L.A. Takedown
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| L.A. Takedown | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Michael Mann |
| Produced by | Patrick Markey |
| Written by | Michael Mann |
| Starring | Scott Plank Michael Rooker Alex McArthur Vincent Guastaferro Daniel Baldwin Xander Berkeley |
| Music by | Tim Truman |
| Cinematography | Ron Garcia |
| Editing by | Dov Hoenig |
| Distributed by | NBC |
| Release date(s) | 1989 |
| Running time | 92 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
L.A. Takedown is a crime/thriller made for TV movie that aired on NBC on August 27, 1989 at 9 pm. It was written and directed by Michael Mann, and its ensemble cast includes Scott Plank, Alex McArthur, Michael Rooker, Daniel Baldwin, and Xander Berkeley. Takedown starred Plank as Hanna and Alex McArthur as Patrick McLaren.
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[edit] Synopsis
Detective Vincent Hanna is on the trail of a gang of ruthless professional criminals, led by the methodical Patrick McLaren. But Hanna is soon surprised when he discovers that he and McLaren have quite a lot in common. While McLaren and his gang plan another heist, Hanna and his colleagues keep surveillance. But McLaren also faces a personal problem when he finds himself falling in love, which he personally condemns due to the commitment required to his profession. Things then take a turn for the very worst, when the details of McLaren's planned heist are betrayed to the police. When the police (including Hanna) arrive on the scene unexpectedly, McLaren and his crew engage them in a mid-street shootout, in which most of McLaren's crew are killed. After making an escape, McLaren is now torn between either a new life with his girlfriend, or seeking revenge on those that betrayed him.
[edit] Remake
After making The Last of the Mohicans, Mann returned to a 1986 draft of L.A. Takedown, viewing the TV movie as a dry-run for the film he had originally written, which was intended as a much more complex and elaborate story.
In late 1995, Mann released Heat, which he directed from his original script. Heat was made with an ensemble cast including Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino and Val Kilmer. Heat was met with critical acclaim[1] and financial success[2].
Nowadays, L.A. Takedown is best known for being the basis of Heat.
[edit] Comparison to Heat
Mann's original script was written in the early 1980s, and spanned 180 pages. For L.A. Takedown, he cut the script down to 110 pages, removing several sub-plots and plot complications. This included Hanna's relationship with his wife and step-daughter, Chris Shirherlis' gambling addiction, and the entire Van Sant sub-plot. Using the original script, Mann decided to remake LA Takedown as it was originally intended; a complex, multi-layered crime drama.
Whereas LA Takedown was produced in just a month, with 10 days on pre-production and 19 days of shoooting, Heat took over 9 months to produce, with six months of pre-production and 107 days of shooting. Takedown was also made on a low-budget, while the budget of Heat is estimated at over $50 million.
Although having bigger stars, a bigger budget and better effects, the most significant difference seen in Heat is the storyline. Whereas L.A. Takedown told a simple, straight forward story of a robbery and those directly involved, Heat fleshes this out, branching off into several subplots, including one of the thieves having a gambling addiction, bearer bonds being held for ransom from their original owner, Detective Hanna's family problems, and several plot complications. Because of this, Heat runs nearly twice the length of L.A. Takedown.
[edit] References
- ^ Heat at Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2007-12-28.
- ^ Heat at Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-12-28.
[edit] External links
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