Heat (film)

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Heat
Film poster
Directed by	Michael Mann
Produced by	Michael Mann Art Linson
Written by	Michael Mann
Starring	Al Pacino Robert de Niro Val Kilmer Jon Voight Wes Studi Tom Sizemore Diane Venora
Music by	Elliot Goldenthal
Cinematography	Dante Spinotti
Editing by	Pasquale Buba William Goldenberg Dov Hoenig Tom Rolf
Distributed by	Warner Brothers
Release date(s)	December 15, 1995
Running time	171 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Heat is a crime thriller/drama film released on December 15, 1995. It was written and directed by Michael Mann, and its ensemble cast includes Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora, Ted Levine, Ashley Judd, Kevin Gage and a young Natalie Portman.

De Niro plays a thief named Neil McCauley who is a calm, methodical loner and an introvert, while Pacino's cop Vincent Hanna is volatile and outspoken while leaving an increasingly doomed marriage behind him.

The film is a remake of L.A. Takedown, a 1989 made-for-television film also written and directed by Mann.

1 Plot summary
2 Cast
3 Key themes and motifs
4 Trivia
- 4.1 Weapons Used
5 Box-office success
6 External links

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Neil McCauley (De Niro) is an expert thief who has centered his life around the creed "Do not allow anything into your life that you cannot walk out on in thirty seconds flat if you spot the heat around the corner." The term "heat" in this context refers to the police. He and his crew, including compulsive gambler Chris Shiherlis (Kilmer) and ex-con turned family man Michael Cheritto (Sizemore), take part in an elaborate robbery of an armored car. They escape with US$1.6 million in bearer bonds from Malibu Equity Investments, a shell company that launders off-shore drug accounts. Although originally planned as a mere robbery, they end up killing all three guards after the first is executed impulsively by new member Waingro (Kevin Gage), the second is shot in self-defense and the third simply to leave no witnesses.

McCauley meets with his fence, Nate (Voight), who suggests selling the bonds back to their original owner, Roger Van Zant. Van Zant had the bonds insured and stands to profit from buying the bonds back at a reduced price, though higher than what Nate could conceivably receive on the open market. As retribution for turning the robbery into a triple-homicide, McCauley and crew also attempt to kill Waingro, but he escapes due to a drive-by police cruiser that distracts McCauley during the attempt. Van Zant double-crosses McCauley and tries to kill him during the attempted buy-back, prompting McCauley to call Van Zant and promise to kill him.

Detective Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino)

The officer investigating McCauley's armored car job is Vincent Hanna. Hanna's extensive pedigree has made him one of the top detectives in the elite Robbery Homicide Division of the LAPD. Vincent and his team immediately go to work, utilizing a number of leads and informants to bring McCauley and his crew to justice. Meanwhile, McCauley is busy planning another major score: an audacious bank heist valued at US$12 million.

As the plans are being made, the movie explores the personal lives of both men, and how their commitment to being the best in their respective positions has all but destroyed their personal lives: McCauley lives a lonely, barren existence, having severed all links and emotional attachments in furtherence of his creed, although he tells his new girlfriend, Eady, "I'm alone, I am not lonely." He starts to thaw as a result of meeting Eady (Amy Brenneman), a graphic designer. Meanwhile, Hanna's current marriage, his third, to Justine (Diane Venora) is clearly in the last stages of a breakdown — although he is close to and clearly cares dearly for his troubled stepdaughter Lauren (Natalie Portman), who's own father is neglectful.

In one of the most powerful scenes in the movie, McCauley and Hanna cross paths in a diner to reflect on their chosen lives. During their meeting, Hanna says that while he may not like it, he will kill McCauley if need be. McCauley explains the purpose of his "30 seconds" creed by saying he is never going back to prison. In a subplot, the relationship between Shiherlis (Kilmer) and his wife Charline (Judd) is examined as well; their marriage is also apparently disintegrating due to his gambling addiction.

Criminal mastermind Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro)

The best-laid plans of the thieves for the bank heist, however, are thwarted behind-the-scenes by the forgotten Waingro. Waingro has attempted to lay low since the attempt on his life by McCauley, but engages in some of his prior-demonstrated psychotic behavior by murdering a prostitute. He eventually finds Van Zant after looking for criminal work in a biker bar, and Van Zant, desperate to find McCauley first, pays Waingro to lead him to one of the members of McCauley's crew, Trejo.

With his wife held hostage, Trejo is forced to reveal McCauley's latest plans with the bank and calls McCauley to say he has picked up a tail and cannot drive the getaway car. One of Van Zant's subordinates, a court informer named Hugh Benny (Henry Rollins), then tips off the police. Even though the bank robbery is executed flawlessly, as the crew is entering the getaway car the police and Hanna's team arrive, a massive, bloody shoot-out on a busy Los Angeles boulevard erupts. During the gunfight, Hanna's partner, Bosko (Ted Levine), is killed.

