Michael Mann

[Vercetti]

Michael Mann (1943- )



1981: Thief
1995: Heat
1999: The Insider
2001: Ali
2004: Collateral
2006: Miami Vice

[RNL]

1. Heat (1995) 8/10
2. The Insider (1999) 7/10
3. Collateral (2004) 7/10
4. Thief (1981) 6/10
5. Manhunter (1986) 5/10
6. The Keep (1983) 4/10
7. Miami Vice (2006) 3/10
8. Ali (2001) 3/10

[Capo]

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

[Vercetti]

How was The Last of the Mohicans?

[Capo]

It has epic written all over it, but Mann tries too much for a wide market, with a thin romance given not enough treatment; the rousing score and cinematography help it along.

---

That's my Proview, which needs a revisit, since it was written during my pretentious phase of reviewing, when I was trying too hard to sound like I'd seen every film on the planet.

[Vercetti]

By the way, I really felt like posting this image, which is one of the most memorable in all of Mann's films to me. It's from Thief early on. Simply beautiful.

Frank: Look at that, huh?
Man: That's magic, that's what that is, man. That's the Sky Chief. Ain't that Sky Chief somethin'?

[Vercetti]

I found this post at IMDB. How much of this is true aside the IMDB listed ones? The Untitled Drug Wars Epic one looks interesting. I'm wondering if that's the film Mann had to quit when Traffic came out.
------------------------

Projects listed on IMDb

Miami Vice (2006)
Arms and the Man (2006)
The Few (2007)
Damage Control (2007)


Projects not listed on IMDb

Gates of Fire (Universal Pictures / Maysville Pictures / Forward Pass)

Written By Steven Pressfield (novel)
Screenlay By David Self & John Orloff

Produced By Michael Mann, George Clooney & Robert Lawrence

Starring

George Clooney (confirmed)
Bruce Willis
Ben Affleck


Public Enemies (Universal Pictures/Misher Films/Tribeca/Appian Way)

Written By Bryan Burrough (novel)
Screenplay By Michael Mann

Produced By Kevin Misher, Jane Rosenthal & Michael Mann

Starring

Leonardo Di Caprio (confirmed)
George Clooney
Colin Farrell
Robert De Niro


Count Zero (Warner Bros. / Atlas Entertainemnt)

Written By William Gibson (novel)
Screenplay By John Lloyd Parry & Shawn Slovo

Produced By Charles Roven & Kathryn Sommer

Starring

Russell Crowe
Jake Gyllenhaal
Scarlett Johansson


Hatfields & McCoys (Warner Bros. / Plan B)

Written By ? (novel)
Screenplay By Eric Roth & Michael Mann

Produced By Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Brad Grey & Michael Mann

Starring

Brad Pitt (confirmed)
Jennifer Connelly
Dakota Fanning


Rubicon (Disney / Playtone / Forward Pass)

Written By John Orloff

Produced By Tom Hanks & Michael Mann

Starring

Tom Hanks
Kate Winslet
Matthew McConaughey
Jude Law
Colin Firth
Tom Sizemore
Robert Carlyle
Diana Rigg


Untitled Western Project

Written by Eric Roth & Michael Mann


Enzo Ferrari Biopic (Disney / Mirage / Forward Pass)

Written By Brock Yates (novel)
Screenplay By David Rayfiel

Produced By Sydney Pollack, Anthony Minghella & Gianni Nunnari

Starring Robert De Niro or Johnny Depp


The Inside Man (original title) (Disney / Forward Pass)

Written By Michael Mann

Produced By Michael Mann & Pieter Jan Brugge

Starring

Leonardo Di Caprio (confirmed)
Gene Hackman
Nick Nolte


Untitled Drug Wars Epic

Written By Michael Mann & Bill Aldman


Abandoned Projects

3000 Degrees (Aka Worcester Cold Storage)
Fortune's Fools
James Dean Biopic (T.V Movie)
Joan of Arc Project (rumours)
Lucky Star (rumours)

[Pherdy]

Vercetti, what's your source? some of those projects look kick-ass, but I doubt there's any truth of it (the Gates of Fire film by Clooney has been on hold for years). not that the Imdb is any more reliable, though...

