Directed by:
Michael MannScreenplay:
Michael MannCinematography:
Dante SpinottiComposer:
Elliot GoldenthalCast:
Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora, Amy Brenneman, Dennis Haysbert, Ashley Judd, Mykelti Williamson, Wes Studi, Ted Levine (more)Plots(1)
Neil McCauley is a hardened professional criminal who has spent many years behind bars and is determined never to go back. A highly focused loner, McCauley's protection is that there's nothing in his life that he can't walk away from in 30 seconds flat. Vincent Hanna is a lieutenant of detectives in LAPD's Robbery/Homicide Division who searches through the remains of a crime for the scent of his prey and then hunts them down. Those are the elevated experiences of his life--the rest is disorder. When McCauley and his team rob an armored van of bearer bonds, Hanna takes over the case. McCauley and his crew are nearly impossible to identify, let alone track down. But Hanna's network of informants and the details of each man's life--failures and dreams, betrayals and vendettas--generate clues Hanna is able to discover. Soon, Hanna and his detectives and McCauley and his crime partners are driven towards a collision from which only some will survive. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (11)
I needed a second screening to fully discover the genius and filmmaking level of this masterpiece by Mann. Now I know where to look for the tip of the iceberg, which in this case is a metaphor for all crime films, and to what height Heat rises above all others. Together with The Godfather and The Fugitive, it’s the most intense experience in the genre, and for me personally, in cinema as such. Long after the end, you can still feel on your own skin the incredible atmosphere of the second half, which will forever be written in golden letters in the history of cinema – every scene heightens the tension and the emotions, every look of the excellent actors is worth a thousand words. The action scenes are incredibly realistic and impressive, and the famous shootout in the city streets is probably the best ever on screen. The script is well thought out and unreadable, just as it should be, and I've never seen such a brilliant acting duo as the one Pacino and De Niro have created here as two sworn enemies that respect each other; their amazing performances complete what Mann wouldn’t have been able to do on his own, and most importantly, the two of them bring the film to the unwavering top. They, and the developed psychology of all the other characters, admittedly stretch the runtime quite a bit, but without that the story could never have achieved such power and brought even the toughest action fan to tears with the final shot. Now I also know another thing I can be a little proud of: I was born the year Heat was made.
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A thrilling film where I didn’t mind the excessive runtime. De Niro and Al Pacino are reunited in a movie after a long time and it's worth it. A brilliant mix of action and a kind of subtly psychological portrait of two standing on the opposite side of the law, but who have respect for each other and something in common. Some passages are based on real events, e.g. the pivotal scene of DeNiro and Pacino's conversation in the restaurant actually happened. Heat is one of the best films of the 1990s.
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Michael Mann wrote and directed something I’ve been wanting to see for a long time. He showed us precisely the line separating good and evil and the entire movie balances on that thin line. It isn’t clear for a long time who is good. Is anybody? Or is everybody good in their own way? Al Pacino certainly doesn’t come across as a positive hero and the same goes for De Niro. Even so, you find yourself crossing your fingers for them and the ending is incredibly nerve racking. Plus the action and mainly the big shootout is so wonderfully raw that your eyes are glued to the screen. If he manages to pull off something like it with Miami Vice, it’ll be Christmas in the summertime for me.
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A three-hour gem full of star actors! Few people can make a film that is so kinetic, energetic, desperate, riveting, blunt and brilliant with such a simple story. Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer give perhaps the best acting performances of their careers. However, it is disappointing to see a very overlong running time and insufficient space for the female cast – Ashley Judd and little Natalie Portman – but I am satisfied. A solid olds-chool flick. 80%.
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A very decent, significantly above-average action crime film, which narrowly missed out on earning five stars. Charismatic characters, a thrilling story with intense scenes and unexpected twists, and an excellent cast led by Al Pacino and Robert De Niro with the corresponding performances. Unlike many genre-related films, Heat stands out with a decent script that reveals and develops the psychology of its characters. The wild shootout during the bank heist is a premature climax of the film. What bothered me was the ending, where the experienced gang leader McCauley makes a rookie mistake completely contrary to the thinking and actions of his character. Overall impression: 85%.
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