I was going through my external hard drives again and I found these cross-comparison images that I forgot to post somewhere between my old write-ups of Heat & Public Enemies (if you remember, I was in a serious Michael Mann phase between late 2011 through mid 2012).
It’s a pretty straight forward representation of Mann’s constant exploration of the duality/rivalry between hero & villain. So instead of letting these images go unused, I figured I post it up…
Top to Bottom: Manhunter Heat Public Enemies Collateral
Writing about Claire Denis' entire feature filmography has been one of my crowning achievements here at PINNLAND EMPIRE. In fact, I was so busy with the world of Claire Denis that I didn't even realize I was slowly doing the same exact thing with Michael Mann's work. Its come to my attention that I only have a few more of his films to write about ('The Insider', 'Manhunter' and 'Last Of The Mohicans') until I complete his entire catalog on PINNLAND EMPIRE as well. So lets continue with 'Collateral'...
Here's a film I've been conflicted about since its release in 2004. Much like 'Public Enemies', 'Collateral' is another one of Mann's films that I wanna love unconditionally but I just cant. Don't get me wrong, its full of that Michael Mann style that I love (and blog about) so much: the bright blurry lights, HD cameras, his unique imagery, his vision/portrayal of Los Angeles, the night clubs, his regular cast of actors, the contemporary music/modern score, etc. But 'Collateral' is kinda confusing at times. Not in a David Lynch-confusing kinda way, but in a "are we really supposed to believe that?" Kinda way. With 'Collateral' Michael Mann mixes elements of fantasy (a hitman taking a cabbie hostage going door to door killing people all while pretty much going unnoticed by the police) with elements of reality and grittiness (the HD handheld look of the film) which can be very confusing and disorienting at times because we go in and out of taking the movie seriously to riding it off as pure fantasy. Sometimes its like: Make up your mind! Is this supposed to be believable or not? Mann has worked in complete fiction/fantasy ('Miami Vice'/ 'The Keep') as well as complete fiction/reality ('Ali'/'The Insider'), but the mixing of these two worlds can be problematic. And speaking of worlds, Mann takes us back in to the world of 'Heat' with this film (the criminal underworld of L.A., police stakeouts in the back of vans, double crossing among criminals, etc) mixed with the look of 'Ali'. Id even go so far as to say 'Collateral' has elements of David Fincher with its the darkly lit atmosphere & environment reminiscent of 'The Game' and even 'Se7en' to a certain extent (the large majority of the film takes place at night or indoors at darkly lit apartments and clubs). It also draws influence from the films of Jean Pierre Melville (a common influence on Mann's work). 'Collateral' takes place during a 24 hour period in Los Angeles in which a cab driver ("Max"/Jaime Foxx) is hired by a hitman ("Vincent"/Tom Cruise) to take him to five different locations so he can kill four key witnesses and a lawyer (Jada Pinket-Smith) to stop a trial that could put a powerful crime boss ("Felix"/Javier Bardem) away for good. The only problem is that Max doesn't realize Vincent is a hitman at first. When he finally realizes whats going on hes thrown in to a crazy world of shoot outs, murders, killers, and yadayadayada..
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It goes without saying that 'Collateral' IS a very entertaining movie but something tells me Mann was trying to make an accurate and somewhat believable film and I just cant buy that.
I'm sorry but anyone who's seen this has to agree that this has some of Michael Mann's worst plot holes ever. I don't give a shit if you're a fan or not. Now...I hate being "that guy" who calls bullshit on whether something is believable in a movie or not but 'Collateral' forces me to go there (this also exposes my hypocrisy as Mann's 'Heat', which has more than its share of plot holes, is one of my all time favorite movies). Where do we start? I guess we could start with the overall premise of the movie. A cab driver outsmarts a hitman? For such a precise hitman who's obviously got a heavy reputation to carry out the task he was paid to do in the story, he was pretty sloppy (but pretty badass at the same time, don't get me wrong). What kinda hitman (who's supposed to go unnoticed) throws someone out of a window on to a car, busting up the hood, thus drawing attention to himself as this now busted up car is what hes supposed to get around in? Furthermore, how does someone getting thrown on to a car go unnoticed by passersbys? I get that this scene took place in an alley but c'mon now... And speaking of the busted car, the scene where they get pulled over is quite ridiculous. Who gets away with driving a busted up cab with blood dripping from the side of the hood? Outside of a film like 'Manhunter' and maybe 'Heat', Michael Mann clearly loves criminals over police and isn't a fan of making police look very smart on film and c'Collateral' is no exception. From the beat cops who let Max go with a warning for driving the suspicious car to the detectives who take forever to realize that Vincent's victims are all connected, its a bit messy. Other ridiculousness includes the scene where Max and Vincent go to visit Max's mom in the hospital (I'm sorry but Max/Jaime Foxx had plenty of legit opportunities to escape from Vincent).
