FAQ for
Heat (1995) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for Heat can be found here.

Yes. Many viewers claim that Robert De Niro (Neil McCauley) and Al Pacino (Lt Vince Hanna) never (or hardly ever) actually share screen time during the film, despite the hype surrounding the film's release as showcasing their first screen appearances together. In most Pan and Scan versions of the film, and TV broadcasts, it does appear that during the "diner scene" the two never actually share the screen, but viewing the film in correct letterbox format, as the director intended, clearly shows the two actors sitting at the table, though only in wide shots. These two photos here and here prove that Pacino and De Niro were in the same scene. They were also in the final scene together.

Donald Breedan (Dennis Haysbert) was an ex-convict recently on parole. He was determined to set his life straight with his wife's support. When he gets a job he is extorted and treated like dirt by the restaurant manager, who obviously has a history of treated paroled cons that way. He tries to endure it but when Neil comes by with an opportunity of a lifetime, he reluctantly accepts, filling in for Trejo as the getaway car driver. His small, but significant story represents the tragic tale of how many people don't want to give ex-convicts a second chance to start fresh. So they are often coaxed or forced back into a life of crime.

No, as a matter of fact. This one moment in Heat is an accurate portrayal of what can happen to material eyewitnesses. Example: During a bank robbery, you would have 30 witnesses, all with different versions of the events and all with different descriptions of the robbers. In the armored car robbery, Waingro pistol-whips the first guard in a moment of adrenaline, since the guard is not stepping back when Waingro orders him to do so (for two reasons, one being that they are deafened, and the second being that since Waingro has a hockey mask on, they can't tell who is addressing them). As soon as the guard is pistol-whipped, Cheritto turns to him and tells him, "Hey slick, see that shit comin' outta their ears? [referring to the guards' bleeding ears] They can't fuckin' hear you! Cool it!" However, there is a homeless man hiding in an encampment across the street, the guy with the working television, during the whole ordeal, and he overhears this much. He didn't hear the entire conversation or see who was talking to whom, so all that stood out was the word "slick". Consequently, that is why Bosko is noting that the homeless man claims that "someone called a guard 'slick'". This simple word is what tracks Vincent to McCauley's crew after talking with Richard Torena.

The three thieves, Michael Cheritto, Chris Shiherilis and Neil MaCauley, each left the bank carrying a bag full of cash. Cheritto was killed during the robbery, therefore assuming the bags each had an equal amount of cash in them, his third was lost. However Neil and Chris escape the main shootout each with their bags of cash. Neil went to get Chris, but he had already left; assuming they both kept their shares, then Chris got away with his share. However, if he was supposed to be meeting Neil, he would have gotten Neil's share too.

No, Charlene's deal was to help the police by calling her husband and getting him to show up at the apartment to be arrested. Drucker offered Charlene immunity so she could start a new life with her son Dominick.

Charlene gives Chris a signal so he can get away, but the police do not see it. As far as they know she was making good on her deal to help them, and he just didn't show. Therefore they have no reason to revoke their deal. They probably just assumed that he wouldn't risk coming for her and left her behind.

When announced for Blu-ray one could find this phrase listed on the back cover and in press releases: New content changes supervised by Director Michael Mann. Actually there's no big difference between those versions. To put it simply two scenes were slightly changed: a line by Diane Venora was cut from the movie, whilst one line of dialogue of Al Pacino was erased from the soundtrack (That line being "Ferocious aren't I?".) That's all. An even detailed comparison between both versions with pictures can be found here.

The two-disc "Special Edition" Warner release of Heat (which replaces an earlier bare-bones disc released in 1999) contains 11 deleted scenes on its Disc Two. These include (in order of which they would appear):

1. "Season's Starting Early" (00:32): Cheritto purchasing hockey masks, falling after the opening scene of McCauley stealing the ambulance and before the scene of Shiherlis buying explosives.

2. "Nicest Guy on the Block" (00:39): Cheritto arriving back at his domestic hearth, playing with his kids, giving his wife Elaine (Susan Traylor) a packet of money, and then looking mysteriously dazed.

3. "Albert and Hanna" (00:18): Alternate and expanded take of Hanna's famous dialogue with fence Albert Toreno (Ricky Harris).

4. "Shakedown" (00:27): Hanna and Sergeant Drucker try rattling the cages by pressing a shady TV repairman.

