@Markoff said:

Please someone prove me wrong, this movie is maybe in my TOP5 (together with Fight Club, American Beauty, maybe Falling Down and Se7en).

Pacino vs De Niro, you sympathize with both sides,
amazing soundtrack,
amazing supporting characters,
amazing action (already opening one),
realistic scenes with reloading guns and real gun sound in streets of city,
everything just clicks, let me check if I gave it 5/5...

Can you recommend anything on par or close to Heat?

No.

But for TV shows, Breaking Bad is all that and more, like a western version of heat, imo. Both are two of my all time favorites.

I like your top 5. A few of them would make my top 10-20 easily. My top 5 are Heat, Brave heart, Gladiator, Scarface, and Jaws right now.

Speaking of Scarface, that's one that comes close to Heat.

Seven, American Beauty make my top 15, AB maybe 10. And Falling Down is a classic, but too satirical and funny in my tastes to take seriously enough to put in my top 20. I'd throw it in my top 75 though and it's good.

I never bought into Fight Club, but it's okay.. My favorite Fincher is The Game, which is like Falling Down in some ways, mainly Michael Douglas getting his mind messed with, which is always funny.

Oh, I thought of one..

Usual Suspects is up there, too, but not as good as Heat though, imo. It's in the conversation, though..

Dog Day Afternoon, Reservoir Dogs

@Heisenberg12 sadly saw everything you named already and many of them are my favorite movies, I am really looking for something less known which I might not see (though it's very unlikely), btw. Usual Suspects if my memory serves me well was just lot of talking and not much happening. As for Scarface, I should rewatch it, haven't seen it many years, it's great, liked also Morodero music, shame it's a bit dated, it would be great if someone produced something like that nowadays (please no remake), but from what I remember it dragged at places and could use cutting in length. That Falling Down and Se7en is more like TOP10 really, I am just sure about Fight Club and American Beauty in top places, the rest below is without specific order.

@NotoriousRio DDA is quite dated, but very good movie, though very far below Heat (except pacino's acting), Reservoir Dogs is to me jus too much talking and only really good scene is tipping discussion

Yeah I havent seen DDA in years but can remember superb acting by Pacino and John Cazale, I rate Reservoir Dogs as high as Heat but always wanted Tarantino to make a movie showing the actual heist, with Blonde going mad and whatever happened to Mr Blue, would of loved to of seen that after Pulp Fiction.

@Markoff said:

@Heisenberg12 sadly saw everything you named already and many of them are my favorite movies, I am really looking for something less known which I might not see (though it's very unlikely), btw. Usual Suspects if my memory serves me well was just lot of talking and not much happening. As for Scarface, I should rewatch it, haven't seen it many years, it's great, liked also Morodero music, shame it's a bit dated, it would be great if someone produced something like that nowadays (please no remake), but from what I remember it dragged at places and could use cutting in length. That Falling Down and Se7en is more like TOP10 really, I am just sure about Fight Club and American Beauty in top places, the rest below is without specific order.

@NotoriousRio DDA is quite dated, but very good movie, though very far below Heat (except pacino's acting), Reservoir Dogs is to me jus too much talking and only really good scene is tipping discussion

Ha. Usual Suspects? Did you see the whole thing? You may want to review that one to the end...

But I still don't say it's better than Heat..

I'm actually agreeing with you here..i also agree on DDA and RD

Love the movie. One of the greatest Heist movies of all time. However....my nits to pick with this movie are tried and true.

1. Waingro- they just let him on their crew for that robbery with basically just a name. Neil was more careful than that as we saw. No way would he take someone on for a job not knowing he was a bit off.
2. Slick- The name that lead to the takedown. a homeless guy says he heard it at the armored car robbery, and that leads him to the club where Tone Loc says the same name. Come on Now.....really.
3. Cherelis- After getting shot he drives over to where his wife is, and she tells him to take off because cops are there. so he does. He's stopped by a roadblock with a fake ID and they just let him pass. dude was just in a major bank shootout where cops were killed. Me thinks LAPD is going to be a little more thorough in looking to see who that driver was

@RCH2288 said:

Love the movie. One of the greatest Heist movies of all time. However....my nits to pick with this movie are tried and true.

1. Waingro- they just let him on their crew for that robbery with basically just a name. Neil was more careful than that as we saw. No way would he take someone on for a job not knowing he was a bit off.

2. Slick- The name that lead to the takedown. a homeless guy says he heard it at the armored car robbery, and that leads him to the club where Tone Loc says the same name. Come on Now.....really.

3. Cherelis- After getting shot he drives over to where his wife is, and she tells him to take off because cops are there. so he does. He's stopped by a roadblock with a fake ID and they just let him pass. dude was just in a major bank shootout where cops were killed. Me thinks LAPD is going to be a little more thorough in looking to see who that driver was

Agreed on first two points, but even with this was movie already pretty long, so it needed some plot devices. As for third one, I do't find it that unrealistic, ID was real (they could find matching guy, they had for sure resources to get real quality IDs or even real), car was OK registered, he changed his hair, had pretty average face with no special feature, it was already quite dark plus they thought he is miles away anyway and won't show up, so I can see how cops could be lax and let him pass.

