Customer Reviews

Heat: Music from the Motion Picture

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Period.

It helps, of course, to be deeply in love with the movie too -- as I am.

When I first saw Heat in December of 1995, and sat through the closing credits scored by Moby's "God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters," I knew I had to own the soundtrack. Knew it. The music was so deeply emotional, so heavy with sorrow at times and uplifting on the closing track, that I had no other choice.

Kronos Quartet's title track soothes my being from the very first note. The strings are so warm and personal, so richly laden with a tranquility that brings me peace even when I've had a miserable day. I feel like I am capable of anything when I hear these notes. The music shifts at about 2:25 to a more industrial, aggro sound, but the change is not at all jarring or unnatural. An absolutely amazing intro to the soundtrack.

"Always Forever Now" is a fast-paced, entrancing, bass-heavy, uplifting piece, and I see no reason to gripe about the minor differences between this version and that found on the Passengers' album.

"Condensers" is built around the most mournful guitar piece I have ever heard. A beautiful, emotional piece of music.
Terje Rypdal's jazz/blues guitar contributions, "Last Nite" and "Mystery Man," are every bit as strong, capturing Neil and Eady's relationship in dark, moody, intense instrumentals.

Michael Brooks' "Ultramarine" is one of the less brooding pieces, and I believe it was used to great effect in the scene outside the restaurant, when Vincent and his crew watch Neil's gang for the first time from the top of a building.

"Of Helplessness" is probably the saddest piece of music on the album -- and that's saying something. Only strings here, used in a scene I don't want to spoil for those readers who have not yet seen Heat. But it conveys precisely why Vincent is the kind of detective he is; he sees so much human misery in any given day, so much pain, that it's all he can do to bottle it and let it fuel him in pursuit of his suspects.

Track eleven, Moby's cover of "New Dawn Fades," is best heard on a dark summer night in a very fast car on a wide open freeway. That's how it is used in the movie, and it's hard to imagine it any other way. It has a sense of danger, pursuit, and above all, speed. I have not heard the Joy Division version of this song, but I have a hard time imagining it would be this powerful. A song you'll never forget.

"Force Marker," the Brian Eno industrial synth track, is fast, tense, and repetitive. It suits the bank scene perfectly, but might be a little grating in other contexts.

The two Lisa Gerrard tracks, "La Bas" and "Gloradin," are moving, somber, dark pieces of music. Hearing these two tracks will make you think your best friend just died. Not the sort of thing you always want to listen to, but they certainly fit some moods.

"Run Uphill," a very pretty strings and guitars piece, fits this soundtrack nicely. However, it is not the actual piece of music used in the film during that scene. What I am remembering in the movie is not anywhere on the soundtrack, but it would be certainly welcome here. One of the few "if only"s I can think of for the whole thing.

"Predator Diorama" is aptly named; here we are in the tense, adrenaline-filled world of Neil McCauley in the last few minutes of the movie. If you've seen Heat, and remember the movie well enough to associate this track with the scene it represents, then this piece will be a deeply gratifying experience when you're in a vindictive and wrathful mood.

Like the movie, the soundtrack concludes with Moby's "God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters." It's a remarkably simple tune, but also deeply, almost religiously affecting. It consists of a twinkling piano pattern, like rainfall or sunlight, against the backdrop of soaring strings and crashing cymbals. Yet another tune that is impossible to forget. Occasionally it can almost move me to tears. I know that it lacks the bridge found in the movie, but I think that was a device inserted for purposes specific to the movie (the bridge hits right when the screen goes black to credits) and therefore I cannot object to its absence here. This version is just as strong without that change.

Of the tracks I did not specifically mention, only Einsturzende Neubauten's "Armenia" is out of place; this track is used only briefly in the movie, and the screaming is really quite ugly.

This is more than just a soundtrack. This is a cohesive, dark, moving tapestry of sound that transcends the whole notion of "music from a movie." It's an album of its own. This is a stirring 21-track CD, beautiful in the context of the movie or completely by itself. I would buy this CD again even if the replacement cost me fifty bucks. A must-have.

If you are looking for the music to the closing scene of the film, the music that reaches an almost religious apex, the soundtrack does not contain it. That song is indeed called "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters" and it is by Moby, but that song exists in several versions. The version included here on the soundtrack album has the twinkling piano and chords, but does not reach the rousing synth high, as found in the film. For the version closest to what appears in the film, see Moby's album "I Like to Score."

The breezy, sprawling strings that open (what I will call, as it has 3 distinct parts, but is only listed as one track) Kronos Quartet's Heat suite as we watch the train pull into the station, rates as my all time favourite movie opening. For me it remains awesome (in the true sense of the word) every time I see it. This soundtrack goes on to beautifully punctuate Michael Mann's masterpiece. But it also stands on it's own as an album. Mann has a very keen sense of the way music and pictures can work together, and in Heat, everything falls gorgeously intro place.

