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Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has been nominated for four Oscars for writing, directing and producing during the 72nd and 77th Oscars in 1999 and 2004 respectively. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and later went on to receive a graduate degree at the London International Film School.

He spent seven years in the United Kingdom going to film school and then working on commercials, then moved back to the United States after working on several documentaries and began a career as a writer on such shows as Vega$ and Starsky and Hutch. His first feature movie was a made-for-TV special called The Jericho Mile. His television work also includes having acted as director and producer on such shows as Miami Vice and Crime Story. Contrary to popular belief, he is not the creator of these shows but the executive producer. However, his influence is felt throughout each show in terms of casting and style.

Mann is now known primarily as a feature film director and he is considered to be one of America's top filmmakers. He has a very distinct style that is reflected in his works: his trademarks include ethereal synth scores, such as Jan Hammer's theme to Miami Vice or the New Age score to Manhunter. Dante Spinotti is a frequent cinematographer of Mann's pictures. Mann has an affinity for stark urban landscapes and a visual style which often places an emphasis on soft blues and harsh, sterile whites.

His biggest critical successes came at the end of the 1990s with the release of Heat in 1995 and The Insider in 1999. The films, both of which starred Al Pacino in leading roles, showcased Mann's visual style and adeptness at creating rich storylines. The Insider was nominated for several Academy Awards as a result, including a nomination for Mann's direction.

With his next film Ali in 2001, he started experimenting with digital cameras. On Collateral he shot all of the exterior scenes digitally (with the Viper FilmStream camera) so that he could achieve more depth and detail during the night scenes while shooting most of the interiors on film stock. The film helped catapult Jamie Foxx to fame, and he was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance. Since Collateral Mann has made Miami Vice, the film adaptation of the hit TV series of the same name which Mann executive produced. It stars a completely new cast with Colin Farrell in Don Johnson's role and Jamie Foxx filling Philip Michael Thomas' shoes.

Thematic Preoccupations

1. Professionalism: Mann’s films are obsessed with the common bond between men and the notion of professionalism between them. The protagonists in his films are the very best at their respective vocations: from an efficient safe-cracker in Thief to 60 Minutes producer, Lowell Bergman in The Insider. These men are loners who have little time for families and personal relationships.

2. Family vs. Profession: Family and material items only get in the way of or cause the downfall of a Mann protagonist. Each one are driven by an all-consuming goal, often in the form of a dream that drives them. In Thief, Frank hopes to create a family and retire from a life of crime but is unable to. However, in Manhunter, Will Graham is able to do his job successfully and return to his family safely.

3. Dreams: In Mann’s films there is always a key scene between two people in which they tell each other their dreams and personal philosophies. During the course of the narrative, Mann protagonists are forced to make a life-altering decision that will determine their fate and inevitably push their dreams just out of reach. They often sacrifice their dreams when they acknowledge and embrace their aloneness. In Heat, when Hanna realizes that he cannot be with Justine because he is consumed by his job, he is then free to catch Neil.

4. Color: There are several colors that he uses in every movie that symbolize specific meanings. Blue represents romance and safety. In Manhunter and Heat when the main protagonists are home they are shown in rooms bathed in blue light. No harm will come to them in these spaces. Green is equated with danger and death. In The Insider, when Wigand golfs at night and is threatened by a mysterious man, the lighting of the scene is an eerie green. Red, to a lesser degree, is also associated with danger and death. In the climatic bank heist in Heat, two cops hide behind a red truck and Hanna returns to his hotel room to find his step-daughter, Lauren, in a tub filled with her blood. Gray and white represent authority and conformity. In Manhunter, Lecktor’s prison cell is completely white, which enhances his intimidation of Will Graham.

5. Architecture: Mann’s films also pay particular attention to architecture and a sense of place. It is used to enhance or reflect the mood of his characters. His films are full of empty houses, lonely hotel rooms, endless oceans, and dark city streets. Mann’s urban films are populated by hi-tech buildings that are spartan and impersonal by design, like the prison that houses Lecktor in Manhunter or Neil’s home in Heat. Characters inhabit clean, uncluttered spaces with large picture windows that often offer a view of an expansive body of water. Water represents a place of relaxation (Manhunter), a search for identity (The Last of the Mohicans) and a place of refuge (The Insider) for the Mann protagonist.

Selected filmography

• The Few (announced)
• Damage Control (announced)
• Arms and the Man (announced)
• Miami Vice (2006)
• Collateral (2004)
• Ali (2001)
• The Insider (1999)
• Heat (1995)
• The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
• Manhunter (aka Red Dragon: The Pursuit of Hannibal Lecter) (1986)
• The Keep (1983)
• Thief (aka Violent Streets) (1981)
• The Jericho Mile (TV) (1979)

Awards and honors

Mann received an Emmy in 1979 for Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series or a Special for The Jericho Mile. The following year he was honored by the Director's Guild of America for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for The Jericho Mile. In 1990, he won another Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries for Drug Wars: The Camarena Story. Mann was the recepient of the Humanitas Prize in 2000 for The Insider. In 2005, he received the BAFTA Film Award for co-producing The Aviator.

To date he has received four Academy Award nominations: in 2000, the Best Adapted Screenplay for The Insider, Best Director for The Insider and Best Motion Picture of the Year for The Insider. In 2005, he was nominated for Best Motion Picture of the Year for The Aviator. He has yet to win.

Further reading

• Feeney, F.X. Michael Mann: The Complete Films, Taschen (2006). ISBN 3822831417.
• Howard, Gregory Allen. Ali: The Movie and the Man, Newmarket Press (2001). ISBN 1557045100.
• James, Nick. Heat, British Film Institute (2002). ISBN 0851709389.
• Steensland, Mark. Michael Mann, Pocket Essentials (2002). ISBN 1903047846.
• Wildermuth, Mark E. Blood in the Moonlight: Michael Mann and Information Age Cinema, McFarland & Company (2005). ISBN 0786420596.

External links

• Michael Mann at IMDb
• Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
• Salon profile
• extensive Mann profile (in French)
• Information about Mann's role in directing "Manhunter" (1986)
• The Mann Fan Site (hasn't been updated in years)
• Peckinpah’s West vs Mann’s Metropolis Peckinpah’s West vs Mann’s Metropolis
• Sight & Sound - Mann's Top 10 All-Time Favorite Films

• 1943 births
• Living people
• Miami Vice
• American film producers
• Jewish American film directors
• Chicagoans
• American television producers
• American television writers
• American screenwriters