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.

---

Plot Keywords:

police | georgian | detective | drug dealer | beating | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

---

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

The bad guy who Ivan Danko shoots on the steps in Moscow was played by one of Hungary's leading action-movie actors. In an interview, he said that until he met Arnold Schwarzenegger and the others in the film he thought of himself as a muscular and tough actor. He subsequently described himself as a "small potato".

---

Goofs

At the beginning of the movie, when Arnold jumps out of the sauna window with one of the Villains you can clearly see a stunt doubler instead of Arnold.

---

Quotes

Art Ridzik: Oh, great. We got a pro basketball team coming toward us - with guns!

---

Crazy Credits

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

---

Connections

Featured in I'm Not Russian, But I Play One on TV (2004)

---

Soundtracks

"CANTATA FOR THE 20th ANNIVERSARY OF THE OCTOBER REVOLUTION"
Op.74: "The Philosophers"
Written by Sergei Prokofiev
Arranged and Conducted by James Horner

User Reviews

Good For What It Is

RED HEAT is yet another of those buddy movies from the 1980s . Cops set up a sting , the bad guy kills a cop during an escape , turns out that the dead cop is the hero's best buddy and he's going to stop at nothing to get the bad guy with all this happening in the first 15 minutes of the movie . If all this sounds similar to 48 HOURS that's possibly because it was directed and co written by Walter Hill who also directed and co wrote the aforementioned movie . It might not be original in structure but it's certainly entertaining due in no small part of the two protagonists - Serious communist cop from the Ukraine , wise cracking Chicago cop - playing off each other in a story that could have so often become predictable and boring due to its familiar plot . It's hardly groundbreaking in concept but when a film made in 1988 starts hinting that gangsters from the Soviet Union will be taking charge of much of the black market in drugs , this alone gives it an edge missing in so many of its contemporaries