Blood in the Moonlight: Michael Mann and Information Age Cinema (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Director and screenwriter Michael Mann is the creative force behind such movies as Last of the Mohicans and Ali. Markedly reticent, Mann prefers that his personal background remain an enigma, but his disparate films contain clear and consistent messages. One of Mann’s focuses is on the Information Age. He addresses the nature of modern communication, its use to manipulate and coerce, and the resultant subjugation of truth. The perils inherent in modern technology and communication stand in stark contrast to the power of symbolic and oral exchange, the trusted medium of Mann’s protagonists.

This critical exploration of the films of Michael Mann examines his recurring focus on the nature of modern communication and information and their effect on the individual and society. Mann’s films highlight the struggle to maintain a connection to reality in a world where information is a commodity manipulated and abused by forces that exert increasing control over its content and dissemination. Each chapter examines one of Mann’s films—including Manhunter, The Keep, Last of the Mohicans, The Insider and Ali—in which the protagonist longs for a sense of human connection but is pitted against forces that devalue and destroy individuality. Photographs illustrate specific moments from the films. A bibliography and an index are included.

About the Author

Mark E. Wildermuth is an associate professor of English at the University of Texas in Odessa. He resides in Odessa, Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: MC Farland & Company (February 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786420596
• ISBN-13: 978-0786420599
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,563,543 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and In-Depth Worthy Study of a Great Artist, November 22, 2006

By	N. J. Schwartz "effysawyer" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Critical analyses of the works of Michael Mann remain rare, but this little gem of a book, which integrates theory with lucid writing (all too rare for theoretical frameworks) and a thoroughly precise examination of Mann's pictures from 1981 through 2001, worthily meets the task that Mann admirers would be looking for in a critical study. Wildermuth brushes past the more obvious Mannian themes for a more probing and immediate discourse on the nature of communication, and how Mann laments how informatics and economics of consumption are incongruent with genuine symbolic exchange between beings. The only regret is that this nifty little book does not have chapters on Mann's two most recent films, "Collateral" and "Miami Vice", a pity as both may be all too easily dismissed as genre films, when in fact the fascinating ideas in Wildermuth's study would readily be applied to them also.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Information is power, September 17, 2006

By	Victoria A. Wildermuth (Odessa, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Let me start by acknowledging that the author is my brother. That said, I am writing this review as a Michael Mann fan. There are so few books that provide in depth analysis of Mann's film and TV work. My brother's book is a fascinating exploration of director Michael Mann's (Miami Vice) recurring theme of the importance of communication to society and the manipulation and abuse of media. Excellent illustrations accompany an intriguing analysis of media culture in films including "The Insider", "Ali", "The Keep" (a great, almost unknown Mann film), "Heat", and "Last of the Mohicans." Very thought provoking - this book will help you see the films of Mann in a whole new way. By the way, if you are interested in Michael Mann, I also recommend A One-Man Show? The Construction and Deconstruction of a Patriarchal Image in the Reagan Era: Reading the Audio-Visual Poetics of Miami Vice. This is a cool socio-political analysis of Miami Vice in the context of the Regan era. Both books are highly recommended.
You might also want to check out Dr. Wildermuth's new book, Print, Chaos, and Complexity: Samuel Johnson and Eighteenth-century Media Culture if you are intrigued by media culture. Bet you never thought about media culture in the context of the 18th century! Dr. Johnson and Michael Mann have something in common and Dr. Wildermuth is a true expert on this theme. Enjoy!