44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out
Tags: violence, neo noir

Plot synopsis:
Homicide detective Frank McGregor (Michael Madsen) tracks a violent duo of bank robbers: Larry Eugene Phillips, Jr. and Emil Mătăsăreanu, who were named the High Incident Bandits by the LAPD.
On the morning of February 28, 1997, police officers get ready for work, while Phillips and Mătăsăreanu prepare to loot an armored bank truck. Meanwhile, SWAT officer Donnie Anderson (Ron Livingston) is mourning the death of his father, who was a policeman for over 31 years. He displays a lack of coordination with his unit during a raid on an apartment building, which almost causes one of his team members to be left alone with suspects, and is forced by his superior to take time off. Meanwhile, Phillips and Mătăsăreanu park outside the North Hollywood branch of Bank of America and wait for the armored truck to arrive. They are frustrated when the truck does not turn up and decide on robbing the bank instead. Donning black masks and homemade body armor, they enter the branch, firing at the roof with AK-47s. At the same time, an LAPD patrol car passes by and the officers observe the robbers entering the bank and call in a 211 for an armed robbery.
Phillips and Mătăsăreanu force the manager to open the vault and fill a duffel bag with all of the cash in the branch. While Mătăsăreanu has his back turned, the manager places a stack of notes rigged with a dye pack. With other officers arriving and setting up positions surrounding the bank, Phillips is shocked to see dozens of them and decides to walk outside, firing at them with his AK-47 and quickly being joined by Mătăsăreanu. The officers are heavily outgunned in the shootout. Anderson listens to the call on his radio, gathers his SWAT team, and races to the bank. After several minutes of firing and injuring both officers and civilians, Phillips and Mătăsăreanu decide to make a getaway. Mătăsăreanu drives their car while Phillips walks beside it and provides cover fire.
On Archwood Street, Phillips separates from Mătăsăreanu and starts firing randomly at the pursuing officers. While reloading, Phillips' AK-47 jams, and he is unable to clear it. He draws a pistol. Raising the finger, he continues firing at the officers. Then, he turns the pistol on himself, shooting himself under the chin while being simultaneously shot by McGregor. Meanwhile, Mătăsăreanu carjacks a pickup truck but is unable to start the engine since the driver disabled the fuel tanks before fleeing. The SWAT team arrives and corners Mătăsăreanu, who then takes cover behind his car, and a close-range gunfight ensues. The SWAT team eventually fires below the cars at Mătăsăreanu's legs; Mătăsăreanu is repeatedly hit in the feet and legs. Severely wounded, he drops his weapon and surrenders. It is later revealed that he dies of his gunshot wounds at the scene before paramedics can arrive.
The ending notes how the aftermath of the shootout proved to be a miracle, with no civilian or police deaths. It also notes how public opinion of the LAPD went up immensely due to their handling of the shootout. Actual footage is shown of LAPD officers receiving medals of valor and the public sending them thank-you notes and flowers in appreciation of their heroic efforts. McGregor closes by noting in an interview that "in 44 minutes of sheer terror, not one officer ran away. Everyone did their job, and I think that means something."

Review: robbers movies it shows the motivation and thoughts of the bad guys without glorifying them.
It's obviously a bit of a PR piece for the LAPD, but it also makes some really good points about the availability of assault weapons and the failings of the justice and political system in keeping crooks from getting them.
This is by far the best police drama/action movie of the year.
They even showed the key shack being shot up, and they had the right type of blue *shorts* for one of the SWAT officers to wear during the capture of robber #2-- if you're familiar with the North Hollywood Shootout, you know what I'm talking about.
Despite a few minor changes to increase dramatic tension (such as the deletion of a motorcycle officer who rescued Mario Van Peebles's character so Michael Madsen's character could rescue him) and a blatant anti- gun comment by one of the officers "I can't believe they let people just buy this stuff" (in the B&B gun shop) this telefilm was very enjoyable.
I especially liked the fact that it was filmed in a documentary style, with every person's point of view being shown.
