8mm Forum: CITY HEAT (super 8 optical sound)

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Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on February 15, 2006, 03:46 PM:

There are a number of films in my collection that I could label "guilty pleasures" and this is one of them. No, it's not a bad film, though it didn't do well in the theatres when it came out, and critics didn't think much of it, but it stars two of my favorite action stars!

City Heat stars Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds. Clint Eastwood stars as a tough as nails cop and BUrt Reynolds as an ex-cop (Eastwoods ex partner) and now a private eye. The film begins with a good drag out fight with Burt Reynolds in a diner and the two men who want to repossess his car. Eastwood refuses to help as it appears that Reynolds is getting his ass kicked. That it, until one of the thugs spills Eastwoods coffee on himself. Eastwood gets his twitchy pissed off eye look, and all hell breaks loose as he joins the fight.

Burt heads back to his office to find that his partner has been just a little too lucky in a slightly dirty dealing, and warms him to back off. He doesn't and Burts partner gets killed, but his partners girlfriend, (played by Irene Cara, (the woman who sang the "Flashback" them "What a Feeling") witnesses the killing, and the thugs are now after her. What they were after are some dirty paperwork which would prove that one kingpin named "Pitts" is deserving of jail-time, and now his rival wants those books as much as Pitts, who attempts to hire Burt to get back his books.

What results are a number of dirty dealing right and left as Burt tries to keep from getting killed, as well as duck his ex-partner (Eastwood), who always calls him "Shorty", just to piss him off. Burts girlfriend (played by Madeline Kahn), is kidnapped as leverage to gets the book quicker to Pitts. Finally, the bad guy gets it, and Burt and Clint survive, of course. They celebrate in a nightclub, where Burt manages to get into still another brawl, which Clint won't help him with, until someone, you guessed it, spills his drink. All hell breaks loose. The film ends with Clint and BUrt about to beat each others brains in the parking lot, staring each other down.

This is an immensely fun film that really doesn't let down for a moment. This was in that period where Clint Eastwood was making action/comedies and this was one of the better ones. As for Burt, this was right about the time when his career was starting it's lull, which would last until "Boogie Nights" (late 1990's) would come out to revive his career. The period detail is quite good, true to it's time.

There are a number of truly funny bits, as when, during a fight, to "one-up" each other Burt and Clint keep pulling out pistols with longer barrels. Clint wins. Or the scene where Burt is caught in the cross fire of the two gangs, and Clint doesn't get involved until until someone accidentilly puts a bullet thru his windshield and, once again, all hell breaks loose! There are two many supporting actors, including the ever reliable Rip Torn, as a Mob boss, and William Sanderson, (Remember the Bob Newhart show, "Hello, my name is Larry and this Daryl and my other brother Daryl".) in this film to mention, but they do an excellent job in thier rolls.

The color saturation on this print is truly superb, and while I have a great number of very good optical super 8 sound feature prints, the colors in this are amazing, as is, not suprisingly, the sharpness of the print, but hey, this is super 8 optical sound, and except for a rare bad focused print, (as in Tender Mercies), the optical sound prints were ABOVE top of the line for super 8. The sound as well is quite good, nice booming print!

If you happen to get a chance to buy this print, but it, it's lots of fun!

Let super 8 sail on!!!

[ February 18, 2006, 09:56 AM: Message edited by: Osi Osgood ]

Posted by Del Phillipson (Member # 513) on February 16, 2006, 01:16 PM:

Thanks for that Osi, I've been thinking about that film for a while now, you might just have tempted me to purchase one [Smile]

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on February 16, 2006, 11:57 PM:

Thanks for the review, Osi.
Blake Edwards was originally signed to direct "City Heat". Richard Benjamin did an ok job, but I'm sure Edward's version (originally titled "Kansas City Jazz") would've been much funnier.

Doug

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on February 17, 2006, 04:16 PM:

Thanks for the replies. It is well worth collecting. A fun film! I'm not sure if Blake Edwards would have done better. After "10" he career started it's downhill slide and the quality of his films have suffered. (look at all the Pink Panther films since Peter Sellers dies, for an example.)

If you get this film on super 8 optical, you will not be dissappointed, but just make sure that the seller is, of course, reliable for good color prints.

All the best!

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