Michael Mann

A student of London's International Film School, 'Michael Mann' (qv) began his career in the late 70s, writing for TV shows like _Starsky and Hutch (1975)_ (qv). He directed his first film, the award-winning prison drama _The Jericho Mile (1979)_ (qv), in 1979. He followed that in 1981 with his first theatrical release, _Thief (1981)_ (qv) starring 'James Caan' (qv) as a safe-cracker who falls under the spell of the mob. He followed with _The Keep (1983)_ (qv), an adaptation of 'F. Paul Wilson' (qv)'s novel about a mysterious force within a Nazi fortress. He hit it big in 1984, when he produced and created the long-running TV series _Miami Vice (1984)_ (qv), which made 'Don Johnson' (qv) a household name. He followed that up in 1986 with the underrated, lesser-known TV series, _Crime Story (1986)_ (qv), and the thriller _Manhunter (1986)_ (qv) a precursor of _The Silence of the Lambs (1991)_ (qv). He spent the next few years involved in television, directing films like _L.A. Takedown (1989)_ (qv) and producing films like the Emmy-winning _Drug Wars: The Camarena Story (1990)_ (qv). In 1992, he returned to feature film with the box-office hit _The Last of the Mohicans (1992)_ (qv), which starred 'Daniel Day-Lewis' (qv) and 'Madeleine Stowe' (qv).::Stephen Currence <[email protected]>