This scene from Heat is so realistic that Marines use it for training

In cinema, we think that fiction often gets a little out of hand and that life cannot equal the seventh art, however, there are scenes or complete films in which a few seconds are enough for these sequences to make history, as Val Kilmer achieved in 1995.

The film ‘Heat’, directed by Michael Mannis a cult work within the action and crime film genre, and not only for bringing together the cracks by Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, but because the incredibly realistic street shootout that follows the bank robbery is a scene that many consider the most authentic that has never been filmed, so much so that serves as training for snipers.

Among all that hubbub, the performance of Val Kilmer in the role of Chris Shiherlis takes the cake, especially for a maneuver that has made history: his impeccable way of reloading his rifle. In the sequence card you can see Kilmer in the middle of the fray, material that has come to be used as teaching material in the military academies of the United States, such as those of the Marinesand they use it to test recruits.

A high altitude training

What is the reason for this verisimilitude? Michael Mann, obsessed with detail, hired real specialists to prepare the actors: among them el ex-SAS Andy McNabresponsible for designing a firearms training program that lasted months, and whose goal was for performers to know how to handle and reload naturally under stress.

That investment in training made moves like Kilmer’s quick-load, tapping the magazine against the hood before inserting it, thumb placement and stance They seem natural and effectivecloser to military praxis than to typical Hollywood representation.

The secret behind this aúpa realism lies in the exhaustive training to which the distribution was subjected, a camp led by top-level military advisors, including former members of the SAS (Special Air Service) British. Kilmer and his companions learned to handle their firearms and move in urban combat with a precision that had not been seen before on the big screen.

In the film, it only takes four seconds for Val Kilmer to reload his weapon, which the trainers demand to surpass among the elements who want to join the ranks of the army, stating that Lex exclaims “If you can’t change the magazine as fast as this actor, get out of my army!”

Beyond the joke, Kilmer’s maneuver is the the fog of skill what the military is looking for: a quick and efficient transition to put the weapon back into operation in the heat of battle that demonstrates Michael Mann’s meticulousness in seeking authenticity in every detail.

Photo by fity.club

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