Heat - Two-Disc Special Edition  (1995)

Rating: R

Distributor: Warner Home Video

Release Date: February 22, 2005
Review posted: February 14, 2005

Reviewed by Dennis Landmann

SYNOPSIS

Neil McCauley (Robert DeNiro) is an expert thief who has assembled a top-notch team of criminals (Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Danny Trejo) whose latest string of heists has even impressed detective Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino). As Hanna becomes obsessed with brining McCauley down and McCauley's crew prepares for the score of a lifetime, the two find that they are facing the toughest challenges for their careers, on opposite sides of the law.

CRITIQUE

The first time I saw Heat was about five years ago on VHS. I don't believe I finished the whole thing, because I couldn't get through it as it didn't appeal to me at the time, or perhaps because it was simply too long (171 minutes). Time has passed since, and during that time I became more aware of director Michael Mann's other films, most recently Collateral, one of my top favorites of the year 2004. And so when the special edition for Heat was announced I looked forward to seeing it again with a new mindset.

Heat is still a long film to sit through, yet I enjoyed it much more, but more importantly I appreciated the filmmaking behind it. The script is pretty good, including several key scenes that drive the plot, a good set of interesting characters, both good and bad, as well as terrific casting of memorable faces in supporting roles (Amy Brenneman, Mykelti Williamson, Ashley Judd, Diane Venora, Wes Studi, Ted Levine, Jon Voight, Natalie Portman and Dennis Haysbert).

Some parts of the script are not terribly important and in the film these scenes slow down the film a little bit. The first two hours move at a good pace but it's the third hour that looses a bit of focus and feels stretched out. Yet the film never becomes boring, which could be considered a testament to Michael Mann's natural and passionate ability as a director and writer, as well as his producing. With Collateral Mann went back to the thriller genre and it was very refreshing. Moreover, Heat has a number of signature elements or moments that are also present in Collateral. Mann's next film, an update of Miami Vice, could very well become an exciting and intense film, too, just like Heat and Collateral.

Aside from the story, much of Heat is also very character-driven, especially the focus of the lives of Detective Hanna, who tries to maintain a relationship with a single mother (Venora) and her daughter (Portman), and McCauley, who befriends a bookstore worker (Brenneman) after they meet by chance at a restaurant. Mann keeps the balance between showing both their lives outside their careers on a straight line, not making one more or less important than the other person.

Hanna is very much dedicated to his work, without it he probably couldn't function very well; he practically lives for it. As for McCauley, he's somewhat meticulous in his behavior but more importantly is very committed to his goal, which is to not get caught, and for that reason he is willing to walk out on anything that's going on in his life, which is just like what a guy told him once, "Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner." The performances by Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro are strong and very interesting, especially with Hanna being somewhat hyper and McCauley more calm; this is a kind of reverse of the stereotypical crazy bad guy and humanistic good guy as seen in the usual mainstream cop vs. criminal films.

Perhaps the best and most memorable aspect about Heat is the awesome fifteen-minute shootout in downtown Los Angeles between McCauley and his group versus the LAPD. Watching this sequence with the volume up creates realistic tension and gets the adrenaline pumping. The sequence is also very impressive in the way it is presented logistically and also visually by director of cinematography Danti Spinotti. Heat is also edited quite well, and the music is very supportive towards the film's mood and key scenes.

THE VIDEO

Warner Bros. presents Heat in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. This transfer is a little disappointing because it appears there was no clean up of the print from the previous release from 1999. At least the print here is in weak shape considering the quality of presentations for Warner's other special edition DVDs. There are specks here and there as well as some dirt in a few scenes. I mean, that's not too bad if these things appear in only a few scenes, but the specks show up too often. Definition looks fine but long shots lose sharpness and detail, with the shots becoming a bit fuzzy-looking. Black levels look good, however, and the color palette looks good in its muted style of black and blue hues. Saturation is quite decent but nothing exceptional. Optional subtitles include English, Spanish and French.

THE AUDIO

Warner Bros. presents Heat in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. Dialogue is mostly clear and easy to understand except during some instances the volume seems a bit low. The sound effects are actively reinforced by the surrounds, and the terrific music sounds very good. Overall the audio presentation is pretty good but not excellent. A French 5.1 dub track is also available.

THE EXTRAS

Disc One:

The Audio Commentary by Michael Mann is insightful for most of the time but there is also a lot of dead air. The director narrates scenes as they appear on screen, discusses the motivations of the characters and the preparations of the actors as they got into their roles, and reveals certain background info from the production and other things. In short, the discussions are interesting but Mann's long pauses make this commentary less impacting.

Also included are three theatrical trailers.

Disc Two:

The Making of Heat (59:09) is divided into three separate featurettes. "True Crime" is a roughly 15-minute discussion about the inspiration for the film (in the form of former Chicago police officer Chuck Adamson), the Chicago crime scene and the events surround the real McCauley, as well as research and preparation issues. Interviews are featured with Michael Mann, Chuck Adamson and others.

"Crime Stories" is a 20-minute piece about the film's evolution with Michael Mann, cast and crew discussing the twenty-year origin of the script (it was originally a series pilot for TV called L.A. Takedown), the film's genesis and the complexity of the characters portrayed on screen. Al Pacino appears in a new interview, which is refreshing, but Robert DeNiro's comments are clips from a 1995 interview.

"Into the Fire" is a 24-minute piece that discusses the research and training on the part of the actors, filming on location in Los Angeles, especially the downtown shootout sequence, and post-production stages that include audio, editing, and the score. The new interviews here with a lot of the actors, as well as the major crew, are nice to have.

Pacino and De Niro: The Conversation (9:50) is an exploration about the historic on-screen pairing of the two actors in the pivotal confrontation at Kate Matellini's. A lot of time is devoted to playing the scene itself with interviews by Mann, cast and crew playing in-between.

Return to the Scene of the Crime (11:57) is a look back at some memorable locations from the film with location manager Janice Polley and associate producer Gusmano Cesaretti visiting the locations ten years later. It's a nice watch.

Also available on the second disc are 11 Additional Scenes (9:21). There are quite a few here, but only one is really worth checking out, which shows what happened to Danny Trejo's character.

An interesting extra would have been the inclusion of L.A. Takedown, the 90-minute TV pilot from 1989 that would serve as the blueprint for Heat. I don't know who owns the rights to it, but seeing the film on the DVD could have potentially been quite interesting.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Heat is an intense crime thriller for most of the duration, although some scenes tend to drag on a little. The performances are great, the cinematography is terrific, and Mann's direction is top notch. Also, the music is pretty damn cool. This new DVD edition presents rather disappointing video quality (when compared to today's standards) but the audio is good. The video-based extras are cool to watch; some interesting facts pop up but the featurettes aren't too in-depth. Considering the package as a whole, the DVD comes highly recommend.

VERDICT: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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