Wednesday, June 9, 2010

#26: Michael Mann


- "A 65-ft.-wide screen and 500 people reacting to the movie... there is nothing like that experience."

Michael Mann is what I would call a stylish classical director. In an era when the crime drama became “Tarantino-ed,” full of witty dialog, pop culture references, and non-linear structures, Mann has remained true to traditional storytelling. Although he made a name for himself well before this phenomenon became all the rage, Mann continued making his own classical style of crime dramas throughout this period, completely impervious to the trend. Instead, Mann stayed committed to what he does best. Rather than hinging his narratives on mysteries or spectacle, Mann takes relatively traditional storylines and tells them in a conventional manner. He never resorts to tricks or relies upon mysteries and novel structure. Mann unfolds crime dramas in the tradition of John Huston or Nicholas Ray. He isn’t so much interested in the crime as in the criminals. His stylishness comes from his experimental attitude toward technology and his incredible sense of pacing to action sequences. Where a Tarantino film, or those of his countless imitators, seems cool because of a certain hip factor, Michael Mann’s films are just flat-out cool. They look cool, the atmosphere is cool, they are shot in a manner that conveys the steady vision of the director – they are just flat-out smooth. Comparing trendy directors output to the work of Mann is like holding up the latest pop star to Frank Sinatra. One is a fad, another is eternally cool. Mann is more the Francis Albert type…

The irony for me is that I frame all of this Mann discussion in terms of the crime dramas that have made him famous, when my favorite film of his might actually be a historical romance. I _love_ The Last of the Mohicans. Of course, my reputation for being a sucker for gorgeously photographed historical pieces like this is well established. For now I will tentatively stick to Heat being my favorite of his films, but it’s really close. The other thing that I love about Mann is that he keeps making films precisely as he wants to make them. For the entire decade he has been making crime thrillers where he just drops the audience right into the middle of the story, without any regard for background or supplementary information. If you can keep up, the result has been a wild ride in every instance. If not, as has happened with many critics, the films are panned. Personally, I think he had a wonderful run in the 2000s.

1. Heat (1995)
2. The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
3. Thief (1981)
4. Collateral (2004)
5. Miami Vice (2006)
6. Public Enemies (2009)
7. The Insider (1999)
8. Ali (2001)
9. Manhunter (1986)

Next in line is comedy legend, and arguably the hardest working senior citizen in cinema, Woody Allen.

25 comments:

  1. Wow Dave you pretty much touched upon why I find Tarantino to be a mediocre director ("The Family Guy" of Film). Besides his tired dialogue heavy (and annoying pop culture reference) screenplays its the manufactured cool that never seems forced with someone like Mann. He really is like a suave Sinatra never pandering to the flavor of the month trends in Hollywood. I've seen the same 9 films as you......

    1. Heat
    2. Public Enemies
    3. The Insider
    4. Thief
    5. The Last Of The Mohicans (this one really hit me recently)
    6. Collateral
    7. Miami Vice
    8. Manhunter
    9. Ali

    Well you know how I feel about Woody Allen so I guess I'll be sitting your next post out lol. Don't want to be a voice of negativity. I can't hide my dissatisfaction for certain filmmakers even if they are considered legends by some. Great essay Dave I don't know how you keep this work rate going. I envy your prolific writing and determination to unleash these elaborate lists. If I had a blog I would probably work on one essay for 3 months!!!...........M.Roca

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  2. I haven't watched Manhunter yet. I didn't know he's also the one responsible for The Last of the Mohicans haha! My fave is definitely Heat, especially the part after De Niro's men just robbed the bank. Really cool shootout scene.

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  4. Great Director... Great List
    LOVE The Last Of The Mohicans (finally found someone who loves that film!)

    Just one small correction: my countryman Manoel de Oliveira (101 years old and a movie per year since 1998) is the hardest working senior citizen in cinema, not Woody.

    Great series of posts, can´t wait for the rest of the list...

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  5. I've only seen Public Enemies and thought it was Average (I've seen a bit more of Woody though. I'll be making a list then). You make an excellent case FOR Mann there. And I double Mr. Roca's statements. Great going..

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  6. Sorry for the previous comment, Dave. I copied the list from the first comment and was surprised at second place in "Public Enemies". Here is my list for Mann:

    1. Heat
    2. The Insider
    3. Collateral
    4. The Last Of The Mohicans
    .
    .
    .
    101. Public Enemies :)

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  7. M.Roca - Well, to be fair, I do like Tarantino, but I do think that what I said holds true. Mann and his films are "cool" in a much more classical sense, whereas Tarantino can seem a bit of a product of the times. As for Woody, no need to apologize... we can't expect to agree on every person on the list. What fun would that be?!

    Postcard Printing Company - Manhunter is very well liked by many Mann fans, but I was kind of let down. In fact, I actually thought the later Red Dragon was better.

    Spotgest - I don't know... Woody has only had three years since 1975 where he didn't direct at least one film! But at the very least we can call Woody the hardest working AMERICAN senior citizen in show business then! LOL. Glad to hear that you also love The Last of the Mohicans also.

