Re: PUBLIC ENEMIES (Michael Mann), 2009 - Depp, Bale
 

I saw it at the dollar theater today and thought it was pretty good. I don't know if I thought it was great, but I also don't think there was anything particularly wrong with it...it's a weirdly open-ended experience.

I also can't stop thinking about Marion Cotillard. :)

Re: PUBLIC ENEMIES (Michael Mann), 2009 - Depp, Bale
 

I'm noticing the 'quiet voices, loud gunshots' on the DVD as I watch it now.

Blu Ray actually.

Re: PUBLIC ENEMIES (Michael Mann), 2009 - Depp, Bale
 

This is Mann's most mature film, and it's also my favorite from him.

I couldn't have enjoyed it more. What a great movie.

I am on the fence on the digital stuff, it just didn't bother me like it did some of you. It didn't take me out of the film once, but that's just me.

Re: PUBLIC ENEMIES (Michael Mann), 2009 - Depp, Bale
 

^ I thought it was pretty good. I would have enjoyed it so much more had the a$$hole in front of me not been giving the audience play-by-play everytime something happened. Oh my GOD, did you see that?! He shot him!

People like that give theater going a bad name.

Re: PUBLIC ENEMIES (Michael Mann), 2009 - Depp, Bale
 

Finally watched this on Blu the other day... why did I miss this in theaters? I was convinced that Mann's use of HD cameras would ruin the picture for me, but it had the opposite effect of drawing me closer in; it looked fantastic in hi-def. It was slightly long, but I can't really think of what I'd cut. But that's a minor gripe. Casting was perfect. Depp was a little too much of a hero here, they paint him as a bit too saintly, but he's solid, as usual. Bale was much better than I thought he'd be. The score was incredible. I think it's certainly one of Mann's finest films.

Re: PUBLIC ENEMIES (Michael Mann), 2009 - Depp, Bale
 

Saw this over the summer. Guess I never wrote in this thread. Three pages of anticipation and half a page of reviews. No wonder it didn't do that well.

As Mabuse has said, Mann's films have little character development. The characters simply exist and you have to figure out why. In Collateral, you don't know much about Vincent. You can guess, and you might have a better idea the 2nd and 3rd time you see the movie. I have yet to see Public Enemies again but my guess is I will like it more on repeated viewings. I found it a bit dull the first time around.

that's why I almost never go to a movie the first 2 weeks it's out and then when i do go it's a matinee

Re: PUBLIC ENEMIES (Michael Mann), 2009 - Depp, Bale
 

Rewatched this again after a couple of years and just like Miami Vice I feel that this is another underrated gem from Michael Mann. I feel for Christian Bale's character as he is caught in the middle of a tug of war between John Dillinger and J. Edgar Hoover. I wish his character would have been developed a little more. I felt by some of his expressions and reactions that he was a tormented soul.

4/5

Re: PUBLIC ENEMIES (Michael Mann), 2009 - Depp, Bale
 

Unlike Miami Vice, I could not finish this one. It was such a chore. I always intended to try again but would always change my mind at the very last minute.

Re: PUBLIC ENEMIES (Michael Mann), 2009 - Depp, Bale
 

Agreed. This and Miami Vice hold high repeat value in my household.

Re: PUBLIC ENEMIES (Michael Mann), 2009 - Depp, Bale
 

Stephen Lang rocked it in an almost completely silent role. Very intense and they gave him a giant gun that gives my audio system a workout. That's what I like about Michael Mann flicks - he sure knows how to mix gunfire - it sounds very real.

Re: PUBLIC ENEMIES (Michael Mann), 2009 - Depp, Bale
 

I hate that he shot this on digital. Looks off, not horrible but the digital he used didn't lend itself well to the period. While something like collateral looked amazing for it.

Re: PUBLIC ENEMIES (Michael Mann), 2009 - Depp, Bale
 

The final sequence of Dillinger and the movie theater is the best part of the movie, at least from a perspective of every film element being perfect.

Re: PUBLIC ENEMIES (Michael Mann), 2009 - Depp, Bale
 

I still find this Mann film strangely inert. It has all the components in place and it's far from a bad film, but it never ignites and flatlines for long stretches. I've re-watched this several times and it never fully engages me.
I would much rather watch Manhunter, Thief, The Insider, Collateral, Miami Vice or Heat. All of which have a very palpable heart and soul.

That's kind of what I thought when I first saw it. I'll revisit it at some point, but it was by no means a bad film, and all of the ingredients were there, I just thought the film didn't quite have the the compelling drama of his best films.

Re: PUBLIC ENEMIES (Michael Mann), 2009 - Depp, Bale
 

I liked that he shot on digital, makes it feel as if today were the 30's.

Mann is one of the people who really uses digital superbly, especially in Collateral, as mentioned, where it really serves to highlight the sleekness and modernity of LA. But I am kind of with Snake on this one, it doesn't entirely feel appropriate for the specific period setting of the movie. It's easy to see why a guy like Mann loves HD so much-the freer camera, the ethereal atmosphere, the rich detail. But I think some 35mm grit and texture would've helped with the setting here. Kermode said it looked a bit like Lara a on tried directing The Untouchables, and while that's hardly how I'd have phrased it, I see what he means. The Depp-Bale dynamic, while they're two brilliant actors, doesn't quite have the power that the DeNiro-Pacino pairing did either, and Cotillard is such a brilliant actress, I couldn't help by feel she was a by underused. I thought the film didn't quite have enough thematic weight-celebrity worship, personal freedoms vs. nation needs, the grown of the FBI, etc were all touched upon, but underused. Mann being Mann, there is of course tons of style to burn-great set pieces, stylish action sequences, and more atmosphere than Malick, Wong Kar-Wai, and Melville combined, and it works on archetypal levels, but I'd like to see Mann hook up with a story which really meshes with his aesthetic. He keeps grown, and his style is incredibly seductive-Nolan borrowed heavily from it for his Batman films and Mendes for Skyfall, among others-the interesting question now is where he'll take things. Like man great filmmakers who feel shut out g the increasingly conservative film industry, he appears to have migrated to HBO, where they all for riskier stuff. I'll be curious where he goes next. After I see Miami Vice for the first time though (It's reception may have burned Mann and make him step back for this film), I'll revisit this too. The action genre is so lobotomized in Hollywood, seeing a guy like Mann try to brig something more to it is welcome.

Re: PUBLIC ENEMIES (Michael Mann), 2009 - Depp, Bale
 

Did we have another thread about this film, or did I simply neglect to mention that I think this film is a huge waste of time?

Re: PUBLIC ENEMIES (Michael Mann), 2009 - Depp, Bale
 

You guys should all read the book, Public Enemies, by Bryan Burroughs, which was the basis for this film. It covers a lot of the 1930s Depression-era bandits, not just Dillinger, but Bonnie & Clyde, Alvin Karpis & Ma Barker, plus Machine Gun Kelly, Pretty Boy Floyd and Babyface Nelson. I've read a lot about these figures, but this is the best overall sum-up I've ever encountered.

Re: PUBLIC ENEMIES (Michael Mann), 2009 - Depp, Bale
 

maybe it was the type of camera he used, but certain aspects look cheap, especially the big gunfight at night. The kind of cheap that you'd expect from a DTV Seagal movie (look wise)