There is a lot of information in the first hour; the Duncan scenes are meant to convey it but the period-style dialogue makes few concessions, and one participant remains confused after many viewings. — Chris Ryan
The movie arguably could have used a narrator, from someone who hates narrators, with Henry Hill or Magua's ghost joked about. — Bill Simmons
The first hour could speed up; a counterpoint says the Hawkeye-Cora slow burn needs time, then concedes the music could cover a few trimmed minutes. — Bill Simmons
Hawkeye and Cora are called the favorite relationship in any Mann movie even though they barely have a real conversation. — Bill Simmons
More was wanted from the younger sister as a performer; the other participant thinks she is perfect as a shell-shocked character. — Chris Ryan
The Alice-Uncas bond is read as puppy love, with talk of whether a love scene existed; a two-minute setup scene would have helped, and no further aged-worst items are offered. — Chris Ryan
The episode notes include an ambush and then a second ambush; two ambushes in one movie, like multiple Gladiator fights, signal the right pick. — Bill Simmons
First ambush, about 20 minutes in: Magua mutters under his breath, walks to the back of the column, and a British soldier who greets him is tomahawked. — Bill Simmons
The ambush includes a scalping and Chingachgook's thrown tomahawk as Hawkeye and his two companions upend it, with confusion over whether Russell Means plays Uncas or Chingachgook. — Bill Simmons
The argument where the English do not believe Hawkeye yields 'Someday I think you and I are going to have a serious disagreement'; the hosts say the line was cut from the first version and restored in a later director's cut, one of three versions Mann has made. — Bill Simmons
Hawkeye pulling Cora away for the first kiss is praised for the building music. — Bill Simmons
A joke proposes a Vegas trance remix of the love theme after quarantine. — Chris Ryan
A joke about playing the theme during a spousal argument over the unclean sink while watching basketball in the bubble. — Bill Simmons
Second ambush: Magua cuts out the colonel's heart and vows to wipe out his seed, joked as excessive trash talk; the act is not shown, and Mann is joked to be saving the footage. — Chris Ryan
The waterfall scene's 'Stay alive, no matter what occurs. I will find you' is great stuff; anyone unmoved is a replicant, Duncan concedes he cannot compete, and the moment was in the summer 1992 trailer. — Bill Simmons
Magua presents the two women to the Sachem; Hawkeye walks in unarmed and takes blows; the Sachem's line about the white man is called a good quote, and the trade is narrated in NBA trade terms with Duncan offering himself. — Bill Simmons
That Sachem scene would be a favorite if not for the ending; older Sachem-type characters are 'always a home run'. — Chris Ryan
The film conveys the era efficiently, such as settlers insisting on defending their homes, described as an early American revolutionary spirit. — Chris Ryan
The cliff sequence: Uncas loses to Magua, his father runs in slow motion, and the music and images are called as overwhelming as Heat's bank robbery; the scene was watched about five times the night before. — Chris Ryan
Alice looks at Magua and steps off the cliff as Cora rounds the corner; the sisters go from a tea set in a meadow to giving themselves to the wild, and are game throughout, with Cora becoming a nurse. — Bill Simmons
A Madeleine Stowe tangent covers her Revenge and Stakeout run and her filmography, with Playing by Heart defended. — Bill Simmons
In the last scene Hawkeye and Chingachgook clean house; the wide shot of Magua and Chingachgook on the rock and the final 360 tomahawk swing are called one of the coolest shots seen in a theater. — Bill Simmons
That final scene is named as the most rewatchable pick, and the other participant goes with it as well. — Chris Ryan
Honorable mention: Hawkeye covering the courier from the fort wall; the courier is called the worst job in colonial America and the 'Postmates of 1757'. — Chris Ryan
Waingro's escape; police releasing Kilmer at the checkpoint; Mann's L.A. geography and missing traffic; the public family dinner after the heist; the 'slick' clue
An early nit taken during the scene picks: how Waingro escapes with Neil standing over him with a gun, somehow rolling 50 yards away. — Bill Simmons
Kilmer asking pickup basketball players where to get bread was covered in the last pod. — Bill Simmons
Police let Kilmer go at the checkpoint instead of bringing him in to check, though they could get Vincent a helicopter for coffee. — Bill Simmons
