One particular scene from Heat has fans of the iconic action film scratching their heads. Image source: 20th Century Fox/Disney
If you’re talking about the best action films of all time, then when in doubt you should also talk about Heat. Director Michael Mann’s action thriller is now 28 years old and now there’s even a sequel in the starting blocks.
Reason enough for Michael Mann to review Heat again. And the now 80-year-old filmmaker even takes part in the interview Collider a curious theory that has so far persisted.
Robert De Niro vs. Al Pacino
What exactly is it about? In Heat, gangster Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) and police lieutenant Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) engage in a nerve-wracking game of cat and mouse. One of the absolute highlights of Heat is the meeting between the two in a coffee shop.
For six minutes, the two acting heavyweights Pacino and De Niro engage in an exciting dialogue that deepens both characters and advances the story. If you now feel like watching one of the best scenes in the almost three-hour film, we can of course help you here:
Link to YouTube content
Michael Mann personally smashes a fan theory
But one factor made film fans suspicious back in 1995. Since the camera actually only switches between the over-the-shoulder perspectives of the two actors, viewers assumed that Al Pacino and Robert De Niro weren’t actually sitting opposite each other. Instead, it was suspected that the scene in question was tricked just to give the impression.
Michael Mann now has to say:
Regarding Heat, I was asked again and again about the scene in the coffee shop, which, by the way, actually happened. If Al [Pacino] and Bob [De Niro) sich einander ansehen, ist aus irgendeinem Grund das Gerücht entstanden, dass beide nicht zur selben Zeit anwesend sind. Ich weiß nicht, warum das alle geglaubt haben.
Tatsächlich gab es drei Kameras und die dritte war die, welche [die Darsteller] Wear it on your chest, creating a direct profile shot. However, I never used it because it was us [als Zuschauer] takes them out of the scene and turns them into observers, in contrast to the fact that we were previously empathically part of the dialogue [der beiden Figuren] are.
So I always just have that [Über-die-Schulter-Perspektive] used while everything else happened simultaneously. Two cameras were placed just out of reach, out of sight of each other, to film the scene.
Good that that could be clarified. This means that nothing should stand in the way of Heat 2, which is a kind of pre-sequel to the first part. That means: Vincent Hanna sheds light on Neil McCauley’s past, which means that a large part of the film takes place via flashbacks in Chicago in 1988.
Adam Driver (Ferrari, Star Wars) may embody the young version of Robert De Niro’s character. There is currently no theatrical release for Heat 2.
What do you think of the fan theory about the first heat and that Michael Mann is now refuting it? Are you happy that a second part is coming more than 28 years after the first film or could you do without it in good conscience? How much do you like the original from 1995? Let us know in the comments!
