Rating: 
Summary: The best cops and robbers film of all time!
Review: This is without a doubt my favorite film of this genre ever. You got Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Ashley Judd, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore. Come on? What are you going to expect? This film is quite nearly perfect. Michael Mann sets a perfect tone of Los Angeles with his gritty, yet Hollywood glam style. My favorite thing about this film is the fact that there aren't really and concrete good guys or bad guys. Al Pacino's cop and Robert DeNiro's robber seem like two guys who, if they weren't in their current line of work, would be sitting out back by the barbecue on a Sunday afternoon watching the big game while drinking a beer. This is never better illustrated than the scene in which they are talking in a coffee shop. The are enemies. Bitter enemies. They know just as we do that one of them will have to take the other one down. At the same time there is this unsaid sense of respect for one another. Brilliantly acted scene.The bank robbery scene is also amazing. Possible the best bank robbery scene of all time, it shows such a calm sense of urgency. An element that most directors would screw up or over display, but not Michael Mann, he handled it brilliantly. This is one of those films where it just screams out for a special edition. God knows I hope they release one. I would repurchase this disc for a DTS soundtrack alone. In the meantime however, the price of this disc is well worth it. I have nearly 700 movies in my collection, and I still watch this 4 or 5 times a year.
Rating:
Summary: "Heat" is Hot.... the DVD is Not.
Review: Take two of the greatest actors of our time in Al Pacino & Robert DiNero, a brilliant screenplay and Michael Mann at the helm and you have a sure fire hit of a movie! Right? Right! Take that same combination on DVD and you have a great DVD to match that film right? Uh...well not exactly. "Heat" is arguably the best if not, then one of the best "cops and robbers" films ever to grace the big screen. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about the effort of putting this on DVD. In case movie companies aren't getting it, there are DVD's that have set the standard higher in terms of features. People don't want JUST high quality picture and sound, people want to see the scene's that got shuffled around on the cutting room floor, documentaries and what the crew ate for lunch on the third day of shooting. Not just the movie and a couple of trailers. Here's what the "Heat" DVD does offer: 1) Widescreen format - 2:35:1 ratio
2) Dolby Stereo
3) Theatrical Trailers The movie is a dark, cat and mouse, crime drama set in the city of Los Angeles. Robert DiNero plays veteran criminal Neil McCaulley who with his crew (Kilmer, Sizemore, etc.) are taking on heists more daring than the last. All the while Lt. Vincent Hannah (Al Pacino) is hot on their trail. Michael Mann depicts the events and their rippling effects on lives associated with the main characters. To paraphrase actress Diane Venora who plays (Justine) Pacino's neglected wife, it is a "trail of mess that is left behind" by Pacino and DiNero. There is a good blend of action and an intelligent story line featuring veteran actors and actresses such as Jon Voight, Ashley Judd, Diane Venora, Amy Brenneman, a very young Natalie Portman and others. All leading to a final confrontation between Pacino and Di Nero. The movie also incorporates brilliant cinematography, excellent music/sound and of course top notch acting. Hopefully the outcry from the ardent fans will motivate the film company to re-release this title with a few more goodies. As great as this film is, the overall DVD effort is disappointing. If you're hoping for bonuses...sorry, the VHS format will offer as much in the extra department as the DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: A Masterpiece Led By An All-Star Cast!
Review: Heat is easily one of my all time favorite crime-drama's! Its a really original piece of work from the director Michael Mann. Led with an All-Star cast of Al Pacino (Scarface, The Godfather), Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver, The Godfather Part II) Val Kilmer (Out of Sight, Batman Returns), Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan, Natural Born Killers), Ashley Judd (Double Jeopardy, Someone Like You), Danny Trejo (Animal Factory, Desperado), William Fitchner (Drowning Mona, The Perfect Storm), and Famke Jansen (The Faculty, House on Haunted Hill). The movie is about a mastermind L.A detective (Pacino) on the trail of an equally masterminded thief (De Niro), and his whole crew (Sizemore, Trejo, and Kilmer). One bank, ten minutes, 12.2 million dollars in cash. This film is superb even with lack of special features on the dvd. But the movie is over 3 hours long, and after the credits roll you will feel like it just started. The acting is Oscar calibar, the action is superb, and the script is great. It all makes for a hell of a time, with superb special effects as well. DVD Special Features Include: • Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Widescreen, Dolby
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• Widescreen anamorphic format (2:35:1) Available to Rent or Buy Today!
Rating:
Summary: Super Movie...Where's the Extras?
