WTF Really Happened to Heat (1995)?

With its epic scale, star power, and heart-stopping action, filmmaker Michael Mann’s 1995 crime-thriller Heat cemented its status as a certified classic. Al Pacino’s hard-boiled detective and Robert De Niro’s career criminal at the center of the story were heavily inspired by real people. But just how close to reality is this sprawling L.A. tale of cops and robbers?

In this episode of WTF REALLY Happened to this Movie, we dig into some of the actual events that informed Michael Mann’s cops and robbers classic. Loosely inspired by a real-life cop named Chuck Adamson’s pursuit of master criminal Neil McCauley (for whom the De Niro character is named), Heat stands as Mann’s defining film. Adamson had a rich history with Mann, going back to Miami Vice and continuing on the show they both created, Crime Story. They previously tried to bring the story to life via a failed T.V. pilot named L.A. Takedown in 1989, which plays like a rough draft for Heat. We dig into their history and more in this celebration of Mann’s classic.

WTF REALLY Happened To This Movie? – The JoBlo series that dives into movies based on TRUE stories, REAL people and ACTUAL historical events to separate FACT from FICTION! Previous episodes dug into the true stories that inspired such classics as Goodfellas, Braveheart and Pain & Gain. Check out some previous episodes below!