Director Showdown: Michael Mann Vs. Oliver Stone

[Timothy Hunter]

Both have a penchant for directing slick, cool thrillers

Michael Mann Filmography
The Jericho Mile
Thief
The Keep
Manhunter
L.A. Takedown
The Last of the Mohicans
Heat
The Insider
Ali
Collateral
Miami Vice
Public Enemies
Blackhat

Oliver Stone Filmography
Seizure
The Hand
Salvador
Platoon
Wall Street
Talk Radio
Born on the Fourth of July
The Doors
JFK
Heaven & Earth
Natural Born Killers
Nixon
U Turn
Any Given Sunday
Alexander
World Trade Center
W.
Wall Street Money Never Sleeps
Savages
Snowden

[batnbreakfast]

Both have done movies I dislike but overall Mann has made more I enjoyed (Manhunter, Heat, The Last of the Mohicans) or ones I'd watch if I came across them. Stone is interesting but so far I only liked U Turn.

[Hellion]

I think Stone's films are more iconic/recognizable to the public, but I voted Mann because Heat and Last of the Mohicans are two of my favorite movies.

OP, you need to add like 4 or 5 more Alexanders under Stone's list.

[Surf]

I thought I was a Mann fan but I've never seen L.A. Takedown so off to YT I go.

Surprisingly I've seen more Stone movies than I initially thought, still doesn't compare imo. Outside of Platoon, Born and JFK, which all hit heavy, the rest don't really keep up. Mann stays pretty high throughout and whatever dips there are, in as not quite as entertaining, aren't as low as Stone's on average.

[Timothy Hunter]

Both have done movies I dislike but overall Mann has made more I enjoyed (Manhunter, Heat, The Last of the Mohicans) or ones I'd watch if I came across them. Stone is interesting but so far I only liked U Turn.

Why do you like U Turn out of all his movies? I like it too (well except for the ending) but it's a very... uncomfortable movie.

[ed2962]

I thought I was a Mann fan but I've never seen L.A. Takedown so off to YT I go.

Surprisingly I've seen more Stone movies than I initially thought, still doesn't compare imo. Outside of Platoon, Born and JFK, which all hit heavy, the rest don't really keep up. Mann stays pretty high throughout and whatever dips there are, in as not quite as entertaining, aren't as low as Stone's on average.

LA Takedown is a made for TV version of Heat before he made the theatrical version of Heat. It's basically the same story.

[Cyke]

Oliver Stone but only if he gets prep time.

(jk, I voted for Mann. He filmed Public Enemies in my neighborhood so that's an automatic win right there.)

[Surf]

LA Takedown is a made for TV version of Heat before he made the theatrical version of Heat. It's basically the same story.

Dawg, there ain't no 'basically' about it. I've gotten through most of it and It's the same movie with the same damn lines lol. There are some variations but I've never seen this done before. None of the actors are any good either, glad I was spoiled by the best I guess. You can tell it's still in Mann's style, kinda but I've seen plenty of Vice episodes- pick one, that look way better than this and this was post the run.

[ed2962]

Dawg, there ain't no 'basically' about it. I've gotten through most of it and It's the same movie with the same damn lines lol. There are some variations but I've never seen this done before. None of the actors are any good either, glad I was spoiled by the best I guess. You can tell it's still in Mann's style, kinda but I've seen plenty of Vice episodes- pick one, that look way better than this and this was post the run.

To be fair, he had the script laying around and someone asked him if he had an idea for another TV show. So, he chopped it down to something that could work as a TV pilot, but he only had like three weeks to shoot it. When he did HEAT Mann's talked about how he did way more planning and they took over four months to film.

[j9ac9k]

I've definitely loved movies from both, so it wasn't an immediate decision, but I think Stone gets in his own way sometimes with trying too hard with film gimmickry to push his POV and it's not always coherent when he wants to make a point. (I'm fine with chaos or simply being evocative and letting the audience decide, but just going from the films it seems like he wants to sell me on a position but he doesn't achieve it convincingly enough times)

[Surf]

So, he chopped it down to something that could work as a TV pilot, but he only had like three weeks to shoot it. When he did HEAT Mann's talked about how he did way more planning and they took over four months to film.

Yea I been in a LA Takedown/HEAT wormhole for a week now. Sat though the theatrical for the umpteenth time but not in a long while, it's on HULU/Starz for right now. If LA Takedown was a fan film homage to HEAT I feel it would be pretty fantastic lol. I'm still impressed with how tight the thing is pacing wise. Sure it's scaled down, Wanegro is still a pos and the ending is different but he pulled it off and the upgrades shot this story the stratosphere. It is a little clearer how Wanegro got to the crew to snitch through Trejo. End of the day I'm just glad I got to see HEAT in the theater.

I will say the bank robbery scene was a little more believable in LA Takedown, less cinnematic and we don't get Kilmer's smirk when he comes out of the bank and then **** goes down but it was the best part of TV-HEAT imo.

[ed2962]

Rumors are there's going to be a Heat 2. There's a novel out there, but I guess we'll see if a movie actually gets done.

[ed2962]

Fun movie, but not a great movie. I enjoyed it in the moment but don't rewatch it much.

[ed2962]

Loosely based on a Tarantino script, Stone reworked it into a satire on 90's media at the time



A co-worker of mine once told me about how he took a date to see this movie and she talked out of it on him...

[ed2962]

Oh, and for what it's worth...Rob Downey Jr has an Australian accent in NBK because at the time there was a popular tabloid TV show called "A Current Affair" and his character was kind a cross Steve Dunleavy, who was the host of the of that show and Geraldo Rivera, himself who was a sensationalistic journalist.