Michael Mann is one of the great American filmmakers. Over the past 40+ years, the director has made a number of classic, widely beloved films, including the 1995 films Warmth and in 2004 Collateral. His last film, Black hatit was released in theaters in 2015, and Mann hasn’t made a new film since.
This week marks the release of Mann’s first directorial outing in 7 years. Returning to the same crime genre he often explored, Mann directed the pilot episode Tokyo Vice, a new series led by Ansel Elgort and Ken Watanabe that just premiered on HBO Max. In honor of the occasion, here is a list of the five highest-rated films directed by Michael Mann, according to IMDb.
Thief (1981) — 7.4 ratings
United Artists, 1981
Michael Mann made his directorial debut in 1979 with a TV movie titled The Jericho Mile. However, among Mann’s fans, 1981 is the year Thief which is generally considered to be his first “proper” film, and it’s not hard to see why. Written and directed by Mann, the film follows Frank (James Caan), a talented safecracker, as he tries to pull off one last mob-funded heist before retiring to the picturesque life he’s always wanted.
The film currently holds an average rating of 7.4 out of 10 on IMDb and contains many of the hallmarks that have defined Mann’s work. Like many of Mann’s films, Thief at its center is a male figure who is defined by his own code, sense of honor and work ethic, but despite this, the film itself is also surprisingly romantic. With a performance for the ages GodfatherJames Cann, Thief is a fundamental American crime classic.
Collateral (2004) — 7.5 ratings
DreamWorks Pictures, 2004 / DreamWorks Pictures
Speaking of crime classics directed by Michael Mann, Collateral is an unforgettable thriller about a humble taxi driver (Jamie Foxx) who is forced to drive a hitman (played by Tom Cruise) to numerous locations in Los Angeles in order to perform a series of hired hits in just one night. As of this writing, the film has an average rating of 7.5 out of 10 on IMDb.
Anchored by a pair of layered performances from Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx, Collateral has earned its place as one of Michael Mann’s best films. It’s the rare thriller that manages to explore its central characters in interesting and surprisingly deep ways while also being consistently entertaining. Like all Michael Mann films, Collateral it also looks gorgeous from start to finish.
The Last of the Mohicans (1992) — 7.7 rating
Image used with permission of the copyright holder
The Last of the Mohicans is an interesting entry in Michael Mann’s filmography. Unlike many of his films, the action does not take place in a contemporary setting. Instead, the film is set in the 1750s and follows three warriors as they try to protect a soldier and the two daughters of an important British colonel while the French and Indian War rages around them.
Despite having little in common with his previous (and later) films, The Last of the Mohicans is still Michael Mann’s great creative and stylistic achievement. The film works as both an endlessly engaging historical epic and a sweeping romance, and gives him a chance to showcase his filmmaking skills outside of his preferred genres. It’s a risk that paid off for the director, as evidenced by the film’s impressive rating of 7.7 on IMDb.
The Insider (1999) — rating 7.8
Image used with permission of the copyright holder
Similar to The Last of the Mohicans, The Insider it’s not like many Michael Mann movies. It’s a political thriller less concerned with cops, robbers and murderers and more concerned with the pressure journalists and whistleblowers face whenever they try to expose important corporate lies. In this case, the film follows a whistleblower (Russell Crowe) and a television producer (a ruthless Al Pacino) who team up to produce a news special about a big, game-changing tobacco industry secret.
The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, upon its release in 1999. More than 20 years later, it is still considered one of the best political thrillers of the last 30 years. It may not be a simple crime drama in the same way as Collateral or Thiefbut it’s just as intense and propulsive as those films, which is probably why it currently holds a 7.8 rating on IMDb.
The Heat (1995) — 8.3 ratings
Warner Bros., 1995
Warmth is not only the best-known or highest-rated film Michael Mann has ever made — it’s also the one that best communicates his interests as an artist. Released in 1995, the film is notable for being Robert De Niro and Al Pacino’s first time together on screen. The latter actor plays an LAPD detective in the film who becomes obsessed with tracking down a group of skilled bank robbers, while De Niro, fittingly enough, plays the leader of the film’s central crime syndicate.
It lasts almost three hours, Warmth it has everything that makes Michael Mann the artist he is: romance, intrigue, pulse-pounding action sequences, awe-inspiring visual art, and a deep fascination with people and the rules they choose to live their lives by. The film has an average rating of 8.3 out of 10 on IMDb, making it the highest rated Michael Mann film on the website. For anyone familiar with Mann’s work, his ranking probably won’t come as much of a surprise.
The first three episodes Tokyo Vice now airing on HBO Max.
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Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn