Great Gun Movies: Heat (1995)
This Crime Thriller Has Quite A Few Guns In Supporting Roles
When Michael Mann makes a movie with guns in it, you can be sure he’s going to do his research about tactics, and that will allow him and the film’s armorer to choose the right firearms for the characters and the action. Perhaps his most famous film is Heat (1995), an award-winning film with an all-star cast including Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Danny Trejo, and a whole lot of other wonderful actors.
It’s the story of a team of professional thieves who have all done time together and share a similar mindset—or at least they used to. Simultaneously, the movie follows Det. Lt. Vincent Hanna (Pacino) of the LAPD as he and his team try to beat the gang of pro crooks to their next score. And, of course, there are several shoot-outs along the way. Let’s take a look at the outstanding selection of firearms used in this classic thriller, which will soon be getting a sequel in Heat 2. Rumor has it that the film will be part sequel, but mostly a prequel focusing on a young Neil McCauley.
Neil McCauley – Robert De Niro
Gun: Heckler & Koch 9mm USP
Scenes: Diner Parking Lot, Drive-In Meet
Early in the film, McCauley carries a Heckler & Koch USP in 9mm. We see it in a holster on his vest during the armored car robbery in the opening sequence, and we also see five spare pistol mags for the gun. The USP in .45 ACP wasn’t released in May 1995 and Heat was filmed mostly during 1994, so it’s almost certain this is a 9mm, considering that’s also a favorite of Hollywood armorers, since they function well with blanks.
Also, the mags in the vest are polymer, like the 9mm and .40 S&W mags for the USP—the .45 mags are metal with ribbed sides.
This is the gun McCauley pulls when they’re about to kill Waingro in the diner parking lot, and it’s also the one he lays on the glass table in his spartan sea-side apartment when he returns to it at night in some of the film’s most famous shots.
He also fires it through a car windshield during the meeting-gone-wrong at the old drive-in movie theater.
Gun: SIG Sauer .45 ACP P220
Scenes: Hotel, Airport
McCauley carries the H&K USP for a while, but he doesn’t actually use it until the drive-in meeting. Since he fired it during the commission of a capital crime, he presumably ditches the gun and switches to a SIG-Sauer P220 in .45 ACP for the rest of the movie. This pattern is consistent through the film—if a character fires a weapon, that weapon is never seen again.
This is the pistol he carries when he infiltrates the airport hotel to take his revenge on Waingro, and the pistol he uses to face off against Hanna in the film’s epic final scene.
Gun: Colt Model 654 5.56
Scene: Armored Car Robbery
For the armored car robbery in the beginning, a masked McCauley has a Colt Model 654 as his primary weapon. The firearm was a predecessor to the military M4 carbine with a 14.5-inch M16A1-style barrel and sights. From stills, it looks like a Colt 654 upper is on some kind of lower that’s been converted to full auto, likely by the film’s armorer.
Again, since this rifle was used during the crime, we don’t see it again.
Gun: Colt Model 733 5.56
Scene: Bank Robbery
For the climactic bank heist, McCauley is now carrying a similar Colt Model 733, presumably because he ditched his other Colt after the armored car robbery. This was similar to the Colt Commando, a short-barreled M16-platform select-fire rifle with an 11.5-inch barrel.
McCauley is also carrying a number of magazines in his iconic minimalist vest, and he ends up putting them to use.
Chris Shiherlis – Val Kilmer
Gun: Beretta 9mm 84FS
Although we barely see it, Chris’ preferred sidearm is a Beretta 84FS compact pistol. It could also be a Beretta Cheetah — again, we barely see it and it’s in a holster. This is the gun he’s sleeping next to when McCauley finds him crashed out on his floor after Chris’ wife kicks him out of the house.
Gun: Heckler & Koch 7.62 NATO HK91A2
Scene: Drive-In Meet
For the supposed exchange meeting at the abandoned drive-in theater, Chris is set up as overwatch to cover McCauley when he drives out to meet with Van Zant’s henchmen, and it’s a good thing he is. Chris is set up with an H&K HK91A2 rifle on a bipod — no scope, he just lands hits with irons.
This is the rifle Kilmer is holding on Heat’s official movie poster.
Gun: Colt Model 733 5.56
Scene: Armored Car Robbery, Bank Robbery
Chris carries the aforementioned short-barreled Colt Model 733 during the opening armored car robbery sequence. Again, since Chris doesn’t fire his weapon during that heist, he’s using it again during the big bank robbery, and so is McCauley.
