It took Michael Mann (b. 1943), today a major figure in contemporary American cinema, many years to establish himself: his experience as a flamboyant television producer in the 1980s — notably on the series Miami Vice — overshadowed his early work as a filmmaker. In 1991 Mann exploded into the mainstream with the success of The Last of the Mohicans. Since then his work has focused on the crime movie, with Heat in 1995, Collateral in 2004 and Public Enemies in 2009.