Heat [DVD] [1995]

There are luxuries in life and there are necessities… Heat on Blu-ray is a necessity.If you are here reading reviews for this, stop now and just buy it, you will absolutely not regret this purchase.I know this is in a lot of people’s top 10 movies so to have it on Blu-ray is a must, especially the gun fight scene, imagine just how that sounds and looks in this quality, it will never be this good from any streaming service.

Heat is written and directed by Michael Mann. It stars Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora, Ashley Judd, Amy Brennerman and Danny Trejo. Music is scored by Elliot Goldenthal and cinematography by Dante Spinoti.Big time thief Neil McCauley (DeNiro) is after one last major score before he retires, but hot on his tail is Vincent Hannah (Pacino), a cop equally and methodically as driven as he is himself.In the build up to Heat's release, much was made of it being the first on screen pairing of DeNiro and Pacino. A mouthwatering prospect for sure, it proved to be worth the wait and unfolds as a lesson in restrained acting with two modern greats affording each other the respect that was due. What we didn't realise in the build up to the film's release, was that it would prove to be one of the greatest cops and robbers movies of all time, brought to us by an auteur director whose kink for realism and commitment to research stands him out from much of the modern directing pack.Rarely does a film come together as one, where all the cogs of the engine are in tune, but Heat is one such picture. From cast performances to visual aesthetics, to screenplay and actual substance of story, Heat is as meticulous as it is thrilling. There are a myriad of characters brilliantly stitched together in one de-glamorised City of Angels, as plot develops, and each character and their crumbling relationships come under inspection, we are witnessing a coarse viewpoint of human nature, where people's lives are ended or defined by their choices. Everywhere you look, here, there are folk cracking under the strain of being exposed to high end crime, dreams, hopes and happiness are unlikely to be achieved, and this is on both sides of the law.For Heat, Mann fuses the tonal and visual ticks of Manhunter with that of the adrenalin rushes from Last of the Mohicans, with the former gorgeously born out by Spinoti's pin sharp photography, the latter thrillingly realised by Mann's skill at action set pieces. Once again word of mouth about the key heist and shoot out in the film led to high expectation, and again there is no disappointment. L.A. becomes a battle ground, rapid gunfire punctures the air, cars swerve and crash, bodies fall, visually and aurally it drags you to the edge of your seat, an extended action sequence fit to sit with the best of them. The kicker as well is that because Mann has been so detailed in his characterisations, we care about what happens to all parties, we understand motives and means. Which in a film with such a huge support cast is quite an achievement.There is enough in Heat to fill out a dozen other cops and robbers films, fans of neo-noir and crime films in general are spoilt supreme here. It's not rocket science really, put a group of great actors together, give them an intelligent script to work from and let them be guided by a director who will not sit still, and you get a great film. Heat, the ultimate predator and prey movie, where from beginning to end it refuses to be lazy or cop out, and energy and thought seeps from every frame. 10/10

PERFECTION! There is simply no other words to describe this film! An impressive, perfectly directed, perfectly casted, psychologically interesting and ultimately heartbreaking story about policemen and criminals, as good as the best film noir classics from the 40s and 50s. Below, more of my impresions, with some limited SPOILERS.This is the story of a gang of ruthless bank robbers, who don't hesitate to kill if they are forced to. There is the impressive leader, Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro), sniper/compulsive gambler and youngest member of the band Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer, in one of his best roles EVER!), adrenaline junkie Michael Cheritto (Tom Sizemore) and a stoic, strangely charismatic Latino thug known simply as Trejo (played, of course, by Danny Trejo). They all met in high security prison, they formed the gang after serving their time and they are determined not to go back. Ever.Following some events which you will have to discover by yourself they atract the attention of two people they would rather avoid. The first is an incredibly tough detective, Lieutenant Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino), who heads his own team of veterans with an iron hand. The second is a certain Mr Van Zamt (William Fichtner), money launderer for drug cartels - he is not himself very dangerous and as it turns out not even very bright, but he can throw an almost unlimited amount of money at any problem he wants and that has consequences. Serious ones... I will not say anything more about the story.The casting is perfect, simply perfect. All main actors gave everything they could and even secondary and third range roles were played optimally, like those held by Jon Voight, Ashley Judd and young Natalie Portman. It is a long film (170 minutes) but not even one second was wasted. The amount of work put in making of this masterpiece is staggering as every scene, every decoration, every line of dialog were clearly reviewed and polished with utmost care. The scenario is VERY GOOD, strong, logical, rich in details - a very rare thing nowadays in Hollywood... The director also used some tricks, like a short moment when we see people through a termal vision camera - and that is an AMAZING moment! At one moment the hero and the villain will have a parley - rarely did I see such a great moment of cinema as the calm, polite but filled with deadly meance conversation around a cup of coffee between screen giants Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in "Heat"...There is only a couple of action scenes and they are all good, but THE scene of THE main shootout is breathtaking, simply breathtaking - this is EXACTLY as action but also war movies should be made! This is a violent movie, but violence is also kept under control, at exactly the needed level. This is also a tragic film, exactly as the best American film noir classics from the 40s and 50s but there are also accents taken from French gangster movies from the 50s, 60s and early 70s, which were and still are real monuments of cinema.Finally, there is the ending; it is a long one but the tension is maintained at the maximum level all the time. Also, the ending is right - tragic but morally right and that is another very strong point, too rare in modern cinema...I could go about this film much longer but I will stop here to avoid any temptation to give more spoilers... For my personal taste this is one of those films which simply reached PERFECTION! I will never part with my DVD and I will definitely watch and rewatch it again and again. ENJOY!

Pacino owns this film. Its the reason why I watch it. A typical commanding performance that brings a smile and raises the film above the mediocre level of the main story.Regarding the story, less would be more. The love interest of De Niro's character could easily be cut completely (I fast forward all of that) - it just drags the film and adds nothing for me. Val Kilmer's character is rather annoying and relationship with wife rather unconvincing - its a shame he gets off at the end.The greasy villain "Wagro"? is good though and convincingly played. Some more of that character would have helped.So Pacino 5 stars. The rest of it 2.5 stars