Review: In order to rate this DVD, you have to look at two distinct entities. 1) The Movie 2) The DVD The Movie - Michael Mann is one of the premier directors for those of us who enjoy Home theatre. His rock scores move easily from foreground to background. The Cast is excellent of course; Pacino, DeNiro, Voight and Kilmer are all excellent as you would expect, and it is one of the best good guy bad guy scripts ever written. Some of the more modern film makers would do well to take note of how the sub-plots and character development build and maintain in this film. You actually care what happens to supporting actors in this story. The Movie itself I rate as 5 Stars. Excellent. The DVD - Again, with any Michael Mann film, the sound was incredible. You could hear shell casings bouncing off the ground, and at one point during a shoot out with an incredible amount of breaking glass, I felt the need to brush some glass off my shoulder. Doesn't get better than this! Dolby Surround 5.1 worked amazingly well on this film. This is the kind of movie that makes you truly pleased you bought a Surround Sound system. On the other hand....Where is the EXTRAS?? No Actor or Director Interviews, No commentary, No deleted scenes, not even the typical cast and crew filmographies! Why buy it in DVD? Another down side? Cheap Case. It isn't a hard plastic case, but one of those cheap cardboard containers that don't close properly. As a matter of fact, the DVD came loose from the holder during shipping and was slightly scratched. So here you have it. Excellent Movie, (inferior) case, and non-existant extras that we buy DVD's for. Consider renting this film as opposed to purchasing. DVD - 2 Stars.
Rating:
Summary: Heat Rocks!
Review: The scene in the restaurant where Pacino and DeNiro meets for the first time was worth the price of admission in the theaters. The scary part is the fact I found myself wanting DeNiro to escape despite the fact he just killed several policemen, and I'm civic minded, pro-death penalty type of guy! Michael Mann keeps getting better at his vocation.
Rating:
Summary: modern gothic
Review: the only flaw of Heat is that it doesn't cater to everyone. But as Ebert said once 'only bad movies are for everyone'. I see it as a modern retelling of Frankenstein. DeNiro as Neil McCauly 'creates' the Pacino character, Vincent. By being a crook he creates the need for a cop. The characters are both quite alike, and hunt each other down. Along with the obsession with darkness and death, and the weak female characters (which are traits of gothic tales of yore) it is truly a modern gothic. Many people complain of it being too long. Yes, it is longer than 'Rush Hour 2' or other action (...), but it is not just an action movie, it is an action drama, and needs time to develop its characters. These characters make it a great film instead of just a good movie.
Rating:
Summary: Pacino -vs- Deniro
Review: This is the best crime movie ever made, the lives of cops & criminals are explored very deeply here, In this film Pacino is a workoholic police detective, so devoted that his wife(Diane Venora)feels neglected, his stepdaughter (Natalie Portman) is going through adolescent confusion, & he is so obsessed that he can't see his life falling apart, DeNiro is at his best here as a career criminal that is so smart that it fustrates Pacino, a robbery gone wrong involving DeNiro, his companion Kilmer, as well as others is what draws the attention of Pacino, the cat & mouse game that the two leads play with each other are very entertaining at times, if not funny, the scene where DeNiro & his crew set up Pacino & his fellow officers on a potential target that is in hindsight a set up to see who is on to them is comical in itself as Pacino tells his men: "you know what they are looking at..... US!!!!, we just got made" fustrated Pacino arranges a meeting with DeNiro in the hopes of getting inside his way of thinking is by far the best sequence, the downtown shootout in which Pacino infiltrates DeNiro's supposed last robbery, is so realistic that the viewer is at times shaken up, this film definately plays on the theory that eventually a life of crime has no happy ending, the one on one showdown between DeNiro & Pacino is so tense that by the end you are left with nothing but strong emotion & a sense of respect that the two men come to have for one another, definately the thinking person's action movie. Highy Recommended!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Heat
Review: more action and intrigue than you could stand.With this cast a movie could not miss.Pacino/De Niro/Kilmer and Voight really shine. Old story of cops and robbers with a few new twists. Would recommend viewing it.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Riveting
Review: This movie helped me understand the seduction of the criminal lifestyle. Perhaps it can be summed up this way: You never answer to any other man. Ever. True, it's the freedom and liberation of a barbarian, but who of us hasn't wanted to chuck everything at some point and live by our own rules? This movie was exhilarating, disturbing and ultimately heart-breaking because it also reveals the inevitable fate that awaits those on this path and all the carnage that occurs along the way. It also shows why we must put limits on our egos, desires and ambitions if we want to know meaningful relationships during our brief time on this earth. De Niro and Pacino have never been so intensely inside of their roles, and the supporting cast is fully up to the challenge of helping carry the storyline forward. And the action scenes almost gave me a heart attack; they are that good. Heat never pulls any punches; I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Great acting
Review: Two great actors lead a great supporting cast, solid performances throughout, orchestrated and paced just right. Pacino and Deniro give excellent performances as a cop and robber, each with their own personal vices, and deep obsessions. They're so obsessed with what they do, that they're driven by it and of course their personal lives are devastated. This film isn't a shoot em up action, Steven Siegal type movie, but rather a deep physchological journey into the obessions, sacrifices, losses, and sadly lives of men driven by obsession, unable to let it go. I thought the ending was quite ironic, man has chance to escape, but could not resist last score. I'd recommend it anytime.
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