1 Have you seen LA Takedown, Mann's demo version of Heat?DaveA wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 5:11 pm Watched Heat for the first time in a VERY long while the other night. Started watching it for free on one of those Roku channels; picture wasn't that bad, but I noticed the sounds (gunshots, collisions, etc.) were pretty weak. Then a commercial popped on, fifteen or so minutes in, I said "Fuck it" and went ahead and rented the UHD version on Prime. Picture was improved, but the sound was off-the-charts-better, like being in a theater or something. Anyway, a few observations...
1) It would almost be easier to ask "Which actors of note from then aren't in this film?" than to tally who is. It's like a latter Wes Anderson movie in that regard. Thing is though, to the film's credit, little of the casting aside from maybe the main billing of Deniro going head-to-head with Pacino feels like a stunt. Like, all of these famous faces are there, but Mann and company take it as a given and don't seem to make much of a deal about it.
2) The film's biggest strength, in my view, is its understanding of gestures, its hitting of emotional beats that coincides with the editors usually knowing exactly when to cut from one shot to the next. The general lack of flab on display in its interpersonal movements. One could say Heat is Michael Mann's most disciplined film in this regard, despite the long TRT. A couple of moments in which Pacino becomes almost operatically animated, hammy, but overall scenes work best when there's not too much looseness between the key players, when the mood borders on stoic, downbeat.
3) It's...sorta odd this never got any Oscar noms and the like. One could rationalize this in a few different ways, but I think this has something to do with Heat pre-dating a good amount of serialized higher-end TV that has followed in its footsteps, the sort of things adult audiences are now more accustomed to--basically long-form R-rated shit. There's also the idea that Deniro and Pacino's characters are different sides of the same coin, the logical conclusion being perhaps too morally murky for message-oriented Hollywood. But hell, that's just a guess. Good movie regardless.
Have not seen it, but have indeed heard of it. Have heard mixed things. If you think it's really worth a go, though, let me know. In a certain light, he's been "demo'ing" as well as rewriting/recontextualizing Heat for a while now. That's not meant as a dig.
Just the type of thing I'll be game for at the end of summer here in the tropics. I hope some of the heroes and villains have scenes taking place at the beginning or end of the day in their abnormally spacious geometric houses with purviews of the ocean or city.Pembs wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 2:26 pm2 Mann has written a 'prequel/sequel' to Heat. Novel, not a screenplay. Out in August
Faint praise? ;)
I revisted Heat again as well, and its lovely. Mann never again did anything to get me excited, but this and the sleeper classic Manhunter are great films.DaveA wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 3:44 pmHave not seen it, but have indeed heard of it. Have heard mixed things. If you think it's really worth a go, though, let me know. In a certain light, he's been "demo'ing" as well as rewriting/recontextualizing Heat for a while now. That's not meant as a dig.
Just the type of thing I'll be game for at the end of summer here in the tropics. I hope some of the heroes and villains have scenes taking place at the beginning or end of the day in their abnormally spacious geometric houses with purviews of the ocean or city.Pembs wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 2:26 pm2 Mann has written a 'prequel/sequel' to Heat. Novel, not a screenplay. Out in August
It's been a long while since I've seen either and my film-reviewing skills certainly aren't up to the level of most of the people on here, so the best I can do is say it's definitely worth your time. It's more interesting than great, but it's not crap. Lower budget, obviously, a lesser cast (though I like Alex McArthur. As for Scott Plank? This is the only thing I've ever seen him in. Unfair to call him wooden - boom boom - but he's no Pacino. And Michael Rooker's in it)...on the other hand, it's shorter, so you won't have wasted too much time if you decide you hate itDaveA wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 3:44 pmHave not seen it, but have indeed heard of it. Have heard mixed things. If you think it's really worth a go, though, let me know. In a certain light, he's been "demo'ing" as well as rewriting/recontextualizing Heat for a while now. That's not meant as a dig.
Yes. Manhunter is great. I always bracket it with Friedkin's To Live and Die in LA: great watch, awful music over the closing creditszorg wrote: Sat Apr 23, 2022 12:43 pmI revisted Heat again as well, and its lovely. Mann never again did anything to get me excited, but this and the sleeper classic Manhunter are great films.DaveA wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 3:44 pmHave not seen it, but have indeed heard of it. Have heard mixed things. If you think it's really worth a go, though, let me know. In a certain light, he's been "demo'ing" as well as rewriting/recontextualizing Heat for a while now. That's not meant as a dig.
Just the type of thing I'll be game for at the end of summer here in the tropics. I hope some of the heroes and villains have scenes taking place at the beginning or end of the day in their abnormally spacious geometric houses with purviews of the ocean or city.Pembs wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 2:26 pm2 Mann has written a 'prequel/sequel' to Heat. Novel, not a screenplay. Out in August
Will give it a go soon!Pembs wrote:It's been a long while since I've seen either and my film-reviewing skills certainly aren't up to the level of most of the people on here, so the best I can do is say it's definitely worth your time. It's more interesting than great, but it's not crap. Lower budget, obviously, a lesser cast (though I like Alex McArthur. As for Scott Plank? This is the only thing I've ever seen him in. Unfair to call him wooden - boom boom - but he's no Pacino. And Michael Rooker's in it)...on the other hand, it's shorter, so you won't have wasted too much time if you decide you hate itDaveA wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 3:44 pmHave not seen it, but have indeed heard of it. Have heard mixed things. If you think it's really worth a go, though, let me know. In a certain light, he's been "demo'ing" as well as rewriting/recontextualizing Heat for a while now. That's not meant as a dig.
With Mann's movies, based on the six or seven I've seen, I would say it's rarely the case that he doesn't have good set-pieces/sequences/shots, but sometimes, to me, it feels like individual parts or sections are more interesting than the films as a whole. This would definitely be the case, in my view, for Thief, Manhunter, and Miami Vice; some stellar stuff, but also some cheese, narrative lag, tonal inconsistencies, and so on. Collateral and Blackhat might fare better in this regard, I dunno, but I think Heat above all is the one that deserves its place in the general consensus as his best work. His better tendencies as a writer-director are there, and his weaker ones are reigned in.zorg wrote: Sat Apr 23, 2022 12:43 pmI revisted Heat again as well, and its lovely. Mann never again did anything to get me excited, but this and the sleeper classic Manhunter are great films.