But even with my little nitpicky ranting, 'Collateral' still brings some great performances to the table. Mark Ruffalo is "Mr cool" as always (although a little greasy), Jaime Foxx is very good (he even got himself nominated for best supporting actor but it was overshadowed by his nomination for 'Ray' in the same year), Tom Cruise is both badass (the way he kills people is awesome and cold blooded) AND annoying at the same time (those over the top forced mannerisms and jerky movements that we all know Cruise for get a little unbearable at times) and Javier Bardem's extended cameo is great and intimidating. I own the DVD so I obviously don't hate the film, but it coulda been tightened up a little better. And hey, imagine how bad 'Collateral' woulda been had the original actors who were up for consideration had signed on (a post-2000 Val Kilmer and Adam Sandler). So think about that...
Obviously Michael Mann has a talent for crafting elements of action & entertaining shoot out/fight sequences (as seen in the shootout scene in 'Heat', the finale of 'Manhunter' and the rescue scene from 'Miami Vice') with elements of drama and the thriller genre. And at the end of the day he does that with 'Collateral'. Although I don't really buy the ending, its still pretty tense and does keep you on the edge of your seat at the same time (sorry to sound so cliche). Tom Cruise has the indestructible/"wont die" swag of Robert Patrick in Terminator 2 and you genuinely believe that Jaime Foxx and Jada Pinket may not live to the end of the movie (so although I do think Vincent/Cruise is a sloppy hitman, he's still pretty tenacious and wont ever give up). So take some of the stuff I said earlier with a grain of salt. 'Collateral' is still a pretty solid film.
In the tradition of David Lynch & 'Mulholland Drive', Michael Mann's 'Heat' originated from a failed television project ('LA Takedown'). 'Heat' carries over the same basic plot as well as certain specific lines from 'L.A. Takedown' (there's even a cameo in 'Heat' from Xander Berkley who appears in the original). And strangely enough, 'Heat' and 'Mulholland Drive' share another common bond. Aside from being set in L.A., certain aspects of both films are LOOSELY based on true events and real people (with 'Mulholland Drive', David Lynch was subconsciously influenced by the death of his former assistant, while certain characters in 'Heat' are based on real people). 'L.A. Takedown' was a more simplified version of what Mann really wanted to do. It didn't have so many characters, not as many subplots and its only 90 minutes long, whereas 'Heat' is almost 3 hours with quite a few side stories.
In 'Heat', Al Pacino plays "Vincent Hanna": A somewhat unusual, yet dedicated police lieutenant (based on real life police officer-turned screen writer Chuck Adamson) who's on the trail of "Neil McCauley" (Robert Deniro) and his crew (Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Danny Trejo) who're about to pull a major heist. Hanna and McCauley's relationship, which we'll get to a little later, is a bit strange but at the same time very interesting.
I really appreciate the fact that even though 'Heat' is essentially an action film (or "crime drama"), Michael Mann took his time, and wasn't afraid to make a long, complex tale involving many different players and subplots. These subplots include: Hanna's marital problems and his suicidal stepdaughter (played by Natalie Portman), McCauley's relationship with his girlfriend and his pursuit of a former partner of his who double crosses him (just like in 'Thief', 'Public Enemies' and 'Miami Vice', Michael Mann creates a world where there's GOOD bad guys). The film also delves in to the life of Denrio's partner/2nd in command; "Chris" (Val Kilmer) who's also got marital and gambling problems. Over the years I've heard some people complain about all the additional characters and subplots, but in my opinion I thought they gave the film depth. In addition to basing Al Pacino's character off of a real life police officer, Michael Mann also based John Voight's character off of actor/author/ex-con Eddie Bunker (reservoir dogs and animal factory), who also acted as a consultant on 'Heat'.
The rest of the supporting cast in this film is so stacked, you often forget all the actors in it like; Ted Levine, Tom Noonan, Hank Azaria or Dennis Haysbert. Even a pre-entourage Jeremy Piven has a small part.
'Heat' is one of my favorite movies, but at the same time I cant deny it has its plot holes or unbelievable moments like; Al Pacino man handling Henry Rollins (i don't think so), Val Kilmer's getaway at the end or 3 guys greatly outnumbered by a S.W.A.T. team who manage to shoot their way out and get away with only 1 casualty, but none of that really seemed to bother me, because in my opinion it didn't take away from the "big picture".
