Old Movie vs. New Movie

leposean

Not sure if there's a thread popping around already but I had a good 3 hour discussion about 6 films that are compared to each other this evening and thought it might be a good idea to start this discussion.

First up I will go with Heat (1995, Written and Directed by Michael Mann starring Robert DiNiro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer and Jon Voight) and The Town (2010, Written and Directed by, an starring Ben Afleck as well as Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall, Blake Lively and Jeremy Renner)

The sypnosis of both is basically a group of men, with one main leader (deNiro in Heat, Afleck in The Town) involved in armed robberies and a cop (Panino in Heat, Hamm in The Town) focusing all of himself on catching this group.

The two have such similar stories yet different and in my opinion are two of the best films I have ever seen.

The discussion is based on which is better and why, but not in an arguementive way, a discussion and why certain scenes/aspects are so great.

On a personal note, if you haven't seen the town because Ben Affleck is in it (this was the reason that at first I hadnt seen it for nearly a year) put your hate of his films/him aside. Amazing film

tvercetti

I watched The Town last week, It was good but IMO I wouldn't go as far as saying amazing, felt a bit unoriginal, no real new twist to a much used plot.

Credit to Affleck though, gets alot of criticism but he is very good in the role

Shadow Mozez

The town is a class film

Really beyond the fact that the plots are similiar they are drastically different films. As good as The Town is, and as far as I'm concerned it deserved a hell of alot more recognition than it got it does pale in comparison to Heat. Heat is an exceptional piece of cinema where every single aspect of it has been tailored to perfection. It's nigh on impossible to fault any part of it and its rare that you watch a 3 hour film and find yourself wishing that they could have added an hour or two to the run time.

Affleck is aware of the films similarities to Heat and pays homage to it by having Heat play in the background of the sex scene. It's also heavily indebted to the classic The Friends of Eddie Coyle, one of those forgotten classics.

DazMarz

I have seen both films, and I roundly prefer Heat for a few reasons:

-The calibre of the actors involved. Nothing against the actors in The Town, but there is something so sinfully good about almost every actor who graces the screen in Heat; Pacino, deNiro, Kilmer, Voight, Sizemore, Trejo, Venora, Brenneman, Judd, Fichtner, Gage... all give powerhouse performances, but none moreso than the two leads. Pacino's portrayal of the cop who's personal life is in meltdown while chasing one of the most perfect robbery gangs in history is suberb (stand-out scenes include berating the man who is having an affair with his wife not for anything else but for watching his television, and of course the infamous "GREAT ASS" scene with Hank Azaria). DeNiro excudes cool as the icy bank robber who tries to maintain no personal life and to be the best he can be.

-The set-pieces. From the opening robbery with of the security van, to the chilling, taut, suspenseful robbery of the precious metals factory, to the showdown between McCauley and VanZandt's men in the dusty yard, to the desperate pursuit through the hotel, to that shootout through the streets of L.A.,,, Heat just has it all. By far the most spectacular of all is the war on the streets of Los Angeles. As McCauley (deNiro) and his gang flee the bank after robbing over $10million, Hanna (Pacino) and his force of cops close in and try to close the net over their stickiest criminals ever. They almost succeed, killing the getaway driver and one of the raiders, injuring another, with McCauley being the only one to escape uninjured (taking with him the injured raider). But the sheer ferocity, adrenaline and testosterone of that scene, as more bullets than have been fired in Baghdad are unleashed in downtown L.A. and dozens of cops struggle against three bank robbers... it is just thrilling and a better shootout scene has yet to be made, IMO.

-The back-stories and the character stories. All of which intertwine so well, and blend together and form a background that beautifully makes this film so much more than just 'cops-and-robbers'. From Hanna's personal life, McCauley's new romance, the Van Zandt situation, Waingro's sick murders, the agony of the ex-con trying to make it in the honest world and seeing how badly life without crime is for someone so used to that life, Chris Shiherlis and his personal life with his wife hitting the skids over his gambling... The background in this film is so lush, well-defined and the fact that it does not detract from the main story but rather adds to it makes it very special.

-The style. The endless 'cool' that pervades this film... Michael Mann makes this film so stylish and cool, but the style never overshadows the substance. It is one of the few films that can look so, so endlessly cool and still maintains one of the best story-lines of any film...

leposean

Has Heat been released on BluRay? I dont want to watch it again untill it is as Im slightly biased to the town I think because the picture quality is just amazing.

leposean

leposean wrote: »

Has Heat been released on BluRay? I dont want to watch it again untill it is as Im slightly biased to the town I think because the picture quality is just amazing.

It came out nearly two years ago on Blu-Ray. I have my copy signed by Henry Rollins and like to watch it every few months, that final shot still gives me goosebumps every time I see it.

Riskymove

naw, what you should do is compare Heat and LA Takedown:pac:

Simian!

Heat is far superior in my opinion. The Town is gritty and realistic but I felt it was quite corny (

especially the last line of Affleck's letter at the end

) and contrived throughout. Heat is not only gritty and realistic, but it's also has an incredible ensemble cast. Great performances in both though - Affleck gets a lot of stick because of the Bennifer thing but he's a very good actor and is shaping up to be a great director too.

Riddle101

I liked both Heat and The Town very much. Although I think Heat is better. Heat just has everything you want, good story, good chemistry between the actors, good dialogue, psychology and the ending better as well I think. Not saying The Town didn't have any of that. but Heat took it to a whole new level.

Also there's something about Heat, it had some pretty special moments in it. With The Town I didn't really feel it had any moments that stand out really.

Warper

Heat - classic film

The Town - way over-rated

old hippy

Is Heat regarded as an "old" film these days? Where does all that time go?