Red Heat (1988)

A 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, Jim Belushi, Peter Boyle

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Ivan Danko
Jim Belushi	...	Art Ridzik (as James Belushi)
Peter Boyle	...	Lou Donnelly
Ed O'Ross	...	Viktor Rostavili
Laurence Fishburne	...	Lt. Stobbs (as Larry Fishburne)
Gina Gershon	...	Cat Manzetti
Richard Bright	...	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

A mutually uneasy alliance is formed between the stern Captain Ivan Danko of the Moscow Police and his American equivalent, the Chicago Detective Art Ridzik when the latter captures Viktor Rostavili, a dangerous Georgian drug kingpin. With his partner murdered by Viktor's hands, Ivan lands in Chicago to extradite the crime lord back to Russia, however, when he manages to escape, a frenzied chase in the bustling downtown will begin. In the end, to bring down the ruthless criminal, are the two reluctant comrades who are worlds apart willing to put their differences aside?

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Plot Keywords:

gunfire | shot to death | brutal cop | policeman | drug dealer | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The lead locomotive on the train was Chicago & North Western (CNW) 4299 which is a rebuilt EMD GP7R.

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Goofs

The first street scene in Chicago features an LA Metro bus and Los Angeles street signs, while the scenes at the supposedly Chicago O'Hare Airport are clearly filmed at Los Angeles International.

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Quotes

Abdul Elijah: You want to know what my crime is? My crime was being born. I'm thirty-eight years old, and I've been locked up twenty-six of those. I educated myself in here, and I've come to understand that this country was built on exploiting the black man. Of course, I don't hear anything about brothers in your country. But your country exploits its own people just the same, so I guess that makes me the only Marxist around here, right, comrade? You see, boy, this ain't just no drug deal! This is politics, ...
[...]

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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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Alternate Versions

German theatrical version was edited for violence to secure a "Not under 16" rating. Rental VHS (Starlight) was also edited for violence. Retail VHS (Starlight, EuroVideo) included all the violence but missed 9 minutes of dialogue (oddly both versions were rated "Not under 16"). In 1997 the film was re-released by Astro, this time in its uncut form with a "Not under 18" rating (it was advertised as being a "Director's Cut"). DVD (Kinowelt) is also uncut.

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Connections

Referenced in Granada Reports: 8 August 2018: Evening Bulletin (2018)

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Soundtracks

NEW AGE AGAIN
Keprohi Music (BMI)
Written and Performed by Michael Welsh

User Reviews

Good Movie

I really liked this movie. I have a thing for late 80's action flicks like Beverly Hills Cop or 48 hrs. I thought this was pretty good movie. One of the members on here said Belushi's character was the worst part of the movie. I thought Belushi was pretty good and comedic. I love the dialogue in the movie between Danko and Ridzik at the coffee shop. Overall I would definitely recommend this movie. I also find the content to be appealing. Russian Mob and drug smuggling. I also thought the bad guy Viktor was a really cool part played by Ed O'Ross who also plays Dutch Schultz right hand man in Hoodlum which is not nearly as good as Red Heat.

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian Spanish

Release Date:

17 June 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dimitri

Filming Locations:

Hungary

Box Office

Budget:

$29,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,133,822, 19 June 1988

Gross USA:

$34,994,648

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$34,994,648

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carolco Pictures, Lone Wolf, Oak Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (4 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1