This isn't just a blog entry about 'Heat'. Its also doubling as a study on Michael Mann and his style of film making (with 'Heat' as the main focus). Ever since i started doing the "images & stills" studies on various directors on PINNLAND EMPIRE, I've always felt the one i did on Michael Mann was pretty weak, so I'm gonna make up for it now...
"MICHAEL MANN STYLE":
In my opinion, 'Heat' is an important landmark. Its where all the great elements of Mann's early work like 'Thief' and 'Manhunter' (the acting, the grittiness, the music) met the great elements of his future work like 'Miami Vice' and 'Collateral' (unique cinematography, bright lights, big cities, nightclubs, beautiful lighting, etc). Techniques and shots were carried over from 'Thief' and 'Manhunter' into 'Heat', and we were also introduced to new techniques and shots in 'Heat' that Mann continues to do to this day...
'Manhunter' (1986)
'Heat' (1995)
'The Insider' (1999)
'Ali' (2001)
'Heat'
'Public Enemies' (2009)
'Heat'
'Miami Vice' (2006)
'Public Enemies'
'Manhunter'
'Heat'
'Miami Vice'
Every director creates their own world. Some directors like Lodge Kerrigan or David Lynch create a world of unease and crazy people that you don't wanna visit. Directors like Cassavetes show realism. Other directors like the obvious Tim Burton create a land of fantasy. Mann kinda combines all of those worlds. 'Heat' may appear to be realistic, but so many things in that movie would NEVER happen in real life. With a director like Mann, even with all the criminals, shootouts and violence, its a world you wouldn't mind visiting because he makes everything look cool and sleek. In 'Heat', he makes L.A. (a city I'm not too fond off) seem like a place I would enjoy.
INFLUENCES:
Its common knowledge to most movie nerds/Michael Mann fanatics that Alex Colville's painting; "Pacific" not only inspired some great shots in 'Heat' (below)
but 'Miami Vice' as well...
and as i said in my review of 'Thief', Mann draws inspiration from french crime directors like Jean Pierre Melville (specifically 'Le Circle Rouge'). Deniro's performance in 'Heat' is very Alain Delon-esque (minimal emotions, cool, calm, collected). Melville's influence on Mann has also trickled down to other filmmakers like Nicolas Winding Refn in 'Drive'...
'Le Circle Rouge'- Melville (1970)
'Heat'
Melville's influence on Michael Mann's other work (note the style of lights and the way they're shot in Melville's film compared to Mann's Ali)...
'Le Circle Rouge'
'Ali'
DENIRO & PACINO:
Of course the biggest hype around 'Heat' was that this was gonna be the first film to have Pacino and Denrio on screen together (as we all know they were both in 'The Godfather Part 2', but never at the same time). Say what you want, but Michael Mann has managed to quietly work with some of the biggest actors from each era. James Caan in the early 80's, Denrio, Pacino and Russell Crowe in the 90's and Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise, Javier Bardem and Christian Bale in the last decade. He was quite aware of the hype that would be surrounding this, and he made the audience wait until that classic scene when both iconic actors wold be in the same scene together. In the first half of 'Heat', Mann teased us with the stakeout scene, which is edited to look like Deniro and Pacino are looking right at each other when in fact they're in completely different locations.
He prolongs the meeting between Pacino and Deniro yet AGAIN, with another similar scene in which they aren't on camera together, but both are aware of each other's presence...
Eventually we get the famous "cafe scene" where Pacino and Deniro finally meet (which is kinda edited in a similar fashion as the stakeout scene from earlier). Their relationship in this scene, as well as this movie is like a flirty heterosexual relationship. Both characters have (some) respect for each other, even though they're technically enemies. Its this unspoken "thing" between the two of them...
Now that we've been face to face, if I'm there and I gotta put you away, I won't like it. But I tell you, if it's between you and some poor bastard whose wife you're gonna turn into a widow...brother...you are going down. - Vincent Hanna (Pacino)
There is a flip side to that coin. What if you do got me boxed in and I gotta put you down? Cause no matter what, you will not get in my way. We've been face to face, yeah. But I will not hesitate. Not for a second. - McCauley (Deniro)
The respect that Hanna has for McCauley is a little odd. Its like he has a crush on him or something. His choice of words in that scene is a bit strange. As a cop, why wouldn't he like it if he had to take down a criminal who was putting the lives of others in danger (you know, essentially doing his job)? Through out the film whenever Hanna mentions McCauley, he repeats the line; "this guy is good". On the flip side, it seemed like once McCauley found out Hanna was on to him, he wanted to go through with it even more because it would be the ultimate challenge for him.
