Steven Sanders

This reader is the first to bring together a selection of Mann's own interviews where he reflects on his film and television productions. The sixteen interviews provide historical context, interpretation and evaluation of the auteur's work. They encompass his entire career as a feature filmmaker and television producer/director as he and others reflect on his themes, working methods, artistic development and career achievements. The book aims to open up Mann's body of work, making it available for comparison with the work of his contemporaries, and to provide fresh insights into his film and television work. A substantive introductory essay, chronology and filmography provide additional bases for understanding the interviews, essays and work of this major filmmaker.

A reader containing selected interviews with Mann and key critical essays on his work. From philosopher/cinephiles Steven Sanders and R. Barton Palmer, Michael Mann/Cinema and Television: Interviews, 1980-2012 comprises 16 incisive interviews by an international roster of scholars, critics, commentators, journalists, and film insiders. Spanning the entire career of the award-winning screenwriter-director-producer, these interviews elicit some of his most revealing comments on his themes, methods, and style. He offers an assessment of his work in film and television and describes some of the things of which he is most proud. Throughout, topics and themes such as location shooting, working with stars, and developing technologies in cinema are introduced, elucidated, and applied to his work. Some of the interviews discuss Mann's existentialist ideas. In others he discusses his critique of the corporatization of crime and the evolution of a wholly new model of criminal trafficking on a global scale. And in others he shares his enjoyment in filming in the megalopolises of L.A. and Miami. It includes a substantive introduction, chronology, and filmography, making it invaluable for scholars and accessible for undergraduate students. It is the definitive account of Mann's reflections on his contributions to cinema and television. Open up Mann's body of work, making it available for comparison with the work of his contemporaries.

The science fiction genre maintains a remarkable hold on the imagination and enthusiasm of the filmgoing public, captivating large audiences worldwide and garnering ever-larger profits. The Philosophy of Science Fiction Film explores the storylines, conflicts, and themes of fifteen science fiction film classics, from Metropolis to The Matrix. Editor Steven M. Sanders and a group of outstanding scholars in philosophy, film studies, and other fields raise science fiction film criticism to a new level by penetrating the surface of the films to expose the underlying philosophical arguments, ethical perspectives, and metaphysical views.