Listen while you read
Caught a screening of this film in Boston last night to promote the upcoming Blu-ray release. It was preceded by a live broadcast Q&A with Mann which was interesting enough although looking around for information about the film it seems that a lot of what he said about it not being a genre film etc is basically the same stuff he's been saying about it for at least a decade. Last time I saw Heat I think I was in high school, a long time ago. Back then I didn't really have the patience for it honestly, I thought all the action was excellent but it is a very long film and man, I was like 17.
So it took me this long to revisit Heat.
Holy shit this movie is excellent.
Everything every character does in Heat is so precise and intentional, calculated. I swear Kilmer had ice water for blood during filming. The night shots are absolutely gorgeous, the soundtrack is super cool and (egh, hate this word...) atmospheric, and those drama bits that I nearly fast-forwarded through as a kid, although some of the writing is a little hammy, those scenes fill out these characters beyond being just dumb husks that wave guns around when the other shoe drops.
I am a bit mixed about Pacino's performance though, he really is on full-Pacino just fuckin shouting and in general being a loon. The audience was cracking up at a lot of his delivery and even the way he went down the stairs after leaving the hospital towards the end. Pacino gonna Pacino, and I'm not sure the film would have been better with another lead, but considering how somber much of Heat is, I kinda wish he showed some reservation.
It was a late showing and it's a long movie but it felt like Heat put me in a trance, I haven't seen Thief but I've seen Manhunter and Collateral and some Miami Vice and I feel that Heat is Mann's opus. It'd be interesting to catch that movie he did about hackers or whatever two years ago.