5. "Murder in C Block" (00:34): An expanded version of the dialogue between Hanna and Richard Torena (Tone Loc), where Richard provides more detail to Hanna on how "I could get killed for telling you this sh**!" with the effect of illustrating Cheritto's ruthlessness, even behind bars.

6. "Let's Dance" (00:45): Expanded restaurant scene between Hanna and his wife Justine (Diane Venora), dancing and talking about how they got married in the first place.

7. "Late Arrival" (00:38): Expansive of McCauley's crew discussing how they got made, with Cheritto arriving late, showing the transponders used to monitor his car, and making a guess as to how the cops got on to them (dialogue elsewhere in the movie confirms the suspicion voiced in this deleted bit).

8: "Where's Ana?" (02:19) The scene begins with Breedan dropping McCauley, Cheritto and Shiherlis off in front of the bank, with McCauley informing Breedan that there is no police response time. We then see Trejo arriving at his house and finding several of Van Zant's men, including Hugh Benny and Waingro, waiting for him. He has obviously been blackmailed into betraying Neil. We also see Benny make the call to the police that will ultimately lead to the big shootout. Trejo throughout the scene constantly asks for his wife's whereabouts. It then dawns on him, and he runs into the next room, followed by Waingro, wielding a baseball bat. This is considered the most telling of the deleted scenes.

9. "Double the Worst Trouble" (00:41): A slightly extended version of the scene between Neil and the shady Doctor Bob (Jeremy Piven), who tries to squeeze him for a bigger fee.

10. "Nate Delivers" (01:12): Newly informative scene between Neil and Nate going over Neil's new "out" that Nate's prepared for him.

11. "No Response" (00:18): Extraneous shot of Neil getting into the car with a catatonic Eady (Amy Brennamen).

In the armored car hold-up, McCauley and Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer) use the "Colt Commando", while Michael Cheritto (Tom Sizemore) uses an "FN FAL" and Trejo (Danny Trejo) uses an "AKS-47." In the shootout at the deserted drive-in movie, Shiherlis uses a Heckler & Koch "HK-91" while Cheritto uses a Benelli M3 Super 90 shotgun. In the bank hold-up, McCauley and Shiherlis again carry the "Colt Commando", while Cheritto now carries an Israeli "Galil." Hanna's rifle in this scene is the less-known "FN FNC", a 5.56mm assault rife that is, in fact, in limited service with some U.S. police agencies. The other police officers aside from Hanna carry a mix of M16A2 assault rifles and Mossberg 590 12 gauge shotguns. Full information on the guns used in the film can be found here.

Here's the complete track list.

