The Films of Michael Mann

[JSGlock34]

Manhunter is excellent. I feel like it doesn't get the credit it deserves because it's kinda overshadowed by Mann's other work.

I think after The Silence of the Lambs was released and pretty much swept the Oscars, Manhunter was condemned to forever be the 'other' Hannibal Lechter movie that didn't star Anthony Hopkins. Still a great film - the aesthetic (clothes, sets, music) evokes the early Miami Vice episodes as well. Even has a Jim Zubiena appearance!

[feudist]

I think after The Silence of the Lambs was released and pretty much swept the Oscars, Manhunter was condemned to forever be the 'other' Hannibal Lechter movie that didn't star Anthony Hopkins. Still a great film - the aesthetic (clothes, sets, music) evokes the early Miami Vice episodes as well. Even has a Jim Zubiena appearance!

Personally I found Brian Cox a pitch perfect Lecter. And the soundtrack was a character in it's own right. Not many soundtracks are so integral to their movies.

Red Dragon had some orchestral muzak thing that could have been pulled from an elevator playlist.

[dtw]

Mann is producing / directing the new crime drama series Tokyo Vice for HBO, based on the Jake Adelstein book.

Unclear whether production has resumed after being halted for coronavirus concerns but hopes are high.

[Wendell]

There's often a lot of richness contained with the 'special features' of Mann movie DVD releases.

I remember one of the actors telling a story about pre-filming preparation, where Mann had deliberately taken them to an unsafe part of town (apparently for the experience); the actor also mentioned that "...we were all carrying guns...he'd gotten us permits..."

[JSGlock34]

There's often a lot of richness contained with the 'special features' of Mann movie DVD releases.

I remember one of the actors telling a story about pre-filming preparation, where Mann had deliberately taken them to an unsafe part of town (apparently for the experience); the actor also mentioned that "...we were all carrying guns...he'd gotten us permits..."

Jamie Foxx actually walked off the Miami Vice set due to safety issues.

Fleeing the Scene: How Jamie Foxx forced the macho Mann to change the ending of Miami Vice

[Wendell]

Jamie Foxx actually walked off the Miami Vice set due to safety issues.

Fleeing the Scene: How Jamie Foxx forced the macho Mann to change the ending of Miami Vice

After reading that article, I wish that Mann would have just fired Foxx; the movie was a big disappointment for me, and Foxx ruins everything he's in, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm guessing that it was the producers who were calling the shots, rather than the director.

[Bucky]

After reading that article, I wish that Mann would have just fired Foxx; the movie was a big disappointment for me, and Foxx ruins everything he's in, as far as I'm concerned.

Agree, and I don’t think he’s a good actor.

[WobblyPossum]

After reading that article, I wish that Mann would have just fired Foxx; the movie was a big disappointment for me, and Foxx ruins everything he's in, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm guessing that it was the producers who were calling the shots, rather than the director.

I think he did a great job as Max the cabbie in Collateral. He might be a primadona but half the actors in Hollywood sound like they are.

[Paul D]

The last Mann directed film I liked was Collateral. That was in 2004. The stuff he put out since then has been disappointing. He is now 77 years old. Even prolific artists like the Rolling Stones stop creating stuff to the level that made them famous. I'm going to keep appreciating the great movies he created in the past but I'm not holding my breath for anything new from him. I hope I'm wrong.

[TheNewbie]

I'm a big fan, but I have to say (and I may be in the minority her) but for some reason the 2006 Miami Vice always lets me down. I find the characters, in particular Colin Ferrell, seems very flat and one-dimensional. Maybe it's the script. I am not sure what it is. I don't think it holds a candle to the series.

I haven't even tried to watch it. Comments like yours are not new to me, and have pushed me away from trying to watch it. The old school Miami Vice is so good that I just can't stand to be let down by something like that.