Historical Background

The film was released in 1995 between Michael Mann's The Insider and The Last of the Mohicans. Michael Mann was at the time and continues to be a major force in the cinematic world. The film is a basic reconstruction of L.A. Takedown, a made-for-television film written and directed by Michael Mann in 1989. Robert Deniro had just wraped Casino in the same year and Pacino was coming off of Carlito's way. Pacino and Deniro have often been compared and likened throughout their careers for their appearance in mostly the same genres of film, their high level of acting, and comparable styles.
"The mid-1990s saw a resurgence of sympathy for, if not veneration of, villainy with the popularity of screen villains like Hannibal Lecter, John Doe, and Keyser Soze." The detective and the villian locked in a timeless interplay was a major theme of 1990s film.Other important films released at the time of HEAT were Braveheart, Apollo 13, Se7ven, and the Usual Suspects. The main theme in the artworld in the 1990s was technology in movements such as Information art and New Media art. The idea of surveillance and the importance of technology and information in the film is a constant theme in a way similar to the film The conversation which in the same year was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. The music composed for this scene is by Elliot Goldenthal. Much of Elliots work would be characterized in the 21st century genre of atonal music which however retains much of the elements of melody and harmony. He has however said about himself that "I don't have any differentiation in my head between tonal and atonal, I either hear melody or I hear sonority." There is notable use of color correction in certain scenes to enhance blues:



which became popular around this time and was used in other movies of the time such as se7ven. The bank robbery scene has become slightly controversial. The heavy amount of violence has said to have led to a number of copy-cat style robberies including the North Hollywood shootout in L.A. The main scene of analysis: the diner scene, was shot at Kate Mantilini in L.A. Deniro and Pacino elected to not rehearse the scene before the filming. Most of the final edit of the scene is from the 11th take.