However, I have 2 gripes about this soundtrack, pedantic as they may be - First, The version (on my disc, at any rate) of Moby's 'God Moving Over the Face of the Waters' is NOT the version heard in the film, and is missing a vital bridge that the film's climax hinges on! That REALLY annoys me - if I buy 'music from the motion picture', that is what I damn well expect to get! (if you want a better version, get Moby's album 'I Like to Score', but that version doesn't sound as 'big' so you never get the real thing, if you know what I mean). Secondly, for such a major and (what they must have known was going to be) historic production, the sleeve design seems uncaringly slapped together and lame. I would love to see this redesigned and reassembled by someone who cares. I realise it's not a major seller, but maybe for some anniversary re-release with the movie it would be nice to see such a fine film getting all the treatment it deserves even if it is only for the more passionate collectors.

From start to finish this is trully an amazing collection for a nearly-all-instrumental soundtrack. Most (soundtracks) that I have ever come across contain one or two memorable pieces and the rest are just "space-fillers". Not so with this album. Every piece is unique and all the time they convey the film's theme. The Kronos Quartet's introductory piece can be described as nothing less than atmospheric and was ultimately ideal for use as the opener for the film. It sets a high standard that never really flags. Other highlights include The passenger's "Always Forever Now", Moby's cover of Joy Division's "New Dawn Fades" and Brian Eno's pulsed, Force Marker.

A personal favourite must surely be, Michael Brook's incredible guitar sound in "Ultramarine".

However, the one down side for me, is Einsturzende Neubauten's "Armenia" which I feel, is more like an introduction to creating industrial sound effects than creating beautiful music - such as "Ultramarine", which precedes it.

One of Robert DeNiro's charachter lines went something to the effect of, " I'm alone. I'm not lonely". And it is that aloneness that the music evokes. Its also the best way to listen to it.

Enjoy!!

"Heat" was one of the most exceptional and underrated crime-dramas I'd ever seen. rarely do I love a movie so much after the first viewing, but "Heat" really grabbed me with the great characters, great storytelling, great production, and great music. Michael Mann has always been known for choosing great music for his films, and "Heat" is no exception. An assortment of diverse artists, plus a tense and moving score by Elliot Goldenthal (with a little help from the Kronos Quartet) make for one of the finest collections of music I've ever heard.

The orchestral pieces, like "Heat," "Refinery Surveillance," "Entrada & Shootout," "Oh Helplessness," and "Fate Scrapes" all begin very calmly and beautiful, soothing swirls of strings that steadily build up to a tense and sometimes violent climax. Augmented by occasional the occasional cry of guitars, one can feel the heat around the corner just listening to the music, it really gives that feeling the movie gave and puts those images in your head. "Condensers" and "Run UpHill" are a pair of wonderfully emotional guitar pieces (the CD credits Page Hamilton on guitars...I wonder if it's the same Page Hamilton from Helmet), soaring screams that harken back to Mann's days directing "Miami Vice," but without that '80's flair. There is a saddening melody at the end of "Run UpHill" that resonates throughout "OF Separation," mirroring the Robert DeNiro's character's need for escape after being backed into a corner. "Predator Diorama" is just tense all the way through, ending loudly and climactically, appropriate to its scene in the movie when DeNiro kills the traitor. "Steel Cello Lament" reminds me of "Seiun," the Kitaro piece Mann used in "Manhunter," very similar in sound and feel. "Coffee Shop," as short as it is, is a beautiful piano piece underlying the famous meeting between DeNiro and Al Pacino (both their characters and the actors).

As for the other artists on this album, it was rather interesting to hear them all together in a single narrative. The song "Always Forever Now" by U2/Brian Eno (albeit a different version that the one featured on their "Passengers" album), while heard briefly in the movie, is very rhythmic, helping to give a sense of Al Pacino's character, always moving, always on the go. Brian Eno's other contribution, "Force Marker," for all its simplicity really gives you the feel of the movie. Used in the bank heist, it's just tense tense tense, all the way through. "Last Nite" and "Mystery Man" by Terje Rypdal are sweet ambient guitar songs, a sort of sad blues-jazz for DeNiro's romantic situation in the movie. Moby's cover of Joy Division's "New Dawn Fades" really fits well in both the movie and the scope of Michael Mann's films. The soaring guitar lines are reminiscent of Craig Safran's "Confrontation" (from "Thief") and Michel Rubini's "Graham's Theme" (from "Manhunter"), that tense melody that is both uplifting and suspensful at the same time. "Ultramarine" by Michael Brook is a great ambient bass & guitar song, giving a sweet romantic edge to an otherwise dark soundtrack. The two Lisa Gerrard songs, "La Bas" and "Gloradin" are good ambient additions. Her voice is always a treat to hear, full of all sorts of Middle-Eastern undertones that just provide a good atmosphere. Einstürzende Neubauten's "Armenia" seems a bit out of place, but I suspect that has to do with the vocals. It might've been better to include it as an instrumental remix, then it would have fit...otherwise, the vocals just make the song frightening and unwelcome. Finally, the best song on the whole soundtrack, Moby's "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters." It's a simple repetition of a four-chord string section, with some piano lines underneath. And yet it provides the emotional core of the whole film, used in the finale, and just bringing tears to the eyes with its sadness and intensity. Unfortunately, the mix used on the album is not the one used in the film (which includes a bridge section that brings everything to a beautiful and mournful high). The end of the film would not have been nearly as emotional without this song.

