# Heat (1986 film)
**Heat** is a 1986 American crime thriller directed by Dick Richards, starring [Burt Reynolds](https://www.edgepedia.org/burt-reynolds) as Nick "Mex" Escalante, a Las Vegas bodyguard and self-described "chaperone" who saves money to move to Venice, Italy, and takes revenge on a mob-connected gambler who brutally beats a friend. The screenplay is by [William Goldman](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-goldman), adapted from his own 1985 novel of the same name.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093164/fullcredits/) • [2](https://www.filmink.com.au/cinematic-misfires-william-goldmans-heat-1986/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director | Dick Richards, credited as R.M. Richards; Jerry Jameson also directed, uncredited[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093164/fullcredits/) |
| Writer | William Goldman, screenplay based on his 1985 novel[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093164/fullcredits/) • [2](https://www.filmink.com.au/cinematic-misfires-william-goldmans-heat-1986/) |
| Lead cast | Burt Reynolds (Nick "Mex" Escalante), Karen Young (Holly), Peter MacNicol (Cyrus Kinnick), Howard Hesseman (Pinchus Zion), Diana Scarwid (Cassie), Neill Barry (Danny DeMarco), Joseph Mascolo (Baby)[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093164/fullcredits/) |
| Release | France November 12, 1986; United States March 13, 1987[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093164/releaseinfo/) |
| Running time | About 101 minutes; the BBFC classified the cinema version at 100m 35s and a 1988 home-entertainment version at 96m 36s[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/heat-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynzk5mjm) • [5](https://kinolorber.com/film/heat-special-edition) |
| Box office | Approximately $2.79 million[6](https://can.newonnetflix.info/info/60032151) |
| Reception | 38% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 8 reviews; 5.7/10 on IMDb from about 3,000 votes[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1009399-heat) |
| Remake | Remade in 2015 as *Wild Card*, starring Jason Statham[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1009399-heat) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Nick Escalante is a former soldier of fortune, lethal with his hands and expert with sharp objects, who advertises in Las Vegas as a chaperone but works as a bodyguard for hire, supporting a gambling habit.[8](https://www.netflixmovies.com/heat-1986) His aim is to earn enough money to move to Venice, Italy.[8](https://www.netflixmovies.com/heat-1986) A meek, wealthy young man named Cyrus Kinnick hires him for company while he gambles, though what Cyrus really seeks is instruction in toughness.[8](https://www.netflixmovies.com/heat-1986) When Nick's friend Holly, a prostitute, is badly beaten on a date with the high roller Danny DeMarco, Nick agrees to help her get even, turning to the crime boss Baby for a way into DeMarco's hotel suite.[8](https://www.netflixmovies.com/heat-1986) The conflict with DeMarco and his backers builds to what the Kino Lorber synopsis calls a vicious cat-and-mouse climax.[5](https://kinolorber.com/film/heat-special-edition)
## Origin in Goldman's novel
The film is unusually tied to one writer: Goldman wrote the source novel, first published in 1985, and the screenplay, and the story is recognizably his, a character drama mixed with a thriller set in a Las Vegas he had come to know while researching a proposed musical remake of *Grand Hotel* that was never made.[2](https://www.filmink.com.au/cinematic-misfires-william-goldmans-heat-1986/) The novel's protagonist, Nick Escalante, is a "chaperone" or hired muscle and a [Vietnam veteran](https://www.edgepedia.org/vietnam-veteran) who does various jobs around town.[2](https://www.filmink.com.au/cinematic-misfires-william-goldmans-heat-1986/)
Goldman otherwise said little about the film. In his memoir *Which Lie Did I Tell?* he explained that "the reason you will not learn more about this baby in these pages is simple: to my knowledge, lawsuits are still flying."[2](https://www.filmink.com.au/cinematic-misfires-william-goldmans-heat-1986/) The novel came out of what Goldman described as a "leper period" in the early 1980s, when he was not in demand as a screenwriter; *Heat* was one of five books he wrote in those years, alongside *Control* (1982), *The Silent Gondoliers* (1983), *The Colour of Light* (1984), and *Brothers* (1986).[2](https://www.filmink.com.au/cinematic-misfires-william-goldmans-heat-1986/)
