About Me
Welcome to my Michael Mann tribute. I'll be posting photos and videos on this page from his films. Send a friend request, if you love his work.
best,
-Carletto
Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943 in Chicago) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has been nominated for four Oscars for writing, directing and producing during the 72nd and 77th Academy Awards in 1999 and 2004 respectively.Biography (from WikiPedia)His father, Jack, was a Russian emigrant and World War II veteran and his mother, Esther, a local Chicago girl. Mann was close to his father and his paternal grandfather, Sam Mann. Mann grew up in the Humboldt Park neighborhood and immersed himself in the burgeoning Chicago blues-music scene as a teenager.He studied English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and developed interests in history, philosophy and architecture. It was at this time that he first saw Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove and fell in love with movies. In a recent L.A. Weekly interview, he describes the film's impact on him: "It said to my whole generation of filmmakers that you could make an individual statement of high integrity and have that film be successfully seen by a mass audience all at the same time. In other words, you didn’t have to be making Seven Brides for Seven Brothers if you wanted to work in the main stream film industry, or be reduced to niche filmmaking if you wanted to be serious about cinema. So that’s what Kubrick meant, aside from the fact that Strangelove was a revelation."Mann later moved to London in the mid-1960s to go to graduate school in cinema. Additionally, he was opposed to the war in Vietnam.[citation needed] (for which he was ineligible because of asthma). He went on to receive a graduate degree at the London International Film School. He spent seven years in the United Kingdom going to film school and then working on commercials along with contemporaries Alan Parker, Ridley Scott and Adrian Lyne. In 1968, footage he shot of the Paris student revolt for a documentary, Insurrection, aired on NBC's First Tuesday news program and he developed his '68 experiences into the short film "Juanpuri," which won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 1970.Mann returned to United States after divorcing his first wife in 1971. He went on to direct a road trip documentary, 17 Days Down the Line. Three years later, Hawaii Five-0 veteran Robert Lewin gave Mann a shot and a crash course on television writing and story structure. Mann wrote the first four episodes of Starsky and Hutch and the pilot episode for Vega$. Around this time, he worked on a show called Police Story with cop-turned-novelist Joseph Wambaugh. Police Story concentrated on the detailed realism of a real cop's life and taught Mann the essential for first-hand research to bring authenticity to his work.His first feature movie was a made-for-TV special called The Jericho Mile, which was released theatrically in Europe. It won the Emmy for best MOW in 1979 and the DGA Best Director award. His television work also includes being the executive producer on Miami Vice and Crime Story. Contrary to popular belief, he is not the creator of these shows but the executive producer and the showrunner. They were produced by his production company. However, his cinematic influence is felt throughout each show in terms of casting and style.Mann is now known primarily as a feature film director and he is considered to be one of America's top filmmakers. He has a very distinctive style that is reflected in his works: his trademarks include unusual scores, such as Tangerine Dream in Thief 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 and a visual style which often places an emphasis on soft blues and harsh, sterile white.Mann's first cinema feature as director was Thief starring James Caan - a commercially overlooked gem that set the blueprint for many of Mann's later works and has a central performance that Caan has said he is most proud of after The Godfather.[citation needed]1983's The Keep was in retrospect an uncharacteristic choice, being that it is a supernatural thriller set in Nazi occupied Romania. It was a commercial flop and provoked almost universal confusion in those who did manage to see it. Though it is believed that the 96 minute released cut was significantly shorter than Mann had intended.
Mann was the first to bring Thomas Harris's character of Hannibal Lecter to the screen with his adaptation of novel Red Dragon, as Manhunter, the film was quite different from the future, more successful entries to the series and starred Brian Cox as a more down-to-earth Hannibal. The story was remade less than 20 years after it came out by Brett Ratner presumably because Anthony Hopkins reprisal of the role in Ridley Scott's Hannibal had made the character a highly lucrative property. In an interview on the Manhunter DVD, star William Petersen comments that because Mann is so focused on his creations, it takes several years for Mann to complete a film; Petersen believes that this is why Mann doesn't make films very often.