Following the disastrous robbery and getaway, in which several cops, and Cheritto and the new getaway driver, Breedan (Dennis Haysbert) are killed, the survivors attempt to find an escape route. Shiherlis is wounded but manages to escape with McCauley's help. Believing Trejo to have double-crossed them, McCauley goes to his house but finds Trejo dying and his wife dead, both savagely beaten. Learning that Waingro and van Zant were responsible, McCauley goes to Van Zants house, demanding to know the whereabouts of Waingro. Van Zant claims not to know and McCauley immediately shoots him.

The police move Charlene Shiherlis and her son Dominic to a safe house. One of Hannah's team, Drucker (Mykelti Williamson) explains that Charlene will be charged as an accessory to her husband and serve jail time if she refuses to turn him over to the police. Drucker also informs her that her son will become a foster child and more prone to a criminal life if she will not cooperate. Chris eventually shows up, sporting a new hairstyle to disguise his identity, and is surreptitiously warned away by his wife.

McCauley, now in love with Eady, breaks his creed by asking her to flee the country with him. Prior arrangements had been made for the two to escape for New Zealand, however, upon receiving a tip concerning Waingro's whereabouts from Nate, McCauley makes the impulsive and ultimately fatal decision to pursue him at a hotel near the airport. After setting off the hotel's emergency alarm, McCauley is able to execute Waingro. Meanwhile, having also acted on a tip-off from Benny, Hanna arrives at the hotel. From a distance, Hanna is able to spot a suspiciously-looking Eady calmly awaiting McCauley in his car. As McCauley emerges from the building and begins heading for the car, he sees Hanna quickly approaching. At this critical moment in the film, McCauley defaults to his "30 seconds" rule and abandons Eady by taking off into the crowd with Hanna in hot pursuit.

The two men make their way to a barren power station on the outskirts of the airport, playing a game of cat-and-mouse in the dark. McCauley notices bright runway lights turn on during landings to enable the pilots to land, and, sensing an opportunity, makes a move to take out Hanna. However, as McCauley steps out to shoot Hanna with the lights at his back, Hanna is able to see McCauley's shadow and shoots first. Hanna moves to comfort him, and the two men share a final, reflective moment together before McCauley dies.

[edit] Cast

Tom Sizemore as McCauley's accomplice, Michael Cheritto during the drive-in shoot-out scene.

Al Pacino – as Lt. Vincent Hanna
Robert De Niro – as Neil McCauley
Val Kilmer – as Chris Shiherlis
Jon Voight – as Nate
Tom Sizemore – as Michael Cheritto
Danny Trejo – as Trejo
Diane Venora – as Justine Hanna
Amy Brenneman – as Eady
Ashley Judd – as Charlene Shiherlis
Mykelti Williamson – as Sergeant Drucker
Wes Studi – as Detective Casals
Ted Levine – as Bosko
Dennis Haysbert – as Donald Breedan
William Fichtner – as Roger Van Zant
Natalie Portman – as Lauren Gustafson
Tom Noonan – as Kelso
Kevin Gage – as Waingro
Hank Azaria – as Alan Marciano
Henry Rollins – as Hugh Benny

[edit] Key themes and motifs

The use of color and physical space symbolize the isolation of McCauley.

Director Mann dwells heavily on the personal lives of both the criminals and the police, and in particular, their relationships with their wives and girlfriends. McCauley is forced to break his creed when he becomes involved with Eady (Brenneman), an aspiring graphic artist who is similarly lonely. Shiherlis' destructive behavior takes a toll on his marriage to Charlene (Judd), an ex-Vegas showgirl and mother to his son. She fears her husband's capture and the possibility of her being sent to prison as an accessory to his crimes. Hanna, a workaholic, has neglected his third wife Justine (Venora) and her troubled daughter Lauren (Portman). Over the course of the film, their tenuous relationship also reaches a crossroads.

The "crews" on both sides (respectively, McCauley's professional robbers and Hanna's group of detectives) are juxtaposed and shown to have such equal skill and competency, that it enforces the tension over which side will triumph, right until the climax.

The effects in the film create a believable illusion of authenticity. The central shoot-out was supervised by former British SAS sergeant Andy McNab, and the details of the bank robbery (rigging junction boxes, cutting into telco lines and alarm circuitry) seem realistic. Microphones were placed properly to allow a realistic echo-effect on the gunshot sounds given that the shoot-out sequence takes place in the midst of tall buildings. Cinematographer Dante Spinotti uses angles and filters in neo-noir style. Composer Elliot Goldenthal provided the score, performed by the Kronos Quartet. Music Supervisor/KCRW personality Chris Douridas created the film's soundtrack, including the use of Moby's "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters" at the film's ending.