1. Heat (first third of song) start of film: subway and hospital

2. Heat (last third of song) 10 minutes in: armoured car shootings

3. Heat (middle third of song) 20 min: trying to kill Waingro at diner

4. Entrada (first half of entrada and shootout) 21 min: Neil comes home and stares at ocean.

5. ??? (unknown strings) 24 min: Hanna talks to Justine/overcooked chicken

6. Armenia (intro) 26 min: Neil meets Eady

7. Last Night by Terje Rypdal, 29 min: Neil and Eady balcony scene

8. Fate scrapes, 37 min: heard faintly when Neil and Nate get job from Kelso

9. Entrada (reprise) and The Monkey King by William Orbit, 40 min: Chris at Neil's/ Breedan gets cook job

10. Armenia (intro/reprise), 42 min: Neil finds Charlene cheating

11. Alway Forever Now by Passengers, 44 min, Hanna drives up to club

12. Top O' The Morning To Ya by House of Pain, 45 min: song in club during meeting with the Torinos

13. Get Up To This by New World Beat, 47 min, Hanna calls his detectives from club, faint music thumping in backround

14. Refinery Surveilance, 49 min: meeting at abandoned drive-in movies

15. Shootout (second half of entrada and shootout), 51 min, shootout at drive in movies

16. Ultramarine by Michael Brook, 53 min: crew has dinner at restaurant

17. Mystery Man by Terje Rypdal, Waingro with hooker

18. Gringatcho Demento by William Orbit, 57 min: Waingro at bar looking for work

19. Thrill is Gone by BB King, 58 min: Cops at restaurant

20. Of Helplessness, 1 hour: Hanna at murder scene

21. Mystery Man (reprise) 1 hr 5 min: couples talking

22. Concerto for Violin Cello by György Ligeti, 1 hr 8 min: metal factory robbery

23. Fate Scrapes, 1 hr 16 min: Crew meets at power station, Hanna gets Marciano.

24. Arabic Agony by James with The Monkey King, 1 hr 21 min: container yard

25. In November by David Darling, 1 hr 23 min: Neil meets Nate under freeway

26. New Dawn Fades by Moby, 1 hr 26 min, Hanna chases Neil on freeway

27. Coffee Shop, 1 hr 31 min: coffee shop (duh!)

28. Steel Cello Lament, 1hr 33 min: coffee shop

29. Late Evening In Jersey by Brian Eno, 1 hr 36 min, Crew rigs alarm in parking garage

30. Black Cloud by Solitare, 1 hr 37 min: Van Zant meets Waingro/ Breedan joins crew

31. Force Marker by Brian Eno, 1 hr 42 min: Bank heist!

32. Late Evening In Jersey (reprise) 1 hr 51 min, Chris get shot

33. Shootout (reprise from entrada and shootout), 1 hr 52 min, Hanna catches up to Cheritto.

34. Celon by Lisa Gerrard, 1 hr 54 min: wives see news reports

35. Steel Cello Lament, 1 hr 56 min: doctor fixes Chris' wounds

36. La Bas by Lisa Gerrard, 1 hr 57 min: Neil at Trejo's house

37. Will Gaines by Eric Clapton (Rush soundtrack) 1 hr 59 min: Neil needs a "new out" and Hanna finds Hugh Benny

38. Late Evening In Jersey (reprise), 2 hr 2 min: Charlene arives at safe house

39. Last Lagoon by Willian Orbit, 2 hr 7 min: Neil chases Eady

40. ???? (strings faintly heard), 2 hr 11 min: Hanna finds Ralph at home

41. Mystery Man (reprise) 2 hr 14 min: Neil covinces Eady to stay with him/ Chris arrives at Charlene's safe house

42. Mighty Limpopo by William Orbit, 2 hr 16 min: Charlene gives Chris the "signal"

43. Aremenia (full song), 2 hr 17 min: last time we see Chris

44. Ultramarine (reprise), 2 hr 20 min: Hanna kills his TV

45. Gloridin by Lisa Gerrard, 2 hr 22 min: Hanna finds his step daughter in the tub

46. Run Uphill (intro), 2 hr 24 min: heard faintley when Hanna bring his step daughter to the hospital

47. Heat (reprise), 2 hr 26 min: Neil and Eady on freeway and talking to Nate

48. Black Cloud (reprise) 2 hr 28 min: Neil enters hotel

49. Predator Diorama, 2 hr 30 min: Neil makes his way through hotel

50. ???? (strings), 2 hr 32 min: Hanna leaves hospital

51. Of Seperation, 2 hr 37 min: Neil walks out on Eady in 30 seconds flat

52. ???? (ambient music) 2 hr 42 min: Hanna looking for Neil in airport field (just before the shots are fired)

53. God Moving Over The Waters by Moby (I Like To Score version with climax), end of film.

CI stands for "confidential informant", someone who gives the police crime information but who may or may not give their identity to the authorities (Benny does). Benny was ordered to reveal info his boss, Roger Van Zant, had gotten from Trejo about Neil's big heist at the bank. Waingro had gotten the info from Trejo, when he beats Trejo in his own home, with Van Zant watching. Benny placed a call to the LAPD & let them know when & where the heist was going to take place, making him a CI.

The Thieves

Neil McCauley escapes the final robbery with Chris Shiherlis. While heading to his new escape route with his girlfriend Eady, Nate calls him to tell him that Neil is in the clear. Nate is also compelled to tell Neil where Waingro was hiding. Neil decides to settle the score with Waingro. As Neil is heading back to his car where Eady is waiting for him, he sees Hanna walking towards him. Neil hesitates, but then decides to leave Eady behind to escape on his own. Hanna chases him into an airfield and Neil gets the drop on Hanna. Fortunately for Hanna, he sees Neil's shadow projected from the lights of a plane, and in a split second decision, Hanna fires and brings down Neil. As Neil lies there dying, Hanna approaches him, Neil says "Told you I'm never going back [to prison]". Neil offers his hand, and Hanna clutches it and waits with Neil as he dies.

