Is Michael Mann an auteur? Mann is a formidable
filmmaking personality, no doubt, but the notion that today's celebrity cult of
director immediately correlates with the mysterious sect of 'auteur' is
questionable and deserves to be investigated. In doing so this book strives to
emulate the methodology of the man himself, by ranging over not only the films
he has made, from 1979’s The Jericho Mile to 2015's Blackhat, but also the
scope of intellectual interests that they exemplify in an attempt to mine the
commonalities, themes and traits that may suggest the presence of an auteur.
Through his investigation of Mann's filmography and the personality that flows
through it, author Deryck Swan provides the reader with accessible and new ways
of thinking about his films to date, including, amongst myriad other things,
references to painter Morris Louis, desert modernism, West Coast
prison culture, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Strain Theory, journalist Mike Royko, Chicago's
Auditorium building and a largely forgotten Charles Bronson film.