Michael Mann: Behind The Philosophical Thrillers | Movie Talk

[@Oldsckool]

Michael Mann is one of the greatest Directors and Cinematographers of all time.

[@josipartukovic9785]

He is not a cinematographer

[@Oldsckool]

@@josipartukovic9785 that’s debatable

[@blackbke]

When I was 14 years old I saw a piece on Heat on national television and I immediately wanted to go see that movie in the theatre. So there I went, only to be denied access because I wasn't 16 and was forced to go see Jumanji instead. Traumatic experience! I finally saw the movie a couple of years later on VHS and was simply blown away by it. So much so that I've probably seen the movie 20 times since then. Interviews with Mann reveal a person with vision, dedication and the shear will to pull off whatever he has in his head. Hearing and seeing this man talk makes me emotional, because of the significance of the stories he's telling, and also very jealous, because I wish I could do something with the same significance. There's a long talk moderated by Christopher Nolan on Heat (check it out!) and while Pacino and De Niro have a hard time remembering the experience, Mann talks about the details of making that film like it was yesterday. Michael Mann is a shark in human form (in a good way). My favourite director, and up there with the Old Greats such as Kubrick and Hitchcock.

[@WilliamJames48]

Wet night streets with blurry street lights is where he reins. He owns the night.

[@EddyTheMartian]

Been watching all of his movies recently, and Mann has become one of my favorite directors ever. He’s so underrated, I hope he makes more movies if he feels like it.

[@MM-qm9ld]

I read a youtube comment once that said the film could be called Thief not in reference to James Cann's character, but the Prosky played villain; the man who thieves the thief, as it were. Hes the "greater" thief in the film as he robs Cann's character of his entire life and everything in it. If that somehow wasnt enough he also robs Cann of all his hopes and dreams too, as he is forced to discard his own scrapbook vision of the future. The only way for Cann to get out from under is to lose it all; everything there is to have as a person in this world. Cann has to revert to some animal, the man he became in prison; a man with nothing materially or in spirit, and only then is he untouchable because then he has nothing to lose; nothing to be leveraged against him. The cost of freedom, in this sense, is all his joy. What a brutal film, and another noir about a painful kind of individualism. I'd say the best noir have that theme present in some fashion. That of a cruel world inflicting itself on damaged heroes whose defiance shines brightest in the darkest corners of the human soul.

[@samiam7342]

for me..............the action is the juice.......I'm in.

[@LeonWick526]

The Insider is one of the best American films ever made. It should've won Best Picture instead of American Beauty.

[@stprm2013]

1000%

[@You_Tube000]

American Beauty won because Hollywood is full of abusers

[@scottbarkley496]

COLLATERAL = MASTERPIECE

[@timorenbuch4815]

Watch Thief...it's better.

[@scottbarkley496]

@@timorenbuch4815 watched it.. absolutely not

[@Neil_McCauley_]

It is indeed.

[@orangewarm1]

No it isn't. Not even in the afi 100.

[@Largentina.]

​@@scottbarkley496 Agreed, Collateral is a masterpiece. I don't think it's better than Thief in my opinion.

[@claudettedelphis6476]

Wonderful information 🌸 Thank you so much for sharing with us 🍁🍄🌹💫

[@sangeovr]

Great director

[@TreRealLifeENT]

Nice upload !

[@chrislondo2683]

The Keep is his best in terms of the look. I know he disowns it. But the music by Tangerine Dream is amazing.

[@deantown2675]

Genius

[@octaviousmotley7653]

Forreal he is

[@Gzimkodra]

Not one of the greatest. But is the greatest

[@sukottoshinobe7360]

No single mention of collateral

[@CasperLCat]

Mohicans is still the best historical film I’ve ever seen. You really believe you’re in a different century, with people who know nothing of the modern world we live in, fighting over an America which is still a blank slate as far as white culture goes. The Brits and French are in conflict because their kings back in the old world want this new world, but they don’t understand this wilderness world, especially its native peoples -and only the native Americans understand it and know how to live in it. This ambition and avarice without understanding or respect for the world they are fighting over leads to tragedy for almost all involved. Even the natives make the mistake of allying with the white men, which heightens their own conflicts with each other and hastens the demise of their own ancient cultures. Mann is known for his great action scenes, but he knows how, and shows how, the conflict always stems from the differing philosophical ideas and loyalties of the men involved. The great DeNiro/Pacino diner scene in Heat (their 1st ever scene together) is a great example - they can sit and have coffee together in peace, but they WILL end up in deadly conflict because one guy is about taking what he can out of life, DeNiro, no matter the consequences, and the other, Pacino, is about protecting innocent people from the collateral damage caused by the 1st guy. I’m not surprised he studied English lit before doing film. He understands character as well as any director we have, AND he has fantastic visual style, action sequences, pacing, and incredible attention to the detail of time and place. He has no weaknesses as a director. I can’t think of another director today as complete as him, except the great Ridley Scott.

[@Largentina.]

He might be known for great action scenes but he's also known for detail and doing tons of research.

[@roccoz2231]

Mann was untouchable from 1992-2004. Starting in 2006 with "Miami Vice," his films became caricatures of themselves. Bloated storylines and brooding characters mumbling existential dialogue that you can barely hear because the actors have pitched their voices a few octaves too low. The jailhouse scene in this video from "Public Enemies" in this video is a classic example. Depp is so incomprehensible that is sounds like he's speaking a foreign language.

[@bennozoid1]

i'd say he was actually untouchable from '84 with Miami Vice, and then Manhunter in '86 onwards....

[@wpbarchitect1800]

Great filmmaker and Peter is such great interviewer. This is an era that’s gone...cinema as art. It’s now extended hackneyed propaganda/PSA’s where the more superficial elements of both the actors and characters are at the forefront rather than their souls. Mann is (or was) the most intimidating person in the industry....if you didn’t do it his way and do it right he’d eat you alive.

[@orangewarm1]

Not sure what Luck was about. Yes, the acting was great, the dialogue, the directing, but it just seemed like everyday life. I feel asleep.