Michael Mann's film 'Heat' was released 30 years ago today.

It’s in my personal top 10 and generally regarded as one of the best crime films of all time.

To celebrate the anniversary, here is some Heat lore (thread):
Pacino and De Niro first met in NYC in 1968 at an acting class, but had never shared a scene in a film until 1995’s Heat. Both appear in The Godfather Part II, but in different narrative timelines. This historic meeting was used heavily in the promotion of Heat.

Trump JRE commentary thread: Starts out with endearing old man stories about Lincoln and his sense of reverence for the White House

In the 80s and 90s there was a string of films depicting a dystopian future where--despite certain technological improvements--American urban centers are overrun with crime. While the causes and solutions differ from film to film, we see some recurring themes.

🧵 ‘RoboCop’ (1987) depicts a dystopian future where police combat rampant crime with brutal force (and a cyborg cop). in 2024 many cities are now feel dystopian, but police have mostly retreated. We got the dystopia, but we didn’t get the cyborg killer cops.

'Shot Caller' (2017) is a surprisingly accurate depiction of life in prison. The film shows outsiders why and how prisoners--particularly within the California Dept. of Corrections system--organize along racial lines and defer to the informal rule of a "shot caller." Gang formation in prison appears to be the organic response to the high potential for violence and chaos, which (most) of these guys want to avoid. The emergence of a shot caller also appears to be organic. Try as we might, we can't outrun hierarchy--it always seems to emerge.

Just rewatched The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly ("GBU") (1966). Arguably the greatest western of all time.

As the third installment in the Dollars Trilogy, GBU is a prequel to A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965).

Some things I learned about GBU 🧵:


A radio snafu led to a premature bridge explosion with no cameras rolling. Leone fired the man responsible but the army, on site to assist, offered to rebuild the bridge if the man was rehired. The man was rehired, the bridge was reconstructed, and the iconic scene was filmed.

Just rewatched ‘A Fistful of Dollars' (1964), a “spaghetti western” that helped revive the western genre and introduced millions to Clint Eastwood, Sergio Leone, and Ennio Morricone.

Here are some interesting notes on ‘A Fistful of Dollars' (AFoD):





For context, a "spaghetti western" is a film set in the Old West but made in Italy/Spain. As low budget, non-Hollywood films, they could break from genre conventions. For example, Eastwood's AFoD character uses deceit and force in ways American western heroes usually wouldn't.

Creating a sequel to an iconic film like 'Blade Runner' (1982) is risky, especially after 35yrs, but 'Blade Runner 2049' (2017) succeeds by channeling the original's tone and aesthetic while expanding the narrative in a compelling way.

Some interesting background on BR2049🧵 BR2049 has plenty of CG, but it looks more "real" than other scifi films with similar scope and budget because there was an emphasis on using scale miniatures wherever possible. Miniatures were done by Wētā Workshop, best known for their work on Lord of the Rings.

'No Country for Old Men' (2007) is a perfect film. As perfect as a film can be, at least. Despite a modest budget, tight 2hr runtime, and no score it feels heavy, expansive, and complete. I've read more about NCFOM than any other film, here are some things I found interesting: The film premiered 22 months after the publication of Cormac McCarthy's NCFOM novel. This was possible because McCarthy structured the book with a film adaptation in mind, and the Coen Bros. followed the book very faithfully.

The new 'Road House' got me thinking about the 1989 original with Patrick Swayze so I just rewatched it. It was panned by critics at the time but it holds up well and is more satisfying than the remake.

Here is some 'Road House' lore I found interesting. Patrick Swayze reportedly agreed to do this movie as long as he could keep his wardrobe once filming was completed. My favorite is the white kimono shirt (I have the same one).

Watched ‘Zulu’ (1964) yesterday. It depicts the 1879 Battle of Rorke’s Drift, in which ~150 British soldiers held off 4,000 Zulu warriors over 12 hours in the colony of Natal (present day South Africa).

Here are some of my favorite images (plus some lore) from the film: Shot on location in South Africa, the film has incredible backdrops throughout. The British redcoats and white caps pop against an otherwise "earth tone" palette.

Just rewatched 'Lawrence of Arabia' and wanted to share some of the great images and lore from the film.

"You should be able to cut out any frame of a role of film and put a picture frame around it and hang it on your wall and admire it." -David Lean To film Omar Sharif's entrance through a mirage, a special 482mm lens was created by Panavision. Panavision still has this lens, and it is known among cinematographers as the "David Lean lens". It was never used again.

@BrighamDynamite many reasons, but one that comes to mind: women are resentful about their husbands because they are told to be--encouraged, even. women are more susceptible to marketing and mass cultural messaging. who is a better customer, a happy, content woman, or an agitated one? @BrighamDynamite probably the most "heat" I've ever taken over a tweet was this one. part of that was people taking it too literally but the point is women are getting it from every side. even the "wholesome" social media of pretty flowers and bathroom renovations...

https://twitter.com/gran1te_mtn/status/1246093412094357506?s=20&t=5vqul8IcBPb4YOu1s4wW5A