I just watched your Heat fan edit and I have one question and a few comments for you. First off, what was your source material? The picture looks a little grainy and soft and the audio is Dolby Stereo. It seems to me you took this from the laserdisc or non-special-edition DVD. Am I right? Just curious. Second, I think you did a phenomenal job on the editing. The edits are seemless and well chosen. I couldn't even tell that Pacino's character's home life was removed, it is as if those scenes never existed. Truly, this sped up the pacing and enjoyment of the film. Bravo on a job well done.
While Heat is a well made movie it is by no means a flawless film requiring no edits. I'm glad you took it upon yourself to edit out most of the garbage. The remaining garbage was stuff you couldn't edit out, like Pacino's ridiculous, over the top, corny acting (normally I love him I just think he did a terrible job here), or like the idiotic notion that a high-class professional criminal like DeNiro's character would risk everything for petty revenge. I could never understand why this film is so revered by some people when for the most part it is long and boring and only has one mediocre action sequence. I'm sure I'll take some flak for those statements
Anyway, my point is don't let the negative comments get you down. You did an excellent job and accomplished what you set out to do, which was make a more action-oriented, faster-paced film. As long as you are happy with your edit, that is all that really matters.