Red Heat

For other uses, see Red Heat (disambiguation).
Red Heat

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Walter Hill[1]
Produced by Walter Hill
Gordon Carroll
Mario Kassar
Andrew G. Vajna
Screenplay by Walter Hill
Harry Kleiner
Troy Kennedy Martin
Story by Walter Hill
Starring
Music by James Horner
Cinematography Matthew F. Leonetti
Edited by Donn Aron
Carmel Davies
Freeman A. Davies
Production
company
Distributed by TriStar Pictures
Release dates
 June 14, 1988 (premiere)
June 17, 1988
Running time
 103 min
Country United States
Soviet Union
Language English
Russian
Budget $29 million[1]
Box office $34,994,648 USD (Domestic)
1,292,988 admissions (France)[2]

Red Heat is a 1988 American buddy cop action film directed by Walter Hill. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, as Moscow narc Ivan Danko, and James Belushi, as Chicago detective Art Ridzik. Finding themselves on the same case, Danko and Ridzik work as partners to catch a cunning and deadly Soviet Georgian drug kingpin, Viktor Rostavili (Ed O'Ross), who also happens to be the killer of Danko's previous partner back in Soviet Russia.

The film was released with the tagline "Moscow's toughest detective. Chicago's craziest cop. There's only one thing more dangerous than making them mad: making them partners." It was the first American film given permission to shoot in Moscow's Red Square - however, most of the scenes set in the USSR (with the exceptions of the establishing shots under the main titles and the final lengthy shot in Red Square behind the end credits) were actually shot in Hungary. Schwarzenegger was paid a salary of $8 million for his role in the film.[3]

Plot

Captain Ivan Danko of the Moscow Militia sets a trap for Viktor Rostavili, a Georgian drug kingpin and crime lord. The ambush severely backfires; Viktor flees the Soviet Union and comes to the USA, after gunning down several other Moscow cops, including Danko's partner.

Loudmouthed Chicago Police Department Detective-Sergeant Art Ridzik, investigates several local murders committed by Viktor's cartel. When Viktor is arrested in Chicago, Danko is dispatched to escort him back to Moscow to face justice in the Soviet Union. Unexpectedly, Danko and Ridzik find themselves partnered together when Viktor escapes custody, gunning down Ridzik's partner, Gallagher, in the process. Danko is frustrated when his lack of a diplomatic license prohibits him from carrying a weapon. He shares his candid observations with Ridzik: "This Chicago is very strange city. Your crime is organized, but your police is not."

Danko and Ridzik pursue Viktor and his henchmen around Chicago. Finally, Danko and Viktor commandeer a couple of Greyhound buses, then engage in a high-speed chase, smashing up half of Chicago in the process, with no sign of the cops...until Viktor is side-slammed by a train. He takes on Danko in a running, Texas-style shootout (Danko uses a Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum given to him by Ridzik); Viktor is gunned down. Danko returns to Moscow after exchanging wristwatches with Ridzik as an act of goodwill.

Cast

Production

Walter Hill says he conceived of the idea for Red Heat because he and Arnold Schwarzenegger had long wanted to work together:

I didn't want to do sci-fi and it's tough to use Arnold credibly in an American context with his accent. I thought it would be interesting if he could play a Russian cop in the US. I wanted to do a traditional John Wayne/Clint Eastwood larger-than-life movie. You then ask the question: Will the American audience accept an unapologetic Soviet hero, someone who will not defect at the end of the movie?[4]

Hill says he deliberately chose to tone down the Schwarzenegger persona, making him more realistic and less prone to wisecracks. Hill:

I had confidence in him as an actor. I didn't want him just to throw a Volkswagen over a building. Arnold has an ability to communicate that cuts through cultures and countries. They just love to see this guy win. But everyone thinks it's his muscles. It's not that at all: it's his face, his eyes. He has a face that's a throwback to a warrior from the Middle Ages, or ancient Greece.[4]

The music score was done by James Horner. "I told James I wanted something like you're in the Olympics and you've just won a gold medal," said Hill. "I wanted something heroic."[5]

Hill says he wanted to use buses rather than cars in the climactic action scene because it would be more interesting. "Also, I thought it was very appropriate for Arnold. He doesn't fit well in cars."[5]

He described the film as "in an odd way it's a traditional love story between these two guys.[5]

The script was constantly rewritten during the shoot. Among the writers who worked on it were Hill himself, Harry Kleiner, Troy Kennedy Martin, Steven Meerson & Peter Krikes, and John Mankiewicz & Daniel Pyne. "You've got to understand that Walter likes to create as he goes along," said a source close to the production. "Also, the project was put together quickly based on an idea of his-a Russian cop in Chicago. There was no script." A spokesman for the Writers Guild said Hill was a member in very good standing: "He does tend to hire a lot of people but he pays well above minimums and we feel he's been quite straightforward about screen credit."[6]

Reception

The movie received a mixed to positive response from critics.[7][8] Red Heat currently holds a 62% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 21 reviews.

