Al Pacino’s Hero M1991A1 Series 80 Colt Officer’s APC Model

Note: Most images throughout the article can be clicked on for higher resolution versions

Background: “Heat”

“Heat” written and directed by Michael Mann, is his 1995 theatrical remake of his own 1989 made-for-television “L.A. Takedown”.  The crime drama stared Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, along with an outstanding supporting cast.  Pacino’s Lt. Vincent Hanna is an LAPD homicide detective tracks down De Niro’s Neil McCauley in his attempt to take down “scores” involving high value criminal exploits.

Along with the pairing of the two famous actors, the film is famous for it’s lengthy bank heist shoot-out in the streets of Los Angeles.

Al Pacino, as Vincent Hana, guns down Robert Di Niro’s McCauley in the film’s finale with his sidearm.

Little John’s Auction Service “The Stembridge Collection”

An analysis of this prop weapon was originally published following the Little John’s Auction Service sale event in the liquidation of assets from “The Stembridge Collection”.  As such, excerpts and some information already published will be referenced in this article.  The initial Original Prop Blog article can be found here:

• Stembridge Auction Report, Part 12: Al Pacino Pistol from Heat

However, since that original article was published, the film has been released on Blu-Ray Disc and I have obtained copies of the original Stembridge Gun Rentals rental agreements, which confirm that this prop was rented to the production.

In addition to the rental agreements, and as noted two years ago, other evidence was present which lead to a favorable authentication of the piece:

• The piece has been customized in ways that were unique to the Heat production.
• The piece is a match to a Heat pistol featured in a Guns Magazine article circa 1998.
• There is a possible screen-match to one of the scenes in the film.
• There is studio blood still on the piece, which may tie it to the climax of the film wherein Pacino’s character guns down De Niro’s character, then holds his bloody hand while the scene fades out.

Little John’s Auction Service

Below is how the two pistols attributed to Heat were marketed in the catalog, as Lots 72 & 73.

Unfortunately, as with the other lots at auction, catalog shots were grayscale, low resolution, and limited to one side.

The one perplexing piece of information gained via the photos is that one slide was marked “COLT M1991A1” (Lot 72) while the other was “COLT MK IV” (Lot 73), yet the serial numbers on both frames (same naming convention and sequence) would indicate the same make and model.

Lot 72 is the piece featured in this article – the M1991A1 Series 80 Colt Officer’s APC Model.

Heat Specs

With some significant assistance, I was able to obtain some interesting information from Stembridge in regards to the Al Pacino Heat sidearm.

One, they were purchase ordered specifically for use in the Heat production (both for training Pacino in use as a live fire weapon as well for conversion to blank fire).

As noted, they have custom authentic ivory stocks.

The barrel restrictor, per instructions from Michael Mann, were placed deep into the barrel so as to not be seen on screen (see static screencap of shot on dresser, later in the article).

Also, the rear/side of the port ejector was filed down to accommodate the ejection of blank fire shells (note the rough, rounded rear corner; see static screencap of shot in elevator, later in the article).

Guns Magazine

While I had scans of this magazine article long before the auction, I honestly forgot about it until afterward, which was a shame, as it ends up that the Pacino Heat pistol featured in a photo in the article is the Lot 72 pistol.

For readers of the OPB, I uploaded scans of the full article previously:

• see OPB article “Guns Magazine Stembridge Gun Rentals Article Circa 1998“

• see full Guns Magazine article “Shoot for Effect” (Adobe Acrobat required)
  

Of note, in the article “Shoot for Effect”, Armorer Harry Lu gives the Guns Magazine writer and photographer a tour of Stembridge Gun Rentals, with the first stop in the pistol room. Harry Lu was the credited Weapons Master on Heat, and the photo in the article is of the Heat pistol I acquired.

