southwest1
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A friend emailed me this over the weekend and I thought of you after I read it, since I know you love Michael Mann's work. This is one of the best analysis I've read on the internet detailing his work.
A 4 article rundown of Michael Mann's work.
https://flickeringscreen.net/2009/08/10/michael-mann-week/
Here, he goes through all of his films and the central themes of his doppleganger characters, masculinity, and isolation. The other articles get into small details like the women in his films, the guns (and a great shoutout to the 'Bren Ten' model that was featured in MV), and a very good article breaking down the themes in Collateral and why that film is a msterpiece.
https://flickeringscreen.net/2009/08/11/1420/
Glad he gave props to Manhunter, that's the forgotten gem of Mann's filmography. i re-watched it over the summer after going through a Miami Vice binge. It's incredibly stylistic, and it puts the remake 'Red Dragon' to complete shame...I liked Thief too, he is right that it could almost pass like a gritty episode of Vice back in it's run.
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"The Gael" from 'The Last Of The Mohicans"...
I love this "Goodbye To Romance" Ozzy Osbourne cover that popped into my head just as I was about to review the same picture. It fits perfect with the blond sister death theme at the close or near end of the flick.
The trumpet blowing softly gets me every time as a final sibling farewell IMO...
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I will wrap this up by saying I love how Micheal Mann films night scenes. They just come alive under his guidance like no other director I have ever seen particularly in 'Collateral.' From joking around with that jazz club owner about Miles Davis before Tom Cruise's character takes him out...To the bad guy hunting down Annie [Jada Smith] in her legal office building with barely enough light to see as the cat & mouse game begins...To the subway scene & of course the coyote scene roaming across the pavement after the hitman demands Max call Annie & go on a date & not chicken out.
Like I said to start this Mann admiration society, I just really appreciate that Micheal knows the power of silence & when to be quiet. Annie & Max's flirtatious interaction in the cab is just magical. It truly is. Instant chemistry with little dialog & a ton of eye contact.
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Love the scene in Collateral with the Audioslave song and the coyotes. Something about that scene is just magical...You watch that movie and you're stuck in the situation of these two men depending on one another, despite one being a psychopathic murderer and the other being a man beaten down with a dead end job, and then the coyotes ease the nerves...
QuoteI will wrap this up by saying I love how Micheal Mann films night scenes. They just come alive under his guidance like no other director I have ever seen particularly in 'Collateral.' From joking around with that jazz club owner about Miles Davis before Tom Cruise's character takes him out...To the bad guy hunting down Annie [Jada Smith] in her legal office building with barely enough light to see as the cat & mouse game begins...To the subway scene & of course the coyote scene roaming across the pavement after the hitman demands Max call Annie & go on a date & not chicken out.
Totally agree, his night scenes are incredible.
Collateral might be my favorite film of his, now that I'm starting to get older. The entire film takes place at night and really brings Los Angeles to life.
Manhunter also had some very good night scenes. The whole FBI raid set up, and especially that ending set to the trippy acid rock song.
In the Miami Vice show, Mann's fingerprints are all over the more prolific episodes...By season 5, pretty much every great scene in the end took place at night, and it clearly had his influence.
QuoteThe theme of alienation and loneliness is fascinating too because the cop & bank robber from Heat are consumed with precision, professionalism, & having an equal adversary who truly appreciates their greatness. Their relationships with women never last since the chase, the hunt, the thrill excites & motivates them to their core.
I never looked at Mann's filmography the same as those blogs detail. The writer breaks down how he uses doppleganger characters, as being two sides of the same coin. I never looked at it that way, but he is correct.
And the same can be said for Thief, which that movie was about the man having that dream life with the wife and baby and then the sharp contradiction that is of being a 'family man' and a criminal at the same time.
Mann is a genius, I really wish he was still making movies. His films are always prolific.
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