Red Heat
Encyclopedia
Red Heat is a 1988
buddy cop film
directed by Walter Hill. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger
, as Moscow
narc Ivan Danko, and James Belushi
, as Chicago
detective Art Ridžić. Finding themselves on the same case, Danko and Ridžić work as partners to catch a cunning and deadly Soviet Georgian drug kingpin, Viktor Rostavili (Ed O'Ross
), who also happens to be the killer of Danko's previous partner back in Soviet Russia
.
The film was released with the tagline
Moscow's toughest detective. Chicago's craziest cop. There's only one thing more dangerous than making them mad: making them partners. It was the first American film allowed to shoot in Moscow's Red Square
- however, most of the scenes set in Russia (with the exceptions of the establishing shots under the main titles and the final lengthy shot in Red Square behind the end credits) were shot in Hungary. Schwarzenegger was paid a salary of $8 million for his role in the film. It has found a cult
audience amongst fluent Russian
speakers because of the movie's weak portrayal of the Russian language
and stereotypes.
) of the Moscow Militia
sets a trap for Viktor Rostavili (Ed O'Ross
), a Georgian
drug kingpin and crime lord. The ambush severely backfires; Viktor flees the Soviet Union
and comes to the USA, after gunning down several other Moscow cops, including Danko's partner.
Loudmouthed Chicago Police Department
Detective-Sergeant Art Ridžić, (James Belushi
) investigates several local murders committed by Viktor's cartel. When Viktor is arrested in Chicago
, Danko is despatched to escort him back to Moscow to face justice in the Soviet Union. Unexpectedly, Danko and Ridžić find themselves partnered together when Viktor escapes custody, gunning down Ridžić's partner in the process. Danko is frustrated when his lack of a diplomatic license prohibits him from carrying a weapon. He shares his candid observations with Ridžić: "This Chicago is very strange city. Your crime is organized, but your police is not."
Danko and Ridzik pursue Viktor and his henchmen around Chicago. Finally, Danko and Viktor commandeer a couple of Greyhound buses, then engage in a high-speed chase, smashing up half of Chicago in the process, with no sign of the cops...until Viktor is side-slammed by a train. He takes on Danko in a running, Texas-style shootout (Danko uses a Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum given to him by Ridžić); Viktor is gunned down. Danko returns to Moscow after exchanging wristwatches with Ridžić as an act of goodwill.
1988 in film
-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:* Act of Piracy* Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen* Akira* Alice...
buddy cop film
Buddy cop film
The "buddy cop" is a subgenre of buddy films and crime films with plots involving two men of very different and conflicting personalities who are forced to work together to solve a crime and/or defeat criminals, sometimes learning from each other in the process...
directed by Walter Hill. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
, as Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
narc Ivan Danko, and James Belushi
James Belushi
James Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...
, as Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
detective Art Ridžić. Finding themselves on the same case, Danko and Ridžić work as partners to catch a cunning and deadly Soviet Georgian drug kingpin, Viktor Rostavili (Ed O'Ross
Ed O'Ross
Ed O'Ross is an American actor perhaps best known for playing the giggling spectacled gangster Itchy in Dick Tracy, ruthless Georgian mobster Viktor Rostavili in Red Heat, and tough-then-alien-possessed police detective Cliff Willis in The Hidden.-Early life:O'Ross was born Edward Oross in...
), who also happens to be the killer of Danko's previous partner back in Soviet Russia
Soviet Russia
Soviet Russia usually refers to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union. It may also denote:* Soviet Russia , magazine of the Friends of Soviet Russia in the United States...
.
The film was released with the tagline
Tagline
A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product , or to reinforce the audience's memory of a product...
Moscow's toughest detective. Chicago's craziest cop. There's only one thing more dangerous than making them mad: making them partners. It was the first American film allowed to shoot in Moscow's Red Square
Red Square
Red Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod...
- however, most of the scenes set in Russia (with the exceptions of the establishing shots under the main titles and the final lengthy shot in Red Square behind the end credits) were shot in Hungary. Schwarzenegger was paid a salary of $8 million for his role in the film. It has found a cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
audience amongst fluent Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
speakers because of the movie's weak portrayal of the Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and stereotypes.
Synopsis
Captain Ivan Danko (Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
) of the Moscow Militia
Militsiya
Militsiya or militia is used as an official name of the civilian police in several former communist states, despite its original military connotation...
sets a trap for Viktor Rostavili (Ed O'Ross
Ed O'Ross
Ed O'Ross is an American actor perhaps best known for playing the giggling spectacled gangster Itchy in Dick Tracy, ruthless Georgian mobster Viktor Rostavili in Red Heat, and tough-then-alien-possessed police detective Cliff Willis in The Hidden.-Early life:O'Ross was born Edward Oross in...
), a Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
drug kingpin and crime lord. The ambush severely backfires; Viktor flees the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and comes to the USA, after gunning down several other Moscow cops, including Danko's partner.
