“Heat” dream competition! Al Pacino VS Robert De Niro: What is the method used by master master Michael Mann to capture the great performances of two major stars on film?

The strange relationship between a criminal and a detective that served as a model

Pacino's detective and De Niro's criminal are clearly based on Neil McCauley, a criminal who ravaged Chicago in the 1960s, and Chuck Adamson, the detective who pursued him and ended up shooting him dead.

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Director Mann interviewed former detective Adamson in detail about his confrontation with McCauley. A relationship that went beyond that of a simple detective and a criminal emerged. McCauley was involved in all sorts of crimes, including armed robbery. As Adamson continued to pursue him, he came to respect McCauley for his quick mind and his unique code of conduct.

"They were like two sides of the same coin," Mann says. "They were very similar."

A criminal and a detective seem to have opposing values ​​and personalities, but they share a commonality: they are both obsessed with their work. They forge ahead without regard for their families or partners for the sake of their work. These two men are driven by their delusions and head toward ruin. They are eventually led to an unavoidable, fateful confrontation. This is the underlying motif of "Heat."

The scene between the two was a dramatization of an actual episode.