Mann's L.A. ignores distances and has no traffic; 'two freeways right here' at the first robbery would mean sitting in traffic. — Bill Simmons
The crew goes to a fancy public dinner with their families right after the heist, and Neil sits there alone. — Bill Simmons
The crew is caught because a witness heard someone call the guard 'slick', which Vincent runs as an alias and confirms through Albert; it is called too convenient. — Bill Simmons
Folsom Prison and LAPD detective research; Kevin Gage called Waingro in prison; the real Chicago Waingro; the Wilshire diner's closing; Neil's gray suits and starched collars; Xander Berkeley in L.A. Takedown; the BJ's on Alvarado tweet
Research cited says the cast spent time at Folsom Prison and with real LAPD detectives. — Bill Simmons
Research cited says Kevin Gage, in prison for two years in 2003, was universally called Waingro by inmates and guards. — Bill Simmons
Per Mann, as cited, Waingro was based on a real Chicago criminal who ratted out influential criminals, went missing and was found nailed to a shed wall in northern Mexico. — Bill Simmons
The diner where the diner scene was shot (table 71) on Wilshire was a favored spot, visited with both kids; the hosts say it closed in 2014 and a billionaire should have saved it. — Bill Simmons
Per Mann's commentary, as cited, Neil's gray suits were meant to blend into a crowd and his collars were starched the prison way. — Bill Simmons
Research cited says Xander Berkeley, who plays Ralph, played Waingro in L.A. Takedown, and a Trail Blazers sideline reporter tweeted in 2015 that BJs on Alvarado does not exist. — Chris Ryan
The hosts say Keanu Reeves was originally set to play Chris and lost the part when Kilmer fit it around Batman Forever; one host would totally go for Keanu. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say Ted Levine was offered Waingro and turned it down to avoid typecasting after Buffalo Bill; one host can't fathom it, the other thinks he would like that movie more. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say Voight initially turned down Nate, saying others could do it better, until Mann insisted. — Bill Simmons
An internet claim that the actress later in Mann's Miami Vice refused Justine unless the script was translated into Mandarin is called half-fast and fishy. — Bill Simmons
The Thief star lamented on a 1998 Thief DVD commentary with Mann that he had no role in Heat; the hosts say he should have played Nate. — Bill Simmons
Offered the Thief star as Nate plus Keanu as Chris, one host would rather keep Kilmer, whose unpredictable performance he loves. — Bill Simmons
Empty-telephone threat; "The action is the juice"; "The sun rises and sets with her"; Haysbert quitting the diner; tracking crooks without electronic surveillance; the walk-away-in-30-seconds philosophy; the music; Vincent Hanna's jewelry; Trejo's zip-up hoodie; Mann's L.A. locations
Neil's 'I'm talking to an empty telephone' is called the best phone threat in the history of cinema, with Van Zant's terrified look. — Chris Ryan
Also aged well: 'for me, the action is the juice', Kilmer's 'the sun rises and sets with her', Haysbert quitting the diner and beating up his boss, tracking crooks without electronic surveillance, the walk-away-in-30-seconds philosophy, Moby at the end and the music generally. — Bill Simmons
Vincent Hanna's jewelry: a wish to be a guy who wears gold chains and bracelets again. — Bill Simmons
A borderline nominee is Michael Mann, 'clearly an alien', whose gatherings are always big laughing dinner tables or dance parties. — Bill Simmons
Trejo wearing a zip-up hoodie with no shirt underneath. — Bill Simmons
The other host's pick is 'the action is the juice', loved more since the point about Sizemore going for it. — Chris Ryan
This version of L.A. and its locations, such as the taco stand next to the car wash on Pico, should have been on the list; East Coasters knew L.A. only from movies and it takes on new life after moving there. — Chris Ryan
Introduced as a new category: nominees are 'Give me all you got', the three dead bodies off Venice Boulevard and the overcooked chicken, and the 'great ass' outburst. — Bill Simmons
Mann's director's commentary is cited saying Pacino ad-libbed the 'great ass' passage, and the actor on the receiving end looks exasperated and shocked. — Bill Simmons
More nominees: 'You know what they're looking at? Us', the angry Ralph line, and 'Bon voyage, motherfucker'. — Bill Simmons
Answer to the favorite over-the-top Pacino moment 25 years later: 'Great ass? Yeah.' — Bill Simmons
One host tried to get creative with picks rather than the obvious ones; the other says this category requires playing the hits. — Bill Simmons
