remake. Having made L.A. Takedown, Mann felt he had a much better idea of how he wanted to structure the remake, saying: "I charted the film out like a 2 hr 45 min piece of music, so I'd know where to be smooth, where not to be smooth, where to be staccato, where to use a pulse like a heartbeat." On April 5, 1994, Mann was reported to have abandoned an earlier plan to produce a James Dean biographical film in favor of the L.A. Takedown remake, entitled Heat. Heat was made on a budget with a strong cast, and released in 1995. It featured Al Pacino as Vincent Hanna, Robert De Niro in the role of Patrick McLaren, now renamed Neil McCauley, Val Kilmer as Chris Shiherlis, Mykelti Williamson as Arriaga, now renamed Drucker, Diane Venora in the role of Lillian, now renamed Justine, and Ted Levine as Schwartz, now renamed Bosko. (Xander Berkeley, who played Waingro in L.A. Takedown, makes a brief appearance as a man who has a one-night stand with Justine.) The film was met with critical acclaim and grossed , becoming a financial success. Not only featuring a bigger budget and well-known actors, Heat also had significant storyline differences when compared to L.A. Takedown. Among other things, the remake included Chris Shiherlis' gambling addiction, the subplot concerning Roger Van Zant and his attempt to double-cross the crew (in this film Waingro plots against the crew by himself), and Hanna's troubled stepdaughter—plot elements not present in the original film. Because of this, Heat runs nearly twice the length of L.A. Takedown. Nowadays, L.A. Takedown is best known for being the basis of Heat, and is often compared to it in an unfavorable light. References External links 1989 films 1989 television films 1980s crime thriller films 1980s heist films American crime thriller films American heist films American police detective films Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department Films about bank robbery Films directed by Michael Mann Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles Films with screenplays by Michael Mann NBC network original films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films