Throughout the film, McCauley mentions that he lives by the words of wisdom given to him by, what the audience can assume was, his mentor. The concept is that McCauley should not let him get attached to anything or anyone he cannot walk out on if he feels the “heat” coming around the corner. At the end of the film when McCauley must make his decision between getting into the car with his girlfriend and risking capture, or, running away, he chooses to run away. While many would take note of this right away and believe he has stuck to his ideals, in fact, McCauley has not and broke his dedication much earlier. McCauley mentions these words of wisdom to Chris in regard to his wife and therefore in regard to women. McCauley allows himself to become so obsessed with catching Waingro he deliberately puts himself in jeopardy to risk settling a score. The thing McCauley cannot walk out on is in fact Waingro, not women, and this eventually leads to his demise. He ignored his own words of wisdom and suffered.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Trivia

An onscreen conversation between Pacino and DeNiro in a coffeehouse, lasting several minutes and occurring at the film's halfway point, marks the first time the two actors have appeared together in the same scene. It is not, however, the first time that DeNiro and Pacino have appeared in the same movie. They also appeared in The Godfather Part II, where Pacino played Michael Corleone and DeNiro played Michael's father Vito Corleone in flashback scenes to when Vito Corleone was on his rise to becoming the Godfather.
Val Kilmer states on the special edition DVD (in the making of featurette) that soldiers in the military are shown the bank robbery scene, with emphasis placed upon the scene where Kilmer's character fires on the police, performs a swift and smooth reload, and resumes firing. Supposedly they say something along the lines of, "If you can't change magazines as fast as this actor, get out of my army!"
Andy McNab trained the cast of Heat in handling various small arms in a shooting range in Orange County, California.
The famous Pacino-De Niro conversation takes place and was filmed on-location at Kate Mantilini, on Wilshire Blvd. in Hollywood. The two sat at table #71, which diners may request if the restaurant is not too busy. A large picture from the scene is over the entrance to the restaurant.
At the Electronic Entertainment Expo of 2006 it was announced that Gearbox Software will oversee a video-game adaptation of the movie. Pacino, De Niro, and Kilmer are in negotiations for reprising their characters' roles.
Hank Azaria and Al Pacino, two of the films stars, share the same birthday. Azaria has stated that the voice of his Simpsons character Moe Syzlak is based upon a bad imitation of Pacino.
Actors Tom Noonan and Ted Levine respectively played The Tooth Fairy and Buffalo Bill, the serial killers being pursued by the main characters in Manhunter (1986) (directed by Michael Mann) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). These were the first two film adaptations of Tom Harris's novels featuring Hannibal Lecter.
It is known that this movie was partly based on the 1986 FBI shootout in Miami
The movie provokes unintended amusement in British viewers since Vincent Hanna was the name of a well-known political journalist.
According to an interview with William Petersen on the Manhunter DVD, Michael Mann was originally only going to produce Heat and let someone else direct it while he made Manhunter.
In his review of Michael Mann's Miami Vice, Richard Roeper stated that Heat should have won the Academy Award for Best Picture for 1995.
Al Pacino's character, while calm at times, instantly becomes volatile and antagonistic during several scenes. Mann's commentary reveals the reason why: he told Pacino that the detective he'd be playing, in an effort to stay "sharp and on the edge" in order to catch criminals, routinely snorted small amounts of cocaine.
When Val Kilmer's character buys dynamite at the film's beginning, the same specific billing address he gives is used years later in Wes Anderson's "Rushmore" when the lead character buys explosives.
Pacino's line to Azaria, "Because she's got a....GREAT ASS!!" was ad libbed. The surprise on Azaria's face was genuine.
Pacino prefers to wear black or dark and usually does in all his movies.
Waingro, the brutal criminal-turned-informant, was based off a true criminal from Chicago. After disappearing into witness protection in exchange for his testimony against other criminals, Waingro's body was discovered in Northern Mexico. He had been nailed to a wall.
Kevin Gage, the actor who played Waingro, spent 2003 to 2005 in federal prison on drug charges. Both guards and inmates in the prison unanimously referred to him as Waingro. He was said to have been a model prisoner.

[edit] Weapons Used

Al Pacino uses an FN FNC 80 assault rifle in the bank shootout and
- an M1911 pattern Colt Officer's Model with white (pearl) grips throughout the movie
Wes Studi uses a Colt M16A2 during the bank scene
Robert De Niro uses a M733A Colt Commando in the bank shootout and
- a HK USP
- a SIG P220
Val Kilmer uses a Heckler & Koch HK 91 in the drive-in shootout and
- a M733A Colt Commando assault rifle at the Bank Shootout
Tom Sizemore uses a Benelli M3 Super 90 in the drive-in shootout and
- a Galil ARM in the bank shootout and
- an FN FAL in the armored car robbery
Kevin Gage (Waingro) uses a Star Megastar pistol, and a Kalashnikov-type rifle during the film's opening robbery.
Would-be assassin in drive-in shootout uses a Steyr TMP machine pistol