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:

policeman | drug dealer | drug lord | drug cartel | american actor playing foreigner | 

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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

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

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, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$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 (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Walter Hill said of James Horner's score, "I told James I wanted something like you're in the Olympics and you've just won a gold medal," said Hill. "I wanted something heroic."

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Goofs

At the funeral of Danko's partner, the year of death on his tomb stone says 1988. Later on, when Danko checks in at a motel, the date he writes in the book is somewhere in 1987. When Danko is handed the property release form for Rosta at the Chicago Police Department it also lists the date as 1987.

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Quotes

Ivan Danko: I do not understand this sport.
Art Ridzik: You're not supposed to, it's completely American.
Ivan Danko: We play baseball now in Soviet Union.
Art Ridzik: Are you kidding me? This is our national pastime!
[pause]
Art Ridzik: Ah, it'd be a hell of a world series though, wouldn't it?
Ivan Danko: We will win.

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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

Featured in At the Movies: They'll Do It Every Time: Part Two (1992)

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Soundtracks

STRANGER ON THE SHORE
Written by Acker Bilk & Robert Mellin
Produced by Michael Welsh
Courtesy of EMI Music Publishing. LTD.

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.