Given that the article was written just three years after the release of Heat (in ’98, with release in ’95), that is a better attribution than in 2007 per Little John’s Auction Service – the Weapons Master for Heat, at Stembridge Gun Rentals just a few years later, pulling this piece out for a feature article, noting it as the pistol used by Pacino in Heat. I did recently correspond with the author of the article, and interesting enough, Stembridge closed just before the article saw print.

Below is a comparison of my pistol (top) and the pistol seen in the Guns Magazine article (bottom), as photographed by Ichiro Nagata. Held at a highly light-reflective angle, I was able to capture many of the hairline scratches in the piece for comparison… (click image for higher resolution)

Screen-Match?

There are only two clear, well-lit, static shots of the pistol in the film – one on Hana’s dresser at the start of the film, and press-checking it in an elevator toward the end.

Looking at the dresser shot, it is clear that the barrel restrictor is placed deep in the barrel (consistent with the Stembridge specs as outlined), out of sight from the camera lens (Note: image from 2007 article now upgraded with Blu-Ray Disc still at 1920×1080 resolution – click for full image):

Not a match, not a mismatch, but consistent with the prop and the background information on the customization specs.

As a point of comparison, the barrel restrictor seen with Lot 73 (sold in the same Little John’s auction), this particular piece does not have the restrictor set in deep as seen in the screencapture and the piece that is the subject of this article (Lot 72 Top, Lot 73 Bottom):

The other clear shot, in the elevator, actually may eventually turn out to be a true “screen-match”. As noted and shown above, the rear of the ejector port has been filed down in a very distinct and custom manner. If you reference the close-up of my piece above, you can see it is very irregular in shape and angles.

Looking at the close-up in the elevator, the cuts, angles, and shadow, it appears it may match up (click photo for higher resolution comparison – this now compares with a still blow-up from the new Blu-Ray Disc, upgraded from the 2007 article utilizing DVD resolution screencaptures):

As a point of comparison, look at the same point are the rear of the port on Lot 73 sold in the same Little John’s auction, and how it has not been filed down at all, as seen in the scene above:

Still not conclusive that it is a screen-match, but based on the rental agreements (showing that four Colts were rented to the production), the one scene on screen in the elevator is one of the three (I have not seen images of the other two surviving examples that were not sold by Little John’s, so it remains inconclusive).

Studio Blood

Another interesting finding with examination of the piece was the presence of studio blood on and around the ivory stocks.

I’ve noticed through close study of the film that Pacino has his sidearm in his holster throughout the film. It’s presence is revealed, in part, poking out beneath his jacket/blazer fairly frequently.

There are two scenes in which studio blood might have gotten on the piece:

1) Assuming he was wearing one of the blank fire pistols, in carrying his step-daughter (played by Natalie Portman) after her attempted suicide attempt, in which she was covered in blood (Note: still from recently released Blu-Ray Disc, upgraded from 2007 article and DVD screencapture – click for 1920×1080 resolution image):

2) At the end of the film, after shooting and killing Neil McCauley, Vincent Hana holds his bloody hand as the final image fades out:

The presence of studio blood, in the end, could mean nothing, but it is in the plus column on authentication/scene placement none the less.

Photos

Below are a photos of the M1991A1 Series 80 Colt Officer’s APC Model pistol (click images for higher resolution):

Stembridge Gun Rentals – Rental Agreements

As noted, since publishing the 2007 article on this piece, I have obtained copies of the original Stembridge Gun Rentals rental agreements which outline every firearms rented to the production, along with rental dates and serial numbers.

Both pieces attributed to Heat in the “Stembridge Collection” auction were rented to the production.

A total of four (4) such weapons in total were rented to the production.

Blu-Ray Disc

Below are some high resolution, 1920×1080 screencaptures from the recently released Blu-Ray Disc of Heat which feature the sidearm as worn and used by Al Pacino as Lt. Vincent Hanna.

Note: The actual property depicted on this page ARE NOT assets of Original Prop Blog, LLC

Note: All original photos and descriptions are copyright Original Prop Blog, LLC – please contact me for permission to use