After watching the film then doing the research of what really happened, I didn't know what was more unbelievable the film or the raw footage on you tube, even though the film doesn't stick to all of the facts I still couldn't believe that two guys caused that much chaos.The film seen as it is is actually pretty good but I think after seeing some of the raw footage this film would've been a lot better if it stayed closer to the facts in order to add to the realism, but like I said the overall film isn't bad at all, the performances were great all around, Micheal Madsen's character was likable especially over what he does at the beginning of the film.Personally I liked the film but would've honestly proffered a different take on the subject matter, at least this film doesn't glorify the robbers by portraying them as the victim..
I had a problem with some of the scenes of the two gunmen alone, making comments back and forth, which we don't really know what they were thinking, or saying, since it isn't like they are available anymore to tell us.
The freeze frame cuts for commercial breaks were a nice touch as well, giving you a snapshot of the moment, which as I understand, happens in the mind of people in these types of situations sometimes.The movie was credible, and nicely done.
The narrations given, and the scenes from the first hour, help set the tone for what started out as an average work day in Los Angeles, but then sank an entire area into a heated war zone before lunchtime had even come around.
Since I was only about two miles away from the real shootout and saw the footage on the news about 100 times, I was quite interested in seeing the movie to see how accurately it would depict the real event.
Of the actors, Michael Madsen and Mario Van Peebles were the best (and most well known) and Ron Livingston was good too, but seemed a bit out of place as a hard-edged, SWAT team member.
Interesting tidbits were that the gunmen's full names were never mentioned (one was referred to as Larry a few times, but nothing else) and the gunmen characters looked nothing like the real gunmen (the wrong one had long hair and one of the real guys was about 100 pounds heavier than the other).
Heat is often mentioned in the same breath as the real North Hollywood incident, because of the similar shootouts and the fact that the real gunmen used the movie as an informal training video for robbing banks.
The reader is asked to excuse my stronger vocabulary.Well, this movie is absolutely horrible, and I would never bother to write a single word about it, if it were not for the fact that "44 Minutes" made me sick to death, which rarely happens to me.
One first thinks about "15 Minutes", which is by the way a much better movie, but still bad in my book, and indeed the two can be compared to some extent.
On 28 February 1997, two men heavily armed with AK-47 try to heist the Bank of America of North Hollywood, but their plan fails and they are kept under siege by the LAPD.
Along forty-four minutes, Los Angeles witnesses live on television one of the greatest shoot-out of the American history.Based on a true event, this movie impresses regarding the scenes of intense shoot-out, with the cast having also great performances.
However, the statements of the characters, showing the LAPD as a brotherhood or family, do not seem to correspond to the reality showed in other police stories in American movies.
Although I have heard of many inaccuracies in this movie, it was still an enjoyable action flick, despite the fact it was based on a true story.The shootout between the two bank robbers, Larry and Emil, and what seemed to be just about the entire LAPD lasted 44 minutes.
This is a huge amount of time in real life and is probably the longest gunfight I have seen in the movies as well.
In fact, if I had one complaint about the movie, it would be that all the officers on the scene either could not figure out to shoot at their heads or were not capable.
I guess the overwhelming firepower on the thieves behalf was just too much for them to think straight.Standouts in the cast are, of course, Michael Madsen, who can make anything fun to watch, even though his role here was limited.
Ron Livingston did good for his role but I don't know if it's just me, and thought he was a bit miscast, or am I just never going to get Peter Gibbons from Office Space out of my head.
That's one of my favorite comedies and going from that to a hard nosed SWAT team cop wasn't doing it for me.Good movie, none the less.
frankly Christianity does seem to catch on in police departments and in the military; surprisingly hazardous life and death occupations lend themselves to bible reading; on the other hand, in normal circumstances, bank robbers generally don't carry bibles.
I sincerely hope not!We get to see what appears to be numerous armed cops empty an equal amount of guns at 2 guys who only got armored torso's.
were they from Crypton?Did i miss something here?This movie started out decent enough but after 20 minutes of shoot-out it really takes a turn to boringlane.And that documentary style didn't work for me either, but thats just something one finds likable or not.Highly unbelievable stuff which makes it hard to see it through 'til the end.3/10 for the fine editing..
44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out. It tells the story of the infamous 1997 North Hollywood shootout, where two bank robbers, wearing body armour and carrying AK-47s unleashed an unprecedented wave of gunfire at dozens of LAPD officers as they tried to make their getaway.The incredible footage of this incident, broadcast live from TV news helicopters is unlike anything you've seen before.
