More than 20 years after its 1974 release The Godfather Part Two It had the unusual feature of being the only film to star acting legends Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, yet it barely shared the screen. Because De Niro plays young Vito Corleone, the father of Pacino's Michael Corleone, the two actors are only seen together in a few fleeting shots that briefly show both faces as their lives continue half a century apart. It's perfect for this particular film, but it's also a little disappointing for any moviegoers dreaming about what a Pacino-DeNiro showdown might look like. A crime drama that lasted over an hour Heatreleased on December 15, 1995, it looked like it would be a similar disappointment.
Michael Maine's thriller opens with Detective Vincent Hanna (Pacino) working in the LAPD's Robbery Division, investigating a series of deadly robberies committed by Neil McCauley (De Niro) and his team. This means that during the first hour of the film, Hannah appears at crime scenes long after McCauley has left. Then, about halfway through the 170-minute film, the two men (and their various accomplices) are in the same place at the same time: Hanna and his fellow cops are waiting to catch McCauley and his crew robbing a precious metals vault.
When one of the cops makes a noise from behind his cover, McCauley pauses, contemplating whether to abort the mission. Hannah, in turn, waits for the criminals to make a move. Mann cuts between De Niro's face in the center of the frame, looking into the shadows, and Pacino's face, standing in the same position and looking back. As in Godfather IItheir images are compared without direct interaction.
After some time it happens again. McCauley and his team pretend to be scouting a robbery location while the cops watch from a distance. Exploring the space after McCauley left, Hannah finds out: the criminals did not scout anything; they take the opportunity to look at their pursuers. “This team is good,” Hannah says with rueful admiration. Shouting a lewd hello to his unseen observers, Mann cuts back from Pacino's face to De Niro's, barely able to contain his smile at Pacino's antics.
Hannah and McCauley eventually meet, long before the film's explosive climax. And another 30 years later Heatrelease may be next generation Godfatherprobably more loved than the official one The Godfather Part III it had emerged five years earlier, albeit with a different set of priorities. Coppola's films represent an epic American moral tragedy spanning much of the 20th century. Mann's film has many minor tragedies, but it stays in the 1995 version of the here and now, set over the course of about a week. (Novel Race 2the basis of the planned film sequel, follows The Godfather Part Two a sample of intertwined stories taking place before and after the events of the original.) Mann does this not to capture that moment in time in the mid-90s, but to depict the archetypal intersection of the careers of a police officer and a professional criminal. He seems fascinated by the absorbing nature of this work on both sides of the law, and so do his stars.
Heat finds both De Niro and Pacino in middle age, so it only makes sense that their performances rely on familiar elements of their characters. For Pacino, it's the vocal dynamics from rumble to scream – his glee at “NICE ASS!” is best known on the Internet, but he also utters the rococo phrase “HIMMEALLAGOT!” among other outbursts – and the accompanying switch between fatigue and pompous display. For De Niro, it's his seriousness, bordering on cold minimalism, dotted with sharp brutality. (This may have been especially familiar to dedicated crime movie watchers, as he was still playing in theaters as the even less soulful Ace Rothstein in Scorsese's film. Casino during Heatfirst issue.) In a sense, the characters themselves also play these roles – not because they pose, but because they have honed their professional skills.
However, halfway through the picture, the two characters let their guard down enough to sit together. On a whim in the middle of the investigation, knowing that the team is planning something but has nothing against them, Hannah tracks down his victim, stops McCauley and invites him for coffee. They go to a diner and we see a five minute conversation unfold. The actors do not take advantage of the opportunity for fiery rage. Pacino's voice never rises, and De Niro never looks like he's about to indulge in violent outbursts. They are sitting and talking.
Mann filmed this scene in such a way that some critics were considered disappointing or insignificant at that time. The two legends do not completely match; They're mostly captured in alternating over-the-shoulder shots, where they're technically both visible, but only one face at a time. A film made today using such technology may cause seasoned viewers to question whether the two actors were actually on set together. However, there is no doubt that De Niro and Pacino are fully present in the film. Heatbecause Mann watches so closely how they listen to each other. While McCauley and Hannah take turns discussing their lives, Mann doesn't always keep the camera on the speaker's face. He's attuned to the actors' micro-reactions (De Niro's smile half-appears again) and lets most of the scene's acting come from eyes, posture and other quiet things, although he also gives them some surprisingly memorable shorthand with which to explain themselves.
The silent majesty of this low-key scene is not a criticism of Pacino and De Niro's performance in the rest of the film. As in the case Godfather series, there's enough meaty gaming fun to make a heavy, long film that can be endlessly rewatched and—sorry, putting this in basic nostalgia terms—quotable. “I'm talking on an empty phone.” “For me, the action is the juice.” “Life is short. Whatever time you get is luck.” (De Niro gets many of the best lines, perhaps because Pacino can turn ordinary lines into his own set pieces.)
Just as viewers can project themselves into a ghostly fascination Godfather even knowing that this represents Michael's fall from grace, they can imagine themselves immersed in the brief professionalism of Hannah and/or McCauley. (First, this obviously means never saying “goodbye” before hanging up.) In a sense, Heat is more seductive, or at least more understandable, at a time when so many jobs are hard work and workers are expected to seek solace in their own skills rather than spiritual or monetary rewards. The dinner conversation subtly involves McCauley talking about how “taking points” is what he does best and the only thing he knows how to do well – and then, just a few minutes later, admits that that's not really what he does. wants do.
“It's discipline,” McCauley says, explaining the film's central concept. (“Don’t let yourself get attached to anything that you’re not willing to give up within 30 seconds if you feel the heat around the corner.”) Many of Mann’s films can be classified as procedurals; their differences stem from what happens between the procedures in question and how they are portrayed. Heat is simpler than later abstractions such as Public Enemies And Black hatsbut it's drawn out with more detail than the intentionally one-sided duel Pledge. Although he could not have known it at the time, this would be Mann's penultimate film shot entirely on celluloid; after Insider in 1999 he began working with digital video. Much of his work is elegiac in nature; Heatstripping to a tense but melancholy climax with two hands may be the fullest expression of feeling. Beneath the surface pleasure of the film, there is a sense that something has been lost and that our work, such as it is, continues.
De Niro and Pacino, of course, continued their work; they even made two more films together, one frustratingly forgettable (Righteous Kill), and one masterfully mournful (Irishman). The worst of their four total credits is also the one in which they share the frame the most. While they may have seemed like underdogs in 1995, 30 years later it seems Mann caught them at just the right time to create the perfect anti-team. Giving his fans less than they could have hoped for Heat actually provided much more.
