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Reviews
Miami Vice (1984)
The cop show transformed into pastel-soaked existential neo-noir
From the vantage point of the 21st century, 1980s television show Miami Vice has I think achieved quite a rare feat: it is both so intertwined with its era, yet also somehow transcending of it to become an enduring legend that has a surprisingly high degree of rewatchability. I find that other quintessential 1980s media (Blade Runner, Robocop) achieve something similar, which tells me that Miami Vice approached some kind of greatness. What is undeniable is that Miami Vice changed the cultural landscape of the 80s similar to the effect Andy Warhol had on the world of art in the 60s. Both were a bit vulgar - but immensely successful and lasting.
Whereas Vice's one-time primetime competitor and equally era-defining show, Dallas (1978-1991) may have made for highly entertaining initial viewing, it didn't leave most viewers with the mystique and hold that Miami Vice has. One need only to casually scan popular Miami Vice fan forums and social media accounts for proof of this phenomenon. Often, I find fans (who span multiple generations and demographics) still have lots of questions nearly 40 years later. How did they film this? Why did they chose this color over that? Where was this scene filmed? One of these reasons is that there never was a definitive, authorized, episode-by-episode making-of (similar to what Star Trek fans are treated to) either in documentary form or book (well, there was, but it contained inaccuracies and has been out of print for decades). The second is that the sounds and images Miami Vice presented to the screen are utterly unlike anything else that came before or after.
The reason for Miami Vice's durability are plenty, but I think it can now be best understood with one idea: embracing risk. Although it took general elements that had then been recently tried with success, such as the multi-racial buddy cop duo from 48 Hrs (1982), and of course the entire setting and storyline of Scarface (1983), Miami Vice built on these and did not look back. The often mentioned connection to MTV is equally just another jumping point for the show. Miami Vice was bigger than new wave music.
More than the two lead actors, whose limitations I think actually enhanced the show's surreal and superficial version of Miami, the success of the show really owed to being television's first big ensemble production, where every single element - writiers, cinematographers, location scouts, directors, set designers and Jan Hammer's astonishing score - all play a strangely equal role, all vying for attention as vividly and eagerly as products in advertisments.
I argue that Miami Vice is less about the War on Drugs and more about the emotional and ethical war within all people of late capitalism. It could be summed up partly as, "if you can't beat 'em, join em", but there's an ominous question mark hanging over that sentiment. It's no wonder then that if Crockett and Tubbs go undercover in Reagan's America, it should be in the most violent, outlandish, corrupt, yet still dreamy part of that America: the city of Miami. The ploy of their undercover identities necessitating every modern accoutrement held a nugget of truth despite its ludicrousness. That conceit was able to show Americans and the world the conclusion of life in a deeply flawed commercial democracy. It is indeed a material world, Miami Vice seems to say, before pulling the rug out from underneath with a cliffhanger at the end of the fourth season that is among the greatest in television history (and never gets enough credit for helping to invent the TV anti-hero in the process). Miami Vice, through its magic concoction of corporate darkness, did try to achieve a spirituality in the machine after all. Did it go all the way? Once the entire series is viewed, the answer for me is ultimately no. Did it come very close? Absolutely. And that's enough sometmes. In Miami Vice's case, where a lot of effort went into most of the hundred plus episodes, that's more than enough.
The faded (and inaccurate) memory of Miami Vice as light-hearted, brightly-colored camp can easily be discarded with one viewing of "Little Miss Dangerous" (dir. Leon Ichaso, season 2, episode 15, 1986) an unbelievably dark and depressing tale for television that is mesmerizing for its utterly nihilistic climax. Miami Vice is to my knowledge one of the few television shows that turned the predetermined finality of the timeslot format into an ephermeral experience of punctuation through abrupt freeze-frame endings - much the way minimal art makes use of negative space. Literally filmed almost entirely at night, "Little Miss Dangerous" is right up there with the pitch-blackness of "The Terminator" (1984) as permanently dimming the "Morning in America" narrative that the mainstream was pitching. The show's much-hyped shift to a darker color palette, tone and plotlines for the 1986-1987 season in some ways exemplifies its essence. Even though newly recruited producer Dick Wolf was not an impeccable aesthetic the way Michael Mann was, his storyline approach suited Miami Vice well. If the show was to wallow in style and music trends, it could easily do the same with headline trends. So in-tune was Miami Vice that it practically predicted the real-life Iran-Contra affair with the episode "Stone's War" (dir. David Jackson, season 3, episode 2, 1986), a scandal that finally put a dent in Americans view of Reagan. It's worth noting that in that SAME episode, Crockett's vehicle gets upgraded to a Ferrari Testarossa. Vice had perfected its delirious swirl of style AND substance.
