We went to see Heat at the Hollywood Theater on Saturday night.
I would have to think for a while to name a better American crime drama. The mind goes to Goodfellas, The Departed, The Godfather Parts I & II, L.A. Confidential and on and on, but there is something about Heat. There’s so much going on in nearly three hours. Michael Mann takes so much time to draw out characters he could have chosen to leave out or give less time to, so it feels luxurious and full.
I think history will be kinder to Robert DeNiro’s performance than it has been to Pacino’s, but Pacino reigned it in when it was important. In 1995 he was getting rewarded a lot for a certain kind of explosiveness.
It was a great audience, too. Appreciative, but with a good sense of humor about it when a few of the lines don’t work so well. I wonder how many of the few clunkers there are is about the style of the time and how much is just “that wasn’t written so good.”
And it was great to just see it on the big screen. I’ve never seen it on anything bigger than a 42" screen. I loved Mann’s LA landscapes having room to stretch, and for some of his action camera work to become overwhelming.
Every time I go to a movie at the Hollywood I wonder why I’m not going to more. Enter the Dragon is coming soon and I think I have go to.