Mann, Michael

Born February 5, 1943 in Chicago in a Jewish family ^[1] . His parents - Jack and Esther Mann - were engaged in the sale of groceries. Michael's father is an emigrant from the Russian Empire and a veteran of World War II . Michael's paternal grandfather, also a Russian emigrant, was a member of the First World War . Mann grew up near the Humbold Park in Chicago, in his teens he was fond of the rapidly gaining popularity of blues music.

He studied English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison , showed interest in geology , history and architecture . At the same time, he first saw " Doctor Strangelove " Stanley Kubrick and immediately fell in love with the movie. In a recent interview, Mann tells how much this film influenced him:

In the mid-1960s, he moved to London , partly to "stifle" the army during the Vietnam draft, although he was unsuitable for service due to asthma . But the main goal was to obtain a diploma from the London School of Cinema . He spent seven years in the UK attending a film school, and then worked on commercials alongside his contemporaries such as Alan Parker , Ridley Scott and Adrian Line . In 1968, one of his documentaries appeared on television, and soon he shot the short film Juanpuri , which won the jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1970.

After a divorce from his first wife in 1971, Mann returned to the United States. He first worked on the documentary “17 Days Later” for ABC . Three years later, Mann wrote the scripts for four episodes of the television series Starsky and Hutch and for the pilot episode of the Vegas series. In addition, together with the writer, retired policeman Joseph Wambo , he participated in the creation of the show “ Police Story ”. The series accurately reproduced the life of a policeman from Los Angeles , thanks to which Mann learned to bring authenticity and realism to his work.

His first feature film was The Jericho Mile , released in 1979. Although the film was originally shot for television, it subsequently went to film distribution in Europe . Michael Mann received his first Emmy figurine for the script for Mila, and he was also awarded the Directors Guild of America Award .

In the 1980s, Mann was active in television. He is involved in the creation of such series as “ Miami Police ” and “ Crime Stories ”. Contrary to popular belief, he is not their author, but he is the executive producer. One way or another, he influenced these projects in the selection of actors and their style.

In 1981, Michael Mann released his first feature film, The Thief , starring James Caan . The film was included in the main competitive program of the Cannes Film Festival and claimed the Golden Palm branch .

In 1986, he was the first to "film" the famous serial killer Hannibal Lecter , a character in the series of novels by Thomas Harris , in his film "The Manhunter " based on the novel "The Red Dragon ". The role of Lecter was played by Brian Cox .

Michael Mann received wide acclaim in 1992 for the film adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's novel The Last of the Mohicans . The film has been awarded numerous awards and nominations, including an Oscar .

Mann's next two films received great praise from both critics and viewers. The first of them, “ Fight ” (1995), tells about the confrontation between a professional criminal ( Robert De Niro ) and an experienced police detective ( Al Pacino ). The second, “ Your Man ” (1999), was based on real events about how a former employee of the Brown & Williamson tobacco company, Jeffrey Wygand, gave an exclusive interview to the 60-minute television program, covering many of the “dark” facts of Brown & Williamson’s activities. became the initiator of the largest corporate scandal in US history that turned the tide of the entire tobacco industry. The role of Wyganda was played by Russell Crowe . Mann also worked again with Al Pacino, who played 60 minutes producer Lowell Bergman .

These films demonstrated the cinematic style and ability of the director to skillfully create rich, complex storylines. “My Man” received 7 Academy Award nominations , including Michael Mann nominated for production, screenplay and production.

In 2001, Mann released a new film, “ Ali, ” about the great American boxer, Mohammed Ali . This was the first film directed by a digital camera. Starring actor Will Smith was nominated for an Oscar

Mann's next project was Accessory , released in 2004. The film was presented at the out-of-competition program of the Venice Film Festival , where Mann won the Future Film Festival Digital Award . The main roles were played by Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx . In the process of creating the film, Mann used the same method as when working on “Ali”: almost all field surveys were digitally shot to achieve greater depth and detail. The film received acclaim from critics, and also had commercial success. For his work, Mann was nominated for a BAFTA Award , and also recognized as the best director according to the National Council of Film Critics of the United States .

In addition, Mann was the producer of the biopic Martin Scorsese " Aviator ", which tells about the life of the American millionaire Howard Hughes . The role of Hughes was played by Leonardo DiCaprio . For the production of Aviator, Michael Mann was re-introduced to the Oscars and awarded the BAFTA .

In 2006, Mann shot a film adaptation of the Miami Police series, entitled Miami Police. Department of manners . " He then co-produced two of Peter Berg’s films: The Kingdom (2007) and Hancock (2008).

The director’s next film, the gangster drama Johnny D. , was released in the summer of 2009. The film is about the famous bank robber John Dillinger . Starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale .

In 2011, after a 22-year hiatus, Michael Mann again worked on television, filming a pilot episode and producing the HBO series Good Luck . The first season of the series was successful, and it was announced to continue, but after the death of the horses on the set, it was decided to close the project ^[2] .

Often in the role of the operator on the set of Mann is Dante Spinotti .

• Michael Mann on the Internet Movie Database
• Russian site about Michael Mann (rus.)