Twenty-seven years ago director Michael Mann made arguably his most powerful and popular film, the crime drama known simply as Heat. In the 1990s, Mann was among the most sought out filmmakers, coming off of the success of The Last of the Mohicans in 1992. His next picture would be a heist flick that harkened back to Thief, his 1981 debut starring James Caan. Heat has a star-studded ensemble cast with the likes of Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, and Ashley Judd, but the biggest selling point by far was the inclusion of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as the leads. Somehow, after decades of major success with parallel careers, this promised to be the film that would finally see the two legendary actors sharing the screen together. (Yes, they were both a part of The Godfather Part II, but their characters were in different timelines, which didn’t give the pair a chance to work with one another.)
'Heat': The True Story That Inspired Michael Mann's Crime Classic
The film that saw Al Pacino and Robert De Niro share the screen for the first time is actually based on real events.