Box office

The movie was a box office success,[9][10] but was far outpaced by Schwarzenegger's other comedy film in 1988, Twins.

Home media

The film was a success on home rentals.[11]

Media Type
 Release date
 Country
 Publisher
Format
Region Code
Ratio
Resolution
Audio
Subtitles Notes
 REF
VHS
 1 January 1990 United Kingdom Cinema
Club		 PAL N/A Unknown 480i
Analog		 Stereo No Part of Double Pack Conan the Destroyer/Red Heat. [12]
VHS
 9 June 1998 United Kingdom Cinema
Club		 PAL N/A Unknown 480i
Analog		 Stereo No Part of Triple Pack Gunmen / Wanted Dead Or Alive / Red Heat . [13]
VHS
 1 October 1999 United Kingdom Cinema
Club		 PAL N/A Unknown 480i
Analog		 Stereo No N/A [14]
DVD
 20 May 2002 United Kingdom Momentum PAL 2 16:9 480p
Digital		 English:
Dolby Digital 5.1		 English Additional Audio Options German:Surround Sound and Spanish:Mono [15]
DVD
 10 October 2005 United Kingdom Momentum PAL 2 16:9 480p
Digital		 English:
Dolby Digital 5.1		 English Part of Quadruple Pack Total Recall, Red Heat, Raw Deal and Red Sonja. [16]
DVD
 4 August 2008 United Kingdom Optimum
Home Releasing		 PAL 2 16:9 480p
Digital		 English:
Dolby Digital 5.1		 English N/A [17]
Blu-ray
 28 June 2010 United Kingdom Optimum
Home Releasing		 PAL A/B/C 16:9 1080p
Digital		 English:
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1		 English N/A [18]
Blu-ray
 25 October 2010 United Kingdom Optimum
Home Releasing		 PAL A/B/C 16:9 1080p
Digital		 English:
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1		 English Part of Quadruple Pack Total Recall, Red Heat, Raw Deal and Red Sonja. [19]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Glasnost Pumped Iron Into 'Red Heat' Role For Schwarzenegger Very Different Stars In Films With Vast Cultural Differences". Morning Call. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  2. ↑ Box office figures for Walter Hill films in France at Box Office Story
  3. ↑ Harmetz, Aljean (July 25, 1988). "Big Hollywood Salaries a Magnet for the Stars (And the Public)". The New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  4. 1 2 Director Hill puts extra dimension in Hollywood themes Thompson, Anne. Chicago Tribune (1963-Current file) [Chicago, Ill] 17 June 1988: GL.
  5. 1 2 3 Action man with an eye for character Dwyer, Michael. The Irish Times (1921-Current File) [Dublin, Ireland] 13 Jan 1989: 14.
  6. ↑ Klady, Leonard (25 Oct 1987). "WORK IN PROGRESS". Los Angeles Times. p. 36.
  7. ↑ "Red Heat". Washington Post. 17 June 1988. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  8. ↑ "Red Heat". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  9. ↑ Mathews, Jack (21 June 1988). "WEEKEND BOX OFFICE `Heat,' `Outdoors' Strong; `Big' Still Huge". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
  10. ↑ "`Heat` Wave At Box Office". Chicago Tribune. 24 June 1988. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
  11. ↑ Hunt, Dennis (19 January 1989). "Red Heat' Sets Rental Market on Fire". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
  12. ↑ "Conan the Destroyer/Red Heat [VHS] [1984]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  13. ↑ "Gunmen / Wanted Dead Or Alive / Red Heat [1992] [VHS]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  14. ↑ "Red Heat [VHS] [1989]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  15. ↑ "Red Heat [DVD] [1989]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  16. ↑ "Schwarzenegger -- Special Edition 4-Disc Box Set [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  17. ↑ "Red Heat [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  18. ↑ "Red Heat [Blu-ray]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  19. ↑ "Schwarzenegger Collection (Total Recall/Red Heat/Raw Deal) [Blu-ray]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2011.

External links

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