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

Director Mann adapted the scene between Pacino and De Niro from an actual episode between Adamson and McCauley. While Adamson was tailing McCauley, they accidentally ran into each other at a shopping mall. At that time, Adamson said he invited McCauley out for coffee. Adamson, a detective who wanted to deeply understand criminal McCauley's actions, talked with him about many things.

This episode was set in the middle of Heat, where De Niro and Pacino talk in a coffee shop.

"I will definitely kill you without hesitation."

"There is a flip side to that coin. What if I were cornered and faced off against you? I would kill you without a moment's hesitation."

"Maybe...I don't know."

“I might never see you again.”

Although the two do not move as the scene involves them talking face to face at a restaurant table, it is a famous scene that draws the audience in with its quiet tension.

"Heat" preview *You can see part of the confrontation scene between the two from around 01:11.

A dream competition filmed in real life

This scene was not rehearsed at all. It was De Niro's suggestion, and director Mann also agreed.

"There is a state that can only be reached once, and I wanted to capture that. It is possible to get close to 99.5%, but you can only get there once or twice. It would be a problem if you reached it by rehearsing."

In order to create a sense of tension, the performance was performed without rehearsal. Their performance then became a series of ad-libs, with their lines and facial expressions slightly different for each take. Mann repeated the performance over and over until he was satisfied with the performance, taking 11 takes. In order to record the conversation between the two, two cameras were running at the same time to capture each bust shot.

“Performance of the gaze” that tells everything