Heat

A new edition of Nick James' study of Michael Mann's heist thriller Heat (1995) in the BFI Film Classics series

Robert de Niro and Al Pacino have acted opposite each other only once, in Heat, Michael Mann's operatic 1995 heist thriller. De Niro is Neil McCauley, a skilled professional thief at the centre of a tight-knit criminal team; Pacino is Vincent Hanna, the haunted, driven cop determined to hunt him down. Boasting a series of meticulously orchestrated setpieces that underline Mann's sense of scale and architecture, Heat also presents a rhapsody to Los Angeles, as Hanna closes in on his prey.
For Nick James, the pleasures and virtues of Heat are mixed and complex. Its precise compositions and minimalist style are entangled with a particular kind of extravagant bombast. And while its vision of male teamwork is richly compelling it comes close to glorifying machismo. But these complexities only add to the interest of this hugely ambitious and accomplished film, which confirmed Mann's place in the front rank of American film-makers.
In his afterword to this new edition, published to coincide with the film's 30th anniversary, Nick James reflects upon its lasting impact and on Michael Mann's subsequent film-making career.