Red Heat (1988)

Director:

Walter Hill

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

17 June 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a Russian policeman sent after a Russian drug dealer who has escaped to...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Drug Dealer | Red Square Moscow | Culture Clash | Moscow Russia

Cast

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

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2004) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (Certificate #29177) | West Germany:18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company:

Carolco Pictures

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 (1939) and emulate her character. Schwarzenegger complied and, according to Hill, got a handle on his character right away.

Goofs:

Factual errors: There are numerous mistakes with how many bullets various weapons can hold before reloading.

Quotes:

Ivan Danko: [in Russian] What's this key for?
Viktor Rostavili: [in Russian] Kiss my ass.
Ivan Danko: [to Ridzik, in English] You know what this key open?
Art Ridzik: Looks like a key to a locker to me. Why don't you ask your bud?
Ivan Danko: [hauls Viktor around to face Ridzik] You try.
Art Ridzik: Where-is-the-lock-er-that-this-key-opens?
Viktor Rostavili: [mutters something in Russian]
Art Ridzik: What did he say?
Ivan Danko: He say, "Go and kiss your mother's behind."
[Gallagher laughs. Ridzik stares at Viktor for a moment, then lunges at him]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dip huet seung hung (1989)

Soundtrack:

NEW AGE AGAIN

Routine 1980's era buddy-cop movie enlivened by good cast.

The Governator plays Captain Ivan Danko, a humorless and utterly stiff Russian cop who tracks ultra-sleazy / nasty Georgian drug dealer Viktor Rosta (Ed O'Ross) to Chicago, where local detective Art Ridzik (James Belushi), a crass, wisecracking jerk is stuck with the job of playing babysitter to Danko while he attempts to escort Rosta back to Russia.

There are enough elements here that are too familiar to make the film itself more than ordinary. There's the fish-out-of-water concept, the mismatched-partners concept, the culture clash concept, and so on. It's true that the two protagonists are *not* terribly likable, but at least they do manage to get some laughs, and Schwarzenegger and Belushi do have an adequate amount of odd-couple chemistry.

It's all entertaining enough; director Walter Hill has been an action expert for about three decades now and at least he creates some competently staged fights and chase scenes. The supporting cast includes Peter Boyle, Belushi's gruff boss who isn't quite the stereotypical angry, yelling boss common to action films. Larry Fishburne is good as a co-worker of Belushi's who dislikes him intensely. Gina Gershon has one of her earliest roles as the hapless dance instructor who gets in over her head by agreeing to marry Rosta. Other familiar faces include some Walter Hill regulars (like Brion James and Peter Jason), as well as Brent Jennings (great in a brief cameo as a drug kingpin determined to strike back at white men by getting them all hooked on drugs), Pruitt Taylor Vince, Kurt Fuller, etc.

This film does have the distinction of having scenes that were actually filmed on location in Russia, which is a little bit of a bonus. Mostly, I felt it was rather standard action fare, despite the assets it did have. One lasting impact was the fact that O'Ross's performance as the villain would often get him typecast as Russian characters from that point on.

7/10