UHD Review Heat – Definitive Director’s Edition UHD Review (1 Viewer)

[Neil Middlemiss]

As we get further away from the decades we experienced first-hand, our fondness and critical appreciation for the films in those decades seems to grow. We’re now in the third decade from the end of the 1990s and even I am looking back upon good movies from that decade and saying to myself how great they were. But there are several films from the 1990s that immediately stood tall as some of the best cinema, beyond the decade it was formed. Heat is one of those films. A classic the moment you first saw it, its status cemented further as the years have passed. It’s a magnificent accomplishment that exists as both epic and intimate, as action and drama, and thrilling and tragic.



Heat (1995)



Released: 15 Dec 1995
Rated: R
Runtime: 170 min




Director: Michael Mann
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama



Cast: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight...

Continue reading...

 

[David Norman]

??? The Production: 1/5

I will guess this is a typo?

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

??? The Production: 1/5

I will guess this is a typo?

My selection in the template drop-down didn't take. So yes, I guess you could call it a typo.

 

[Robert Crawford]

??? The Production: 1/5

I will guess this is a typo?

That's a pretty good guess based on his last paragraph about the Production:

"Heat remains one of the best films of the 1990s and one that leaves its mark. I saw it in the theater upon its release. I had just moved to the US and was practically living in the movie theaters, watching as much as I could, and amongst that onslaught of cinematic visits, Heat stands out as stunningly memorable. A gripping film, rich with good characters and strong performances, it’s punctuated by violence and periods of intense calm. There’s a dance to the procession of events as the plot maneuvers to the gripping, intense conclusion. The final robbery, with its visceral shootout, stunning visually and alarmingly realistic audibly, had never been done with such power before and I’ll posit has never been matched or beaten since. It’s just as potent today. That sequence starts with the propulsive Force Marker music track from Brian Eno underscoring the lead up and the scene’s carnage doesn’t let up until the final stage has been properly set – where all the pieces on the chess board are arranged – and the inevitable end is in sight. It’s marvelous."

 

[Koschei]

Been reading a LOT of reviews commenting on how the image is noticeably darker with this transfer, not just in reference to contrasts and shadows.

 

[FWAJMB]

I fondly remember this film as an unexpected surprise as it never reached movie theaters in northern Indiana. My buddy and I were young Pizza Hut Managers, and we spent a disproportiante amount of our paychecks on LaserDiscs. We'd take turns watching movies at each other's houses after closing the store. We were...absolutely...mesmerized...watching this movie on our then state-of-the art home theater systems.

In retrospect, I will disagree with the reviewer on a couple of points:

HEAT is the rare perfect film. By perfect, I mean perfect. There is not a wasted bit of dialogue, edit, shot...nothing. It's perfect.

Last of the Mohicans is perfect. Michael Mann seems to have lost it of late, with Tokyo Vice being a standout exception. Let's hope he doesn't botch Ferrari.

Secondly, this new 4K edition is awful. In this release, Michael Mann has pulled a George Lucas and tinkered with a perfect movie to make it darker and grittier, and for me, it is a huge distraction. The color in the 1080p version is spot-on with street lights standing out against the darkness, the opening robbery shot against the bright Los Angeles sun and haze. Yes, I'll keep the 4K, but I'l also keep the Blu-ray and probably watch it more.

Long live the decade that gave us Heat, Ronin, Casino, Carlito's Way, Tombstone (where I live), Unforgiven, The Limey, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List...and Dracula, Dead & Loving It.

 

[Mark VH]

Michael Mann seems to have lost it of late, with Tokyo Vice being a standout exception. Let's hope he doesn't botch Ferrari.

Going to push back on this somewhat. Depends on what you mean by "lost it." If you mean "directed a string of bad films," then it's hard to assert this since he's only directed one movie in the last 13 years (Blackhat, which most would label a miss, though it has its defenders).

His early 2000s output is tremendous (Collateral and Miami Vice are both excellent and Public Enemies is vastly underrated). The Tokyo Vice pilot was awesome and by all accounts Heat 2 is great (I haven't had a chance to read it yet). So I don't know that you can say he's lost much of anything - just hasn't been as prolific as he used to be.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Heat on 4K blu-ray just arrived today via Amazon today 8/15/22. I have watched my blu-ray of Heat a few times since attending the private screening of at the time the newly restored digital print of Heat. What made it special was that there was a Q&A with the director Michael Mann. It was awesome seeing a restoration of Heat on the big screen!

Now finally a number of years later I have the 4K blu-ray of the Directors Definitive Edition of Heat in my library!

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

Heat on 4K blu-ray just arrived today via Amazon today 8/15/22. I have watched my blu-ray of Heat a few times since attending the private screening of at the time the newly restored digital print of Heat. What made it special was that there was a Q&A with the director Michael Mann. It was awesome seeing a restoration of Heat on the big screen!

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Now finally a number of years later I have the 4K blu-ray of the Directors Definitive Edition of Heat in my library!


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The Village in Westwood is where I prefer to see all new movies.

 

[JoshZ]

Secondly, this new 4K edition is awful. In this release, Michael Mann has pulled a George Lucas and tinkered with a perfect movie to make it darker and grittier, and for me, it is a huge distraction. The color in the 1080p version is spot-on with street lights standing out against the darkness, the opening robbery shot against the bright Los Angeles sun and haze. Yes, I'll keep the 4K, but I'l also keep the Blu-ray and probably watch it more.

Which Blu-ray release are you comparing to, the Warner release from 2007 or the Definitive Director's Edition from Fox in 2017?

 

[FWAJMB]

I only had the first Blu-ray. There is a Japanese Blu-ray that some regard as pretty bad.

 

[JoshZ]

I only had the first Blu-ray. There is a Japanese Blu-ray that some regard as pretty bad.

Mann revised the movie's color grading to the darker look for the 2017 Blu-ray. The new 4K UHD is based on that.

 

[Bartman]

You need a pitch black room and OLED like black levels to enjoy The Definitive Director's Edition Blu-ray. I don't have a 4K player so can't comment on the UHD disc. I don't have the Warner Blu-ray but I did briefly look at the DVD and the previous color scheme is appealing. I believe the studio execs 'corrected' the original film print before release to the cinemas.

 

[JoshZ]

You need a pitch black room and OLED like black levels to enjoy The Definitive Director's Edition Blu-ray. I don't have a 4K player so can't comment on the UHD disc. I don't have the Warner Blu-ray but I did briefly look at the DVD and the previous color scheme is appealing. I believe the studio execs 'corrected' the original film print before release to the cinemas.

No, the movie was as Mann wanted it to be in 1995. He later decided to completely revise the color and contrast grading because that's what he was in the mood to do that day.

Michael Mann is an incessant tinkerer. He does not believe movies should be preserved as they were originally made. Every time he looks at one of his old movies, he changes something.

 

[FWAJMB]

Mann revised the movie's color grading to the darker look for the 2017 Blu-ray. The new 4K UHD is based on that.

And, respectfully, I don't like it. Just like I don't like Darth Vader yelling "Noooooooo" before he throws the Emperor down the shaft thing.

 

[JoshZ]

And, respectfully, I don't like it. Just like I don't like Darth Vader yelling "Noooooooo" before he throws the Emperor down the shaft thing.

Certainly fair enough. I just think it's worth clarifying that this darker look is not new to the 4K release.

 

[Robert Crawford]

 

[Jeffrey D]

I was a bit disappointed in the video. It is better than the previous BluRays in color, and the sharpness is a bit improved, but I thought too many shots look soft.

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

The sequel novel by Mann and Meg Gardiner is $2.99 today on Amazon Kindle.

Amazon.com