The Fall of the Roman Empire

Anthony Mann was an American actor and film director, most notably of film noirs and Westerns. As a director, he often collaborated with the cinematographer John Alton and with James Stewart in his Westerns. Born Emil Anton Bundsmann in the Point Loma area of San Diego, California, Mann was the... son of Austrian immigrants Emile Theodore Bundsmann, and his wife Bertha Waxelbaum of Macon, Georgia. Mann started out as an actor, appearing in plays off-Broadway in New York City. In 1938, he moved to Hollywood, where he joined the Selznick International Pictures. Mann became an assistant director in 1942, directing low-budget assignments for RKO and Republic Pictures. Mann was respected for his acute visual sensitivity toward the American Western landscape, effortlessly blending natural vistas with human drama. Mann's dramas verged on classical tragedy, often showing anguished heroes attempting to resolve personal pain and confusion. In 1964 he was head of the jury at the 14th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1967, Mann died from a heart attack in Berlin, Germany while filming the spy thriller A Dandy in Aspic.
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