From heat to heat: Al Pacino and Robert De Niro wore leather puffer jackets | Robert De Niro

RReaders of a certain age will remember the massive nuclear impact of Michael Mann’s Heat upon its release in 1995. The film was not only officially ambitious and hugely influential, but it also marked the first time Al Pacino and Robert De Niro shared the screen.

This, more than anything else, was the film’s big draw. Two men, each believed to be the greatest actor of all time in the medium, battle against each other in real time. Their scene together at dinner has been described as the greatest scene in cinema since King Kong scaled the Empire State Building. Pacino vs. De Niro was Fischer vs. Spassky. It was Einstein v. Bohr. It was Foreman against Ali. There was really no way to overstate how important the pairing was.

Anyway, they’re selling coats now.

The Hollywood Reporter announced yesterday that Robert De Niro and Al Pacino have just joined forces for their “first-ever co-brand campaign” on behalf of luxury outerwear brand Moncler. In other words, if you enjoy the sight of octogenarians hugging each other in puffer jackets, this is the Christmas for you.

The campaign so far consists of some black-and-white photos of De Niro and Pacino, and a YouTube video of two empty chairs with a soundtrack of a cover of Lean On Me, while the actors, in voiceover, grumble warmly about long walks and pleasant chats. Because a Moncler coat is not just a coat, it is “an expression of friendship, connection and human warmth.”

There is no doubt that signing both Robert De Niro and Al Pacino to the campaign is a big deal; Or at least it would have been, if 1995 and the Heat had been their only previous duo. Because since then, it’s fair to say their quality control has gone awry a bit. Readers who were excited about Heat may also remember how confused they were when they chose, of all the projects in the world, to team up again for 2008’s Righteous Kill. That film, a cop thriller co-starring 50 Cent and directed by the man who made Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow, instantly evaporated any sense of Excited about De Niro and Pacino sharing the screen together.

Not even a third joint appearance in the film, in the setting of Martin Scorsese’s more famous The Irishman, can salvage the wonder to such an extent. Now, maybe it’s because they spent so much of their screen time wrapped up in unconvincing de-aging CGI, meaning they were less De Niro and Pacino and more just two flexible robots, but that’s really beside the point.

It’s also worth noting that Moncler’s campaign could have had a much greater impact had this been their first foray into advertising. However, this is not the case. Pacino has previously played golf on top of a grand piano to advertise Sky Broadband (in his autobiography he blames it on an accountant who mismanaged his money and lost him $50 million) while in 2019 De Niro starred in a Warburtons ad where he got the immortal line “Bolton bakes the best bread? My ass” (he offers no explanation for this; maybe he just really likes bakeries).

However, can you really envy them this latest project? Aside from the very large compensation, it’s important to remember that Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are now in their 80s. Despite the creative missteps they’ve made in the past, they remain two very beloved characters in the world of cinema. Although they are both very good actors, the campaign images show what seems like genuine warmth. They’ve got decades of history behind them, and it shows.

Additionally, although the text of a YouTube video could be lifted and dropped wholesale into a building society ad that airs during the countdown, it’s worth noting that the couple is absolutely selling this ad. The broader campaign will likely revolve around two old friends in the winter of their lives, genuinely reminiscing about their years together. If so – and if the viewer is able to remove the cognitive dissonance that comes from knowing that all of this is just hitting a few coats – it promises to be incredibly moving. All that, plus it would knock Righteous Kill off the podium with their best on-screen moments. Honestly, what’s not to like?