Heat – Ten Years later, a DVD Review
This movie, considered a masterpiece by many, perhaps is. At this point in my review, I’m not sure I agree; but what I’m sure of, is that the two main protagonists in the movie have managed to convince the viewer to root for the criminal. Because Al Pacino, playing the cop, Lt. Vincent Hanna, and the master criminal portrayed by Robert De Niro, as Neil McCauley, have twisted the characters into the opposites of their archetypes.
The film’s director, Michael Mann, totally and completely obliterated and demolished the notion of what a cops and robbers "shoot out" is–in one of the movie’s most notorious episodes. Indeed, it’s the ultimate show of firepower in a Hollywood film.
Yet it’s his depth of exploration into each character’s personal life and credos, is what makes this movie not uninteresting–I’m not jaded, but I wonder if the movie’s creators are–because as they examine the fine line between the criminal and the law, the ugly truth is that that issue is debatable. While Pacino’s character in the film destroys people in his own personal life; De Niro’s character is protective of his own and his crew’s.
But Heat’s most beautiful scene and ode to Los Angeles , was in the dialogue in the brief lover’s exchange between De Niro’s character and his new found love, Eady, at her house where the bamboo shades were partly raised, revealing the Los Angeles Basin—the City of Light:
In this movie cops and robbers caper, the alleged "bad guy" didn’t go down; it was the opposite. The viewer is rooting for De Niro’s character at the end of the film because he risked his credo of “not walking away from anything or anybody within 30 seconds” because he found love and perhaps a shot at redemption. And on the other hand, we have a professional hunter, Pacino’s character, Hanna–coked up–and only living for the high of the chase destroying everything that’s close to him, and in his personal life. At this moment of final denouement, De Niro’s character lives forever; while Pacino’s is disposable.
As Shakespearean in his downfall, with De Niro’s character’s ultimate destruction; a fine line divides love and hate, truth and fiction, and of course, crime and punishment in the guise of the role of “good guys” and “bad guys.” A criminal can think like a cop and a cop can think like a criminal—on which side of the law, at times, is tricky business, because in reality if not fact, the roles are frequently shades of gray, if not opposites from what we’ve been led to believe. For that-Michael Mann, created a complex web of psychological and emotional drama, so complete and thorough, that that “Fine Line” may not be a line at all. Mann managed to destroy that time honored given as well.
You can rent or purchase Heat, the (Two-Disc Special Edition) at Amazon, or rent it at your local Blockbuster or other video store. For a more detailed review of Heat’s Two-Disc Special Edition, The DVD Journal Review did a great write-up.
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FYI, the film’s pivotal restaurant showdown (http://io9.com/5422666/when-will-white-people-stop-making-movies-like-avatar) was filmed at Kate Mantelini on the corner of Wilshire and Doheny.
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Lynn Reply:
January 4th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Ahhhhhghhh! I put the wrong link!!!!!! I MEANT this one! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oTNNjRuqbE
Lynn´s last blog ..ESCAPE – (G)Luck for the New Year
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LisaNewton Reply:
January 4th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
@Lynn, Thanks for the info Lynn. If you’d like to know more about the movie location, which took place all over the city, here’s a great link: Movie Locations
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In an interesting bit of coincidence, my then 9-year-old daughter and I went to the Central Library downtown one weekend afternoon to find a large-scale location shoot being set up along 5th Street between Flower and Figueroa. Extras were everywhere, people on bullhorns, the whole shebang.
From our seats in the children’s section enjoying the quiet and the books, we suddenly heard a countdown commence followed by a frightening amount of tremendously loud gunfire that scared the hell out of everyone in the room. It was only upon seeing “Heat” during its theatrical release however many months later that I realized it was that infamous shootout scene we’d been so close to. And it was as notorious an experience in person as it was on film.
Will Campbell´s last blog ..This Question Will Be On The Final
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LisaNewton Reply:
January 14th, 2010 at 7:52 am
Wow, it’s pretty cool that you were there, and able to share it with your daughter. That’s a memory for each of you forever.
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