Red Heat (1988)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Walter Hill

Writers (WGA):

Walter Hill (story)
Harry Kleiner (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 June 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Moscow's toughest detective. Chicago's craziest cop. There's only one thing worse than making them mad. Making them partners.

Plot:

Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a Russian policeman sent after a Russian drug dealer who has escaped to...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Drug Dealer | Chicago Illinois | Baseball Bat | Shootout

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Capt. Ivan Danko
James Belushi	...	Det. Sgt. Art Ridzik
Peter Boyle	...	Cmdr. Lou Donnelly
Ed O'Ross	...	Viktor 'Rosta' Rostavili
Laurence Fishburne	...	Lt. Charlie Stobbs (as Larry Fishburne)
Gina Gershon	...	Catherine 'Cat' Manzetti
Richard Bright	...	Det. Sgt. Gallagher
J.W. Smith	...	Salim
Brent Jennings	...	Abdul Elijah
Gretchen Palmer	...	Hooker
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Night Clerk
Mike Hagerty	...	Pat Nunn (as Michael Hagerty)
Brion James	...	Streak
Gloria Delaney	...	Intern
Peter Jason	...	TV Announcer

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2004) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (Certificate #29177) | West Germany:18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company:

Carolco Pictures

Trivia:

In an attempt to best convey to Arnold Schwarzenegger how he should capture the essence of his character, Walter Hill suggested that he watch Greta Garbo's performance in Ninotchka (1939) and emulate her character. Schwarzenegger complied and, according to Hill, got a handle on his character right away.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Ivan Danko's police uniform is a combination of at least six different uniforms. His hat is a Moscow Commander's Special and he also wears a Parade Band Musician axelbant.

Quotes:

[Watching a porno scene on the TV]
Ivan Danko: Capitalism!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Guns, Genes & Fighting Machines: The Making of 'Universal Soldier' (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

CANTATA FOR THE 20th ANNIVERSARY OF THE OCTOBER REVOLUTION

A buddy film that works and works well

Red Heat is a surprisingly good movie. Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Belushi have good chemistry in this Russian cop/cop buddy film. In this film at least it makes sense for Arnie to have an accent. There is some good lines and the back and forth between these two is pretty funny sometimes. When Jim Belushi plays a cop he puts on this irreverant "I don't like the rules but I get things done" style. It is this style combined with Arnold's "complete objective at all costs" style that makes this film work. The footage that was shot in Red Square is breathtaking, and overall the movie manages to take a basic plot and make it entertaining. On a side note, the holdout gun used by the villian (Ed O'Ross) in the movie is pretty damn cool if you're into that kind of thing. Bottom Line: This is worth getting, or you can rent it every once and awhile if you can only take Arnold for so long.