Red Heat (1988)

An tough Russian policeman is forced to partner up with a cocky Chicago police detective when he is sent to Chicago to apprehend a Georgian drug lord who killed his partner and fled the country.

Director:

Walter Hill

Writers:

Walter Hill (story), Harry Kleiner (screenplay),

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Belushi, Peter Boyle

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Capt. Ivan Danko
James Belushi	...	Det. Sgt. Art Ridzik
Peter Boyle	...	Cmdr. Lou Donnelly
Ed O'Ross	...	Viktor 'Rosta' Rostavili
Laurence Fishburne	...	Lt. Charlie Stobbs (as Larry Fishburne)
Gina Gershon	...	Catherine 'Cat' Manzetti
Richard Bright	...	Det. Sgt. Gallagher
J.W. Smith	...	Salim
Brent Jennings	...	Abdul Elijah
Gretchen Palmer	...	Hooker
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Night Clerk
Mike Hagerty	...	Pat Nunn (as Michael Hagerty)
Brion James	...	Streak
Gloria Delaney	...	Intern
Peter Jason	...	TV Announcer

Storyline

Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a Russian policeman sent after a Georgian drug dealer who has escaped to the United States and is awaiting extradition in Chicago. Jim Belushi plays his temporary partner on the Chicago police. When the drug dealer escapes, the two police must overcome their differences in order to recapture him.

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Plot Keywords:

police | georgian | detective | drug dealer | beating | 

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Taglines:

Moscow's toughest detective. Chicago's craziest cop. There's only one thing worse than making them mad. Making them partners.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

17 June 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dimitri

Filming Locations:

1579 N Milwaukee Avenue, Wicker Park, West Town, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$34,994,648 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carolco Pictures, Lone Wolf, Oak Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an attempt to best convey to Arnold Schwarzenegger how he should capture the essence of his character, Walter Hill suggested that he watch Greta Garbo's performance in Ninotchka and emulate her character. Schwarzenegger complied and, according to Hill, got a handle on his character right away.

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Goofs

When the bus driven by Arnold Schwarzenegger crashes through the fountain, its left headlight is smashed. However, several later shots of the bus show both headlights are still functioning.

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Quotes

Abdul Elijah: Revolutionary political leaders like myself are incarcerated to keep us quiet.
Ivan Danko: What is your political crime?
Abdul Elijah: I robbed a bank.

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits certain letters are reversed so as to imitate Russian Cyrillic script. In particular, "Rs" and "Ns" are reversed.

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Connections

Edited into They Crawl (2001)

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Soundtracks

"JACKIN' NATIONAL ANTHEM"
Produced and Written by Mickey Oliver & Cheese
Mixin' Music (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Hot Mix & Records

User Reviews

A buddy film that works and works well

Red Heat is a surprisingly good movie. Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Belushi have good chemistry in this Russian cop/cop buddy film. In this film at least it makes sense for Arnie to have an accent. There is some good lines and the back and forth between these two is pretty funny sometimes. When Jim Belushi plays a cop he puts on this irreverant "I don't like the rules but I get things done" style. It is this style combined with Arnold's "complete objective at all costs" style that makes this film work. The footage that was shot in Red Square is breathtaking, and overall the movie manages to take a basic plot and make it entertaining. On a side note, the holdout gun used by the villian (Ed O'Ross) in the movie is pretty damn cool if you're into that kind of thing. Bottom Line: This is worth getting, or you can rent it every once and awhile if you can only take Arnold for so long.