Hacker News Reader

Comment by lsllc | Hacker News Reader

If anyone hasn't seen Michael Mann's Heat, put it on your to-watch list. It's an excellent movie and of course features a bank robbery in LA.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_(1995_film)

View on HN

Best bank heist scene in any movie.

Other favorites include The Dark Knight’s opening, and as far as escaping a bank robbery goes, Baby Driver’s opening chase was 10/10 (even though a Subaru couldn’t do what he was doing but I’m willing to let that go).

The Town and the original Point Break have great ones as well.

He modified the reverse gearing, that's plausible - right guys?!

And if you're interested in bank robberies and Al Pacino (this one in NYC and a true story), you have to include Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_Day_Afternoon

One of my favorite movies. Mann recently wrote a novelized sequel, "Heat 2", and has said it's his next film project. I read the book and am, let's say, not optimistic about the prospects for the film version.

I hope he proves me wrong.

Same. Some movies, like Heat, should just be left alone. No sequels, prequels, nothing

Tell me, on which mention of “brother from another mother” did you stop rolling your eyes?

The real-life showdown in North Hollywood was even better. Two bank robbers shot it out with the LAPD for over an hour and dumped over a thousand rounds onto the street before they finally went down, after half the department and SWAT all showed up. It was one of the events that sparked police militarization to take off because the police were so badly outgunned. Dudes had full body armor and fully-automatic rifles and the handguns and shotguns the cops were using didn't even slow them down. I and half the city probably watched it happen live, too, thanks to news helicopters being on scene the entire time.

90s were a crazy time, man.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Hollywood_shootout

Better?

The best thing about Heat is the sound design. One of the very very few films that makes guns sound as loud as they actually are.

(No HN pedantry about SPL please.)

Heat is always high on these lists, but if you’re looking for something a bit more down to earth I highly recommend “Hell or High Water”.

Make sure to check out Michael Mann's Thief too. It doesn't have bank robbing per se, but it has some very memorable safe-cracking scenes. Great movie all around.

Fans of "Heat" may also be interested in Mann's 1981 film "Thief". I saw it after hearing it had a lot of thematic overlap with "Heat". It stars James Caan and Willie Nelson, which I took as a selling point.

It's been awhile since I saw it but I remember not hating it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Den_of_Thieves_(film) is not as good as Heat, but is an homage, and is a pretty fun LA bank heist movie

DOT is a horrible LA bank heist film for many reasons, not the least of which is that it was very clearly not filmed in LA.

My favorite of all time. He also released a book, Heat 2, if you want more. I am 30 pages in and it’s good so far.

First movie where Pacino and De Niro played against each other. One of the best movies I know.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com