## Production and release
The production was troubled. A contemporary review account states that the problems encountered during production led to the involvement of a total of five directors, and suggests that the film's bumpy shifts in tone and pacing owe something to that history.[9](https://www.thefreshfilms.com/Movies/heat_%281986%29.htm) IMDb credits Dick Richards as director, with his name given on screen as R.M. Richards, and lists Jerry Jameson as an uncredited director.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093164/fullcredits/) The producers of record were George Pappas, Keith Rotman, and Cassian Elwes, with Elliott Kastner producing uncredited; Michael Gibbs wrote the music and James A. Contner was the cinematographer.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093164/fullcredits/)
The [British Board of Film Classification](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-board-of-film-classification) recorded a cinema version of 100 minutes 35 seconds, classified on August 5, 1986, with Escalante Productions as distributor; a home-entertainment version of 96 minutes 36 seconds was classified on July 22, 1988, for Warner Home Video.[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/heat-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynzk5mjm) Release dates varied by country: France first, on November 12, 1986, then Finland on February 6, 1987, the United States on March 13, 1987, Sweden on May 1, 1987, and Italy on May 29, 1987.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093164/releaseinfo/) The film took in approximately $2.79 million at the box office.[6](https://can.newonnetflix.info/info/60032151)
## Reception
The film was released to what one retrospective calls fairly uniform bad reviews and tepid box office results.[2](https://www.filmink.com.au/cinematic-misfires-william-goldmans-heat-1986/) On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 38% Tomatometer from 8 critics and a 27% audience score from more than 100 ratings.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1009399-heat) Roger Ebert gave it 2 of 4 stars, writing that "the movie is filled with promising starts, but then everything dissolves into a violent action climax."[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1009399-heat) Walter Goodman of *The New York Times* described the Las Vegas setting and a story that works up "tepidly" to a big battle in a factory.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1009399-heat) Retrospective assessments have been more mixed: one 2024 review called it "probably worth remaking as *Wild Card*" but found "treasures amongst the ruins for fans of William Goldman's gift for character."[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1009399-heat)
## Later history
Goldman's story was remade in 2015 as *Wild Card*, with [Jason Statham](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-statham) in the Escalante role; the FilmInk retrospective judges that the relationship between Escalante and Cyrus is stronger in the 1986 version, with what it calls a more noble climactic gesture from Cyrus.[2](https://www.filmink.com.au/cinematic-misfires-william-goldmans-heat-1986/) Kino Lorber has issued a Special Edition of the film, presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio in color, and the film is available for theatrical and educational booking through that label.[5](https://kinolorber.com/film/heat-special-edition) The title should not be confused with [Michael Mann](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-mann)'s 1995 crime film of the same name, a separate work about a Los Angeles detective and a bank robber.[10](https://www.oscars.org/events/heat)
## References
1. [Heat (1986) Full Cast & Crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093164/fullcredits/)
2. [Cinematic Misfires: William Goldman's Heat (1986), FilmInk, Stephen Vagg](https://www.filmink.com.au/cinematic-misfires-william-goldmans-heat-1986/)
3. [Heat (1986) Release Info, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093164/releaseinfo/)
4. [Heat, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/heat-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynzk5mjm)
5. [Heat (Special Edition), Kino Lorber](https://kinolorber.com/film/heat-special-edition)
6. [Heat (1986), New On Netflix Canada](https://can.newonnetflix.info/info/60032151)
7. [Heat, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1009399-heat)
8. [Heat (1986) plot summary, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/heat-1986)
9. [Heat (1986) review, The Fresh Films](https://www.thefreshfilms.com/Movies/heat_%281986%29.htm)
10. [Heat (1995), Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/events/heat)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Film noir and neo-noir films › Released 1977 to 2022*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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