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44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perhaps, Mann's Best, July 5, 2002
Writer-Director Michael Mann's 1995 Los Angeles crime saga, Heat, is perhaps his best film work. Without having to worry about niggling facts and real timelines to get in the way (and cause critics to point them out) like in later films Ali or The Insider, this creative character-driven piece of moviemaking mesmerizes through great lead and ensemble performances, direction, and storytelling. All three aspects work wonderfully in this tale of two opposing "crews" who go up against eachother on the streets of L.A.: a professional group of criminals led by master thief Neil MacCauley (Robert DeNiro) and LAPD's elite Metro Robbery/Homicide lead by Lt. Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino).Both leads, as the story evolves, are cut from the same cloth: professional and dedicated to their chosen crafts--to a fault. Everything revolves around their jobs and nothing gets in their way, including the women in their personal lives: Justine Hanna (the very underrated Diane Venora) and the soon-to-be enlightened Eady (Amy Brenneman). It's the long-suffering Justine that nails her husband's true nature with her wifely realization: "You don't live with me, you live among the remnants of dead people. You sift through the detritus, you read the terrain, you search for signs of passing, for the scent of your prey ... and then you hunt them down. That's the only thing you're committed to. The rest is the mess you leave as you pass through." And it's with that predator's sense that Vincent spots MacCauley's crew after the inital, spectacular armored truck robbery. He knows that a crew is in town who are good, skillful, and very dangerous ("At the drop of a hat, these guys will rock 'n roll."). Which is also the exact description of their leader. However, in this case, the master thief is also growing weary of his trade...and the emotional discipline it requires."I am alone...I'm not lonely." he tells Eady after they first meet. His is a life that requires him be able to "walk out on in 30 seconds flat if (he) feels the heat around the corner." Neil is the moral antithesis for Vincent, but both will do whatever it takes to do what they do best. Eventually, both find out about the other half-way through the story. The meeting on-screen for Neil and Vincent (a first for actors DeNiro and Pacino) is the movie's key dramatic sequence. This wary confrontation over coffee is one of the best moments put to film. It's not long, but it's one of those powerfully quiet scenes that resonates throughout the rest of the film. The irony of the situation is that each recognizes themselves in the other...and appreciate the professionalism they find. Both, through their conversation, also are cognizant of the fact that each will put the other down permanently, if need be. Some other reviewers have stated that is the only time they'll share the screen time in this movie. Not true. Heat's tense climax on the outskirts of LAX is another one of those great film scenes. Mann skillfully brings their chase and relationship to a poignantly moving close. This film also has one of the best ensemble casts ever on celluloid: Pacino, DeNiro, Val Kilmer, Venora, Ashley Judd, Brenneman, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Mykelti Williamson, Wes Studi, Ted Levine, Dennis Haysbert, William Fichtner, and a young Natalie Portman. All of them giving excellent performances to an equally well written Michael Mann script. Filmed all over my hometown, and in some of the best and bad spots of Los Angeles, Heat makes great use of the locales with some breathtaking cinematography. It also has one of my all-time favorite action sequences, the Bank Heist in downtown (tragically, a real-life bank shootout in L.A. of hauntingly similar proportions would happen a couple of years later). At almost three hours in length, it takes a committment, but the viewer will be well rewarded with drama highly praised for its depth in character development and exciting sequences. This was not only one of the best films of 1995, it was one of the best for that decade. Okay, I've convinced myself: it is Michael Mann's best.
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39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
What a total disappointment of a Blu-Ray! :( There should be laws against treating such a *great* movie like this!, November 24, 2009
This release truly was a gargantuan disappointment. "Heat" is one of my all-time favorites and Michael Mann one of my favorite directors. I actually did not have huge expectations to this first incarnation of Heat on Blu-Ray--knowing the problems that exist on both the original 1999 DVD release (which I might add was pretty ok at the time, but not by today's standards) and the subsequent 2005 "Special Edition" (which had some interesting extras and commentary, but no change to the feature itself.)
But I mean honestly, I am in awe that not only does this disc have basically _the same_ audio track (re-encoded into Dolby TrueHD)--complete with the same muffled audio which for the most part totally lacks any kind of force, and dialogue which in some places is so low it borders on being ridiculous.
I can honestly say that it had no improvement, whatsoever, over the Japanese DTS edition which was released a couple of years back (which also is far from perfect.)