That's typical of the neat trick Miami Vice pulls off for the viewer. It was a boon for NBC (known for lighter fare like Cheers and SNL) but the show sometimes played like experimental art house before crash landing somewhere between fever dream and satire in the later seasons. Miami Vice also advanced the noir genre perhaps more than any single 1980s film because it was churning through dystopian plots and tortured characters on a weekly basis, showing us that noir can be filtered through an ever-shifting contemporary lens. Moody and unpredictable are two of the best and most accurate descriptors for the show I can find. Even as the quality and viewership declined, there was always at least a few creative upsides - such as an episode from the final season, where the Dead Can Dance track "Severence" was combined with disorienting imagery influenced by 1920s German expressionism. Where else would you have found that besides the goth section in your local vinyl store? Miami Vice was accelerating cultural transmissions way before the influencers of the internet did.
Like the era it was born in, Miami Vice was a victim of its success. The lack of a consistent writing team and increasing indifference of producer Michael Mann throughout the five years meant a jarring uneveness, and pitting it against Dallas in the ratings was doomed to fail. Miami Vice also semi-walked back on its transgressive promise of the season 4 cliffhanger. But by the end of it, there were more than enough high moments to outweigh the low. And those highs were good enough that certain episodes of Miami Vice are like required viewing for aspiring film photographers, designers, directors and production assistants. Even though we still lack a truely collaborative "making-of", the show is a how-to in itself of strange, beautiful, immersive, riveting consumerist critique. Perhaps the most distinctive show of its era might just be timeless.
Breach (2007)
Missed opportunity
For a modern movie about the worst known spy in American history, this film disappointingly lacks the intensity and flair I think is needed to underscore the magnitude of what Hanssen did. The excellent Chris Cooper is up to the task, but his director, co-stars, scriptwriters, even the awful piano and strings hollywood library music score let him down. Having read extensively about the spying Hanssen actually did over the course of two decades, there were plenty of close calls and edge of your seat thrills to pick from his real life episodes. Instead, the movie only focuses on the final few months of Hanssen's FBI career, where he is seemingly pompous, irate and burned out. We don't see the Hanssen from the 1980s and 90s during the height of his spying where he was getting away with everything, literally. So I think this movie gives us a tiny portrait, but to fully understand what he did and who he was you'd be better served reading a detailed account or watching a documentary, and you might be more entertained as well. It's a shame, because in the hands of Michael Mann or Oliver Stone this might have been fantastic. Maybe a better film account will show up some time. In the meantime, Hanssen is still incarcerated in 23 hour solitary confinement to this day.
Cruising (1980)
Enjoyable mystery thriller, vintage NYC, aesthetically influential
William Friedkin is not just a great director who knows how to craft riveting thrillers and get the most from his actors. He is a visual genius, a painter, who was not afraid to show us new and sometimes unsettling ways of looking at urban space, night time, interior space, parks, people, costume design. While I was watching Cruising, I took about 20 different screenshots that double as delicious still-art that will outlast the movie. Shot in cold blues, this film is a stylistic triumph. I see echoes of this in everything from Dario Argento to Michael Mann to dozens of music videos throughout the 80s. Cruising even has some good music from the club scenes, and the very subtle two note synth drone score that burbles up occasionally. As for the story, it leaves a little to be desired, but I like Pacino and the disturbing, though dated questions it raises.. Watch for the mood and atmosphere, that was enough for me to enjoy it.
Almost Blue (2000)
Average late Italian serial killer thriller. No new revelations.
As a fan of giallo, and after reading one reviewer liken this to Manhunter (1986), I decided to give it a go. I was curious: was early millennium Italian crime genre as cutting edge and provocative as it was in the 60s, 70s and even early 80s? The answer from this film for me is unfortunately mostly no. There are a few problems. First, this not a murder mystery, but more of a police procedural and light character study. We get glimpses of the killer, and the police ID him quickly. That removes any element of suspense of classic giallo and Italian crime movies which keeps the viewer guessing. Second, there is not much horror. There are one or two jumps, and there is some blood (including the memorable image of hands typing on a computer keyboard covered in blood), but again there is no building of dread and deep sense of the horrific. Lastly, the characters are lightly studied but only the surface is touched. Apparently this was based on a well regarded book, so it's unfortunate the film wasn't as successful. The acting is fine, though not spectacular. The direction is definitely above average, with modern lighting, thoughtful angles and shots. The story is also good - there is so much potential with the elements of a female lead detective, a blind witness, a killer obsessed with internet chat rooms and techno music - but the parts don't connect fully and never add up to much. Keep your expectations very low and see it just to cross off your list, but definitely not essential and I wouldn't waste money on owning a copy.