Heat (1995)

Running Time: 180 minutes (approx)

Production Year: 1995

Rating: 15 Certificate

Production Country: USA

Filmed in Colour

This epic 1995 movie, starring Robert De Niro as a master criminal and Al Pacino as the LA cop who's after him, is a top-notch crime thriller. Featuring one of the best-ever running battles in downtown LA, it's a tour-de-force for both actors, and was the first time (apart from The Godfather Part III, although they never shared a scene) that they both appeared on screen together.

And it's an electric moment when they do meet for a brief moment in a restaurant. "A guy told me one time, don't let yourself get attached to anything you're not willing to walk out on, if you feel the heat around the corner, in 30 seconds flat," says De Niro, in one of the movie's seminal scenes.

Based on a real cop and criminal who were adversaries in Chicago in the 1960s, the villains are led by Neil McCauley (De Niro), whose crew includes Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer), Michael Cheritto (Tom Sizemore) and Trejo (Danny Trejo). Their planned armed robbery of a security van goes well until a new recruit to the gang, Waingro (Kevin Gage), shoots a guard and flees.

Homicide cop Vincent Hanna (Pacino) is assigned to the case, and starts to investigate the gang, piecing together the few shreds of evidence. Hanna begins to recognise similarities between his nemesis and himself. They're both driven men, single-minded and dedicated to their respective jobs. Hanna's third marriage - to Justine (Diane Venora) - is on the verge of collapse, while McCauley is telling his latest girlfriend, Eady (Amy Brenneman), that he's a salesman. The scene is set for a breathtaking final confrontation in which only one of the adversaries will survive...

Michael Mann took 15 years to write Heat and filmed it after completing The Last of the Mohicans. With nearly 70 speaking parts, 85 different locations and running for 171 minutes, it's definitely not your archetypal cops and robbers movie. Highly recommended.

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Cast

	Al Pacino		Lt. Vincent Hanna
	Robert de Niro		Neil McCauley
	Val Kilmer		Chris Shiherlis
	Jon Voight		Nate
	Tom Sizemore		Michael Cheritto
	Diane Venora		Justine Hanna
	Amy Brenneman		Eady
	Ashley Judd		Charlene Shiherlis
	Mykelti Williamson		Sergeant Drucker
	Wes Studi		Detective Casals
	Ted Levine		Bosko
	Dennis Haysbert		Donald Breedan
	William Fichtner		Roger Van Zant
	Natalie Portman		Lauren Gustafson
	Tom Noonan		Kelso