Explosive ’90s Action Scene That Redefined Realism!

In a classic cat-and-mouse game, Al Pacino plays Vincent Hanna, a driven LAPD lieutenant, while Robert De Niro portrays Neil McCauley, a notorious bank robber Hanna is determined to capture. Released in 1995, “Heat” was a hit with both audiences and critics. In France alone, the movie captivated nearly 1.5 million viewers with its tense direction, monumental action scenes, and gripping plot, making it one of the finest crime thrillers of all time. Directed impeccably by Michael Mann, the film’s highlight is the legendary showdown between cinema giants Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, exuding charisma in their first on-screen appearance together, making it a cinematic event.

Celebrated as one of the greatest and most influential action films ever, its impact can be seen in numerous other films and media, from “The Dark Knight” to the video game “Grand Theft Auto V.” However, the movie has also had a significant real-world influence.

The film’s notorious shootout scene, both visceral and gripping, has been used in military training. After McCauley and his crew seem to pull off another bank heist, they are intercepted by Hanna and the LAPD on the street, leading to a shootout. The scene was so authentic and detailed that it was shown to U.S. Marine recruits to teach them how to retreat under enemy fire.

In a documentary about the making of the sequence, Val Kilmer mentioned hearing that when his character reloads, Marine instructors would tell recruits: “If you can’t reload as fast as this actor, get out of the military!” (via Screen Rant).

To achieve such realism, the actors underwent three months of rigorous training overseen by a former Special Air Service (SAS) member, Andy McNab, and a former Special Forces instructor, Mick Gould, who had them alternate between playing robbers and police officers. Mann even joked later, “Some of the actors really thought they knew how to handle and manage firearms [before training], they were quickly disillusioned!”

For Better… But Also for Worse

However, “Heat” did not only inspire the “good guys” as the film was also cited as inspiration in actual criminal plots.

The criminals’ modus operandi in the film inspired notorious repeat offender Rédoine Faïd, who was judged for his 2018 escape from Réau prison. “I saw ‘Heat’ seven times in theaters, a hundred times on DVD to dissect the armored truck robbery scene that I used for my first attack on a convoy. Like in the movie, we used hockey masks,” he told Le Point magazine in 2010.

But he wasn’t the only one to study the film for criminal purposes: bank robber Rémy Gardien did the same. In 1996, in Montluçon, he stole over 50,000 francs before fleeing and not being arrested until 2003 when the case was reopened. At that time, he admitted that “Heat” had inspired his crime.

A high-stakes duel on the edge of legality, a dense and muscular police drama: this great moment in cinema is available for streaming on Disney+, for legal purposes only, please.

Catch the famous scene in the video below: