Heat: Director's Definitive Edition Blu-ray Review & Comments

Casimir Harlow

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Nice review Cas :)

Must admit the more I read of Mann's mixing being down to his hearing loss, the less that argument makes sense. Surely, if you suffer hearing loss then dialogue rather than gunshots and music will be prioritised higher in the mix? And Mann himself doesn't do the mixing, does he?

I wonder if this is a Hollywood myth rather than reality! Sometime's it is artistic intent, case in point being Fincher's Se7en, where the dialogue is recessed in the mix, and the same could be said for Nolan's Interstellar.

Regardless, your review has made me want to rewatch this :)
 
I'd have to disagree with Cas on this one, I don't think Mann has deliberately mixed the dialogue down, it's just this is a soundtrack that's all about dynamic range. I appreciate that I'm luckier than most in that I'm watching the film in a dedicated home cinema with a 7.2-channel system but I never had any problems with the dialogue, it was all perfectly clear aside from some method acting mumbling and Pacino's delivery was decidedly and deliberately over-the-top at times. However when the gunfire starts it's incredibly loud because its designed to sound like actual guns, which is what makes that shootout so amazingly visceral and realistic. I had the same experience when I saw Heat at the cinema and in particular when the shaped charge on the armoured car goes off and blows out the car windows, that was almost painful. I understand that's of little consolation if you're trying to watch Heat at night and have to keep changing the volume but I believe that is how the soundtrack was designed from the very beginning.
 
This is my favourite film of all time and it's high time I watched it again. I'm very tempted to get this new release and give it a blast, but should I hold off for an ultra Hd release...?

Does anyone know if we're likely to get one?
 
A 4K restoration suggests one might be in the works but I haven't seen anything to confirm that.
 
A 4K restoration suggests one might be in the works but I haven't seen anything to confirm that.

Hmm, agreed. I will hold off then I think. Thanks.
 
One of my favourite movies. So glad I got to see this at the cinema.

Strangely though, the only scene I did not really like in the entire movie was the one where DeNiro and Pacino talk face to face, as I just thought it seemed a bit contrived in order to have a scene with DeNiro and Pacino acting together.
 
^ I remember everyone in the cinema cheering at that moment - Bob! and Al! Together! :D
 
One of my favourite movies. So glad I got to see this at the cinema.

Strangely though, the only scene I did not really like in the entire movie was the one where DeNiro and Pacino talk face to face, as I just thought it seemed a bit contrived in order to have a scene with DeNiro and Pacino acting together.

See who could out shout the other.....
 
Nice review Cas.

Got the steelbook waiting to watch having already sold the old one. No regrets though - I hate holding on to "old" releases when a new one is out and a quick look at those Q&A's seemed very interesting - I always like these type of extras.

Hopefully Ill get round to watching and reviewing this one myself soonish!
 
I got this Bluray the other day and did think the dialogue in parts was just about comprehensible. I will have to check on the Dolby True HD Bluray of this movie to see if it was the same.
I usually prefer DTS HD MA soundtarcks to Dolby True HD which is why I bought the movie again.
Thought the picture was better on this disc, but dialogue is more important, don't like mumbling dialogue in movies
 
An Ultra HD 4k HDR release would hopefully be immense.

And maybe they can fix the little niggles with the re-sizing as well.
 
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I'd have to disagree with Cas on this one, I don't think Mann has deliberately mixed the dialogue down, it's just this is a soundtrack that's all about dynamic range. I appreciate that I'm luckier than most in that I'm watching the film in a dedicated home cinema with a 7.2-channel system but I never had any problems with the dialogue, it was all perfectly clear aside from some method acting mumbling and Pacino's delivery was decidedly and deliberately over-the-top at times. However when the gunfire starts it's incredibly loud because its designed to sound like real guns and that's what makes that shootout so amazingly visceral and realistic. I had the same experience when I saw Heat at the cinema and in particular when the shaped charge on the armoured car goes off and blows out the car windows, that was almost painful. I understand that's of little consolation if you're trying to watch Heat at night and have to keep changing the volume but I believe that is how the soundtrack was designed from the very beginning.

In an interview i read,but bloody cant remember where :blush:,Mann said that his soundtracks try to reflect real life,and that how he mixes them :)
 
Thanks for the review and the timely reminder to watch this classic again on my big screen !
 
Excellent review Cas. The colour timing changes don't bother me but I couldn't stand the artefacting in the background (me being me, I noticed it immediately when watching the movie and it distracted me throughout) so I've already bounced my copy. I'd rather stick to the old Warners Blu and hold out for a UHD release.
 
Terrible macroblocking on this and again a poor sound mix
 
I'd have to disagree with Cas on this one, I don't think Mann has deliberately mixed the dialogue down, it's just this is a soundtrack that's all about dynamic range. I appreciate that I'm luckier than most in that I'm watching the film in a dedicated home cinema with a 7.2-channel system but I never had any problems with the dialogue, it was all perfectly clear aside from some method acting mumbling and Pacino's delivery was decidedly and deliberately over-the-top at times. However when the gunfire starts it's incredibly loud because its designed to sound like actual guns, which is what makes that shootout so amazingly visceral and realistic. I had the same experience when I saw Heat at the cinema and in particular when the shaped charge on the armoured car goes off and blows out the car windows, that was almost painful. I understand that's of little consolation if you're trying to watch Heat at night and have to keep changing the volume but I believe that is how the soundtrack was designed from the very beginning.

Spot on post. I love the soundtracks on most Michael Mann movies, simply because they are so dynamic. The key here is what environment they are designed to be played in; these soundtracks are designed to be played loud, and in ideal surroundings i.e. acoustically treated rooms.

Play them in a room with poor acoustics, with lots of reflections bouncing around and slap echo, and you have an audio mess, and regardless of whether you're listening loud or quiet, the dialogue will give you issues.

I've just bought a load of acoustic panels and I plan to watch Heat over the next couple of weeks, just to see how good (or bad) the audio is in intelligibility terms.

In an interview i read,but bloody cant remember where :blush:,Mann said that his soundtracks try to reflect real life,and that how he mixes them :)

Thanks, I didn't know that but if true it puts paid to the notion of his loss of hearing driving the sound mixes :)
 
For the record gunshots are not technically that loud - particularly from pistols. There are 2 parts to a gunshot...The crack and the thump. The crack is the bullet flying past you and the thump is the sound of the weapon system firing. Yes they can be loud if several are fired together but I can assure that any gun shot that involves any bass frequency had been "Hollywood-ised" just like the ever lasting magazine that contains the bullets.
 
Having never been in a gunfight I can't speak to the accuracy of the sound. But I can say that the trend to make dialogue inaudible and explosions and gunshots deafening is frustrating for someone that doesn't live in an AV demo room with 'acoustic panels' dotted about the place. I'm sure my neighbours would agree. Perhaps they should offer an alternative soundtrack for normal people.
 
You know that technically there's no difference between them?

I always find that the Dolby True HD tracks sound lower to me on my setup, always end up having to turn up to hear the dialogue more than with a DTS HD MA sound track. Movies like Heat, Gran Torino, Body of Lies and Payback, I have to turn up more for Dialogue reasons
 
Sent mine back to Amazon as I didn't think the picture was much better than the DVD I already had. For me the DVD was an equal on sound quality too.
 
For the record gunshots are not technically that loud - particularly from pistols. There are 2 parts to a gunshot...The crack and the thump. The crack is the bullet flying past you and the thump is the sound of the weapon system firing. Yes they can be loud if several are fired together but I can assure that any gun shot that involves any bass frequency had been "Hollywood-ised" just like the ever lasting magazine that contains the bullets.

It's more a percussive snap in my experience, but there can be some low end, especially on a shotgun? Especially in an enclosed area they are deafening. I experienced a tactile thump akin to a subwoofer on an indoor shooting range once - never did find out what weapon it was but it made me flinch!
 
It's taught as "crap and thump" in the army and is even used in army slang for going for a Pooh :rotfl:
 

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