Michael Mann (film director)
From Freepedia
Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943 in Chicago, Illinois) is a Jewish-American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has been nominated for four Oscars for writing, directing and producing during the 72nd and 77th Oscars in 1999 and 2004 respectively. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and later went on to receive a graduate degree at the London International Film School.
Mann is now known primarily as a feature film director. He is considered one of America's top filmmakers. He has a very distinct style that is reflected in his works. His trademarks include ethereal synth scores (such as Jan Hammer's theme to Miami Vice or the New Age score to Manhunter). Dante Spinotti is a frequent cinematographer of Mann's pictures. Mann has an affinity for stark urban landscapes. Mann's visual style often times places an emphasis on soft blues and harsh, sterile whites.
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Career
Early days
He spent 7 years in the United Kingdom, then moved back to the United States and began career as a writer on such shows as Vega$ and Starsky and Hutch. His first feature movie was a made-for-TV special called The Jericho Mile. His television work also includes having acted as director and producer on such shows as Miami Vice and Crime Story.
Thief
Mann is best known for making gritty crime dramas. The two films that cemented this reputation were Thief and Manhunter. They feature intense performances from James Caan and William Petersen respectively and showcase Mann's ability to write realistic, thought-provoking dialogue and create incredibly atmospheric worlds for his characters to inhabit. Thief focuses on Frank (Caan), a master safe-cracker who makes a Faustian deal with the Mob only to realizes that he has lost his independence at the price of material gain.
Manhunter
Manhunter is a chilling trip into the mind of a killer who butchers whole families to fuel his fantasies. Petersen plays a profiler named Will Graham who must come out of retirement and use his special ability to get into the mindset of the killer in order to find their motivation and catch them.
Heat
The film that Mann is probably most remembered for is Heat which features the legendary, first time on-screen together, pairing of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. This movie is a cops and robbers epic with an impressive bank heist sequence that is one of the very best of its kind ever put on screen.
The Insider
Perhaps Mann's masterwork is The Insider, a searing indictment of the tobacco industry and of TV network censorship. Russell Crowe plays a high-level tobacco executive named Jeffrey Wigand who is unfairly fired from his job. He meets with a 60 Minutes producer named Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) and blows the whistle, stating that tobacco companies know cigarettes are addictive and continues to sell them to the public at large anyway. The interview is done and then CBS gets cold feet and censors the interview, destroying Wigand's life in the process. Bergman, understandably upset, sets out to clear Wigand's name and get his interview back on the air.
This is an incredible film that follows in the tradition of All the President's Men. It is a stylish and incredibly engrossing film when one considers that this is basically more than two hours of guys talking animatedly on phones. Of course, that is a simplification but it is a very dialogue, character-driven movie that Mann makes incredibly compelling to watch.
Ali
While it received mixed reviews from the critics and a lukewarm reception at the box office, Ali is an absorbing historical biopic in the grand tradition of Oliver Stone. It is an epic with an all-star cast. Will Smith goes all out with his portrayl of Muhammed Ali. The problem inherent with doing a movie like this is that there is so much documented footage of the real Ali that any fictionalized account is going to have tough fight against it.
Collateral
Collateral, is a tightly-wound thriller shot on the streets of Los Angeles with state-of-the-art digital cameras. Tom Cruise turns in one of his best performances as Vincent, a coldly efficient hitman in town to take out five witnesses in a high profile case. He forces Max, a cab driver (Jamie Foxx) to drive him around the city.
Future Projects
Mann has many projects in developement after Miami Vice such as:
- Arms and the Man-A federal agent goes on a hunt for some stolen plutonium.Mann is most likely to do this film after Miami Vice
- Public Enemies-Starring Leonardo DiCaprio ,the film is based on the book Public Enemies about the 1930's crimewave and J Edgar Hoover's campaign against it.
- Damage Control-Mann will reunite once again with Jamie Foxx in this sports drama.
- The Few-The film is being produced by Tom Cruise who was also set to star but has dropped out.The fate of the film remains unknown.
- Hatfields and McCoys-A drama about the famous feud between the neighboring farmers that began when a Hatfield under Confederate colors killed a McCoy who was fighting for the Union army, possibly starring Brad Pitt.
Selected filmography
- Miami Vice (2006)
- Collateral (2004)
- Ali (2001)
- The Insider (1999)
- Heat (1995)
- The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
- Manhunter (aka Red Dragon: The Pursuit of Hannibal Lecter) (1986)
- The Keep (1983)
- Thief (aka Violent Streets) (1981)
- The Jericho Mile (TV) (1979)
References
Heat, an excellent, detailed look at one of Mann's most well-known films by Nick James (University of California Press, 2002, ISBN 0851709389).
External links
Categories: 1943 births | Film director stubs | Jewish Americans | Jewish film directors | U.S. film directors | U.S. film producers
