Heat
1995 · Directed by Michael Mann
A career thief and the LAPD lieutenant chasing him sit down for a coffee. The film is two hours and forty minutes. Every minute counts.
Why It's Cult
Heat is Michael Mann's perfectly engineered cops-and-robbers epic — the LA-at-night cinematography, the bank-robbery shootout that shaped every action film since (Nolan cited it as the model for The Dark Knight), and the diner scene where Pacino and De Niro share a screen for the first time. It demands attention. It rewards it. The professional's professional movie.
The Plot, Officially
Hunters and their prey--Neil and his professional criminal crew hunt to score big money targets (banks, vaults, armored cars) and are, in turn, hunted by Lt. Vincent Hanna and his team of cops in the Robbery/Homicide police division. A botched job puts Hanna onto their trail while they regroup and try to put together one last big 'retirement' score. Neil and Vincent are similar in many ways, including their troubled personal lives. At a crucial moment in his life, Neil disobeys the dictum taught to him long ago by his criminal mentor--'Never have anything in your life that you can't walk out on in thirty seconds flat, if you spot the heat coming around the corner'--as he falls in love. Thus the stage is set for the suspenseful ending....
Starring
Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer
Where to Watch
via JustWatch →