The first armored-car robbery: the truck hitting the armored car is one of the loudest, most terrifying sounds in a theater, and the shaped charge blowing out all the car windows at once is 'the coolest thing in the world'. — Bill Simmons
The robbery crew are clearly professionals until Waingro stares at the bleeding guard and kills him, forcing them to shoot everyone. — Bill Simmons
The Big Boys diner with Waingro ('I had to get it on, man. He was making a move'); a newly noticed detail is Michael moving to the counter while Trejo leaves to ready the plastic-lined trunk. — Chris Ryan
No customers react when Neil slams Waingro's head on the counter; De Niro is called vintage and purposeful in the scene. — Bill Simmons
Eady and Neil's first meeting ('Lady, why are you so interested in what I read or what I do?') is called their scene; it is believable because she is new and lonely in L.A. — Bill Simmons
In the meet-cute she lays out her Scotch-Irish Appalachian family tree and he answers only 'I'm from the Bay Area'. — Chris Ryan
Neil's crew debating the bank job ('The bank is worth the risk ... I need it, brother'); Sizemore heat-checks De Niro, like Reggie Miller against Michael Jordan, and lands 'for me, the action is the juice'. — Bill Simmons
Vincent realizing the crew has turned the surveillance around ('You know what they're looking at? ... Us ... We just got made'). — Bill Simmons
The diner scene between Neil and Vincent is introduced and called one of the most famous scenes of the 90s, or of the last 40 years, likened to LeBron and Kobe guarding each other in a Finals shown only in one-on-ones. — Bill Simmons
Square TVs showed one actor at a time, fueling a ten-year internet legend that the two were not in the scene together; widescreen disproved it. — Bill Simmons
Research cited says the scene was take 11 and was never rehearsed, at De Niro's request. — Bill Simmons
The exchange is compared to the two of them having a podcast; jokes about Vincent commandeering an LAPD helicopter just to get Neil to coffee. — Bill Simmons
De Niro listening and looking away before 'there's a flip side to that coin' is one of his favorite De Niro performances, though 'that's the discipline' is called his only bad acting moment. — Bill Simmons
Asked who wins the scene 25 years later, one host says Pacino and expects the other to say De Niro. — Chris Ryan
The hosts say Pacino later revealed his character was on cocaine throughout, a thread Mann cut from early scripts, which explains his darting eyes scanning the restaurant. — Chris Ryan
The other calls the scene a split decision, 115 to 114, possibly a draw. — Bill Simmons
The bank-robbery shootout is called probably the GOAT bank shootout that every later bank robbery homages; Den of Thieves is a flat-out rip-off and Inside Man the least like Heat. — Bill Simmons
Research cited says military units study how Kilmer and De Niro reload; Sizemore is rarely shown shooting; the hosts say Mann placed microphones to capture the gunfire live. — Bill Simmons
Shootout nits: the masked robber's 'we're not here for your money' reassurance, and Kilmer's slow 25-yard walk while Pacino drives in and gets out, which always drives one host nuts. — Bill Simmons
Neil killing Waingro and walking away from Eady is a tough breakup after she gave notice and packed to emigrate to New Zealand. — Chris Ryan
The hosts say production almost could not shoot at LAX because of a Unabomber threat. — Chris Ryan
Vincent versus Albert: Albert's salt-mine, pit-bull, hot-car-lot hideout and 'where's your empathy?'; Pacino is so off-menu the editing can't keep up, with audio from a different take. — Chris Ryan
Waingro's meeting with Van Zant: Van Zant has been living in his office, and 'I got some moves I can make here' is joked about as an NBA GM's trade pitch. — Chris Ryan
Vincent at BJs on Alvarado at 2 a.m., where everyone dances to silence because the music was dubbed in; Piven's Dr. Bob is also floated. — Chris Ryan
Stated answer: the most rewatchable scene is the diner scene, the second most is the bank shootout, and all other nominations are accepted. — Bill Simmons
Roger Ebert gave the movie three and a half out of four stars, writing that it is not just an action picture and that its dialogue is complex enough to let eloquent, insightful, poetic characters say what they're thinking without cliches. — Bill Simmons
A quote attributed to Mann, presented as singing from the same hymn book as Ebert, calls the crime-thriller label the last thing the movie is. — Chris Ryan
How Felix’s case proceeds, why a major witness visits Fever, whether Max and Vincent should switch roles, and why Mann repeatedly names characters Vincent
