Heat 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Heat 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 29, 2022

There was still a 20th Century Fox when I reviewed Heat way back in 2017, and while this new 4K UHD release sports the slightly (and to my ears weirdly) rejiggered name of 20th Century Productions (aren't we in a new century now, folks?), now of course owned and distributed by Disney, there may still be a bit of a disconnect between the iconic name associated with being "family friendly" and film that is anything but.

For my thoughts on the film, please consult our Heat Blu-ray review of the 1080 release from several years ago. Commendably, Disney / Buena Vista and 20th Century Productions have included both of the 1080 discs from that release in this new 4K UHD offering, and so all of the supplements are available (albeit with a bit of disc jockeying, so to speak). Fans of the film may know that Heat received a prior release on 1080 Blu-ray by Warner Brothers before the 20th Century Fox release I reviewed, and for some other thoughts, Ken Brown's Heat Blu-ray review of the Warner release is an excellent resource. Both of those reviews can also provide at least a baseline for comparison between the two 1080 presentations and how this new 2160 one plays into the mix.

Heat 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc.

Heat is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Disney / Buena Vista and 20th Century Productions with a 2160p transfer in 2.40:1. I haven't been able to find any authoritative source as to whether this was culled from the same master as Fox's 1080 release, which was reportedly done from a then new 4K scan, since the only information I could find simply offered a generic and frankly unhelpful in this instance "4K remaster". That said, this is an interesting presentation which to my eyes offered some noticeable if often pretty subtle differences from both of the previous 1080 releases. I'd say in terms of brightness, overall this one may tow a kind of fine line between the darker 20th Century Fox 1080 presentation and lighter Warner 1080 presentation, though interestingly this struck me actually more with regard to some of the more brightly, even naturally, lit outdoor or daytime set scenes than the often shadowy ambience that otherwise pervades Mann's sensibilities here, where one might naturally assume HDR would add nuance to the mix (which it may in fact do, though perhaps not to the extent some might expect). The term "dynamic range" gets bandied about quite a bit, and in that regard, I'd suggest that the dynamic range here between lighter moments and darker moments is appealingly wide, though kind of interestingly arguably not so much when it actually comes to the palette, which is inherently often tamped down and deliberately lacking what is traditionally called "pop". In fact what struck me here was a kind of slate gray look a lot of the time, which is admittedly already in 20th Century Fox's 1080 version but which seems somewhat emphasized here, which almost makes things look monochromatic or even desaturated and would seem to subvert what "HDR" may at least (rightly or wrongly) be thought of as providing. While I wouldn't term changes here extreme by any measure, there are some differences in tonal values, with both some of the lustrous blue tones in nighttime scenes, as well as some of the yellow and orange tinged moments having very vibrantly impressive presentations, and I'd argue slightly different "looks" from Fox's 1080 version. One of the nicest things about this transfer for me was the overall tightly resolved grain field. I almost get a little trepidatious when approaching shot on film features coming out on 4K UHD, since the increased resolution can sometimes make grain look dirty or swarm like. While there are moments here where grain can look just a tad yellow (you can see it in some of those aforementioned blue tinged nighttime scenes, as in the sequence with Jon Voight and Robert De Niro that leads into some police action with Al Pacino relatively early in the film), grain looks natural and adds a nice texture to the proceedings. As Ken mentioned in his review and I'll concurred in my 1080 review, you'll be able to spot some softness, and I'd say maybe even some slight variations in focus pulling, and there's a bit of fuzziness that can be detected in passing as a result that tends to be noticeable on the edges of objects.

Heat 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This 4K UHD release offers a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which to my ears was interchangeable with the one on Fox's 1080 release, and so I'll simply repeat some of my comments from my review of the Fox 1080 release. The film is kind of an aural roller coaster at times, cartwheeling between some good, boisterous action sequences and much quieter, if equally intense, dialogue scenes. This surround track delivers good immersion in the expected sections where on screen action takes center stage, contrasting nicely with dialogue scenes which tend to be anchored front and center. The low end gets occasional workouts here, though Heat may not completely satisfy audiophiles who want their caper films filled with nonstop effects in overdrive. Optional English, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Japanese subtitles are available.

Heat 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K UHD Disc

• Audio Commentary by Director Michael Mann

1080 Blu-ray Disc One

• Audio Commentary by Director Michael Mann

1080 Blu-ray Disc Two

• Filmmaker Panels

  2016: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (1080p; 1:03:23) is a nicely in depth conversation with Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Michael Mann, moderated by Christopher Nolan.

  
  

  2015: Toronto International Film Festival (1080p; 30:27) is an engaging session with Michael Mann, both before and after a screening of the film.

• The Making of Heat (480i; 59:12) is a previously released set of featurettes.


• Pacino and De Niro: The Conversation (480i; 9:58) is an archival piece focusing on the characters' interactions.


• Return to the Scene of the Crime (480i; 12:05) looks at the locations with the locations manager and associate producer.


• Additional Footage - Deleted Scenes (480i; 9:44)


• Theatrical Trailers (480i; 6:48)

Ken Brown provides some more descriptive information on the previously released supplements in his Heat Blu-ray review of the old Warner Brothers release.

Additionally, a digital copy is included and packaging features a slipcover.

Heat 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hey, lots of bad things happen to people, both in the good and bad variety of humans, in Disney movies, so maybe Heat now being distributed by that venerable company isn't so strange after all. This is a winning presentation that offers some subtle but noticeable changes from Fox's own 1080 version, and the Fairy Godmother or whoever is in charge of supplements wisely waved her magic wand to include them here. Perhaps because of some built in stylistic quirks, this may not be the mind blowing upgrade some were expecting, but I found technical merits to be commendable. Recommended.