Loudmouthed Chicago Police Department
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...
Detective-Sergeant Art Ridžić, (James Belushi
James Belushi
James Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...
) investigates several local murders committed by Viktor's cartel. When Viktor is arrested in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Danko is despatched to escort him back to Moscow to face justice in the Soviet Union. Unexpectedly, Danko and Ridžić find themselves partnered together when Viktor escapes custody, gunning down Ridžić's partner in the process. Danko is frustrated when his lack of a diplomatic license prohibits him from carrying a weapon. He shares his candid observations with Ridžić: "This Chicago is very strange city. Your crime is organized, but your police is not."
Danko and Ridzik pursue Viktor and his henchmen around Chicago. Finally, Danko and Viktor commandeer a couple of Greyhound buses, then engage in a high-speed chase, smashing up half of Chicago in the process, with no sign of the cops...until Viktor is side-slammed by a train. He takes on Danko in a running, Texas-style shootout (Danko uses a Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum given to him by Ridžić); Viktor is gunned down. Danko returns to Moscow after exchanging wristwatches with Ridžić as an act of goodwill.
Cast
- Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
as Capt. Ivan Danko - James BelushiJames BelushiJames Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...
as Det. Sgt. Art Ridžić - Ed O'RossEd O'RossEd O'Ross is an American actor perhaps best known for playing the giggling spectacled gangster Itchy in Dick Tracy, ruthless Georgian mobster Viktor Rostavili in Red Heat, and tough-then-alien-possessed police detective Cliff Willis in The Hidden.-Early life:O'Ross was born Edward Oross in...
as Viktor Rostavili - Peter BoylePeter BoylePeter Lawrence Boyle, Jr. was an American actor, best known for his role as Frank Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, and as a comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof Young Frankenstein ....
as Cmdr. Lou Donnelly - Gina GershonGina GershonGina L. Gershon is an American film, television and stage actress, singer and author, known for her roles in the films Cocktail , Showgirls , Bound , Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back , Face/Off , The Insider , Demonlover , Category 7: The End of the World , P.S...
as Catherine "Cat" Manzetti - Laurence FishburneLaurence FishburneLaurence John Fishburne III is an American film and stage actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, as Cowboy Curtis on the 1980's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and as singer-musician Ike Turner...
, credited as Larry Fishburne, as Lt. Charlie Stobbs - Richard BrightRichard Bright (actor)Richard James Bright was an American actor best known for his role as Al Neri in the The Godfather films.-Early life & work:...
as Det. Sgt. Gallagher - J. W. SmithJ. W. SmithJ. W. Smith is an independent economist with a PhD in Political Economics from Union Institute and University, Cleveland, Ohio. Smith has written six books on the elimination of poverty and war, and Smith also founded and presides over the Institute for Economic Democracy to promote theories and...
as Salim - Brent Jennings as Abdul Elijah
- Sven-Ole ThorsenSven-Ole ThorsenSven-Ole Thorsen is a Danish actor, stuntman, bodybuilder and strongman competitor. Sven won Denmark's Strongest Man in 1983....
as Nikolai, the Russian Danko fights in the snow
Home media
The film was a success on home rentals.| Media Type |
Release date |
Country |
Publisher |
Format |
Region Code |
Ratio |
Resolution |
Audio |
Subtitles | Notes |
REF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VHS |
1 January 1900 | United Kingdom | Cinema Club |
PAL | N/A | Unknown | 480i Analog |
Stereo | No | Part of Double Pack Conan the Destroyer/Red Heat. | |
| VHS |
9 June 1998 | United Kingdom | Cinema Club |
PAL | N/A | Unknown | 480i Analog |
Stereo | No | Part of Trippe Pack Gunmen / Wanted Dead Or Alive / Red Heat . | |
| VHS |
1 October 1999 | United Kingdom | Cinema Club |
PAL | N/A | Unknown | 480i Analog |
Stereo | No | N/A | |
| DVD |
20 May 2002 | United Kingdom | Momentum | PAL | 2 | 16:9 | 480p Digital |
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 |
English | Additional Audio Options German:Surround Sound and Spanish:Mono | |
| DVD |
10 October 2005 | United Kingdom | Momentum | PAL | 2 | 16:9 | 480p Digital |
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 |
English | Part of Quadruple Pack Total Recall, Red Heat, Raw Deal and Red Sonja. | |
| DVD |
4 August 2008 | United Kingdom | Optimum Home Releasing |
PAL | 2 | 16:9 | 480p Digital |
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 |
English | N/A | |
| Blu-ray |
28 June 2010 | United Kingdom | Optimum Home Releasing |
PAL | B | 16:9 | 1080p Digital |
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
English | N/A | |
| Blu-ray |
25 October 2010 | United Kingdom | Optimum Home Releasing |
PAL | B | 16:9 | 1080p Digital |
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
English | Part of Quadruple Pack Total Recall, Red Heat, Raw Deal and Red Sonja. |