Of course in the end it's movie and it won't be perfectly realistic, but if you see what's happening you would not believe what people come with in real life, so you never know what it's possible, but I agree those first two points are oversimplified. I just happen to know in bank where my friend worked they used this as instructional video how to behave during bank robbery.

Reservoir Dogs is much much better than Heat.

I like Heist with Gene Hackman, Delroy Lindo and Danny Devito.

And Ocean's Eleven with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, etc. ...

Interestingly enough, both of these movies released in 2001.

And there are a few ideas/scenes in The Italian Job I thought were fun, although it's nowhere near the calibre of the above-mentioned.

Interestingly enough, both the latter two are remakes, and I have not watched the originals for either. I started the original Ocean's Eleven and lost interest real quick, will have to put in some work and sit through it in order to make a fair review.

I haven't watched Heat (yet) - but I will soon, and then circle back here to mention how it measures up to these.

I've (finally) watched Heat. It is splendid as a crime drama. As a heist film, I'll still take Heist and Ocean's Eleven for how these films focus on and break down the art/con/theatre of the heist itself.

Heat does not focus on the craft of the heist, the mechanics, the illusion, the gaining of confidence, the distraction and misdirection of attention. It dabbles, it flirts, but the con is not the main focus of the film.

It goes deep into the relationships, with realism, few happy endings and a resolution that is even-handed.

The few things I didn't like can actually be to the movie's credit; how Waingo was mishandled and allowed to escape was hot-headed and sloppy...yet, it can be chalked up to the foibles of human imperfection and laying the foundation for Deniro's ultimate demise.

The movie took its time yet didn't feel long, and was not just a vehicle to put Pacino and Deniro on screen together, but a fine story of layer and complexity.

Bravo.

@DRDMovieMusings said:

I've (finally) watched Heat. It is splendid as a crime drama. As a heist film, I'll still take Heist and Ocean's Eleven for how these films focus on and break down the art/con/theatre of the heist itself.

Heat does not focus on the craft of the hesitation, the mechanics, the illusion, the gaining of confidence, the distraction and misdirection of attention. It dabbles, it flirts, buy the con is not the main focus of the film.

But, it goes deep into the relationships, with realism, few happy endings and a resolution that is even-handed.

The few things I didn't like can actually be to the movie's credit; how Waingo was mishandled and allowed to escape was hot-headed and sloppy...yet, it can be chalked up to the foibles of human imperfection and laying the foundation for Deniro's ultimate demise.

The movie took its time yet didn't feel long, and was not just a vehicle to put Pacino and Deniro on screen together, but a fine story of layer and complexity.

Bravo.

I can't compare Heat with O-11. O-11 is like a fun comedy, cartoon version of crime, although very likable, and Heat is much more built on realism and gritty drama of how the cops and robbers street life plays out. O-11 is too lighthearted and more comedy based than Heat. Heat also came out a long 6 years before O-11 also, when heist movies weren't as popular yet as they became in the early 2000s.

@Heisenberg12 said:

@DRDMovieMusings said:

I've (finally) watched Heat. It is splendid as a crime drama. As a heist film, I'll still take Heist and Ocean's Eleven for how these films focus on and break down the art/con/theatre of the heist itself.

Heat does not focus on the craft of the hesitation, the mechanics, the illusion, the gaining of confidence, the distraction and misdirection of attention. It dabbles, it flirts, buy the con is not the main focus of the film.

But, it goes deep into the relationships, with realism, few happy endings and a resolution that is even-handed.

The few things I didn't like can actually be to the movie's credit; how Waingo was mishandled and allowed to escape was hot-headed and sloppy...yet, it can be chalked up to the foibles of human imperfection and laying the foundation for Deniro's ultimate demise.

The movie took its time yet didn't feel long, and was not just a vehicle to put Pacino and Deniro on screen together, but a fine story of layer and complexity.

Bravo.

I can't compare Heat with O-11. O-11 is like a fun comedy, cartoon version of crime, although very likable, and Heat is much more built on realism and gritty drama of how the cops and robbers street life plays out. O-11 is too lighthearted and more comedy based than Heat. Heat also came out a long 6 years before O-11 also, when heist movies weren't as popular yet as they became in the early 2000s.

I agree. Ocean's 11 is certainly a more lighthearted, fun movie. Problem is, the OP's question lumped "crime/heist" together. I see Heat as you do, a gritty, real, crime drama. As a heist movie, Hackman's Heist is among the best. Italian Job is also hard to take seriously (for me, anyway), even with the edge that Ed Norton brought to it.

I would like to add The Town to the Pantheon of bank robbery/heist movies. Great movie......and it had 3 great bank robbery and heists in it.

Quick Change is a great heist movie