Michael Mann - Director Research

In this post I will be discussing the director Michael Mann. I will be discussing how Mann has influenced my creative process and the impact his films have on me. Mann is widely regarded as a master of the modern crime thriller, and one of the most decorated American filmmakers working today.  Films like Thief, Heat and Collateral are all brilliant examples of incredibly suspenseful, well crafted and visually superb films. Mann has a very sweeping array of skills as a director, which is something I found as I watched some of his films. Mann is a rare breed of director who can boast both incredible visuals with great performances from his cast. This is what I often think of as balancing the concept of both style and substance. Heat it a perfect example of this. The film looks amazing, and the plot plays out so swiftly and effortlessly under confident direction and immense performances from Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. 

One particular way Michael Mann has influenced the creative process of Alice immensely is through the opening credit sequence, and the night exterior shots. Mann frequently uses a shallow focus to silhouette his characters or subjects, and adds a great amount of visual depth with his environments pulled from the focus. This often creates a dark and atmospheric feel, without allowing the audience to be too consumed by grief and darker emotions. The bright, neon lights always push a sense of optimism in the way of the audience, albeit very subtly. Like many great filmmakers, Michael Mann uses his visuals to such an end that the characters down to the environment seem to be part of something much bigger. Using visuals to profound effect in the way Mann does allows the film to feel contained and within itself. In Heat and Collateral, the characters are bound to the empty streets splashed in neon. They act very little outside of the world that the visuals create, and this often makes a film tick. Like many of my favourite filmmakers I've previously discussed such as Refn and Wong Kar-Wai, their visuals are consistently brilliant throughout every single shot and every single scene, which in turn maintains the mood of the film. 

Below are some shots from the filmography of Michael Mann. The top is Robert De Niro in Heat, the second is Tom Cruise in Collateral, and the third is James Caan in Thief.