Heat (1996, VHS)

"We re sittin here like a couple of regular fellows you do what you do, and I do what I gotta do..." ...Those "couple of regular fellows" are Vincent Hanna (played by Al Pacino), a brilliant Detective Lieutenant with the Los Angeles Police Department; and Neil McCauley (played by Robert DeNiro), an equally brilliant leader of a gang of professional hold-up men. These are the two main characters in Heat, a fabulously acted, written, and directed police drama released in 1995. Billed as "A Los Angeles Crime saga," Heat is one of the finest crime dramas to come out of Hollywood in a long time!...

That I put off seeing director and writer Michael Mann's stylized epic 1995 cops 'n robbers film Heat for nine years is a crime for which I have no excuse. After reading this review, you'll have no excuse at all. The film's graceful story arc, subtly textured ensemble performances, and a clever mix of classic gumshoe, John Woo-styled action climaxes, taut script, and stand alone set pieces make it a model of the modern cops 'n robbers genre. Atmospherically, the neon-lit blind alleys of both the protagonists' minds and the City of Angels are dark, forbidding and foreboding places. Yet there's.

Heat is a very cool flick, precisely because it knows what it's doing. This is not a stupid actioner, with silly over-the-top characters shooting oversized guns between rabbit romps in the woods (with illiterate vixens dressed in daisy-duke shorts). It's an action-packed drama about cops and robbers - and the "heat" that impels them in pursuit of the chase. This 1995 film from writer-director Michael Mann comes tightly packed with talent. Look for Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Ashley Judd, Diane Venora, William Fichtner, Amy Brenneman, Hank Azaria, Dennis...

Heat (1995) Director Michael Mann's crime thriller "Heat" is the story of two men, outlaw Robert DeNiro and good guy Al Pacino. DeNiro plays "Neil". a career criminal who specializes in "scores", big robberies. Pacino is on the other side of the law, as cop "Vince Hanna". The movie is significantly different than most cops 'n' robber films for the character development that builds throughout the movie, not just for the main characters, but also for the supporting cast. You see the parallel lives of Neil and Vince; both are highly successful in their chosen professions, but their personal...