"Heat" was a great movie, and its soundtrack is just as good. It stands on its own as a good collection of songs strung together to form a single coherent theme, and it's a great complement to the movie. What more could one want out of a soundtrack album? It's got its flaws (what doesn't?), but they are minor enough that they are almost unnoticed. Listen to this album from beginning to end, and even the parts that seem out of place make sense. Definitely one of the best soundtracks ever.

This is a great collection of what are dark, moody pieces that work very well alone while capturing the somber tone of the film. The theme is worth the price alone: a minimalist masterpiece that swells to a deafening chorus of what sound like moans, then settles into a tense guitar and electronica sequence (used when the crew blows the doors off the armored car and rounds up the guards.) Other highlights here are the pulsing, sequencer-heavy "Always Forever Now" by Passengers, a U2-Brian Eno project. (Actually, the version on this disc differs slightly from the version on the Passengers Original Soundtracks album, adding a couple of eerie whispers early on and some more strings at the end.)

"Ultramarine" goes up and down with an incredible throbbing guitar and bass. Moby's cover of Joy Divion's "New Dawn Fades" is excellent, and fits nicely in the film during Pacino's car pursuit of DeNiro. A very Michael Mann-ish track. (Those who watched Miami Vice will agree.) Brian Eno's "Force Marker" is an excellent, tense and riveting piece of music that is exciting even away from the film. This was used brilliantly during the bank heist and shootout. It has also been used elsewhere, most recently in the Steven Seagal film "Exit Wounds" for a fight scene.

The Lisa Gerrard material is good as well; fans of her "Gladiator" work will enjoy the tracks here. The Eliot Goldenthal score has a dark but human tone and proves that he is one of the better composers scoring films today.

Finally, the other Moby track, "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters" differs slightly from the version used in the film but is still a very moving piece with its relentless piano riff and swelling strings. Sit back and listen to it and be carried. Great soundtrack to a great film, period.

Highly recommended.

A bit of a joy this one!. A well thought out, well put together soundtrack album with music written especially for the film blending imperceptibly with "imported" tracks. Each piece of music carefully compliments the action on the screen and plays host to a whole range of emotions through identification with the characters involved.

After all this - who DOESN`T want to be Neil?.

I bought the soundtrack to "Heat" because I had been completely enamored by the music that was in the film. There is a beautiful ambivalence to it that just surrounds you as you listen.
There are no bad tracks here, folks. They are all worthy to be on the same disc together and the result is a wonderful and subliminal compilation of both upbeat and sullen tracks.
One of the things that I love most about soundtracks, especially if they're instrumental, is their ability to replay the whole movie for you. You listen to a specific tune, a specific scene will play in your mind.
For instance, Brian Eno's "Force Marker," is a rendition of the famous Bank heist scene in the film. (You'd have to actually see the film in order to understand.) It's a pulsating track that went perfectly to a heart-stopping sequence. Moby's "God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters," is another outstanding track. It's just totally moving and mesmorizing.
So..all in all, this soundtrack is absolutely breath-taking. It was definitely worth my money and I hope that those who purchase it will say the same. All listed tracks demand the listener's attention. :) Cheers!

I found Moby's "God moving over the face of Water" to be very inspirational and touching. It alone was worth the price of this CD.

"Heat", Michael Mann's piece de resistance, couldn't have come with a better soundtrack. The songs fit the mood of each scene perfectally and this is remarkable: to have a soundtrack that balance the iconic weight of the actual film, starring De Niro and Pacino in one of the finest movies ever made. The hypnotic feel of the songs is a voyage itself, from the opener by Kronos quartet - capturing De Niro arriving at the trainstation, walking to the hospital - via the brilliance of Michael Brook's "Ultramarine" and memorable pieces by Lisa Gerrard (pre-"Gladiator"-fame) to the beautiful filmendning with Pacino and De Niro at LA X, with the very moving "God moving over the face of the waters" by Moby. The soundtrack reflects director Michael Mann's meticulous feeling for details: none of the songs are decorative without context - every song is a piece of the puzzle, piecing together the complex nature of De Niro's skilled professional thief, Neil McCauley and Pacino's driven cop, Vincent Hanna, obsessed like the hunter for his prey. Rarely has a soundtrack contributed this much to the film and Mann knows how to do this: how to interact the soundtrack with the film, building an entity where the sound of the score gives depth and understanding. Not as fully perfect, you should still visit the soundtracks to Mann's "Insider" (with Pacino & Russel Crowe) and "Collateral" (Cruise & Foxx). The soundtrack to "Heat" is, from start to finish, a cinematic and musical triumph.