Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Heist Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson January 28, 2020

It's a difficult task to deviate altogether from the standard tropes and machinations of the caper film but David Mamet discovered some different modes of expression with 2001's Heist. It's not that Mamet deliberately avoids genre conventions (he does indeed play and tinker with them) but it's the way he writes characters that's his greatest strength. In Heist, Mamet introduces an interracial buddy duo who are not cops but jewel thieves and con artists (a clear inversion of the buddy films of the '80s and '90s). While Heist is an ensemble crime drama, it really works when it focuses on the long partnership of Joe Moore (Gene Hackman) and Bob Blane (Delroy Lindo). The wily pair have been pulling off robberies and con jobs for years. They're often joined by crafty veteran Don 'Pinky' Pincus (played by the late actor, magician, and illusionist Ricky Jay). Joe, Bob, and Pinky are hoping to pull off another score at a jewelry store in downtown Boston. The plan starts off alright but Joe is one step slow and fails to put on his mask after breaking and entering the shop. Joe gets "burned" when the hidden camera catches him in the act; he can't disconnect the circuit breakers. The trio manage to escape and Joe hopes that this is his last job. Joe builds and repairs sailboats and hopes to take his wife Fran (Rebecca Pidgeon, Mrs. David Mamet) on their yacht to the Caribbean. (Hackman was 71 when the movie was made; Pidgeon only 38).

Joe, Bob, and Pinky meet with their weaselly boss, Mickey Bergman (as Danny DeVito), whose also their fence. Mickey, who sells furs as a front, wants them to pull off one last heist: pilfer Swiss gold ingots inside a cargo plane at Boston Logan. Joe would rather not but Mickey bribes him and his accomplishes. They will only get their shares from the jewel swindle if they agree to steal the gold bullion. There's also a possibility that Mickey will have someone turn over the surveillance tape to authorities. Joe has no choice but to agree. Mickey also makes Joe take in his sly but inexperienced nephew, Jimmy Silk (Sam Rockwell). Jimmy is a big thorn in the group's side and that's where the double- and triple-crosses begin.

The good thing about Heist's narrative structure is Mamet always leaves his camera with the thieves so the audience can continue guessing their next moves. A lot of caper films will split the screen time in half between the cops and robbers but Heist never turns into a police procedural. While Jimmy is the film's weak link, he's the central character that causes treachery and duplicity in the others. Hackman and Lindo have excellent chemistry together. In Mamet's expert plotting, I wasn't quite sure that they'd remain allies all the way through.

*After Heist had showings at the Toronto International Film Festival and Boston Film Festival (not to mention a few others), Warner Bros. postponed its release till November following the 9/11 attacks. The movie doesn't feature any terrorists but contains a scene where the thieves set off a diversionary explosion at the airport.

Heist Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner released Heist on DVD in 2002 and licensee Sony seems to have used the same video master for this premiere Blu-ray release. Mamet's eighth film as a writer/director appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-25. The print itself is pretty clean with only occasional small specks. There's a thin scratch that mars the image in a late scene (Screenshot #20) where Joe meets Bob in a diner. It's very quick but I caught it when I first watched the film. I also noticed a little cross-coloration. The transfer almost looks like it was converted from an interlaced to a progressive source. Aliasing and jagged edges along the traced outlines of figures and objects additionally crop up.

Heist displays a soft look and desaturated color scheme that I believe was Mamet and cinematographer Robert Elswit's intent. Film critic Phil Villarreal, then writing for the Arizona Daily Star, observed: "With dark grays, light grays and the occasional brown, Mamet cre­ates a color movie with a black-and-white feel. When gold ap­pears, it stands out from the dull colors, shimmering for us as it does in the characters' dark minds." Sony has encoded the feature with an average video bitrate of 22313 kbps. My video score is 2.75.

The 109-minute movie receives a dozen scene selections from Sony.

Heist Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sony supplies an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround mix (1769 kbps, 16-bit) and a lossy Spanish-dub stereo track. I wish that Sony had employed 24-bit and given the 5.1 track a maxed out bitrate. I had to really turn up my receiver to get the full amp of the explosions and other ambient effects. Composer Theodore Shapiro's jazzy and propulsive action score keeps the shifty plot gears churning.

One important point to make about the dialogue is its characteristically "Mametspeak." Theater and film critics have defined this as having "coarse, rapid-fire, naturalistic dialogue" (Dave Larsen) that's "rhythmic, pro­fane yet poetic patter of street­wise raconteurs" (AP critic). Heist is more spare and minimalist than the other plays and films Mamet has wrote. It does have witty and terse one-liners. Mamet wants viewers to focus on the story and characters, not the cadences. Dialogue is solidly rendered on the English track.

Optional English SDH as well as Spanish and French subtitles are available.

Heist Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Theatrical Trailer (2:23, upconverted to 1080p) - a letterboxed trailer of Heist that's been upscaled from an interlaced source.

Heist Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

2001's Heist arrived in US theaters among an oversaturated marketplace of movies which included a caper in its storyline. 3,000 Miles to Graceland, Blow, The Mexican, The Score, Sexy Beast, and Swordfish were also released that year. Heist got lost in a crowded field. It's more compelling and entertaining than The Score, which sags in places and doesn't maintain the same level of momentum. Unfortunately, Sony's BD-25 isn't of the same quality. The transfer is mediocre and the sound could have been mixed a lot better. The picture could really use a new scan. The disc is superior to its SD predecessor but don't go for it until it dips below $20.