L.A. Takedown (1989)

You may or may not know this about me but one of my favorite, all-time movies is the action-drama Heat (1995) starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, and directed by Michael Mann. 

My love for the film Heat could be the subject of a whole separate series of blog entries. Why I'm writing today is because of the film L.A. Takedown.

L.A. Takedown, you see, was the original version of Heat, written and directed by the same director. So it seems like a shorter, more cheaply made replica of the movie Heat...except that -- in fact -- Heat is actually a longer, more expensively made version of L.A. Takedown! Keep in mind I just found out about this like 2 days ago.

To properly understand what this means to me, take one of your favorite movies. I mean, one of your really favorite movies. Now imagine that film as a shorter, low-budget, made for TV film with unknown actors, working off almost the identical script. So you have scenes in the film which are identical to the ones you know from the version you love, except it's like watching people reenact the movie. Trust me it's...a much, much weirder experience than it sounds. 

L.A. Takedown by itself would have just been a forgettable TV action movie from the 80s. To see what Michael Mann was able to turn it into -- the phenomenal 1995 version -- is absolutely incredible. It's also amazing that he stuck with the project and wanted to try again. The second time, he really nailed it. 

The point is...if you like action movies, you need to watch Heat. And if you like Heat, look up L.A. Takedown on YouTube and watch it. It's almost like a film school excercise.