Instead of the horrifying real footage we have poorly-edited action sequences.I'd recommend watching one of those aforementioned TV documentaries, or the raw footage on YouTube, to get a better idea of what happened that day.
If you like uncritical, euphemistic commercials for police and military service, watch this movie.
They decided to shoot this movie in documentary style with fake interviews and all and seriously, what is wrong with these guys?
So, there I was, dozing off in bed, about to turn off the TV when this movie starts up, Michael Madsen's eyes on the screen, giving the first monologue about how 90% of cops wind up never shooting their weapon.
I was hooked right there.The first act gives us a summary of a normal week-day's early morning preparation, getting ready for a day on the job, putting on your work clothes, making sure your name tag is straight, revising your weapon: all the things that define you.The second act is the violence.
We see in the final scenes a close up again of Michael Madsen describing the events and his reaction, and the camera pulls out to reveal that it is part of a sequence being worked on in an editing bay of one of the television stations that covered the shootout.This made-for-TV production is absolutely gripping.
Good movie tarnished by anti-gun, anti Second Amendment propaganda.
One police officer in a gun shop laments, "I can't believe they let people just buy these!" HAVE YOU NEVER HEARD OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION?!!!On the contrary, this movie shows why every American needs to be armed.
The propaganda which follows, nearly rhapsodizing over the day when police get to carry machine guns, is childish--considering the movie's immature style..
And the movie was great!The cast, including Michael Madsen, Ron Livingston and Mario Van Pebbles is excellent.
The two also shine in their roles.The film is based on the real-life shootout between the L.A.P.D. and two bank robbers.
What a great surprise, Michael Madsen actually has a starring role in 44 Minutes with at least 30+ minutes of screen time in a 1.5 hr movie.
The true story of two Los Angeles bank robbers and their 44-minute gunfight with LAPD and SWAT teams after a heist in North Hollywood.
Ron L is the SWAT cop with a problem.Since the movie is based upon a real incident, the basic story is well known but don't continue reading if you haven't seen the movie, although I'm not giving away too much.MM does narration plus has the Robbery Homicide Detective role.
With an ATTITUDE, he talks about the problems of being a cop under constant scrutiny by everyone.The movie starts in the middle of the night, with MM walking out of his house in PJ's, shoeless to ask the `Goth' neighbors to turn down the music.
The movie is shot documentary style, cutting among the major characters, introduces each one, and each one does some narration also.
(Hopefully this won't spoil the movie for you as no one likes to see our HERO killed!)  Including real footage might have made the film seem more realistic.The idiot-for-brains bank robbers who are high on pills walk into the bank in full view of a cop car and several passers-by who immediately call 911.
(If no one on the LAPD can get a head or foot shot, they should go back to the firing range immediately!) The robbers are wearing world class body armor.Then Dummer & Dummest go back inside the bank.
The bank robbers emerge from the bank & start shooting up his car but MM escapes injury with windows exploding and large holes going completely thru the car.Finally the bank robbers decide to leave with one driving and the other walking along trying to kill as many cops as possible - not too smart!
FINALLY SWAT arrives so Ron can do his thing taking out this bad guy.There is another long interview with MM that appears on the TV.
At the end of the movie,  the real cops are shown receiving metals,..
The good guys do win!So overall a really good movie: B+ or A- depending on how much you like seeing cop cars riddled with bullets.
This movie debuted on the FX Network on June 1, 2003...it told the true story of two bank robbers that out man-powered the cops..the movie was very well done because it told the lives of ordinary cops before they were surprizing out gunned by 2 bank robbers..if you love great action/bank robbery battles, like in Heat, then you'll love this movie..most of the movie is a bloody battle between the cops and the two bank robbers with machine guns...it was emotional to see the cops determination and passion for their job..
Of course I knew '44 Minutes' was a movie as I watched, but I was still sucked into the emotion, especially knowing it was based on fact.
You know you've got a well-directed film when Michael Madsen turns in a well-done low-key performance, relatively speaking.Also fine performances from all others, especially Andrew Bryniarski as the tall bank robber.
Very nice lead-in to the actual robbery to give us some of the character of the main subjects involved, and the lack of the LAPD to handle such a dangerous situation.It's still amazing that nobody but the bank robbers died in this 44 minute shoot-out.
