SCAD Cinema Circle: Heat (1995)

Few films have aged with the power, precision, and reverence of Michael Mann’s “Heat,” the ultimate Los Angeles crime saga. Anchored by two titans of acting, Robert De Niro as master thief Neil McCauley and Al Pacino as relentless LAPD lieutenant Vincent Hanna, Mann’s masterpiece delivers a battle of wills that is as psychologically riveting as it is explosive. Supported by an extraordinary ensemble including Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Danny Trejo, Ashley Judd, and a young Natalie Portman, “Heat” elevates the heist genre into mythic territory, balancing white-knuckle suspense with intimate character portraits. Mann’s signature style pulses through every frame, amplified by Elliot Goldenthal’s hypnotic score and Dante Spinotti’s striking cinematography, which renders Los Angeles as both dreamscape and battleground. At once a kinetic action thriller and a meditative study of loneliness, obsession, and fate, Heat endures as one of the most admired and influential crime films ever made.

Tickets for the film are FREE for SCAD Card holders; $5 for students, seniors, and military; and $8 for the general public.