Michael Mann

Rating:
Summary: the only book dedicated to the films of Michael Mann?!
Review: For such highly regarded filmmaker it's a bit of a head scratcher that there is only one book out there dedicated to his career.... and a pretty [bad] one at that.

If you're looking for a basic, blow-by-blow account of his films, then this 96-page quickie is okay. However, more devoted fans will be disappointed by the lack of in-depth analysis or factual detail (most of it taken from various interviews and articles that are easily found for free on the Internet and that aren't even credited!).

Mr. Steensland's writing style is all over the map. At times it's almost academic and then switches suddenly to a more conversational tone. It has a jarring effect on the reader that is very distracting.

Now, I understand that the purpose of this series of books is to provide quick and easy-to-find information on a given filmmaker and their films. That's fine but a filmmaker of Mann's calibre deserves more than this. When's a more detailed book on his career going to come out?

Bottom line: unless you are a die hard Mann fan don't waste your time or money on this book.