Robert de Niro and Al Pacino have acted opposite each other once, and that was 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 is also 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.
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About the Author
Nick James has written for The Guardian, The Observer and The London Review of Books and was for a time TV Editor at London's City Limits magazine. He has edited Sight and Sound since 1997.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By John Mounsey
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The only real "problem" I have with this book (and some of the others in the BFI classics series for that matter...) is that too much of the book is spent merely describing the events of the film.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I would imagine that anyone who is interested in a book like this is already VERY familar with the scenes of the movie itself, so personally I would prefer more emphasis on the MAKING of the film in question, rather than what actual happens in it!
That minor criticism aside, this is an excellent account by Nick James (Editor of "Sight and Sound") of Michael Mann's masterpiece from 1996. Rich in content and depth, this is currently the only book available about "Heat" and is also one of the few books out there which covers the work of Michael Mann at all (there is a brief overview of his career in this book, but this is kept short in order to concentrate on the "main event" : HEAT)
Although on the small size, the book is generously illustrated with clean crisp colour and black and white DVD grabs of key scenes from the film, as well as some other related imagery throughout. I would have preferred a better picture for the front cover though, but that is of little importance! :)
Mr. James is clearly a big fan of the film, but tries hard not to get too carried away with his praise for it, which is a good thing in my opinion. In addition to some interesting and information points about numerous aspects of the film, he also includes a short appendix and Mann's original blueprint for "HEAT" - "L.A. Takedown". However, considering the unusual nature of this project [it was a TV movie made by Mann before HEAT but with the exact same story] I personally think that more coverage of Takedown would be justified. Never mind.
Overall then, this is an essential purchase for fans of the film or admirers of Mann's work as a film-maker and perfectionist!
Recommended.
John Mounsey.
By Stu Smith
Format:Paperback
I am a huge Michael Mann fan and Heat is my favourite film. Despite already reading numerous other essays and books regarding the film, this book gave me many fresh new insights and theories regarding the styles and themes. Some may be dissapointed by the portion of the book spent recalling the plot but I feel it still found time to become a great guide for beginners and experts of the film.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars
6 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good analysis of a great film
27 Jun 2005
By John S. Harris
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Nick James certainly appreciates Michael Mann's body of work, as do a great many of us. His analysis of "Heat" as an ode to the 80's (in part, though made and set in the 1990's), as both celebration and criticism of machismo, and as testimonial of how Mann can be called a "method director" not unlike De Niro's habit of being a "method actor" (pardon the overused and often misplaced term), is as much tribute to Mann as it is a tribute to the art of storytelling on the often expansive canvas of film.
Of the half-dozen or so BFI series books I've read so far, this one ranks near the top of my enjoyment list. James' writing is scholarly without being pretentious [at least one BFI series book I have read cannot make the same claim]. Though perhaps not as enlightening as the BFI book on "Titanic" or as profound as a passage or two in the BFI book on "Jaws" (though that book does have some flaws, hate to say), it is more than compelling enough to keep me hooked on the series.
I will make a point to purchase and read the BFI books on "Crash", "The Right Stuff", "The Thin Red Line" (FOR GOD'S SAKE, EVERYBODY SEE THAT MOVIE!!), and "The Shawshank Redemption". I have the BFI book on "The Thing" in the on-deck circle and will start it tomorrow.
Of the half-dozen or so BFI series books I've read so far, this one ranks near the top of my enjoyment list. James' writing is scholarly without being pretentious [at least one BFI series book I have read cannot make the same claim]. Though perhaps not as enlightening as the BFI book on "Titanic" or as profound as a passage or two in the BFI book on "Jaws" (though that book does have some flaws, hate to say), it is more than compelling enough to keep me hooked on the series.
I will make a point to purchase and read the BFI books on "Crash", "The Right Stuff", "The Thin Red Line" (FOR GOD'S SAKE, EVERYBODY SEE THAT MOVIE!!), and "The Shawshank Redemption". I have the BFI book on "The Thing" in the on-deck circle and will start it tomorrow.
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
one of the finest BFI Modern Classics book series!
10 Jun 2003
By Cubist
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
For such a highly regarded filmmaker, so little has been written about Michael Mann's films in book form. This is a solid look at one of his most popular films. Not so much an anecdotal account (unfortunately), rather a more analytically approach to HEAT. James makes some very insightful observations on the movie and how it fits into Mann's overall body of work. For example, he points out how James Caan's character in THIEF truly embodies HEAT's famous philosophy (do not have anything you can't walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you see the heat coming...) much more successfully that De Niro's character.
While I would have enjoyed more behind-the-scenes stories and information, this is a well-written book that always has something interesting to say. James is clearly a fan of the film and of Mann's but isn't afraid of being critical -- this isn't a fan boy's love letter. His book is definitely required reading for any fan of HEAT or Mann's movies in general. BFI's Modern Classics series comes through again.
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Tepid Analysis
15 April 2012
By Dash Manchette
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Some of these little BFI books are memorable because they add to our understanding of a movie, make us see things we would not have seen otherwise. Others in the series are memorable for the film school pretentiousness they bring to their subject, often inadvertently giving the reader a few chuckles along the way. Others, however, just are not very memorable. HEAT falls into this last category.
I finished the book about a week ago and very little has stuck. The book touches on certain subjects - the world of work, the relationship the two main characters (notably played by Robert De Niro and Al Pacino) have with each other, their similarities and their differences - that seemed to have just been glossed over. The book has a meandering nature to it, making a point here and there, but with a feel that the author did not organize those points in any meaningful way before setting them down on paper.
Indeed, probably the best part of the book is the author's retrospective review of director Michael Mann's previous work and how Heat taps into and expounds on themes present in earlier form in earlier films. Though, through no fault of the author, a far better analysis would be between Heat and Mann's later movie Collateral (unreleased when this book was published), an exceptional work that seems to share many details with its predecessor. I actually watched Heat a second time because of Collateral's powerful impact. Watching the movie a second time was worthwhile and I found myself wishing for a deeper understanding with this book. I only got a bit.
I finished the book about a week ago and very little has stuck. The book touches on certain subjects - the world of work, the relationship the two main characters (notably played by Robert De Niro and Al Pacino) have with each other, their similarities and their differences - that seemed to have just been glossed over. The book has a meandering nature to it, making a point here and there, but with a feel that the author did not organize those points in any meaningful way before setting them down on paper.
Indeed, probably the best part of the book is the author's retrospective review of director Michael Mann's previous work and how Heat taps into and expounds on themes present in earlier form in earlier films. Though, through no fault of the author, a far better analysis would be between Heat and Mann's later movie Collateral (unreleased when this book was published), an exceptional work that seems to share many details with its predecessor. I actually watched Heat a second time because of Collateral's powerful impact. Watching the movie a second time was worthwhile and I found myself wishing for a deeper understanding with this book. I only got a bit.
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3.8 out of 5 stars
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