His biggest critical successes began in the 1990s with the release of Heat in 1995 and The Insider in 1999. The films, both of which featured Al Pacino along with Robert DeNiro in Heat and Russell Crowe in The Insider, showcased Mann's cinematic style and adeptness at creating rich, complex storylines as well as directing actors. The Insider was nominated for seven Academy Awards as a result, including a nomination for Mann's direction.
With his next film Ali starring Will Smith in 2001, he started experimenting with digital cameras. Smith was nominated for an Academy Award. On Collateral he shot all of the exterior scenes digitally (with the Viper Video Stream camera) so that he could achieve more depth and detail during the night scenes while shooting most of the interiors on film stock. The film helped catapult Jamie Foxx to greater fame, and he was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance.
In 2004, Mann was nominated for producing Best Picture nominee The Aviator, a film he had developed with Leonardo DiCaprio with Mann at the helm, he then decided it was too similar in content to the biopic Ali, decided to direct Collateral and left the director's chair to now-frequent DiCaprio collaborator Martin Scorsese.
Since Collateral Mann has made Miami Vice, the film adaptation of the hit TV series of the same name which Mann executive produced. It stars a completely new cast with Colin Farrell in Don Johnson's role and Jamie Foxx filling Philip Michael Thomas' shoes.According to a May 2, 2007 article in Variety magazine, Mann's next project with be a 1930s film noir starring Leonardo DiCaprio.Thematic preoccupations1. Professionalism: Mann’s films are obsessed with the common bond between men and the notion of professionalism between them. The protagonists in his films are the very best at their respective vocations: from an efficient safe-cracker in Thief to 60 Minutes producer, Lowell Bergman in The Insider, even to the comparison of professionalism between a contract killer and a taxi driver in Collateral. These men are loners who have little time for families and personal relationships.2. Family vs. Profession: Family and material items only get in the way of or cause the downfall of a Mann protagonist.[3] Each one is driven by an all-consuming goal, often in the form of a dream, a desire for a better life. However, in Manhunter, Will Graham is able to do his job successfully and return to his family safely.3. Dreams: In Mann’s films there is always a key scene between two people in which they tell each other their dreams and personal philosophies. During the course of the narrative, Mann protagonists are forced to make a life-altering decision that will determine their fate and inevitably push their dreams just out of reach. They often sacrifice their dreams when they acknowledge and embrace their aloneness. In Heat, when Hanna realizes that he cannot be with Justine because he is consumed by his job, he is then free to catch Neil.4. Color: There are several colors that he uses in every movie that symbolize specific meanings. Blue often represents romance and safety.[4] In Manhunter, when Will Graham is at home, he makes love to his wife in a room bathed in blue light. In Miami Vice the main characters retreat to a staging area under a freeway bridge illuminated in blue neon. No harm will come to them in these spaces. It has also been equated with isolation and loneliness[4] as in Heat when Neil arrives at his home bathed in blue light. Green is equated with danger and death. In The Insider, when Wigand golfs at night and is threatened by a mysterious man, the lighting of the scene is an eerie green. In Manhunter, Will Graham tries to catch a serial killer by using himself as bait, to the backdrop of a green-colored FBI headquarters and a view of Graham through a green nightvision scope. Red, to a lesser degree, is also associated with danger and death.