MANN AGED: HORSE RACE

Send us a text

MANN AGED E2: TEN TO LIFE ODDS

In 1979 Michael Mann made what amounts to a statement of purpose in THE JERICHO MILE, a TV movie about a Folsom prison inmate who finds succor in running and attracts the eye of both professional trainers, the Olympics, and every racially segregated gang inside. Peter Strauss stars as Lickety Split in a performance so good you'll wonder why he didn't become a household name in the 1980s. The supporting cast begins what will be a Mann strong suit in the decades to come: crack supporting actors at every level and some real life prisoners sprinkled in there for verisimilitude. This is a gem and definite must-see for any Mann fan. 

In 2011 David Milch and Mann collaborated on one of the biggest swings-and-miss series of the golden age of premium TV. LUCK lasted one season with 9 episodes (because Milch couldn't finish the script for #10 on time). Cancelled early in production of S2 in 2012 after three horses died, we can consider it a mercy killing of a very troubled dynamic offscreen. Despite the fascinating mosaic of horse racing with great character actors along with two aging stars in Nick Nolte and Dustin Hoffman, this thing simply did not work.

Mann directed the pilot, which we talk about here. 

THEME SONG BY: WEIRD A.I.