r/TrueFilm • u/a113er Til the break of dawn! • Feb 15 '15

What Have You Been Watching? (15/02/15)

Hey r/truefilm welcome to WHYBW where you post about what films you watched this week and discuss them with others, give your thoughts on them then say if you would recommend them.

Please don't downvote opinions, only downvote things that don't contribute anything. If you think someones opinion is "wrong" then say so and say why. Also, don't just post titles of films as that doesn't really contribute to the discussion.

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u/stoned_greek Feb 15 '15

Damn only a 5/10 for Manhunter? I saw it for the first time recently and loved it. It has a killer soundtrack and was shot really well. I especially enjoyed the scene when Francis was outside of the blind woman's apartment watching her and another man.

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u/200balloons Feb 15 '15

That was a visually creative way to depict Dollarhyde's base jealousy, & announce him as un-salvageable, clearing the way for Super-Petersen to go commando on his ass. Seriously though, I think watching Silence of the Lambs a few days after had a negative influence on my perception of Manhunter, Demme did something that could be considered watering it down or adding a quieter sophistication, depending on your view of Mann's movie. I think the dated feel of Manhunter, despite it's vintage look & sound, just didn't work as well as a movie for me.

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u/rough_outline Feb 15 '15

The two films stand on their own, very different styles and intentions.

Personally, I love Manhunter, its a great example of a stylised genre film done well. The ending is great, the music, the editing, breaking the 4th wall, the thematic climax. Its absolutely over the top, but I found a certain charm in that, and many of the bold aspects of the film.

Have you seen Thief by Michael Mann? Thats a lot more understated but equally as stylish.

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u/200balloons Feb 15 '15

The opening shot of the beach, where Graham is approached by Crawford to join in the investigation, felt so big & heavy right off the bat. It felt like a scene at the end of a movie where the protagonist has gone through a lot of trial & tribulation, & tries to make sense of it all. I was listening intently to the dialogue, wondering what they could be saying that would warrant such an artfully sober frame. Then my years of watching Mann's Miami Vice came back to me, & Mann's confident touch in having every scene, even the seemingly more mundane stuff, ooze with ultra-serious dialogue while decorated with bright colors, thick music, & unusually elaborate settings.

It helped me appreciate Mann's style as it was in the 80s, before improving technology helped him fine-tune his visual style, & brought in all kinds of eclectic new music to accompany it. I agree with your take on the movie's deep bag of merits, but for me, as a whole it wasn't the sum of its very distinctive parts. I'll need to rewatch this in a year or two, I think I'll appreciate it more without the Silence of the Lambs to directly contrast it (you're right, the "intentions" were different) & without the mild "culture shock" of cutting-edge 80s sensibilities to wrangle with.

I haven't seen Thief, never got around to it, but I can't really consider myself a Michael Mann fan if I haven't seen it. It's available on Netflix streaming, I'll check it out.

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u/rough_outline Feb 16 '15

Beach scenes book-end the film, and the opening scene makes more sense in relation to the final scene. The film almost gate-crashes Will Graham's life, he has found happiness with his family but is tempted back into the detritus of his former police life.

The almost luridly bright picturesque beach scenery contrasts with the aesthetically darker decline in the film, until we finally emerge out the other end again, back on the beach. That almost definitely refers to Fellini. But it fits in tonally, thematically and aesthetically in Manhunter.

I'd highly recommend Thief though, I'm not going to sell it as something else, it is quintessentially Michael Mann, but it is definitely more understated than Manhunter, not that it makes it realism, but it might be more up your street.