[4] In the climactic bank heist in Heat, two cops hide behind a red truck (using a blue bus as visual cover to advance to the bank) and Hanna returns to his hotel room to find his step-daughter, Lauren, in a tub filled with her blood. Gray and white represent authority and conformity. In Manhunter, Lecter’s prison cell is completely white, which enhances his intimidation of Will Graham, and in Heat in Roger Van Zant's (William Fichtner) office, where the colors are striped white and black, representing his mixed conformity and corruption.5. Architecture: Mann’s films also pay particular attention to architecture and a sense of place. It is used to enhance or reflect the mood of his characters. His films are full of empty houses, lonely hotel rooms, endless oceans, and dark city streets. Mann’s urban films are populated by hi-tech buildings that are spartan and impersonal by design, like the prison that houses Lecter in Manhunter or Hanna’s home in Heat (described as a "dead-tech, post-modernistic, bullshit" house). Characters inhabit clean, uncluttered spaces with large picture windows that often offer a view of an expansive body of water. In Miami Vice, Sonny and Isabella cruise to Cuba in a speedboat with a clear horizon of undisturbed water. Water represents a place of relaxation (Manhunter), a search for identity (The Last of the Mohicans) and a place of refuge (The Insider) for the Mann protagonist.6. Firearms: Most of Michael Mann's crime/cop film protagonists wields .45 ACP caliber pistols. Some examples are James Caan (Thief), Al Pacino & Robert De Niro (Heat) and Tom Cruise (Collateral). Michael Mann is a firearm instructor himself and he also pays extra attention to recording sounds of firearms in his films. As a result his film characters wield their guns in a professional style and firing sounds in Mann's films are usually loud and realistic.7. Sociopathy: Most of Mann's main characters are described (even by him in commentary) as sociopaths or possessing sociopathic traits. This is especially in the case of the films Thief (James Caan), Manhunter (Tom Noonan), Heat (Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore), and recently Collateral (Tom Cruise), where the traits of sociopathic personality coalesce with professional crime. Other characters, such as Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) and Waingro (Kevin Gage), are marked by either mild narcissism and histrionics (or as Mann states as "ego-centered") or, in Waingro's case, psychopathy. Most notably in Heat, both sides of the law exhibit a form of high in sensory addiction (thrill of apprehending dangerous criminals or the thrill of robbery at gunpoint). Mann also describes in many of his commentaries how the outlook of his characters range from hopeful to nihilistic, usually dwindling from one to the other over the course of a film.8. Music and Improvisation: Mann's films are often atmospheric and moody, and these characteristics are usually achieved in Mann's incorporation of a number of musical elements and techniques. In addition to using scoring, Mann often makes heavy use of diagetic sound techniques, where the music originates within the scene itself. Notable examples include the opening sequence of "Ali," where an actor playing the legendary soul singer Sam Cooke excites his mostly African-American and female audience to a frenzy, while meanwhile, Mann cross-cuts with the images of a training Ali. The sequence is lenghthy and incorporates very little dialogue, but lays out a number of the themes which Mann revisits throughout the movie. Another prominent use of diagetic sound is seen in "Collateral," which makes use of another nightclub, and combines the villain played by Tom Cruise with his jazz performing and soon-to-be victim. "Collateral" itself plays like a jazz tune with its many themes of improvisation and blues. The two central characters frequently feed off of each other in conversation, and Cruise's character frequently cites spontenaity as a necessary element for survival in a tumultuous world. Other prominent examples where Mann uses diagetic sound to set up or conclude his major themes are the climactic finale in "Manhunter," the opening sequence in "Miami Vice," and the training scene in "Ali" that follows Ali's arrival in Africa for the Rumble in the Jungle, which itself parallels the opening sequence in the movie. In addition to his use of sound and music, Mann's characters are frequently caught up in many jazz-like scenarios, where villains and heroes find themselves reacting to the decisions or their nemesis. "Collateral," as mentioned above, is a major example of this, but the technique is also followed in "Heat," "Manhunter," "Miami Vice," and "The Insider," where characters find themselves in situations that they must immediately improvise in order to survive or maintain their identity (or in order to hide such identities).Awards and honorsMann received an Emmy in 1979 for Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series or a Special for The Jericho Mile. The following year he was honored by the Directors Guild of America for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for The Jericho Mile. In 1990, he won another Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries for Drug Wars: The Camarena Story. Mann was the recipient of the Humanitas Prize in 2000 for The Insider. In 2005, he received the BAFTA Film Award for co-producing The Aviator.To date he has received four Academy Award nominations: in 2000, the Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and Best Motion Picture of the Year all for The Insider, in 2005 Mann received nomination for production of Scorsese's The Aviator.Trade Marks
