Los Angeles is the setting for the famous downtown armored-car robbery in Heat.
Michael Mann's 1995 crime film follows professional thief Neil McCauley and LAPD lieutenant Vincent Hanna. The armored-car sequence takes place after the crew steals bearer bonds and becomes one of the film's defining action set pieces, with a gun battle through downtown streets.
Heat is notable for placing equal emphasis on the criminals and the police pursuing them. Al Pacino plays Hanna, while Robert De Niro plays McCauley. The film was inspired by a real 1963 confrontation between Chicago detective Chuck Adamson and career criminal Neil McCauley, although Mann transformed the material into a Los Angeles story.
The movie's location work is central to its identity. Mann uses freeways, industrial districts, restaurants and downtown buildings to create a detailed portrait of Los Angeles as both a workplace and a maze for the opposing teams.