Ok, granted. The audio is not 100%--that I might be able to live with. After all--this is close to being my favorite movie. However, it also has received a *minimal* upgrade on the video side.
No, I am not referring to the inherent film grain. This disc has many scenes which look like they are taken straight off the original DVD and upscaled to 1080p. The lack of detail is most prominent when pausing the movie at certain scenes. Background detail also varies strongly throughout. Yes, it is a Blu-Ray and obviously it will look better than the DVD but I have a quite respectable stack of older movies which completely puts this release in the dust. The bitrate is for the most part around 15-22Mbit/s, peaking at just under 30 in some cases; but seldom reaching this point.
Just to illustrate that minimal care has been given to the video aspect, note that it even has the _exact same_ color-change problem which occurs after Amy Brenneman's character (Eady) hangs up the phone with McCauley / De Niro (at 54:32)
While this is all bad enough, later on I actually notice that some of the dialogue has been *CUT OUT*. (Why haven't other reviewers noticed this?) Specifically where Diane Venora's character (Justine) is talking to Vincent Hanna / Pacino after the office party has ended. From the passage below, the first part ("you sift through the detritus") has been omitted(!). I actually had to rewind to verify this, as this kind of thing is pretty unusual, and not something I've noticed on any of the previous DVD versions:
You sift through the detritus, you read the terrain, you search for signs of passing, for the scent of your prey ... and then you hunt them down. That's the only thing you're committed to. The rest is the mess you leave as you pass through."
Just to make it clear--this was not some one-off problem with my disc or equipment causing it to skip ahead at that particular juncture. No drop-outs to the digital audio signal was witnessed either.
To me, cutting out dialogue (especially something as relevant and beautifully phrased) in such a fashion is completely baffling. I don't know what on earth happened to this release while it was mastered on Blu-Ray, but this just topped it all off and prompted me to eject the disc. I could not bear to see what other flaws or edits it might have been subjected to.
I might add that, never once have I not watched this movie to the end. And I have watched it probably 30 times. But this was truly an abysmal experience. Warner, are you listening? You have plenty of other awe-inspiring releases, and some which are decades older than this one which look (and some which sound) a zillion times better--Superman, North by Northwest, The Road Warrior, Bullitt, The Dirty Dozen--to name a few.
After I submit this review I will create a return request for this item. I urge all others who truly love this movie to do the same; and not put up with what is basically a repackaged & cut version of the original DVD.
What a waste of a truly great disc format.
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58 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Crime Saga to Remember, May 20, 2002
Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are two of my favorite actors. So when I found out that they would be in a movie together, I was very excited to see it. "Heat" is a crime saga masterpiece that mixes drama and film noir together. Combine all of those elements together and you get one hell of a movie.
Pacino plays a L.A. detective who is obsessed with his job. He has dedicated his life to put away every single criminal in the state. Much so that he has become obsessed with his job. De Niro plays a criminal who loves to go on heists. A professional he is, and he never gets caught. Soon, the two's lives collide with each other and all hell breaks out. Pacino becomes obsessed with catching De Niro. He will not rest until he is locked up.
That is only half of the story. There are many stories in this crime drama that interact with each other. Other great actors in this film include Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Ashley Judd, Jon Voight, and many more. Every character is unique in his or her way.
The director/writer does an excellent job of making us feel sympathy for the characters, even the bad ones. He has created a very dark and gloomy world in which nothing is certain. Problems lurk around every corner, ready to destroy each person. Don't be mistaken, this isn't an action flick. This is more of a film noir if anything. It's dark, the tone is somber, and it doesn't have the happiest ending. Although there is a bank heist scene in the movie that has to be one of the best action sequences in a long time.
As much as I love Robert De Niro, and he does a great job portraying his character, Pacino steals the show. It's one of his best roles in recent years. He's vulgar, rude, offensive, and short-tempered. But, he also has a heart, and you get to see that as the movie progresses. As serious as his character is supposed to be, he has some of the funniest lines you will ever hear him say. He definitely wins "best actor" in my book.
Again, this isn't an action film. It is very long (almost three hours), and it is very story oriented. The film concentrates on character development the most. This is a great film that realistically portrays these kinds of characters. This is a movie about choices and consequences, and you're not exactly sure how the movie will end. A very good movie that should've received more recognition.
P.S. I haven't had the chance to check out the special features on this DVD. From what I remember, there isn't too many. But that would be because the movie is so long, and it's all on one side.
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