This leads to a bit of Hollywood legend that came about from statements on the movie’s commentary track when it came out on DVD. Supposedly the footage of Kilmer as Chris performing a reload with his Colt while taking cover behind a car during the big shootout in the street was shown to U.S. military personnel as an example of a textbook reload with the M16 platform.
Michael Cheritto – Tom Sizemore
Gun: FN FAL 50.61 7.62 NATO
Scene: Armored Car Robbery
Michael is one of the most straightforward members of the crew, and like Chris, is extremely loyal. He’s also the heavy who carries the biggest ordnance during any job they pull.
During the armored car robbery, he’s hauling a large FN FAL with a 20-inch barrel, in contrast to the other guys’ compact short-barreled ARs.
Like McCauley, Michael uses his rifle during the robbery to kill a guard with a Mozambique Drill, and it is then discarded.
Gun: 12-Gauge Benelli M3 Super 90
Scene: Old Drive-In Meet
While Chris has the 7.62 rifle for the drive-in meet-up, Michael is on the ground with a 12-gauge Benelli M3 Super 90 shotgun. It’s an interesting tactical shotgun because, like the old FN SPAS, it can be used in pump-action or semi-auto mode, though Michael only fires it in pump-action for this scene.
IMI Galil ARM 7.62 NATO
Scene: Bank Robbery
Since he had to scuttle his FAL, Michael uses a distinctive IMI Galil ARM Model 372 rifle with a wood handguard, folding bipod, and folding stock. This model also features a folding carrying handle on top. A neat feature on this gun—when the bipod is folded into the handguard, the ends of the legs form a sort of chute to help guide magazines into the magwell. The bipod can also be used as a wire cutter, and the handguard has a spot designed as a bottle opener.
The rifle was made in 5.56 and 7.62, so we can assume like during other jobs, Michael has the 7.62 version.
Det. Lt. Vincent Hanna – Al Pacino
On the other side of the law is LAPD Det. Lt. Vincent Hanna of the Robbery-Homicide Division. He’s unconventional in his thinking and his tactics, and if you count character backstory as canon, then he also had a little bit of a stimulant problem, which explains his sometimes explosive intensity.
Gun: Colt .45 ACP M1991A1 Series 80 Officer’s Model
Hanna carries his pistol in a bit of a saucy manner—yeah, I said that, but he does show it off a bit. The gun is an ivory-gripped Colt M1911A1 Series Officer’s model in .45 ACP, and he wears it in a cross-draw holster so that the grip is clearly visible through his open jacket.
It’s a bit of a swagger, old-school choice that points to him being a higher-ranking detective. The shorter, snubbier 1911 only holds six rounds in the mag and one in the chamber. Probably not department regulation, even in 1995.
The Old-School Cooper Press Check
On the elevator with Det. Casals (Wes Studi) heading up to Hugh Benny’s (Henry Rollins) apartment, we see Hanna perform an old-school style of press check that was taught by Col. Jeff Cooper and Gunsite Academy back in the day.
The user deactivates the thumb safety, but holds the pistol with the strong hand so as to leave the grip safety engaged. Then, the thumb of the weak hand hooks in the trigger guard and the index finger on the bushing, then you squeeze to push back the slide a bit and peek in the chamber.
This is a little dicey, because you’re inserting a finger into the trigger guard and another finger very close to the muzzle. It’s not really taught anymore, and won’t work exactly like this on a 1911 with a full-length guide rod.
We see McCauley perform a modified version of this press check with his thumb in the trigger guard with his P220 with his hand wrapped around the top of the slide in front of the ejection port — he also does this on an elevator.
Gun: FN FNC 5.56
Scene: Bank Robbery
For the big shootout after the bank robbery, the police bring out their long guns, and Hanna’s, like his sidearm, is unique. He’s rockin’ a select-fire FN FNC assault rifle that has a shortened barrel with an M16-style birdcage flash hider on the muzzle.
Even though it’s capable of full-auto, Hanna only fires it in semi-auto with careful, purposeful shots, in contrast to the bank robbers, who are spraying 5.56 everywhere on crowded streets.
The rifle’s most memorable moment comes when Hanna, after having flanked a fleeing Michael Cheritto, carefully snugs the rifle into his shoulder, lines up the iron sights, and takes him out with one shot as he’s carrying a little girl as a human shield and hostage.
Gun: 12-Gauge Mossberg 590
Scene: Airport
For the final confrontation with McCauley, Hanna sets off to chase him into the airport’s runways, but he grabs a street cop’s Mossberg 590 shotgun first. After all, he’s only got 6+1 rounds in that compact 1911.
He expends the shotgun’s ammo firing at McCauley as he runs from cover to cover, and ultimately switches to his 1911.