Often uses art deco buildings for his shoots.Uses dramatically colored lighting.Pop/Rock and Ambient music often underscores his workOften portrays criminals as likeable and sympathetic. See Thief (1981) and Heat (1995).Has often worked with the following actors and crew: Dennis Farina, Wes Studi, Tom Noonan, film editor Dov Hoenig, cinematographer Dante Spinotti, and actor Jamie Foxx.Often portrays the leader of a group of criminals as a hard-edged loner.Often has a scene overlooking a broad horizon of some sort. Neil and Eady staring at the bright L.A. landscape in Heat (1995) is an example of this.Speakerphone quote : "Who am I talking to?" Question asked by various characters in his movies when on speakerphone.Director Trade : Most of his movies contain a group of people using a speaker phone. The person on the other end always asks, "Who am I talking to?" and one of the others will rattle off a list of names. See Heat (1995) and Manhunter (1986).Backgrounds and scenery often include and focus on water. (oceans, rivers, rain).45 caliber 1911 model pistols appear in almost all of his movies: Thief (1981), _Miami Vice (1984)_, _L.A. Takedown (1989)_, Heat (1995), The Insider (1999), and so on.Often works with real criminals, police officers and ex military officers in his films: Chuck Adamson (Chicago Police Department), Dennis Farina (Chicago Police Department), Jim Zubiena ( U.S. Army), Robert Deamer (Los Angeles Police Department), Chic Daniel (Los Angeles Police Department), Tom Elfmont (Los Angeles Police Department), Rey Verdugo (Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department), Mick Gould (British Special Air Services), Andy McNab (British Special Air Services), 'John Santucci' (ex safe cracker), 'Gavin McFadyen' (ex bank robber), Edward Bunker (ex bank robber).Often films pivotal or imporant scenes at night, such as the end shoot out at the airport in Heat (1995), _Collateral (2003)_ and the end shoot out in the boat yard, as well as others, in Miami Vice (2006).Often begins his movies without opening credits or title, see _Collateral (2003)_ and Miami Vice (2006).TriviaOften uses music by Einstürzende Neubauten.Born at 12:45am-CWT.Attended the University of Wisconsin - Madison and the International Film School in London.Unlike most directors, likes to operate the camera himself to get much of his photography, as he did in Heat (1995), shooting almost 60% of it.Was Will Smith's personal choice to direct Ali (2001). Spike Lee campaigned vigorously against Mann, saying that only a black director could do Ali's story justice.Father of Ami Canaan Mann.Got an impressive knowledge about criminality and police procedures.Is a close friend of legendary author Edward Bunker since they both worked together on the adaptation of the novel No Beast So Fierce.Is one of Robert De Niro's favourite directors.Often uses the color blue for dramatic reasons.Is a close friend of independent film director Abel Ferrara.Directed the first Hannibal Lecter film (Manhunter), and produced The Aviator, which at one point he had been attached to direct. Jonathan Demme, who directed The Silence of the Lambs, also directed Melvin and Howard, which also featured the character Howard Hughes.Family lived in Chicago when the first controlled atomic reaction was produced, along with Harrison Ford Tom Berenger and Chase Hoyt.Member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Directors Branch) [2000-2006]In 1985, sued William Friedkin for plagiarism, claiming that Friedkin stole the entire concept of "Miami Vice" (1984) when he made the movie To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) (which, ironically, starred William Petersen, who later played Will Graham in Manhunter (1986)). Mann lost the lawsuit.Is the director of Miami Vice (2006). He was executive producer of the "Miami Vice" (1984) TV series and among other things greatly responsible for the show's unique look and feel.Despite