Heat Blu-ray Review
Mathew Plale
May 31st, 2017
A $1.6 million payday is a tough one to pass up for any crook. Heading the heist of bearer bonds is lifelong criminal Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro). While the pull is a success, three officers are left dead, bringing in even more attention than McCauley hoped for. The case comes to the desk of Lt. Vincent Hannah (Al Pacino). Hannah puts the timeline together in seconds and figures out how every gunshot and location played a part, concluding, “They’re good.” It’s not all that long either before pins McCauley to the crime.
As soon as the lead cast was announced, there was no avoiding the hype: Finally, we can see two of the greatest actors ever together; none of that separate timeline Godfather II nonsense–we’re finally getting De Niro and Pacino sharing the screen! Now notoriously, the legends have very few moments together–one at the end and one halfway through. It’s in this scene, running around six minutes, that we feel almost conditioned to be tense during. Here are two legends on opposite sides of the same table, playing characters living on different sides of the same coin. And the scene amounts to what feels like both men emotionlessly reciting character outlines.
It, like much of HEAT, is underwhelming. Despite the names on the poster and a selection of thrilling heists (all skillfully shot, edited and executed), HEAT is merely a standard cat and mouse chase. The cop and robber are given other characters to interact with, but their relationship, central to the film, is only set up to be a variation in the “We’re-a-lot-a-like-you-and-I” dynamic. They are different in ways obvious to the viewer, but they are both professionals who will let no one halt their process. Only one can win, and the versed viewer will quickly note how much is generic and/or recycled, leaving the answer obvious and not worth the wait.
It takes nearly three hours to reach this finale of HEAT. Written and directed by Michael Mann (1992’s THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, 1981’s THIEF), HEAT is bloated beyond necessity and rewarding too rarely. While much of the cast–including Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora, Ashley Judd and Natalie Portman–bring much-needed personality, there are so many characters it’s like Mann is trying to create a bunch of commotion so the viewer is occupied, not entertained.
Mann has an eye, which has helped make his films–even his weakest–at least visually alluring. He has been accused, sometimes rightfully, of having far too much style and too little substance. While HEAT is certainly not the leading example of this, it’s still a candidate. HEAT is, at its core, unremarkable, and the main draw of seeing Pacino and De Niro on screen together is more of an illusion than a fulfilled promise.
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: 2.40:1 in 1080p with MPEG-4 AVC codec. This transfer–an upgrade of the initial release–boasts excellent details, healthy colors and an overall sharp image that fans will immediately be drawn to.
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; French DTS 5.1. Subtitles in English, Spanish and French. Dialogue is clean and music comes through nicely, but the most impressive part of the audio transfer comes during the action sequences, where bullets whizz violently through surround speakers.
Audio commentary with writer/co-producer/director Michael Mann: Mann offers a thorough track in which he goes into detail on the screenplay, cast, production and much more. While there are some bouts of silence, fans will enjoy the commentary.
Filmmaker Panels: There are two: 2016: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (1:03:23), featuring moderator Christopher Nolan interviewing Mann, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro; and 2015 Toronto International Film Festival (30:27), with an interview with Mann on the occasion of HEAT’s 20th anniversary.
The Making of HEAT (59:12) is divided into three featurettes: “True Crime,” “Crime Stories” and “Into the Fire.”
Pacino and De Niro: The Conversation (9:58): This featurette looks at the brief onscreen moments between the actors and their characters.
Return to the Scene of the Crime (12:05): Location manager Janice Polley and associate producer Gusmano Cesaretti give a tour of some of the film’s shooting locations.
Additional Footage – Deleted Scenes (9:44): There are 11here, which can be viewed separately or as a whole. They are: “Scene 5 – Season’s Starting Early,” “Scene 42 – Nicest Guy on the Block,” “Scene 55 – Albert and Hannah (Alternate Take),” “Scene 62 – Shakedown,” “Scene 76 – Murder in C-Block,” “Scene 96A – Let’s Dance,” “Scene 125 – Late Arrival,” “Scene 148/147 – Where’s Anna?” “Scene 177B – Double the Worst Trouble,” “Scene 191 – Nate Delivers” and “Scene 204A – No Response.”
Theatrical Trailers
