HEAT
Director - Michael Mann, 1995, US
Starring - Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Amy Brenneman, Wes Studi, Dennis Haysbert, Tom Sizemore, Mykelti Wiliamson, Natalie Portman.

Based on a previous endeavour, neatly titled 'LA Takedown' this earlier version provided Mann with the blueprint for what was later to become one of the greatest heist films of all time! Following an almost exact replica of the previous script, Mann turned his 95min action film into almost a three hour film thesis on the cops and robbers genre, only this time on a much bigger budget with a cast deserving of Mann's direction.

The plot is simple, two ruthless professionals - one an obsessive cop, Vincent Hanna (played by Pacino), who's life is starting to crumble around him, the other a master thief, Neil McCauley (played by De Niro), who?s only family is his crew. Both share the same code of honour, but will stop at nothing to reach their objectives. The result is astonishing, a complex and gripping thriller that surpasses all expectations, and plunges deep into the realm of cinema masterpiece!

Dante Spinotti's cinematography is breathtaking; scenes are often filmed with a subtle naturalness, uncomplicated to an extent, which allows Mann to capitalising on the unique selling points and acting ability of the individual characters' such as the coffee shop scene where criminal and cop meet face to face.

Scenes are often accompanied by vast empty backgrounds shaping the ever present baron LA landscape. These aspects of the film, coupled with a truly outstanding cast and backing soundtrack, have enabled Mann to reinvent the wheel when it comes to this particular film genre, but this is not a film you can categorise, it serves as a case study and outstanding example of filmmaking at its very best.

Film Facts!

The scene where a bank heist goes wrong was given an extra degree of realism and direction by Andy McNab (former SAS soldier). It was hailed by USA Today as ?the greatest action scene of recent times? and is now used as a training aid for soldiers.

Both actors who played the role of Red Dragon in Mann?s earlier work 'Manhunter' and in ?The Silence Of The Lambs? star in HEAT ? one as a forensics cop, the other as a wheelchair bound criminal consultant.

HEAT is still the only film to date to have been graced with the presence of two of the greatest actors of all-time (Pacino and De Niro). The Godfather II comes in at a close second with De Niro taking the role of a younger Don Corleone.

In the earlier version of the film (LA Takedown) Al Pacino and Robert De Niro's characters where played by virtual unknowns Scott Plank and Michael Rocker the film flopped and it was later removed from video shelves to make room for HEAT.

Film Recommendations: The Jericho Mile, Manhunter, The Keep, The Last of The Mohicans, Thief (AKA Violent Streets), Ali, Collateral, Miami Vice.

Review by John Anthony

Heat is a classic, it was always going to be once they cast Pacino and De Niro opposite one another and throw in Val Kilmer and Jon Voight, not to mention Dennis Haysbert (Palmer in 24) and Natalie Portman (Of Princess Amidala Fame). However, for me it wasn't quite up there with Goodfellas, Casino and Scarface. The crimes were as slick as Ocean's Eleven and the play-off between De Niro and Pacino is probably without equal. However, the action didn't quite get deep enough for me. There were also a few unneccessary subplots that drew out the film, like Haysbert's Grill man, who cares if he was really trying to go straight, or that Waingro was up to naughty things with hookers? It could all have been cut out to produce a more to-the-point film. I also was a bit perplexed when the police pulled over Kilmer's character at the end and then let him go because he had a fake driver's license, surely they would have recognised him and pulled him in as a mere precaution, seeing as he was in that spot at the right time. Anyway, if you haven't seen it, you really should, don't let me put you off with my quest for perfection.

Heat is an absolutely tremendous film that I would strongly urge anyone with a taste for good cinema to go and see. Michael Mann directs what is a stunning and enthralling cat and mouse thriller. While the plot may win no points for originality - De Niro's crew eyeing up one last job with rabid cop Pacino vowing to bring them to justice - it is executed with such perfection that the fairly unoriginal scenario really doesn't matter.

The film starts with a stylish, but brutal robbery with a twist. De Niro's mob are on the job with total efficiency in one of the best robbery scenes I've ever witnessed in film. This breathtaking raid is matched later on in the film as the villains embark on a more dangerous raid, again one which Mann directs remarkably and incisively.

Al Pacino is the man charged with putting the armed robbers into the slammer and he is on the top of his game as the cop with marital problems who won't stop and doesn't rest until he gets his man. Both Pacino and De Niro dominate every scene they're involved in and both men are a joy to watch from start to finish. As good as the supporting players are in this film, and believe me they are good (Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Ashley Judd and 24's Dennis Heysbert), none of them hold a candle to the Italian-American, Oscar-winning duo. The film's two main stars, though, share very little screen time together as the film is built around the inevitable final act where master-crook and dogged-cop must collide for the grand finale. Both characters are really a parallel of one another, neither will stop until they get what they want, both are meticulous planners and both men like to win. This is what makes the film so enthralling, and unlike many cop versus robbers films, the audience are left to make their minds up on who to root for.

The film is easily one of the best I have ever seen and one I would watch it time and again. Unlike so many crime thrillers, this film is not rushed, it has plenty of subplots and in its two and half hours of screen time, is allowed to build slowly and purposely towards the action signs which deliver with more venom than a Mike Tyson uppercut. With both De Niro and Pacino on such captivating form, this film is simply unmissable.