Michael Mann has offered a treat for fans of the original film on his official Twitter account after the announcement of his follow-up novel to the 1995 classic heist thriller Heat and the revelation that Heat 2 is coming to cinemas sooner than you’d imagine. The celebrated filmmaker revealed a photo storyboard from a shoot-through of the iconic bank shooting, in which Lieutenant Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) and the police corner Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) and his gang as they attempt to make off with one final large haul. The photographs Mann released with the storyboard depict Hanna approaching the bank and preparing to capture his guy before the craziness of the gunfight truly begins.
As McCauley and company prepare to exit their vehicles, he can be seen walking quickly yet cautiously toward the exit. He and his LAPD partners sneak up to the bank around the back of a building and wait for the right opportunity to take down the master thieves. The setting is carefully crafted, even in its preparation for such a pivotal occasion. As Hanna takes stock of his situation, we have a larger view of the seemingly ordinary city street that is going to become a fight. Although the climactic dinner scene where De Niro and Pacino’s characters ultimately confront one other is widely regarded as the best part of Heat, the bank heist sequence is memorable for its realistic techniques and high level of action.
It’s the climax of the film, and the storyboard perfectly captures the meticulous planning and blocking that went into making this scene so memorable. Heat, directed by Michael Mann and starring a cast that includes Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Val Kilmer at the height of their careers, is largely considered a classic of a film. The film’s resonant plot revolved around Hanna and McCauley’s cat-and-mouse game, which was complicated by the ripple effects of the protagonists’ opposing commitments to their careers.
Mann’s sequel will continue the story of Kilmer’s Chris Shiherlis and others, as well as go back in time six years before Hanna and McCauley’s fateful confrontation to learn more about their pasts. After gaining attention at the Tribeca Picture Festival, when Pacino and De Niro reunited for a discussion on the classic, the film had a terrific summer. Fans can now can watch it in pristine 4K Ultra HD with a new release.