1 week Ago By Parul Sharma
The first time Hollywood legends Al Pacino and Robert De Niro ever shared screen space was in the 1995 crime-thriller Heat. Written and directed by Michael Mann, the American drama has since cemented its place in cinema’s history books as one of the greatest heist films of all time. With a star-studded supporting cast including Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight, Natalie Portman giving some of their career’s most iconic performances, Heat is the kind of movie that doesn’t come along too often (although many have tried).
In fact, Val Kilmer's expert gun handling in one of the film's scenes has been so highly praised it is said to have been incorporated into U.S. Marine training as a prime example of rapid reloading in combat.
The film has become a roadmap for crime-thrillers, its impact and influence being seen in dozens of movies since then. The film explores the intense rivalry between a Los Angeles Police Department detective Lieutenant Vincent Hanna (portrayed to perfection by Pacino) and a career thief ( played by De Niro in what can be considered one of his career-best performances), while also exploring the profound repercussions of their rivalry on their professional and personal lives. Mann wrote the original screenplay for Heat in 1979, inspired by the real-life pursuit of criminal Neil McCauley, after whom De Niro’s character is named, by Chicago police officer Chuck Adamson.
Heat grossed approximately $187 million worldwide on a $60 million budget, making it a huge box-office success. Having impressed both critics and audiences alike, this Pacino-De Niro movie was a mammoth for its time. One critic said of the film: "Heat is a giant of a film, a god among American crime thrillers.
.. Masterpiece is an overused term.
Here it barely comes close." Another critical review showered high praise on the movie: "Like Kubrick, Mann takes a genre premise that seems like no big deal, and expands it into a cosmos of its own." Viewers were also left spellbound by the crime-thriller, with one review said: "Incredible.
Great cinematography, tension, pace and faultless performances from three *greats* Pacino, DeNiro and Kilmer," while another viewer commended its "heist action" and said: "I think it's incredible. Got the usual 90s heist action flair but with a bit more maturity, and impactful/well written characters." Calling it their favourite movie, one audience reviewer added: "Choosing a favorite movie has always been difficult for me.
I like different films for different reasons and choosing a single favorite seems to undermine what makes movies unique. However, Heat is what comes to mind when I’m asked to name my favorite movie." Another said: "I'm not exaggerating in the least here when I say that I think it's one of, if not THE best films ever made.
It is perfectly written, structured and acted with some of the best performances from that cast ever. Every character is well realized with a unique personality and perspective and the tension is exquisite. "Mann is a master at knowing where and how to point the camera to make the scenes come alive (and he seems to exclusively work with cinematographers that can execute that vision) and the movie is visually stunning (thank you, Dante Spinotti), and even the sound work is stellar in it.
Seriously, I've seen it maybe a dozen times and I'm never bored by it and can't find a single thing in it I don't like. To me, this movie is as close to perfect as it gets." In 2022 it was reported that a sequel to the 1995 film was in development.
Heat is available to stream on Netflix. For UK copies - Heat is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus..
