Best known for crime dramas such as Heat, Collateral, and Miami Vice, Michael Mann has such a distinct style of filmmaking that’s grounded and realistically violent. When it comes to sheer intensity and thrills, the director can’t be matched. In 2012, fans got a look into what influences the director, as Mann submitted his top 10 list to the British Film Institute’s Sight & Sound magazine.
But what’s interesting is that, although other directors tend to work in the same genre as their favorite movies, the same can’t be said about Michael Mann. Where Mann directs crime epics, specifically with a chess game-like formula where a cop is trying to catch a criminal, his favorite films don’t reflect this in the slightest. Instead, Mann’s top picks are a mixed bag of CGI action epics, comedy classics, and 1920s war movies.
Biutiful (2010) – 7.5
Though writer-director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu was best known for making movies that tell the same story from multiple perspectives up to this point in his career, Biutiful broke that mold. The film has just one protagonist, a businessman in Barcelona who has ties with the criminal underworld, and his life quickly falls into further disarray when he discovers he has terminal cancer.
Though it doesn’t tell the story from multiple perspectives, Biutiful is still undoubtedly Inarritu in many other ways. Like the director’s other movies, such as Birdman, the movie is more spiritual and thematic than it is driven by a narrative, and it’s part of what makes the 2010 film so unique.
Avatar (2009) – 7.8
Avatar is the most surprising choice on Mann’s list of favorites, but ironically, it’s also the one that most closely matches his own work. In the broadest of terms, Avatar is an action movie, and it’s full of imaginative set pieces, fight scenes, and shootouts, just like the movies of Michael Mann.
However, with it being set in the fictional colorful world of Pandora, Avatar is so fantastical and most of the shots are entangled in CGI effects, whereas Mann’s movies are almost the exact opposite. Heat is so grounded in reality that the big shootout on the street after the final heist is used to train U.S. marine recruits, according to Esquire.
My Darling Clementine (1946) – 7.8
My Darling Clementine is often regarded as one of the greatest Westerns of all time, as the shadowy, moody picture is director John Ford at his best. It follows two brothers seeking revenge after their cattle have been stolen and their other brother murdered.
There are many trademarks of Western movies, many of which My Darling Clementine perfected, that show up throughout Michael Mann’s movies. Between the shootouts that appear in all his films and the idea of a lone ranger, which Mann used in his John Dillenger biopic Public Enemies, it’s easy to pinpoint where My Darling Clementine influenced the director.
The Wild Bunch (1969) – 7.9
It’s no surprise that The Wild Bunch is another beloved Western of Michael Mann’s, as the movie’s formula is even more in line with his style than My Darling Clementine. The Wild Bunch is about a group of outlaws looking to get one last score, which would sound familiar to any Michael Mann fan.
On top of that, the movie was extremely graphic in its depiction of violence at its time, which may have steered Mann towards his overly brutal screenwriting at a young age. And as the men in the movie are trying to survive in any possible way, Heat could be seen as a spiritual remake of the 1969 movie.
Battleship Potemkin (1925) 8.0
Despite his love of Avatar, Michael Mann certainly isn’t biased towards new movies, as Battleship Potemkin is a silent film that’s close to reaching a century old. The film is based on the events in 1905 when the crew of a Russian battleship formed a mutiny against the commanding officers.
The event is considered the first step towards the Russian revolution, but the movie based on the event was revolutionary too. Battleship Potemkin is generally regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time, and it’s yet another movie on Mann’s list of favorites that pushes violence to the extreme too.
The Passion Of Joan Of Arc (1928) – 8.1
The Passion of Joan of Arc is another movie closing in on a 100 old, and like a fine wine, it only gets better with age. The film follows Joan of Arc’s trial and execution when she was held captive in England, and it made other movies at the time seem trivial.
The movie was a landmark in cinema, as it was one of the first films to feature close-ups of actors’ facial expressions, and the cinematography was unlike anything else at the time. Despite its age, the 1928 film is as rich and fascinating as it was when it was first released, and that’s a magnificent feat considering some movies released today don’t even hold up after five years.
Raging Bull (1980) – 8.2
It’s interesting how there are a lot of similarities in certain filmmakers’ lists of favorite movies, as Raging Bull is a favorite of so many celebrated directors. It’s easy to see why directors look up the 1980 movie, as the black-and-white cinematography is so impressive, and despite it having such a gritty narrative, it’s full of that movie magic.
Instead of using fake blood, more creatively, Martin Scorsese used Hershey’s chocolate, because that looked more authentic in black and white, and that’s just one of the fascinating behind-the-scenes facts about the making of Raging Bull. On top of that, every other part of the movie, such as the soundtrack and the performances, is the gold standard of filmmaking.
Citizen Kane (1941) – 8.3
Citizen Kane is another favorite of many directors, as not only is it on Michael Mann’s list, but it’s one of Sam Mendes’ favorite movies too. The film has influenced every director working today, even if subconsciously, as the 1941 movie created so many different filmmaking techniques used today.
Between the non-linear narrative and the deep focus cinematography, Orson Welles was developing ideas that would still be primarily used 80 years later. Michael Mann’s movies rarely deviate from linear storytelling, but there’s no denying how all of Welles’ camera techniques have had a strong impact on the director.
Dr. Strangelove (1964) – 8.4
Dr. Strangelove is another classic that has influenced many directors, despite it not having much in common with any of their movies. The film is unique in that it was one of the first major movies to feature one principal actor in several major roles.
Peter Sellers plays an RAF officer, the President of the United States, and, of course, the nuclear weapons expert himself, Dr. Strangelove. The 1964 movie is an outlier in Stanley Kubrick’s filmography, as it’s an outright comedy compared to his other more dramatic works, but it still has that keen attention to detail.
Apocalypse Now (1979) – 8.4
Of all of Michael Mann’s favorite movies, Apocalypse Now is thematically the closest to his own work. The 1979 film follows a group of Vietnam military soldiers who are tasked with assassinating a rogue colonel who has started his own cult.
Though Mann has never directed a war movie before, both Apocalypse Now and the director’s movies do share many of the same themes. Where the war movie details the atrocities of war, Mann’s movies depict the grueling collateral damage of criminals. And the stubborn, demanding, and evil Colonel Kurtz could be compared to Neil McCauley in Heat and Vincent in Collateral.
