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Thread: The Films of Michael Mann

  1. #1
    Site Supporter JSGlock34's Avatar
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    The Films of Michael Mann

    I've long been a fan of Michael Mann's work, dating back to my misspent youth watching Miami Vice reruns and trying to figure out what Sonny Crockett was carrying in Season One before the invention of Google. Mann's attention to technical proficiency gives his films a particular intelligence and air of authenticity that sets him apart from his contemporaries. While his attention to firearms selection and training makes him particularly appealing to the members here, his eye for detail extends to nearly any tool used by his characters. I recently was listening to the Director's Commentary for Thief (Mann is one of the few Directors that will get me to turn on the Director's track) and was struck by the array of real tools used by Frank (James Caan) during the film as he executes his heists.

    The Thief commentary had a few more gems within as Mann and Caan discussed the making of the film. Mann apparently attended the American Pistol Institute in 1979.

    JAMES CAAN: "I got to handle these tools that Michael talked about...I got to handle my gun...oh, that was another great thing...we went to Jeff Cooper in Gunsite, Arizona and went through a course...we shot for two days...learned how to go through rooms, houses...how to draw and fire..."

    During the final scene...

    JAMES CAAN: "...and now we will see some of the techniques that Michael and I learned from Jeff Cooper called sweeping...sweeping a house, sweeping a room, etc."

    Interestingly, there is a list of notable Gunsite students at Wikipedia, and James Caan's name is specifically not listed, along with the following explanation...

    Actor James Caan is sometimes included in the foregoing list, but when he told Cooper than he wanted to learn the Modern Technique for his role in the Michael Mann production, Thief (1981), Cooper declined, reasoning that Caan's character, an ex-con and career criminal, would not have been exposed to such training. Caan and Mann did, however, induce Gunsite's then D.Ops, Galen D. "Chuck" Taylor, to give him a one evening crash course, not in shooting, but looking like he knew how to shoot and move with a handgun. So thorough was Taylor's instruction, that many who saw the movie were convinced that Caan had been through Gunsite.

    I'm inclined to take Mann and Caan's statements over Wikipedia, but it is curious to see the discrepancy. Still Mann's interest in properly training his actors (and actresses) in firearms use remains consistent throughout his filmography. Jim Zubiena becomes his lead trainer for Miami Vice (TV) and Manhunter. Thankfully Mann didn't let the made-for-TV LA Takedown dissuade him from revisiting that storyline in his epic, Heat. Andy McNab and Mick Gould trained the actors for Heat, with Gould continuing on to train Tom Cruise for Collateral and the cast for the 2006 big screen reboot of Miami Vice.


    L to R Michael Mann, Robert Deniro and Mick Gould

    Recently I discovered Mick Gould's website, which contains a neat gallery showing the training of the actors for Heat and Miami Vice. I'd never seen these production pictures from Heat before, so I thought I'd share with the fans on this site.





    There are a number of videos that show the behind the scenes training for Heat, Collateral and Miami Vice. I'm sure they've been widely seen here, but thought I'd post them if anyone was interested.







    Here's hoping that Mann returns to the crime saga soon.
    Last edited by JV_; 06-17-2014 at 07:40 PM.
    "When the phone rang, Parker was in the garage, killing a man."

  2. #2
    Member orionz06's Avatar
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    We are ripe for another kick ass Mann movie soon.
    Think for yourself. Question authority.

  3. #3
    Licorice Bootlegger JDM's Avatar
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    Great thread!
    Nobody is impressed by what you can't do. -THJ

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    Site Supporter JSGlock34's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by orionz06 View Post
    We are ripe for another kick ass Mann movie soon.
    Here's hoping. He just started filming an untitled 'cyber terrorism' movie starring Chris Hemsworth (Thor). Apparently it will have an international plot, with filming in Los Angeles and Hong Kong. The Hollywood Reporter description gives me some hope...

    Chris Hemsworth is toplining the pic, which has been described as being in the vein of Mann’s crime movies Heat and Thief but with a technology angle, focusing on cyber theft and cyber attacks.

    as does the summary on HSX...

    Michael Mann directs a spy thriller about cyber terrorism. Chris Hemsworth and Viola Davis star as FBI agents who team up with their Chinese counterparts to track down a Balkan hacker in Southeast Asia. The script is by Mann and Morgan Davis Foehl.
    Last edited by JSGlock34; 05-17-2013 at 09:26 PM.
    "When the phone rang, Parker was in the garage, killing a man."

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    Site Supporter SeriousStudent's Avatar
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    Oh please, oh please, let them not screw up the computer stuff.

    I hope Michael Mann takes the same approach to computers as he does to firearms.

  6. #6
    Leopard Printer Mr_White's Avatar
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    I heard computer graphics use polygons. Maybe he will use them?

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    Member LHS's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SeriousStudent View Post
    Oh please, oh please, let them not screw up the computer stuff.

    I hope Michael Mann takes the same approach to computers as he does to firearms.
    This. I had to break out my WTF face when I saw the Oracle Exadata machine in a freaking news van in Iron Man 3.

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    Site Supporter SeriousStudent's Avatar
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    Well, hopefully the same guy who will not fling 37 projectiles out of a 1911 without a reload, will apply similar sanity to the geekery.

    If he hired Andy Standford for shooting irons, maybe Dave Litchfield can get a consulting gig as well.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by LHS View Post
    This. I had to break out my WTF face when I saw the Oracle Exadata machine in a freaking news van in Iron Man 3.
    You mean you can't hack NORAD/NORTHCOM with a kittening latptop? *epic sarcasm*
    Quote Originally Posted by 1911guy View Post
    Yeah, but you look like a tactical hobo in flip flops.
    Quote Originally Posted by Joe in PNG View Post
    A world without violence is about as likely as a world where I get to, um, "date" at least 3 A-list actresses and/or supermodels every single day. Ain't happening.

  10. #10
    Site Supporter JSGlock34's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SeriousStudent View Post
    Well, hopefully the same guy who will not fling 37 projectiles out of a 1911 without a reload, will apply similar sanity to the geekery.

    If he hired Andy Standford for shooting irons, maybe Dave Litchfield can get a consulting gig as well.
    Mann tends to surround himself with the experts. Apparently his technical advisor for the film is named Paul Vilevac.

    As a known leader in the cyber security space, Paul is currently technical advisor to Michael Mann and John Nelson on the movie “Cyber”, a cyber security thriller. From the motivations and behaviors of “hackers” to the deep knowledge of methods and modalities of system compromise and exploitation, Paul ensures the coherence and accuracy for the Michael Mann project.

    Quote Originally Posted by will_1400 View Post
    You mean you can't hack NORAD/NORTHCOM with a kittening latptop? *epic sarcasm*
    Pppffffttt. Everyone knows you use an IMSAI 8080 for that.

    "When the phone rang, Parker was in the garage, killing a man."

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