Heat | | Cast : | Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight | | Director : | Michael Mann | | Studio : | Warner Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | December 15, 1995 | | DVD Released Date : | February 22, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 06, 2005 | | Summary | So brilliant it will haunt you | Content
 | What is it that makes this movie one of the best of all time?
First off, it is the fact that all the necessary ingredients are combined here: great plot, great actors (the 2 best living male actors on the planet - and even the ones playing the smallest supporting roles are superb), a well-balanced mixture of action and emotion, aesthetic scenery (no other movie makes L.A. look so beautiful), phenomenal soundtrack (!!), Michael Mann's perfect directing.
Second, it's the film's basic message: Heat shows that it's impossible to live a life full of adventure in perfect freedom *AND* a life in security with a loving partner. The smart and experienced LAPD detective Vincent Hanna (played by Al Pacino) and the ingenious criminal Neil McCauley (played by Robert De Niro) both refuse to live a simple, boring life with an ordinary office job, so they both take the bait of living life the dangerous way. At the same time they both yearn for a good and lasting relationship with a woman, but they fail because they have to spend most of their time on the streets: Hanna neglects his wife because 24 hours a day he's obsessed with the idea of catching the bad guy, and McCauley is constantly on the run. As the two rivals are very intelligent men, they soon realize that they are two of a kind, so they begin to respect and even to admire each other, yet without ever forgetting that they are (natural) enemies.
Third, this movie is closer to real life than you might think. The fact that Heat has so many passionate fans, is it only due to the things I mentioned above? No. At least not in my humble opinion. I'm convinced there's many a viewer (especially males) who lives an ordinary life of deadly routine despite loathing it and dreaming secretly of thrill and adventure. Always torn between the longing for freedom on the one hand and the longing for non-freedom and love on the other... So Heat can really be a *gift* to such viewers... But how many people have the courage to *admit* to being stuck in this dilemma? (Only a few, I guess.)
And the most emotional scenes are so touching, and accompanied with instrumental music so artfully they will make you quiver inside.
Heat is 170 minutes, but it felt shorter for there's not one boring minute in it.
Even if it sounds like a banal phrase: Heat is a MUST for every cineast!
Watch and enjoy! |
| Rating | | | Date | June 21, 2005 | | Summary | Al Pacino + Robert De Niro= Awesome movie! (4 1/2 stars) | Content
| Heat is a masterpiece starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, and Tom Sizemore. Al Pacino is a cop trying to nail De Niro and his gang of robbers who are robbing banks. Pacino and De Niro are absolutely brilliant with two powerhouse performances. It's a rare thing to see actors this good in 1 movie. That alone makes it worth watching but the movie itself is a classic. It has one of the best scenes of all time in which a bank robbery turns into an amazing shootout. Bullets fly everywhere and lots of cops die in this classic scene. The movie is very long actually but even though it seems very long at times, 90% of it flew by for me. The ending is good but what you will remember is that awesome shootout!
I'm giving it 4 1/2 stars because of its length! |
| Rating | | | Date | June 21, 2005 | | Summary | I am just sorry I can't give 7 stars! | Content
| One of the best crime movies I have seen in a long time. Right up there with Good Fellas and the Godfather. A film that shows both sides of the conflict and does not glorify what is in fact a battle of wits with your personal life falling apart at the same time. This Film just shows what happens when you get a great story and let it ride. Couple it with an outstanding cast, great photography, direction, scene location and a just wonderful music backup & it can't help but kick butt. A job well done to all hands!
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| Rating | | | Date | June 15, 2005 | | Summary | Crime Pays Dividends | Content
| For viewers of this two-disc DVD transfer of Michael Mann's taut cops-and-robbers film, crime pays splendid dividends. It's not just the classic pairing of Al Pacino as the relentless cop and Robert DeNiro as the dedicated robber. Aside from their contrasting acting styles, and that of a smart supporting cast, Mann's original screenplay is as focused on character as it is on a trio of high-tech heists. The cinematography, notably of Los Angeles in a co-starring role, and the tense score are state-of-the-art.
"Heat" is not without cliche. There is the wife who whines about her heroic cop not spending time home with the kid (when was the last time you saw a supportive screen wife?) There is a bravura bank hold-up in which police provoke a bullet-spraying gunfight amid passers-by (when was the last time your PD risked this?) There is the suicidal adolescent (Natalie Portman, impressive even then), the psycho sex killer, and the bad guys with troubled hearts.
But who cares how many times someone asks "hey, you all right?" when everyone else is so right? Pacino and DeNiro share little screen time (a traffic stop, a pungent conversation over coffee, a climactic shoot-out), but that's all they need, so effectively have they registered elsewhere; witness DeNiro confering with hood Jon Voight, caring for a wounded Val Kilmer and romancing Amy Brenneman, who is quite touching. It's a rare crime movie (apart from Scorcese's) that gets as exciting and all-encompassing as this.
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| Rating | | | Date | June 03, 2005 | | Summary | Cops and Robbers | Content
| Heat has been talked up for not only being a great crime drama but also because Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino are finally together in the same film. This is a great crime film but as far as the other piece of hype let me just inform you that DeNiro and Pacino are only in two scenes together and those 2 scenes are very short. If you watch this movie expecting anything more concerning the pairing of these two giants of the film world then you'll be deeply disappointed. If you can around that fact then you'll enjoy Heat.
Pound for pound I have to say that DeNiro is the better actor. Pacino has a tendency to yell and scream his lines in hopes of being more intense and dramatic. DeNiro doesn't have to do that.
Heat contains one of the best shootouts I've ever seen on film. The street scene with everyone shooting at everyone else is realistic and some may think over the top but I say it's on target (no pun intended). While the main focus is on the good guy trying to catch the bad guy, the other view is of these two men and their external relationships with others outside of what they do. Note also that they secretly admire each other. So much so in fact, that they agree to meet each other and state that they will do what they have to do to come out on top. I've often wondered if they could really have been brothers and therefore, hesitant to kill one another. Hence the meeting to warn the other man what might happen.
Although there is plenty of action here, it's the story that drives the film. It's not just a shoot 'em up. I enjoyed seeing Dennis Haysbert (played the president on 24) here. His role isn't that big but at least he gets to go out in a blaze of glory. Somebody give this guy more films to do!!!
As usual with these kind of films one tends to root for the bad guy. Pacino's character, for me a least, evokes no sympathy. He ignores his wife and stepdaughter for the sake of the job and his wife cheats on him because he won't talk to her. You just don't feel sorry for him. DeNiro's character on the other hand is a guy that never allowed himself to have all the trappings of a normal life. He never wanted to feel tied down. He wanted to be able to pick up and take off at a moments notice. That changes though and you want him to get away with this last crime and then settle down to be "normal".
Val Kilmer is excellent as the cumpulsive career criminal/gambler that just can't let go of his life of crime no matter how much his wife (Ashely Judd) begs him.
The final scene is wonderful. Cinematography, scenery, characters and music all fit together so well that you can't take your eyes off the screen.
If you are a fan of the genre then you must have this film in your collection. |
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