Chris Shiherlis is shot in the clavicle by Det. Casals during the bank robbery shoot out, he and Neil escape the scene in a stolen car. Neil then takes Chris to a trusted doctor to get patched up. Chris insists on going to get his wife and child, but Neil tries to convince Chris that the police are anticipating that and will have a trap set up for him. Chris ignores this and goes for Charlene. She appears on a balcony to him but gives him a signal that it's a trap. So Chris plays it off as asking for directions to someone on the street. He is stopped by the police, but he has a fake I.D. and the car he drove hadn't been reported as stolen, so they let him go. He then drives off with his share of the money, alone.

Michael Cheritto is separated from Neil and Chris during the shootout. As he is escaping he trips and falls into a fountain, allowing Hanna time to draw a bead on him. When Michael gets up he grabs a young girl near the fountain and uses her as a human shield while firing at the other cops, unable to notice Hanna behind him. When he turns, he barely has time to react before Hanna shoots him in the head, killing him instantly.

Donald Breedan is hit by gunfire while driving the getaway car towards the roadblock. It appears he was shot in the head and dies while behind the wheel.

Trejo calls Neil shortly before the final bank heist was supposed to happen saying that the police were all over him and he couldn't shake them. He then says to Neil that the last thing he wanted to do was let him down. He wasn't present for the final bank heist, so Neil deduces that it was Trejo who ratted them out to the police. Neil goes into Trejo's house (likely with the intention of killing him) to find Trejo's wife beaten to death and Trejo also horribly injured, and barely alive. Neil asks Trejo why he betrayed them; Trejo reveals that they forced him to because they were holding his wife hostage. He tells Neil it was Waingro and Van Zant who were responsible before asking Neil to put him out of his misery. Neil obliges by shooting him.

Nate, though not a thief, is a broker and friend of Neil's. Unless any of the ensuing chaos could be traced back to him, which it is implied it didn't, he was free and clear. Given that Nate is such a valuable connection with a lot of experience in the criminal world, he probably knew a million ways not to be implicated.

Cesar Kelso, the mastermind of the bank heist, likely would have received his cut from Nate, or he would have tried to sever all ties with the crew and taken the advance Neil gave him and left it at that.

Charlene Shiherlis: See the question Because Shiherlis never showed up to be apprehended by the cops, would Charlene go to jail?

The Ugly

Waingro, after learning that Neil and Chris escaped the bank robbery, he goes to hide out in a hotel under the name "Jameson." Nate tells this to Neil, as Nate has a friend inside the LAPD who is staking out the hotel in case Neil makes a move on Waingro. Neil decides that he needs to settle the score with Waingro, so he infiltrates the hotel dressed as a security guard, bypasses all the police and security, breaks into Waingro's room and executes Waingro by shooting him twice in the chest and once in the head (a la the Mozambique Drill).

Roger Van Zant: Neil goes to Van Zant's home, throws a patio chair through Van Zant's window while Van Zant is watching a hockey game, startling him. Neil aims his gun at Van Zandt and demands to know where Waingro is hiding. Roger replies "How the hell would I know?" so Neil shoots him three times in the chest.

Hugh Benny: The cops find out that he is the one who ratted the bank heist to the police, so Vincent and his team storm Benny's apartment. When Benny tries to resist, Vincent shoves him through his balcony door and proceeds to interrogate him. So he was likely arrested unless Vincent agreed to let him go if he gave up all the players.

Alan Marciano: Agrees to set Charlene up in order to have charges against him dropped. He follows through, so he was likely released.

The Cops

Vincent Hanna: Catches his wife cheating on him, finds his step-daughter in his bath tub near-death due to her attemping suicide by cutting her wrists. Essentially his personal life has completely derailed, but by the end of the film he had caught or killed the criminals he was after, and seeing as how he was a career person more than a family person, he would likely get through it.

Sgt. Drucker is last seen with Charlene, but we presume he continues working for Hanna.

Schwartz is shot in the shoulder by Cheritto during the bank robbery. He gets patched up and stays in the Robbery/Homicide office while the team try to net Neil and Chris. Earlier scripts had Schwartz being the detective killed in the shootout instead of Bosko (Ted Levine's character).

Bosko is shot in the neck and dies during the bank robbery.

Casals stays in the robbery/homicide office with Schwartz except to help Vincent apprehend Hugh Benny.