suing William Friedkin in 1985 for "stealing the concept of Miami Vice for To Live and Die in L.A.", the two directors are close friends nowadays. Friedkin even tease Mann in several interviews by saying "Michael Mann is one of my favourites directors because he tries to make films like mine!".Tried to make an epic film about drug-trade in Southern California with screenwriter Shane Salerno. But they abandoned the project after Steven Soderbergh's rival project, Traffic, got green-lighted.His favorite films are John Ford's My Darling Clementine, Sergei Mikhailovitch Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin, Friedrich Wilhem Murnau's Faust, Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalyspe Now, Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, Alain Resnais' Last Year in Marienbad, Carl Theodore Dryer's The Passion of Joan of Arc, Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull, Orson Welles' Citizen Kane and Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove.Frequently uses the "thumbs up" sign after he feels that last take was the one.Directed Brian Cox, Dennis Farina, and Peter Dobson in one of two roles that they each share with Anthony Hopkins, Harvey Keitel, and Val Kilmer. Cox and Farina played Hannibal Lecter and Jack Crawford in Manhunter, roles played by Hopkins and Keitel in Red Dragon. Farina and Keitel had both played Ray Barbone in Get Shorty. Hopkins was playing King Lear with the Royal Shakespeare Company while Manhunter was in production. Brian Cox was doing the same when The Silence of the Lambs was in production. Dobson plays Chris Sirhelis in L.A. Takedown, which was remade as Heat, with Val Kilmer. Heat was also directed by Mann. Kilmer played Elvis Presley in True Romance, while Dobson played him (except for the voice) in Forrest Gump.Mann has re-edited every single one of his feature films for home video. With the exception of Warner Home Video's Region 2 release and the Fox NTSC laserdisc release of The Last of the Mohicans, none of his films are available on video or DVD in their theatrical versions. The alterations vary from using alternate takes and lines in Heat and The Insider to adding and deleting scenes: he has re-edited Manhunter at least three times.Many of his films are set in Chicago, and many of his cast members are from Chicago or the surrounding neighborhoods.During production of Manhunter (1986), he wanted Francis Dollarhyde (Tom Noonan) to have a tattoo of William Blake's "Red Dragon" painting on his back, but ended up discarding the idea after deciding the tattoo trivialized Dollarhyde's inner struggles. In the film's remake, Red Dragon (2002), director Brett Ratner decided to include the tattoo.Directed four different performers in Oscar-nominated performances: Russell Crowe, Will Smith, Jon Voight and Jamie Foxx.Has Ukrainian roots from his father's side.Owns a house in the canals of Fort Lauderdale, Fl which was used in some Miami Vice TV scenes.As of 2007, he has used Mick Gould as a technical advisor on three of his films: Heat (1995), Collateral (2004) and Miami Vice (2006). For all three of these films, Gould served as a weapons trainer, instructing cast members how to properly handle firearms.Personal Quotes(On whether he operates camera in his movies): The criterion is when I want to see what's going on through the lens. Usually, it comes down to performance more than technique...I've also worked with the same camera crews, even down to the assistants, on the last four films. [1999]. So, we've developed a family in camera. A family that picks right up where they left off every few years. I see the world from the perspective of a 5'8" person, not someone who is 6'4". so naturally, I'm going to choose certain lens heights over and again...Sometimes nature makes choices for you."A 65-ft.-wide screen and 500 people reacting to the movie, there is nothing like that experience." [on the cinematic experience]"Could I have worked under a system where there were Draconian controls on my creativity, meaning budget, time, script choices, etc.? Definitely not. I would have fared poorly under the old studio system that guys like Howard Hawks did so well in. I cannot just make a film and walk away from it. I need that creative intimacy, and quite frankly, the control to execute my visions, on all my projects.""I think it's easy for directors to stay fresh more than actors, especially once an actor becomes a star. It's hard for Russell Crowe to walk down a street or take a subway. I can fly coach."