'Heat' is easily one of the best movies of the 90's and one of the greatest crime dramas of all time (...in my opinion). A true Los Angeles film that deserves its place among other ensemble modern LA films like 'Shortcuts' or 'Pulp Fiction'.
Like 'Ghost Dog', 'Solaris' (2002) and countless other underrated movies that came out in my late teens/early 20's, I used to dislike 'Ali' (well maybe not dislike, but i wasn't crazy about it). I remember back in the myspace blog days, Pinksmoke writer John Cribbs included Mann's 2001 biopic on his list of "25 best films of the decade so far" which is pretty much what prompted me to give it a 2nd chance. There's still a few nitpicky flaws that get to me, but at the end of the day my stance on 'Ali' has definitely changed. I admit that when I saw Ali upon its initial release I didn't have the same appreciation for Michael Mann's visual style that I have now. Maybe it's a maturity thing, but it wasn't until a few years ago that I realized how much I loved his movies and overall visual style. I always liked 'Thief' and 'Heat' but I never attributed my love of those movies to Michael Mann's unique style. Even his stuff that I'm still not crazy about like 'Collateral' & 'Public Enemies' still has that particular look that I appreciate. What is it about Mann's style that makes a shot of blurry street lights or a close-up of the side of someones face look so great? Its like listening to atmospheric music with no lyrics. When you really get down to it - there's no scientific explanation as to why that kind of music touches someone. It's an indescribable thing just like the strange beauty in these borderline experimental Mann shots...
'Ali'
Mann's signature side shot of Mario Van Peeples as Malcolm X in 'Ali'
'Collateral'
another similar side shot of Tom Cruise in 'Collateral'
And yet another side shot, this time of Colin Ferrell in 'Miami Vice'
Furthermore, 'Ali' showed Mann's continued fascination with various hues of the color blue...
'Ali'
'Collateral'
'Heat'
The timeline of 'Ali' spans from his first bout with Sonny Liston (another boxer whose story would make an amazing biopic if done right) up through "The Rumble In The Jungle" with George Foreman. Like many classic boxing movies ('Raging Bull' & 'Rocky') what makes 'Ali' great is what the director focuses on outside of the ring as well as inside. In between those 2 historic matches (Liston & Foreman), Mann touches on Ali's relationships with the Nation Of Islam & Malcolm X, his romantic relationships, his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War (which led to him being stripped of his heavyweight title) and his unique relationship with Howard Cosell (played by John Voight). What made 'Raging Bull' standout among all the other boxing movies was Scorsese's focus on Jake Lamotta's legal troubles, his love life and his rocky relationship with his brother.
At the end of the day Will Smith did a wonderful job, but, and I know some of you are going to want to crucify me for saying this, it would've been interesting to see an unknown actor play the part. Sorry, but we're running out of (good) young/young-ish black actors in America. Will Smith, Jefferey Wright, Don Cheadle & Terrence Howard are in their 40's and Denzel Washington is in his mid-50's. I seriously think one of the main reasons that so many biopics on important black figures like Stokley Carmichael and Angela Davis haven't come out is because the movie industry, both mainstream & indie, doesn't know how to break new young black (film) actors. They always look at who is current, available or relevant when it comes time to play a part. Rarely do you see a young black actor or actress "made" or "discovered" in the same vein as a Chris Hemsworth (Thor) or Sam Worthington (Clash Of The Titans, Avatar). The unknown lead actor surrounded by a supporting cast of well-known/established actors is a formula that needs to be explored more
The performances that did make me a believer came from the supporting cast. In the last decade Michael Mann has gathered together some great supporting players in his films. With 'Miami Vice' he had Justin Theroux, Eddie Marsan and Isaach Debankole. In 'Public Enemies' he got Giovanni Ribisi, Billy Curdup (who, in my opinion, did a great job as J Edgar Hoover), Stephen Graham and Carey Mulligan. In 'Ali', among the supporting cast of John Voight, Jada Pinkett, Jeffery Wright, Ron Silver, Ted Levine (in an uncredited role) and Giancarlo Espisito (who for whatever reason was cast as Muhammad Ali's father, even though he's only 9 years older than Will Smith) the standout performance came from Jaime Foxx as Drew Bundini. Just imagine if the title role of Ali was played by an "unknown"/newcomer with a remaining cast of well known supporting actors like John Voight, Jeffery Wright and Jaime Foxx? Something to think about. Just Sayin'...
