Just watched Heat. WOW, the 5.1 was really awesome.

However, the video is quite possibly the worst looking of all the 40 or so DVD's that I own. Most of the dark scenes weren't so dark. It was like the blacks in the dark scenes were tinted green or something. This is similar to what I often see on my dishnetwork picture. Anybody else see the same thing? Am I finally noticing the infamous 16x9 downconversion artifacts? I wonder 'cuz the reviews of this disk say it looks great in 16x9 - no mention of 4:3 that I've read.

The picture seems fine to me... and also the sound. I regret buying the DVD though since I wasn't really into the movie. I guess I should rent all movies before buying. The thing is.. it turned out that I did rent this one before... just didn't remember it from the cover.

Actually, I found this movie (when I rented it on VHS some months ago) to be not too bad, other than Pacino's HORRIBLE over-acting. Actually, I thought it was one of Val Kilmer's better acting jobs.

I ordered it on Buy.com, but of course...Well, maybe someday it will come off backorder.

I love this movie. It does sound great. I think it looks great, too, but I have a mere 27" screen, so maybe I'm not able to see the problems as easily as others. Chalk me up as a satisfied purchaser. Helps that I got it cheap, of course.

Yeah, I think we can now see why Pacino and DeNiro don't star in any movies together. They're too similar! It took 3 hours just about to tell the story of two guys who were on the different ends of the law, but were very much the same. I thought it was too long...

I saw Heat in the theater and I thought the DVD was one of the best transfers I have seen.

When I got this DVD, I watched through the 3 hours of the movie on the edge of my seat! GREAT movie! The picture-quality looks also great on my setup. Of course the fact is that I am watching this DVD on a PAL-TV, and not on the (crap ;^) NTSC system you have in the USA... So for me the picture-quality looks great and the sound is even better :^)

How does Pacino "overact"? I think he does a terrific job acting. He adds so much fury to his characters, like in the Devil's Advocate

My Heat DVD has horrible picture quality, i watch mine on my DVD ROM. The sound is excellent though. Heat is a great movie overall.

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"You wanna be makin moves on the street, have no attachments, allow nothing to get in your life, that you cannot walk out on in 30 seconds if you spot the heat around the corner."-Neil McCauley(Robert De Niro), Heat

I agree Robert. I don't understand it when I hear that either - but I've heard it more than a few times! I think Pacino doesn't overacts....

Like the previous reply posted by Haay, I also watch on a squinty twenty something pal TV, but I found the picture quality A1.
The diner scenes were especially vivid and realistic with that fifties retro look.
Heat is a film I just love, it has so many levels and stays with you after the DVDs back in the box.
Unfortunately it also falls into the catagory of films that make me cry, so I can't watch it that often. But every few months it's worth it for a box of tissues, Al pacino, Bob DeNiro and me.

[This message has been edited by KayUK (edited 09-09-1999).]

Ok, maybe OVERACT is the wrong word. But in a few of the last films he's done (Devil's Advocate, Heat, Scent of A Woman - which he had NO business winning the Oscar for) he does this Stevie Wonder-head-swinging thing while YELLING his lines. Why is that? Even though Godfather 3 was pretty bad, he was quite good in it, I thought. I also like him very much in movies like Donnie Brasco, Carlito's Way and of course the other Godfathers...

I noticed that the quality wasn't so great when I watched it, as well. The spots that really caught my attention were the helicopter scenes when Pacino is flying to catch up with DeNiro's character. There was just a loss of the sharpness. I personally love Pacino and nobody can top his Godfather II peformance, but I think he overacted a couple scenes, also. 1) when he and his partner go to the cutshop to talk to the guy about why he hadn't returned his pages 2) when he goes to Vegas and hounds H. Azaria.
I saw it in the theater, w/ THX sound...I would have given a theater hand 20 bucks to rewind that shoot-out scene and play it again.

I think Pacino did overact in the movie... I can't say where though. I traded off the movie along with Blade about 3 days after I received it. I wasn't really into the movie as most of you seem to be.

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~ Felixx