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Even though it essentially copies the B & W 1937 version with Ronald Colman scene for scene with even the same Alfred Newman musical score I think this remains my favorite version of the tale. Granger's and Mason's final sword duel is a classic action sequence.
Love that final sword duel. Only rivalled slightly by Scaramouche (Granger again!)
Agreed. Granger's 2 1952 swashbucklers make for a great double feature. I think those 2 films and the comedy-western North To Alaska are my 3 favorite films of his.
I tend to watch Mann's films once every two or so years, always in order. Here's a short overview:
1) Thief: excellent theatrical début, great film. 5/5
2) The Keep: not Mann's comfort zone, clearly. Has some merits but always proves to be the toughest of the bunch to sit through, for me at least. 2.5/5
3) Manhunter: brilliant police procedural, one of the genre definers, with a great mood and impressive visual and musical work. Forget Silence Of The Lambs though; this isn't a real Hannibal Lector film since our beloved cannibal is barely in this movie. 5/5
4) The Last Of The Mohicans: powerful film, though not my favourite subject matter, great score, good performances. 4/5
5) Heat: Mann's best, incredible film, my favourite of his, faultless. 6/5 (If you allow me this numerical indulgence.)
6) The Insider: tremendously powerful follow-up to Heat. Exquisite film; well acted, perfect score, tense story. 5/5
7) Ali: biopics aren't my thing, but this one works. Smith does the job. Magnificent photography. 4/5
8) Collateral: Cruise at his best, exciting film, my first theatrical Mann experience and what an experience it was! 5/5
9) Miami Vice: Haters love to hate. This isn't the television series, folks, so move beyond that. I think this is a really well made film, with superb photography and great performances. 5/5
10) Public Enemies: Unusual film but not bad, more a film I would have expected Fincher or Scorsese to make, but Mann pulls it off. A bit slow in parts, tends to lose me in certain scenes, but remains great fun to watch. 4/5
11) Blackhat: Mann's underrated film, with great atmosphere, beautiful people to look at, a great score, great photography and inspiring locations. Took me by surprise, not because it's a good film, but because it wasn't recognised as such. 4.5/5
So, can you tell I'm a fan of the "Mann"? ;-) I guess he's my favourite living director along with Spielberg, Nolan and Villeneuve. I love almost everything Mann's ever put on screen, including Miami Vice (the series) and LA Takedown, the original "Heat" as it were.
My last day of fencing class was the other day. Since we did so good, and this is our coach's last year of teaching, he decided to let us enjoy pizza and a movie. He picked The Princess Bride because it has fairly realistic sword play, and it's just a good movie.
Agree
Thanks for that, great overview and I agree with almost everything you said. Its not surprising you also like Nolan and Villeneuve aswell as both they're styles are very reminiscent of Mann's. In fact you should check out the Q&A Nolan did for Heat's 20th anniversary with Mann, De Niro and Pacino, among others, if you haven't already:
As you're fan of Miami Vice I would have to guess that you're also a fan of LTK too? (Its #7 in my rankings and my favourite Dalton).
One of my favorites of Mann's as well, but it's not really saying much since I love a lot of his fare. Electrifying soundtrack in Thief elevates the entire movie to unbelievable heights for me.
And yes, I love LTK, and I'm a fierce Daltonite. Can you tell from my avatar? :)
I would like to add that Nolan made his crew watch HEAT before shooting TDK.
Return of the Jedi
Horror of Dracula
Deep Impact
Count me in on that one, too. A very solid and well shot thriller, if not a bit slow at times. Wasn't anywhere near horrible like the reviews seemed to peg it as. Incredibly stylish, as is to be expected from Mann.
I'm ashamed to say I've only seen a few episodes of it, but I'm in love with his movie adaptation. I'm in the minority regarding that, but damn, would I love a sequel to it.
I liked that as well, along with Collateral and Manhunter. The rest of what I have seen has been pretty uninteresting.
Took me way too long to get around to Manhunter but damn was it good. Tom Noonan is always engaging and intriguing in everything I've managed to see him in (The House of the Devil springs to mind.)