Chuck Adamson and his pursuit of a criminal named McCauley in the 1960s, from which the name of De Niro's character, Neil McCauley, was derived.
Heat marked the first time that Pacino and De Niro appeared together onscreen, garnering much anticipation from film fans. Although both actors had already starred in The Godfather Part II 21 years earlier, they had not appeared in any scenes together. Pacino and De Niro appeared together again in the 2008 film Righteous Kill.
The film is technically a remake of L.A. Takedown, a 1989 made-for-television film also written and directed by Mann; Mann had been trying to get Heat made for over a decade, and created L.A Takedown as a simplified version after his efforts were unsuccessful. Heat was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $185 million worldwide.
Plot summary
Career thief Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) leads a team of criminals, including longtime friends Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer) and Michael Cheritto (Tom Sizemore) on an armored car heist, stealing US$1.6 million in bearer bonds from Malibu Equity Investments, a shell company that launders off-shore drug accounts. The robbery is botched when new member Waingro (Kevin Gage) impulsively murders a guard, forcing the team to execute the remaining guards and escape. McCauley meets with his fence, Nate (Jon Voight), who suggests selling the bonds back to their original owner, Roger Van Zant (William Fichtner), who stands to profit from the bond insurance while purchasing them at a reduced price. During his meeting with the robbers at a local diner, an enraged McCauley prepares to kill Waingro when he is interrupted by a passing LAPD patrol car, allowing Waingro to weasel away. Meanwhile, Van Zant agrees to buy his bonds back but instructs his men to ambush McCauley at the meeting and take the bonds back. McCauley escapes the ambush, with help from his crew, and vows revenge.
Investigating the bearer bonds heist, Lieutenant Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) of the elite LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division learns through informants and surveillance that McCauley and his crew are planning a bank robbery with an estimated $12 million payoff, which would allow McCauley to finally retire. The investigation and subsequent planning highlight how each man's commitment to their respective professions has severely damaged their personal lives: Hanna's third marriage to wife Justine (Diane Venora) is in the early stages of a breakdown, threatened by his grueling work schedule and his troubled stepdaughter Lauren (Natalie Portman), his wife's child from a previous marriage. Shiherlis's relationship with his wife Charlene (Ashley Judd) is hampered by his crippling gambling addiction, pushing her into an extramarital affair. Only McCauley, who lives a solitary existence that forbids attachments and stresses mobility, finds his life renewed from a budding relationship with Eady (Amy Brenneman), a kind, naive graphic designer who believes him to be a metal salesman.
Gradually, McCauley realizes he is being surveilled, and counter-investigates Hanna and his Robbery-Homicide squad. Hanna, realizing he's been discovered, deliberately intercepts McCauley and invites him to coffee at a local diner. During their tense meeting, the two professionals examine each other and, despite their positive impressions, reveal that if necessary, they will not hesitate to kill each other if the situation demands it. Meanwhile Waingro, previously in hiding following the armored car heist, approaches Van Zant and offers to lead him to another member of McCauley's crew, Trejo (Danny Trejo) who is tortured with his wife into revealing information about McCauley's planned robbery, which Van Zant leaks to the police.
The robbery already in progress, Hanna and his unit, their ranks bolstered with uniformed police officers, drive to the bank and inadvertently surprise McCauley and his crew as they begin to leave. A chaotic gunfight breaks out in downtown Los Angeles, the robbers blasting their way past police blockades in an attempt at freedom. The firefight claims the lives of Cherrito and the getaway driver Donald Breeden (Dennis Haysbert), and several police officers, including one of Hanna's squad members, Bosko (Ted Levine). McCauley escapes with a wounded Shiherlis. Realizing Trejo's betrayal, McCauley visits his house where he discovers Trejo near death. In his final moments, Trejo reveals that Waingro and Van Zant are responsible before McCauley euthanizes the dying Trejo, and drives to Van Zant's house where he murders him. Learning about Van Zant's death, Hanna realizes that McCauley will next seek revenge against Waingro, now hiding in a hotel room under a false name and surveiled by police, and orders his team to spread information about Waingro's location to bait McCauley. Meanwhile, the police move Charlene Shiherlis and her son Dominic to a safe house where Sgt. Drucker (Mykelti Williamson) explains that Charlene will be charged as an accessory to her husband's crime and relocate her son to a foster home if she doesn't surrender Chris to the police. Chris appears hours later with an altered appearance to disguise his identity. Despite their marital problems, Charlene surreptitiously warns him about the police presence, the two sharing one last emotional look before Chris returns to his car and inconspicuously departs.
McCauley returns to Eady and breaks his longstanding creed, compelling her to flee with him to New Zealand. As he finalizes his plans, Nate reveals Waingro's whereabouts to McCauley. Confident with his escape plan, McCauley impulsively takes the bait and infiltrates the hotel, activating the fire alarm to vacate the hotel. With the hotel security and police distracted, McCauley barges in and kills Waingro before beginning his escape. Moments later, Hanna arrives at the hotel and from a distance observes Eady waiting in McCauley's car. As he approaches, McCauley emerges from the building and noticing Hanna, hesitantly defaults to his "thirty seconds" rule and abandons Eady, disappearing into the crowd with Hanna in pursuit. Following a tense cat-and-mouse chase in the darkness of the LAX freight terminal, McCauley nearly gets the drop on Hanna, but Hanna manages to shoot McCauley first, leaving him clinging to life in the fields of the adjoining runways. Knowing he has more in common with McCauley than anyone else in his life, Hanna moves to comfort his would-be killer, to which McCauley extends his hand and Hanna embraces. Together, the two share a final, quiet moment of reflection and understanding as McCauley dies.
Cast
- Al Pacino as Lt. Vincent Hanna
- Robert De Niro as Neil McCauley
- Val Kilmer as Chris Shiherlis
- Jon Voight as Nate
- Tom Sizemore as Michael Cheritto
- Diane Venora as Justine Hanna
- Amy Brenneman as Eady
- Ashley Judd as Charlene Shiherlis
- Mykelti Williamson as Sgt. Drucker
- Wes Studi as Det. Casals
- Ted Levine as Bosko
- Dennis Haysbert as Donald Breedan
- William Fichtner as Roger Van Zant
- Natalie Portman as Lauren Gustafson
- Tom Noonan as Kelso
- Kevin Gage as Waingro
- Hank Azaria as Alan Marciano
- Danny Trejo as Trejo
- Henry Rollins as Hugh Benny
- Tone Lōc as Richard Torena
- Jeremy Piven as Dr. Bob
Reception
The film was well received by critics. As of 20 July 2008 it holds an 89% 'fresh' rating at Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 75 on the Metacritic aggregate of film reviews.
Heat was listed as the 38th greatest film in history in Empire magazine's 2008 list of the "500 Greatest Movies of All Time".
Effect on real crime
The explicit nature of several of the scenes in Heat were cited as the model of a spate of robberies since its release. This included armored car robberies in South Africa, Colombia, and Denmark [1] [2] and a bank robbery in North Hollywood, California. [3]
DVD releases
A "bare bones" edition of Heat was released on DVD in 1999, which did not include any extra features. A two-disc special edition DVD was released in 2005, featuring an audio commentary by director Michael Mann, deleted scenes, and numerous documentaries detailing the production of the film. Warner has announced the Blu-ray Disc release of the film for 2008.[4]
See also
References
- ^ JUST BLAME THE HEAT
- ^ Life imitates art in Colombia robbery
- ^ 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Bank Robbery Shootout (TV, 2003). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0362389/
- ^ http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=937
External links
