| | | A Los Angeles crime saga.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1, Dolby Digital (5.1), Dolby Surround Sound, Documentaries, Additional Scenes, Commentary, Theatrical Trailers, English, French, Spanish Subtitled, 2 Discs
When Al Pacino and Robert De Niro square off, Heat sizzles. Written and directed by Michael Mann "with truly epic sweep, conviction and awesome proficiency" (Time), Heat includes dazzling set pieces and a bank heist that USA Today's Mike Clark calls "the greatest action scene of recent times." Heat offers "the most impressive collection of actors in one movie this year," Newsweek's David Ansen wrote. Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore and Ashley Judd are among the memorable supporting players in this tale of brilliant L.A. cop Vincent Hanna (Pacino) following the trail from a deadly armed robbery to a crew headed by master thief Neil McCauley (De Niro). The trouble is, McCauley's expertise is at least equal to Hanna's... Heat goes way beyond the expectations of the cops-and-criminals genre -- and into the realm of movie masterpiece.
"...the most impressive collection of actors in one movie..." David Ansen, Newsweek
"Awesome. Truly epic. A masterpiece. Wholly Original." Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine
Editor's Note
Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are finally together on screen in this riveting story about an intense rivalry between expert thief Neil McCauley (De Niro) and volatile cop Vincent Hanna (Pacino). McCauley will stop at nothing to do what he does best and neither will Hanna, even though it means destroying everything around them, including the people they love. With a solid supporting cast that includes Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Ashley Judd, and Natalie Portman, HEAT is a truly epic crime story.
Plot Summary
"Never have anything in your life you can't walk out on in thirty seconds" is the motto of expert thief Neil McCauley (De Niro). After his next break-in, McCauley plans to retire from his outlaw life and move to New Zealand. However, Vincent Hanna (Pacino), a Los Angeles police detective, obsessively tracks McCauley's gang of thieves, who have left three security guards dead in an armored truck robbery. As the detective gets closer to tracking them down, the crooks plan another big heist, this time at a bank. Hanna soon gets a lead that helps him determine the identity of the criminal mastermind who engineered the thefts, and discovers McCauley is a man as driven and relentless as the detective himself.Although he doesn't have enough evidence against the thief to make an arrest, Hanna convinces McCauley to join him for coffee, at which point the two engage in casual conversation and discover that their lives are remarkably similar. However, each man makes it clear he'll kill the other if necessary. Though they know the police are closing in on them, McCauley and his men risk going through with the bank job. A violent shoot-out and car chase result, but the criminals escape. Hanna continues to pursue them unceasingly, at the expense of his already-crumbling marriage. Eventually Hanna and McCauley face each other for the last time in a thrilling showdown at the Los Angeles airport. With HEAT, director Michael Mann achieves the nearly impossible task of making three hours go by in a flash with his use of the hand-held camera for action scenes and a moody score that echoes the characters' emotions. Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd, and others play characters that are also crucial to the plot, but never distract from the central conflict between McCauley and Hanna. The acting is outstanding, the story is riveting and the action scenes are breathtaking. Both De Niro and Pacino are perfect as two men driven to sacrifice nearly everything for their respective professions. With edge-of-your-seat action and insightful drama, HEAT is a crime film at its most intense and personal.
| Features | 2-Disc Set | | Additional Scenes | | Audio Commentary | | Audio: English, French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound; English Dolby Stereo | | Documentaries | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Theatrical Trailer | | Pacino and DeNiro Documentary: The Conversation: Anatomy of this historic on-screen showdown. | | Return to the Scene of the Crime Documentary: Revisiting the film's real-life L.A. locations 10 years later. | | True Crime Documentary: Recalling the real-life Chicago cop and criminal whose exploits inspired the movie | | Crime Stories Documentary: The screenplay's 20-year history and how the movie finally got greenlit. | | Into the Fire Documentary: Filming in L.A., how the cast trained for their roles, shooting the climatic downtown heist and post-production. | | Commentary by Writer/Producer/Director Michael Mann | | Theatrical Trailers | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Widescreen Presentation |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Warner |
| Release Date: 2/22/2005 |
| Running Time: 257 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1995 | | Catalog ID: 28919 | | UPC: 00085392891924 | | Number of Discs: 2 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
| Cast & Crew
| Memorable Quotes| "Maybe we should both do something else, pal."----McCauley (Robert De Niro) to Hanna (Al Pacino) over coffee|"I don't know how to do anything else."----Hanna |"Neither do I."----McCauley|"I don't much want to either."----Hanna |"Neither do I."----McCauley | | "It's like you said. All I am is what I'm going after."----Hanna, to his estranged wife | | "Never have anything in your life that you can't walk out on in 30 seconds if you see the heat around the corner."----McCauley |
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| | Professional Reviews | Premiere
"...Gobs of talent are amassed..." 12/01/1995 p.35Rolling Stone
"...This spellbinder vibrates with style, substance and humor, plus voluptuous camera work..." 12/28/1995 p.138 Sight and Sound
"...[HEAT] serves to bolster the case for Michael Mann as the key American auteur of the last ten years..." 02/01/1996 p.43-4 USA Today
"...A film that deserves Oscars for photography, editing, sound and arguably scoring....Heat is packed with unforgettable subcharacters..." -- 4 out of 4 stars 12/15/1995 p.1D Entertainment Weekly
"...[Mann's] .357 Magnum opus....Macho-intellectual chutzpah..." 06/21/1996 pp.72-3 Variety
"...Stunningly made and incisively acted by a large and terrific cast....[HEAT] stands apart from other films of its type by virtue of its extraordinary rich characterizations..." 12/11/1995 Los Angeles Times
"...A sleek, accomplished piece of work, meticulously controlled and completely involving. The dark end of the street doesn't get much more inviting than this..." 12/15/1995 p.F1 Chicago Sun-Times
"...There is absolute precision of effect here, the feeling of roles assumed instinctively..." 12/15/1995 p.37 Total Film
"[With] stunning cinematography, capturing an off-kilter LA, all metallic grey and widescreen sheen." 04/01/2004 p.137 Time Magazine 9 of 10
Dispassion vs. passion, intellect vs. instinct, the implosive vs. the explosive style--as writer-dir - Richard Schickel
Austin Chronicle 9 of 10
...Director Mann (Thief, Manhunter, The Last of the Mohicans) remakes his 1989 TV movie L. - Simon Cole
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