Heat

It’s not what you do, it’s the way that you do it. In 1989, shortly after the cancellation of Miami Vice, Michael Mann wrote and directed a TV movie about a cop tracking a consummate thief and his crew as they pull one last job. LA Takedown starred Alex McArthur and Scott Plank, and clocked in at a trim 92 minutes.

Cut to six years later, and Mann shoots essentially the same script, but this time for the big screen, with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro (not to mention backup from the likes of Val Kilmer and Jon Voight). The running time near doubles, but what seemed formulaic and trite in the TV movie assumes gravity and scale. Stereotypes take on unexpected shading and nuance – it dawns on us that this isn’t just about cops and robbers any more, it’s about men so dedicated to pursuit they can’t find their way home. See it for Mann’s mastery of mood, for Pacino firing on full cylinders, and for one of the iconic De Niro performances.

Staff Pick: Gabriel & Rame

Jul 24: Intro by Mike Archibald, writer and cinephile

[Mann] binds sound, music and pictures into one hypnotic triaxial cable and plugs it right into your brain. He makes this almost-three-hour experience practically glide by.

Desson Howe, Washington Post

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