What an Easter Sunday treat!
An exemplary crime thriller/heist movie/cop drama/all of the above, perfectly executed by Michael Mann who proves with the bank heist escape, that no one, and I mean no one does a shoot out better than Mann does. Need any more proof than watch Public Enemies. The shootout in Heat is what surround sound was made for.
This blog will allow me to clear up an argument that I have had with several people, all of whom incorrectly believe that the man who plays Waingro is Buffalo Bill in Silence Of The Lambs. They are wrong, but Ted Levine who played Buffalo Bill is in Heat and plays one of Pacino's right hand men. So there, case closed!
Finally you cannot talk about Heat without talking about that scene. It is a sit-down to rival Walken vs Hopper in True Romance, where De Niro and Pacino finally get the chance to go face to face. Another argument has surfaced claiming that they never appear in the same shot but these people must only have seen the TV pan and scan version because on the widescreen DVD they are.
There is often great debate about who is the better actor but here they match each other blow for blow in which two bitter rivals realise that they have more in common than they thought. DeNiro is the epitome of movie cool, and Pacino reigns in the boombastic shouting, saving it for a couple of great occasions ("she's got a GREAT ASS!!!" for example).
Unfortunately it is probably the last great performance that either of them have done, with nothing since reaching this level. Both have almost become parodies of their earlier selves; Pacino always shouting and DeNiro tarnishing the good name of Taxi Driver with his "Are you looking at me?" speech in Rocky & Bullwinkle. Even the two of them teaming up again resulted in the awful Righteous Kill. Come on Bobby, give Scorsese a call and get back to making great films again.
Days remaining - 165 Films remaining - 217
No comments:
Post a Comment