    JAFB - Public Enemies didn't work for a lot of people, so surprise there. I liked a lot of the individual set pieces - the apartment stakeout, the finale at the movie theater - and thought these worked to raise a story that did have trouble in spots.

    Nostromo - Obviously Public Enemies didn't work for you! The Insider is one that I have never quite warmed to as much as most other Mann fans, but I know that I am in the minority on that one.

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  8. I've never been the biggest of Michael Mann fans, but I acknowledge that the man is very talented and is (yes!) a true artist.

    I failed to enjoy many of his films- Public Enemies is mediocre, and Miami Vice is plain awful- but at his best (the Last of the Mohicans, Heat, Collateral), Mann's films are terrifically enjoyable and meaty to boot.

    Glad to see Woody Allen's next. God knows I love the man's work.

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  9. I've been Mann obessed since i first saw Heat. I often feel this guy gets a hard time for people wanting his films to be something they are not. People wanted Miami Vice the TV series and got Mimai Vice, a film about the industry of crime and those who work against it. I actually think his films get better the more you watch them, in the case of Miami Vice it has taken me three viewings to really get the film and enjoy it.

    Would love to see him do science fiction and for the love of God I wish he would get the estended version of The Keep out.

    1 Heat
    2 Thief
    3 Last of the Mohicans
    4 Manhunter
    5 Ali
    6 Miami Vice (directors cut)
    7 The Insider
    8 Public Enemies
    9 Collateral
    10 The Keep
    10 The Jericho Mile

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  10. There's a gap for me between Thief and Mohicans, so this is an incomplete list, but:

    1. Miami Vice
    2. The Insider
    3. Heat
    4. Thief
    5. Collateral
    6. Public Enemies
    7. The Last of the Mohicans
    8. Ali

    I need to rewatch Mohicans and Ali (only seen 'em once, which is no way to take in a Mann film; Miami Vice would be last if not for a second viewing), but it's incredible how much I genuinely like all of these films.

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  11. I love Mann - though not, it should be said, at the expense of Tarantino, who simply has a very different set of concerns and styles. They're united only in that they're both stylists first, everything else second.

    My rankings:

    1. Collateral
    2. Heat
    3. Thief
    4. Public Enemies
    5. Ali
    6. Manhunter
    7. Insider
    8. Mohicans
    9. Miami Vice

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  12. Eh, he's okay. Seriously, he's one of my favorite filmmakers, and I think everything he's done from The Insider on is one of the greatest and most singular bodies of work in contemporary cinema. He's definitely a director of sensation; although there are some fascinating ideas running through his films (especially Public Enemies), they always remain secondary to the visceral experience of the movies in themselves. The last time I talked to you about Mann I said that I think Collateral is a great movie but probably the least of his of the decade. That I've rewatched it since then and now rank it higher than Public Enemies speaks I think to the general mysteriousness of Mann's work and the difficulty in evaluating it or making sense of it fully.

    Miami Vice
    Ali
    Collateral
    Public Enemies
    The Insider
    Heat
    Thief
    The Last Of The Mohicans
    Manhunter

    (I really need to see The Keep).

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  13. I'll admit for the most part Mann has never really done it for me. He seems to straddle the surface in many of his films, where style takes the stage over substance. Still, that style has rightfully dazzled many tasteful movie lovers, which includes many at this thread. I really liked only two of his films (THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS and HEAT) so in this single instance I will forego a numerical listing. I did think there some very good things in THE INSIDER and THIEF, but I could never see the love for PUBLIC ENEMIES, as I saw thin characters, a lamentable failute to present its central character as mythical, and one of Johnny Depp's rare static performances. As a result, I found it a struggle to sit through the film. ALI and MANHUNTER were unmitigated failures, and COLLATERAL with its simplistic surface psychology is somewhat of a mixed bag.

    Of course, I respect the positions of admiration here by colleagues I greatly respect, and I can only say I wish I were in agreement. Another passionate, informative post in this great series, with a bevy of rewarding responses.

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  14. Furthermore, I never was able to negotiate that suggested "elegiac" undercurrent in MIAMI VICE, which was your stock shoot-out that wore out its welcome.

    Again, that's just me.

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  15. Dave, I can't call myself a Mann fan, but he's made some great movies. It may not be fair, but the stereotypical Mann image in my mind is of some guy brooding in a well-posed fashion. I'm not sure if that's the same thing as "cool," but it does work sometimes. Anyway, I find myself facing the same dilemma you did, even though I've seen far fewer Mann movies. Both HEAT and MOHICANS have incredible sequences and performances, and I want to give Mohicans more credit because of the miracle Mann pulled off in making a flagrantly unfaithful adaptation that works superbly on its own terms. But Heat somehow remains more compelling, so...

    1. Heat
    2. Last of the Mohicans
    3. Ali
    4. Public Enemies
    5. Manhunter

    As for your next subject, Allen isn't even the hardest-working American senior citizen, unless you count it against Eastwood that he doesn't write his own films.