Last of the Mohicans, The
Heat
Insider , The
Ali
Collateral

Heat is my favorite

[Vercetti]

It was a post on IMDB I found. These post-Miami Vice projects are confirmed by various sources like Wikipedia and IMDB.

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 1930s crime wave 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.

By the way, what are your thoughts on Collateral?

[Omar]

1. Heat (1995)
2. The Insider (1999)
3. Collateral (2004)
4. Ali (2001)

[ronnierocketago]

Michael Mann is literally The Mann. Since the early 90's, hes made a case for himself as a Master in American cinema:

THEIF - ****
THE KEEP - ***
MANHUNTER - **1/2
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS - ****(Director's Cut)
HEAT - Masterpiece - *****
THE INSIDER - Masterpiece - *****
ALI - ***
COLLATERAL - ****

[Vercetti]

Ronnie, which DVD is the best for Manhunter? I think there are differ cuts, I just want whatever the definitive version is.

[Capo]

Updated.

Thief spoilers ahead.[/color]

Thief wanted to be an epic and fell short in substance, duration, and pacing, for me. I would have felt far more comfortable watching a slice of Frank's life, not all of it. The finale is wonderful, gripping stuff; the slow-motion shot of Belushi hitting the van upon being shot is powerful indeed. But it is perhaps wasted on a character too secondary to evoke some emotional attachment.

I found it more interesting to watch in terms of it being an early precursor to Mann's own Heat, and to see how his style and storytelling has developed. As a result, I look forward to L.A. Takedown.

Ali is deeply underrated, I feel. Lacking the grip of The Insider and Heat, this would otherwise be up there with the director's best. A fine film indeed, driven by Will Smith's fantastic performance. Supporting cast is brilliant; Jamie Foxx almost steals the show as Ali's friend Drew Brown. Best scene in the film: when Ali, at the press conference in Zaire, turns to Don King and warns him, out of the blue, never to "speak to Angelo [Dundee] like that."

[jake]

1. The Insider (1999)
2. Heat (1995)
3. Manhunter (1986)
4. Collateral (2004)

I may eventually watch Last of the Mohican's. Miami Vice looked and supposedly is absolute crap.

[Vercetti]

I agree with you on Ali, Capo. I always thought it was good, though not great. As a matter of fact, it's the only good performance I can recall from Will Smith.

I also love the Malcolm X assassination scene, which to me, is more memorable then the Spike Lee version (I saw the ending many times, but not the whole Lee film).

[jrod]

Heat
Ali (0)
The Insider
Collateral

[Vercetti]

After my current film deals, I'm going to revisit all of his films, through a few days and post them all together.

A shame I won't be getting a hold of any new ones like Manhunter though.

[svsg]

Insider

[Marty]

Manhunter (1986)
The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
Heat (1995)
The Insider (1999)
Collateral (2004)

Manhunter still remains my favourite Mann film (just) the casting was faultless and the performances and tight scripting (sans the Psycho-esque back story in the appaling Red Dragon) blow those in the subsequent screenplays based on Harris's Lecter series out of the water. Brian Cox especially is one of the most menacing villains from recent cinema, he's totally believable as a psychopath (he's like that guy down the pub that every one knows and says hello to, but warn you never ever get on the wrong side of 'cause he'd happily nail your kneecaps to a coffee table, Tony Hopkins' Hannibal by comparison is more like that eccentric uncle you see once in a while)

[Vercetti]

In order of greatness so far, from rewatching The Insider.

1) Collateral
2) The Insider
3) Heat
4) Miami Vice
5) Ali
6) Thief