That's fantastic! My musical awakening followed that exact pattern!

There's a terrific commentary track from Stillman on the Criterion DVD on which he says the casting of Clements violated a cardinal rule in Hollywood: NEVER cast a redhead in the lead. People can't relate to them. As a former ginger, I found this utterly hilarious.

I consider this to be a weirdly perfect Christmas movie. I watch it every year, usually on Christmas eve with a glass of bourbon in hand. Great stuff!

It's really a wonderful performance and that scene is definitely a high point. Even watching this is a kid, I remember being impressed by McDowell's ability to convey sadness.

This is the perfect summary of Griffiths's cinematic contributions! Where the hell were you yesterday when I was trying to explain his influence to my kid?

Thanks for bringing up the Parker novels. The tone is different than Heat — the novels are really lean — but they tend to appeal to the same audience. Everybody I know who reads them loves Heat.