Robert Deniro Movie:

Editorial Review:
Having developed his skill as a master of contemporary crime drama, writer-director Michael Mann displayed every aspect of that mastery in this intelligent, character-driven thriller from 1995, which also marked the first onscreen pairing of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The two great actors had played father and son in the separate time periods of The Godfather, Part II, but this was the first film in which the pair appeared together, and although their only scene together is brief, it's the riveting fulcrum of this high-tech cops-and-robbers scenario. De Niro plays a master thief with highly skilled partners (Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore) whose latest heist draws the attention of Pacino, playing a seasoned Los Angeles detective whose investigation reveals that cop and criminal lead similar lives. Both are so devoted to their professions that their personal lives are a disaster. Pacino's with a wife (Diane Venora) who cheats to avoid the reality of their desolate marriage; De Niro pays the price for a life with no outside connections; and Kilmer's wife (Ashley Judd) has all but given up hope that her husband will quit his criminal career. These are men obsessed, and as De Niro and Pacino know, they'll both do whatever's necessary to bring the other down. Mann's brilliant screenplay explores these personal obsessions and sacrifices with absorbing insight, and the tension mounts with some of the most riveting action sequences ever filmed--most notably a daylight siege that turns downtown Los Angeles into a virtual war zone of automatic gunfire. At nearly three hours, the film qualifies as a kind of intimate epic, certain to leave some viewers impatiently waiting for more action, but it's all part of Mann's compelling strategy. Heat is a true rarity: a crime thriller with equal measures of intense excitement and dramatic depth, giving De Niro and Pacino a prime showcase for their finely matched talents. --Jeff Shannon

Heat [Region 2] Reviews:
going for the cinematic jugular
2009-12-18 - The scene that precedes Neil & Vincent's first meeting--the audacious tracking and interception of Neil's vehicle on an L.A. freeway to the soundtrack of Moby's 'New Dawn Fades'--is utterly superfluous but pure cinematic art. This and other flourishes--like when Neil and Eady drive through the bright tunnel symbolizing a cleansing of the past and a new beginning, if for only a brief moment--defines Michael Mann's movies and sets him apart from other action filmmakers.

The writing is terrific. Neil and his close-knit associates bring into their midst a bad seed (Waingro), whose escape from Neil at the truck stop enables Waingro to deliver Trejo to Van Zant, who then tortures Trejo to learn about the bank robbery. This tip to the police leads to Michael's death in the downtown shootout. Neil, realizing the damage Waingro has wrought on his friends and their families and his own failure to kill Waingro earlier, makes the fateful detour to the Hotel Marquis, which leads to his own death at the hands of Vincent.

My only question, and it's a small one: How did Waingro find Van Zant? Neil doesn't know who the owner of the stolen securities are until Nate tells him, AFTER Waingro has already escaped. I guess Waingro just gets a tip off the street, or maybe I've missed something.

One of my favorite films that has only gotten better with age.


Great Blueray disc
2009-12-16 - I have both the DVD special edition and the Blueray. Technical aspects of the BD can be seen at this website:[...] Although I do see the color tidbits and editing changes, I cannot overlook the fact this is still a great movie with great picture quality. My nitpicks are few: ADR mismatch, Mann's small dialogue edits, and color-matching scene with Eady but still worth 4 stars.

Best movie period!
2009-12-16 - Just watched this on Blu ray, must say for a movie that is over 10 years old, what crystal clear picture, and clear sound on the blu ray. I agree with almost everyone that did reviews on Heat, this is Mann's best film. All the actors brought their "A" game, I feel Pacino and Deniro were superb, playing off each other for that one 5 minute Diner, scene we were all waiting for to see them together finally in the movie. This is some of their best work, recently I feel both actors haven't really brought their "A" game to some of their pictures, they reunited for Righteous Kill, which i think was a bunch of strings pulled by Hollywood to get these two icons back together for a mediocre movie at best and watching that film was nothing special I felt like the performances weren't there, as if they just "phoned" it in... However in Heat like I said performances were top notch all around.

The story is so textured and layered, really get to know cop and criminal and realize both men aren't too different from each other, both are committed to what they do and both have that Alhpa Male quality, and what they do at their job, they do very well. Pacino has a tenacity, and will not quit until he gets his man dead or alive, but he is a weary, tired cop, but his dedication to the job is his caffeine. Deniro is calm, collected, a loner, he lives a solitude thief life, he's a professional criminal and knows one slip up means the end, that's why he is timid and on guard with every new person he makes contact with exceot his close allies. But if you double cross him in some way he will put you down without hesitation, it's a sense of loyality to him. But that's his one down fall, he opens up to a woman who works in a book shop. But he knows if he has to he'll pick up and disapear. The scene with Val Kilmer crashing at Deniro's pad when Val says "You need to get furniture" Deniro is a man prepared if the cops bring the Heat, he can just leave his sparse belongings and on a plane somewhere over the Pacific. Deniro also knows he's getting older and can not push his luck so one last score could mean he can retire from a thief's life.
It's this rich textured story of these men that draws in the viewer.

This is a ploy Mann uses in his films, antagonist/protagonist playing off each other, or in Miami Vice, two protagonists with different traits, different styles... playoff each other, all characters in Mann films are doppelgangers to one another.

What I like about Mann and his films are the close up shots of the actors faces, the color pallette he uses. With Collateral uses a soft color pallette because the movie is primarily during the night with Tom Cruise having Jaime Foxx drive him around to his destinations. With Miami Vice you get rich dark colors then punctuated with bright blues and whites, even in Public Enemies the color texture and lighting Mann uses brings a visceral touch I think. Scene with Deniro and Amy Brennan driving through the tunnel toward the end, you get lit up with the bleached white lights as they drive though the tunnel and the camera stays on them. Mann know's how to direct and use lighting and color to full advantage. Another thing I like about Michael Mann films his music be it using instrumental or using vocals, I really liked the music here in Heat, just brought another element.

Then of course there's the LA Bank scene shootout with automatic weapons, the sound was so clear and precise coming from the speakers, listening to the noise the machine guns made I watched in awe.

I've read some reviews about this blu ray, some favorable some not... personally my disc I didn't notice any flaws what so ever, sound i did have to turn up a tad on my TV, other than that,like I said awesome picture quality, nice sound, nice bonus features.

If you want to watch a rich story punctuated through out with some nice action scenes (like I said LA Bank robbery scene is awesome, so intense, violent, beautifully shot), top quality acting from the two main leads and the supporting cast this is a most definate worthy pick up on blu ray.

Ok...not thrilling
2009-12-12 - When I ordered Heat on Blu Ray I was hoping to get a high quality transfer. Instead, all I received was a film that had no DTS and extra features in which do not vary from the DVD. Overall the movie is still a classic, but the BluRay was a disappointment. I'm very glad that I did not pay the full retail on this disc as it is not worth it...

De Niro and Pacino? Must own.
2009-12-10 - One of my favorite films of all time. The bank robbery scene in Heat is featured in GTA. It makes me appreciate the film even more. AQ really good.