The shooting in the movie “Heat” (1995) is one of the most realistic and best choreographed action sequences in cinema history. Director Michael Mann wanted absolute realism, so he worked with military and police advisors to design the choreography of the showdown. He rehearsed for six months in a training camp with real weapons. Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore received tactical training from ex-military and special forces members. Real urban combat techniques were used, including team movement and the use of cover. Interestingly, Kilmer learned to reload his M4 rifle quickly, an action so realistic that it is used in military training manuals to this day.

In most productions, the shots are recreated by sound editing, not in “Heat”, THE SOUND WAS REAL.

Microphones were distributed throughout the set, strategically located, to capture the real sound of guns firing in the urban environment. This had a brutal impact on the scene. Fire ammunition was used, but with extra powder to make the sparks more intense.

Michael Mann kept the cuts to a minimum to make the scene look more immersive and realistic. A documentary approach was used to make the action seem spontaneous and chaotic. Another detail is that it wasn’t filmed inside a studio. The scene was actually filmed on an actual street in downtown Los Angeles, specifically at the intersection of 5th Street and Figueroa.

The scene was so intense that LAPD used it as a reference to train their SWAT units.