I had expected something along the lines of cheesy melodrama and bad special effects seen in such classics as Christmas Rush or First Daughter/Target/Shot, etc.The cast was well chosen...I especially liked Ron Livingston as the hard pressed SWAT Commander.
The producers and designers had done their homework because all the scenes and shots looked like they did on that day back in 1997.So, if you get a chance to see this film, and I am sure you will since FX reruns everything 50 times...take 2 hours and enjoy it..
Those real clips make the police look a lot less 'stupid' then the movie, where everyone seems to be sitting in the line of obvious fire.
The acting was mediocre , the plot was terrible, it was extremely unrealistic mainly due to the fact that 2 guys (and i don't care if they were wearing body armor) were able to start an open shoot-out with a 100 cops and almost win.
For anyone who is interested in law enforcement or just likes a good movie, it's worth it.
Men, do I love police movies filled with action, shooting, chases etcetera.Boy, was I let down after watching this short and unsatisfying movie.
Yet, 2 bad guys that shoot down multiple officers and innocent people who simply stay in the line of fire - without getting hit due to some Kevlar.Not just a few shots, no, hundreds of shots.
How stupid did the director think we'd be.Okay, the shots in between that fake a documentary were good, but after seeing the film I only got the thought: why didn't the police get a decent shooting course?
There are *SPOILERS* ahead for those who never have seen a typical robbery in a Hollywood movie.The first minutes of the movie kind of promises a fair view of robbers' and police's backgrounds.
It is said in the movie that LAPD is like a big family.
Best street shootout between cops and robbers since the 1995 movie "Heat".
One of the things I liked about this movie is that it accurately depicted the power of the high caliber bullet.
The bad guys in this movie were getting WAY more than 30 rounds out of a clip.
That's Hollywood for you...In real life, it's not hard to see why these robbers used such heavy firepower - they needed AK's because they were such lousy shots !!
Wouldn't you think they would have used the people in the bank as hostages ?Speaking of lousy shots, the cops weren't too good with their guns either.
At the beginning of the movie Madsen's character says they are the "best of the best".
To sum up this version of the story as it is portrayed in this movie: think of Days of our lives on steroids, and that's it.
What i still can not believe is that 100 LA cops and not a single one can or even thought of shooting at the head or legs till the very end.
**Spoiler: Some small aspects of the plot may be revealed below**I'm all in favor of films that applaud the dangerous life of cops, and so I thought I would like this.
Except for Mario Van Peebles' character, who has some heartfelt moments where you feel like you're watching a documentary with a real cop.
Fabulously edited together from dramatised story "highlights" and direct-to-camera "debfriefings" played by actors, 44Mins(2003) is a very effective retelling of this infamous robbery.The chief protagonist is Frank McGregor(Michael Madsen), the filmic representation of the actual LAPD Robbery and Homicide Division(RHD) detective who led the real 1995 task force for the so-called High Incident Bandits.
The real bandits first became known to police during their anomalous career of deadly high-powered bank-and-armored-car robberies during 1993; by 2nd May 1996 they netted $2mill in one bankjob alone, and disappeared to waste their fortune.Michael Mann's Heat(1995) was based on this same crime gang, as is the opening prologue of the new Batman--Dark Knight(2008).
It really is an ennobling tale.This one day, the 28th February 1997, has gone down in the annals of Hollywood history for its real-life police heroism, in ways that no Batman movie can equal.
Instead of surrendering they make a stand in the parking lot and spray lead all over the place, wounding police and civilians alike, until they're finally shot down and killed.In summarizing this 44-minute war, one of the SWAT members being interviewed, Ron Livingston, remarks that in a situation like that, "You either have the fire power or the will power.
They'd rather die.There were really two ways a film of this real-life story might have gone.
They wanted an action movie "based on a true story." At any rate, that's what they got.The home life of the police, and their comradeship in the office, are briefly sketched in, just enough to let us know how diverse and yet how normal they are -- a pregnant wife, a black cop who wants to keep kids from becoming gangstas, the stern officer in charge of the SWAT team, the team member who once let a suspect escape only to learn that he later murdered someone during a robbery.Surprisingly, the bandits are given some material to work with too.
It's a tense scene, seeing that bullet-riddled car crawl slowly along an empty Los Angeles residential street.Michael Madsen and Ron Livingston are both quite good in their police roles.