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  16. Well, I'm not a big fan of Mann. I'm reaction to his movies are ambiguous at best.

    Anyway, here are my 5 favourite films from his filmography:

    1. Heat
    2. Collateral
    3. The Insider
    4. Last of the Mohicans
    5. Public Enemies

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  17. Love the guy. Probably the toughest rankings out of the ones I've participated in yet. Here goes:

    Heat
    Miami Vice
    The Insider
    Thief
    Manhunter
    Collateral
    Mohicans
    The Keep
    Ali
    L.A. Takedown

    The last three there I've only seen once, and none recently, so a second viewing of any of those could slightly alter the rankings I suppose (though I don't see L.A. Takedown moving from the bottom spot, as enjoyable as it is. Plus it wasn't a theatrical release etc.) And I still need to see Public Enemies (I know)

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  18. Ethan - No concerns... total agreement on all of these would be boring.

    Tom J - I agree with you, it would certainly be interesting to see Mann working in some of these other fields as well. I have heard that he was going into work on a movie adaptation of Frankie Machine, which is a gangster crime drama. I don't know if that's true, but it would be interesting if it is.

    Jake - I'd be interested to hear if Mohicans works better for you the second time around.

    Ed - My rant might have come across as very anti-Tarantino, but I didn't mean it to be quite as strong. I like Tarantino. Just contrasting the different approaches, which you acknowledge.

    Doniphon - I'm intrigued by your love of Ali. It has just never worked for me, but it has been a while since I watched it, so maybe I owe it another shot.

    Sam - I knew that you were not a big Mann fan, so I was interested to hear your thoughts. At least you can find something in Heat and Mohicans to moderately enjoy.

    Samuel - I don't think Eastwood matches the recent workrate of Woody, but your point is well taken... he is a freak of nature as well! As for Mann, I agree with you for now concerning the Heat vs. Mohicans debate. But your right that Mann managed to take a completely different angle on the famous novel and make it his own.

    Shubhajit - A reasonable top five, even though Mann is admittedly not a favorite of yours.

    Drew - Love hearing that you are a big Mann fan as well. As for the ones you need to see, I know that Public Enemies has both defenders and detractors (both in evidence in this very thread), bu it's one that worked better for me a second time around as well. So it might take more than one viewing.

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  19. Last of the Mohicans is a thing of beauty, the climax is so perfectly cut, shot, scored, it's like a master class in film form.

    I think Clint might have Woody beat as the hardest-working senior citizen, although I guess he does not write most of his films so that might knock him down a notch (then again, he's got 5 years on Allen so we have to factor that in somehow).

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  20. Dave, great essay. As you know, I think, I'm a huge fan of Mann's work. I particularly like this sentence of yours, "In an era when the crime drama became “Tarantino-ed,” full of witty dialog, pop culture references, and non-linear structures, Mann has remained true to traditional storytelling."

    Here's my own Mann list:

    1. Heat
    2. The Insider
    3. Thief
    4. Manhunter
    5. Ali
    6. Public Enemies
    7. The Last of the Mohicans
    8. Miami Vice
    9. Collateral
    10. The Jericho Mile
    11. The Keep

    Loving this countdown of yours.

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  21. MovieMan - Agree completely on the climax of Mohicans, it is still spectacular to watch after having seen countless times. As for the Woody vs. Clint workrate debate... it was just a throw-off teaser for the next entry, not anything definitive. Even so, I don't see Clint releasing a film every single year for like the last 20 years, so it seems open and shut to me.

    Jeffrey - Glad that you're enjoying the countdown... especially since, as you know, your own series of "Favorites of My Favorites" was the main inspiration!

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  22. Nice write-up on one of my all-time fave filmmakers. I think that THE INSIDER is his masterpiece and have really enjoyed the new direction his style of filmmaking has taken since he starte experimenting with digital cameras with ALI. As for ranking his films... toughy but here goes:

    1. The Insider
    2. Heat
    3. Thief
    4. Manhunter
    5. Ali
    6. Miami Vice
    7. Collateral
    8. Public Enemies,
    9. The Last of the Mohicans
    10. The Keep

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  23. I can never seem to get too excited over a Michael Mann film. Like Sam, I feel there is sometimes too much emphasis on style over substance. The list below represents all the Mann films I have seen. Of the seven Thief is far and away in a class by itself. IMO most of his films could have been so much better with a little more depth to the characters. That's the problem I have with Public Enemies for example, a film I went into wanting to like a lot more than I came out liking.

    Thief
    The Insider
    Heat
    Collateral
    Last of the Mohicans
    Public Enemies
    Ali

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  24. I'm not entirely sure if I'd call him a classical director anymore. His last "classical" movie IMHO was Heat, from The Insider onward he's become almost an Anti-Tarantino, becoming more skeletal, more minimal, more understated, stripping everything away to arrive at this almost spectral, "ghostly" style of storytelling, where every scene is paradoxically both stripped down to the barest essence and overstuffed with nuance, almost to the point of abstraction.

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  25. Ihate all the productions of this guy: full of bad plots and predictable cliches, he makes me sick.

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