I think one reason a lot of people doubted that Mann could pull this film off was because when you're dealing with an iconic figure like Muhammad Ali, you're dealing with a lot more than just a boxer. He was an iconic figure among black people. It seems like ever since 'Malcolm X', Spike Lee is the only choice to direct any important story concerning black people. But what some of you fail to realize (and forgive me for saying what I'm about to say) is this would have been a post-2000/'Bamboozled' Spike Lee film, which means there's a strong chance Lee's version of 'Ali' would've been a big disappointment like so many other films he's done in the last decade. Sorry, but I'd rather watch 'Girl 6' twice in a row on repeat then watch 'She Hate Me' again. And 'Miracle at St. Anna' was a ploy to win over fans that didn't like Spike Lee. He figured making a war movie would put him in the good graces of America, but his mouth got him in trouble during promotion for the film (he criticized Clint Eastwood's recent war film ' Flags Of Our Fathers' and that didn't sit well with white Americans).
Spike Lee was definitely sour about not being picked to direct 'Ali'. Between the pre-production and release of Ali, he had the following things to say...
I would say I do know more about white culture than Michael Mann knows about black culture, and I will say Ali was indicative of that (OUCH!)
I wanted to do it, but Will didn't want me to direct it
Few white directors can get our stuff right. Ali didn't get it. I'm tired of other people documenting our history. Rumor has it that Will Smith didn't want Spike Lee to direct 'Ali' because of his harsh (and just) criticism of 'The Legend Of Bagger Vance'.
Smith & Mann
Besides Spike Lee, what other black directors at the time could have made this film? By 2000/2001 John Singleton was on his way to selling out (and he hasn't stopped since), Robert Townsend fell in to direct-to-video obscurity, Mario Van Peeples (who ironically co-starred in 'Ali') failed to do the Black Panthers' story justice, so I wouldn't want him anywhere near the Muhammad Ali story, and his father Melvin was (and still is) enjoying his cult status in Europe. This kind of a project would have been too big for Matty Rich, Wendall B Harris had fallen in to obscurity as well, Steve Mcqueen ('Hunger' & 'Shame') hadn't started directing feature films yet and I don't see the Hudlin Brothers pulling this one off either ('House Party' is one thing, but I don't about 'Ali'). Charles Burnett would have been an interesting choice with the right budget, but lets be honest...a name like Charles Burnett doesn't hold the same weight as Michael Mann. And just because a prominent black director can't make a film about a prominent black figure doesn't mean the movie should just be scrapped. It's not like Brett Ratner directed 'Ali'. Michael Mann is one of the last studio directors working today that actually has style. Naturally people are always going to be skeptical about a white director dealing with important issues concerning Black America (especially during the 60's & 70's), but Mann did a great job if you ask me (the first 10 minutes of 'Ali' showed a lot of unspoken racial tension). And lets not forget that Norman Jewison directed 'A Soldiers Story', Jim Jarmusch directed 'Ghost Dog' and Spielberg did direct 'The Color Purple'. So every once in a while a white director can do a black story justice. The only criticism I have towards Mann's focus on black issues in 'Ali' was the Malcolm X angle. It just seemed to go on for too long and it took away from Muhammad Ali's story. For the first 40 minutes of the movie, 'Ali' almost feels like a joint biopic of both X and Ali. Many people don't realize this, but Spike Lee was the THIRD director chosen to direct 'Malcolm X'. First it was Norman Jewison, then it was Michael Mann and finally Spike Lee got the job. Something tells me Mann's elongated focus on Malcolm X in 'Ali' was kind of a shot at Spike Lee (Mann actually went so far as to re-shoot the scene of Malcolm X's death the way it actually happened). And not only that - Mann even got two actors who co-starred in 'Malcolm X' to appear in 'Ali' (Giancarlo Espisito and Al Freeman).
I highly recommend giving this another chance (for those of you who weren't crazy about it 10 years ago like i was) or actually give it a FIRST chance to begin with (for those blind Spike Lee fans who have actually never seen the movie but still judge it).
In the tradition of David Lynch & 'Mulholland Drive', Michael Mann's 'Heat' originated from a failed television project ('LA Takedown'). 'Heat' carries over the same basic plot as well as certain specific lines from 'L.A. Takedown' (there's even a cameo in 'Heat' from Xander Berkley who appears in the original). And strangely enough, 'Heat' and 'Mulholland Drive' share another common bond. Aside from being set in L.A., certain aspects of both films are LOOSELY based on true events and real people (with 'Mulholland Drive', David Lynch was subconsciously influenced by the death of his former assistant, while certain characters in 'Heat' are based on real people). 'L.A. Takedown' was a more simplified version of what Mann really wanted to do. It didn't have so many characters, not as many subplots and its only 90 minutes long, whereas 'Heat' is almost 3 hours with quite a few side stories. 
