Michael Mann

Michael Kenneth Mann was born February 5, 1943. He broke through with The Jericho Mile in 1979, then refined his signature with Thief in 1981 — stylized crime dramas where atmosphere weighs as much as plot. The Keep arrived in 1983, Manhunter in 1986. From 1984 to 1990 he executive produced Miami Vice, which became a television landmark before he adapted it into a feature film in 2006. The Last of the Mohicans landed in 1992, then Heat in 1995 — the latter a cathedral of genre filmmaking. The Insider followed in 1999, earning him four Academy Award nominations across his career, plus two Prime…