L.A. Takedown

Infobox Television Film
name = L.A. Takedown


caption =
format = Crime Thriller
director = Michael Mann
producer = Patrick Markey
writer = Michael Mann
starring = Scott Plank
Michael Rooker
Alex McArthur
Vincent Guastaferro
Daniel Baldwin
Xander Berkeley
music = Tim Truman
cinematography = Ron Garcia
editing = Dov Hoenig
distributor = NBC
released = 1989
runtime = 92 min.
language = English
budget =
amg_id = 1:126846
imdb_id = 0097700

"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.

ynopsis

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.

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 [cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1068182-heat/|title="Heat" at Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=2007-12-28] and financial success [cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=heat.htm|title="Heat" at Box Office Mojo|accessdate=2007-12-28] .

Nowadays, "L.A. Takedown" is best known for being the basis of "Heat".

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 Shiherlis' gambling addiction, and the entire Van Zant 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 shooting, "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".

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0097700|title=LA Takedown
* [http://www.sofacinema.co.uk/dvds/Action/LA+Takedown/3973.html Review]
* [http://www.theedge.abelgratis.co.uk/filmsgl/latakedown.htm Another One]
* [http://www.dangerousuniverse.com/2006/fwr/1-55.asp "LA Takedown" vs "Heat"]