Public Enemies

[scotrace]

I saw it last night, and just don't know what to make of it. The clothes were wonderful to see! My gosh, those shirts some of the men wore! Someone really knew their stuff. In some tight shots, even the weave and texture of Depp's plain white shirts was wonderful.
That I took the time, on a first viewing, to notice tiny things might say a lot about the film.
Johnny Depp carries the picture. Christian Bale whispered his lines, the mumbling jackass. It was ironic that J. Edgar Hoover tells Purvis over the phone to keep repeating himself "I can't hear you." Neither can I, pal! At times, it just seemed like the boom mic guy or the mixing board guy were hungover that day and not doing their job. The sound levels were all over the map.
A big plus was that everyone seemed at home in the time period. Except for a few seconds when characters seemed clumsy with everyday items like heavy phone receivers, it felt like 1933. Very much so. Great cars, great use of cars. They often feel like shiny props in period films. The cars didn't stand out as anything but cars being driven.
It felt like a depression was going on.
The men's haircuts were probably the best 30's cuts I've seen in any film made since that time. Even the bit players had perfect haircuts. I want that barber. And the main characters were perfectly, painfully, flawlessly clean shaven.
The female characters were well done, well outfitted.
It didn't make me love it or hate it. I'm glad I saw it, I want the DVD for the visuals. Optimo should be very, very proud. Nice hats. Lots of variation.

 

[Mr. K.L.Bowers]

I have not seen the movie yet, only the trailer. What caught my attention right away was the car (of course). The car is indeed a 36 Chevrolet, but with some modifications. The wiper is above the windshield on the driver's side, not under and there are turn signals / parking lights on the front fenders. Both are inaccurate for that model. But of course Dillinger died in 1934, so I guess I’m nit-picking. One other thing, the fact that they show the car when he states he likes “…fast cars…” in the trailer, the 1936 Chevy is a 6 cylinder with a screaming 79 horse power. As Retrogirl1941 can attest, it is not a fast car.

 

[flat-top]

I may need to see this movie again (on DVD of course) just so I can take in the little details that Scotrace is talking about. I was too busy waiting for something to happen story/plot/characterwise to sit back and take it all in.
*Edit- I DID notice the haircuts. VERY cool!

 

[skyvue]

I'm wondering if any Lounger has yet placed his order for a purple fedora like the one Depp wears in one scene.

That seemed a bit out of character, I have to say, not really fitting with his personal aesthetic as established in the rest of the picture.

I thought the hi-def video was not well-used. It was much better in COLLATERAL. And I agree that the plotting and character development was lacking.

It was decent eye-candy, and I wasn't ever quite bored.

But a classic it is decidedly not.

 

[Lawman]

I SO wanted to love this movie, but came away only vaguely liking it. The visuals are gorgeous to be sure. The movie itself, though, is far from award caliber stuff in my view. When you look at other crime movies like the first two Godfather films, Good Fellas, Once Upon a Time in America and others in that genre, this one lacks the sweeping and timeless eloquence that characterizes those films. Depp was very good, I thought. I could not get past Bale's terrible attempt at a southern accent. Krudup's Hoover was annoyingly eccentric. I know the guy was an odd duck, but the idiosyncracies come across as caricature. This might also be colored by my recent reading of the book on which the film is based. Loosely based, I might add.

 

[Cricket]

I saw the movie over the weekend. I was entertained, and I did enjoy it. But I admit that I was expecting something else. My sister in law leaned over at one time in the movie, and I thought made a good point. She said, "I find myself enjoying the snapshots and capturing of the era in the movie rather than the plot itself."
Like a lot of loungers, I loved the different elements captured in the movie like fashion, hats, etc. but was expecting more. But then again, I know I am buying it on DVD. I can't help myself/

 

[Barchetta52]

The older I get the more actors mumble. Hmmmm. Thoroughly enjoyed the movie and will go see it again.

 

[texasgirl]

I don't think this has been posted, but if so, sorry-

Some of the movie costumes and props are on display at the ArcLight Sherman Oaks cinema.

http://jasoninhollywood.blogspot.com/2009/07/public-enemies-movie-costumes-and-props.html

 

[mattfink]

I thought the movie had some great moments, but was pretty average overall. Mann, didn't do too good a job soliciting any emotion from the movie's viewers with the exception of digust towards J. Edna Hoover, Melvin Pervis and the FBI in general. How many people can you shoot in the back? The clothes were amazing and my favorite scenes were the opening jail break and the chastising of Hoover. I'd give it a 3 - 3.5 out of five stars.

 

[hatted]

The film dragged -- if the editor get's an oscar nod I'll be rather disappointed -- and seemed to want us to believe that Dillinger was basically a good guy, though by all accounts (or at least, as the film laid it out) he was a shallow hoodlum. The hats & cars were pretty nice though.

 

[DanielJones]

They had a program on last night on the History Channel that I recorded on the DVR. It was "Crime Wave: 18 months of Mayhem". Most folks that met Dillinger, except law inforcement, generally liked him and thought he was rather easy to get along with and didn't come off as an evil or shallow individual. But hey, that is just one point of view from a long time ago. None of us will never know the real person no matter what we watch or read.
the show was fairly interesting & gave a fairly good picture of the era in that short time.
We're finally going to get around to seeing Public enemies this weekend.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Ghostsoldier]

They had a program on last night on the History Channel that I recorded on the DVR. It was "Crime Wave: 18 months of Mayhem". Most folks that met Dillinger, except law inforcement, generally liked him and thought he was rather easy to get along with and didn't come off as an evil or shallow individual. But hey, that is just one point of view from a long time ago. None of us will never know the real person no matter what we watch or read.
the show was fairly interesting & gave a fairly good picture of the era in that short time.
We're finally going to get around to seeing Public enemies this weekend.

Cheers!

Dan

I stayed up 'til 2 am last night watching that one...pretty good documentary....
Rob

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I'm wondering if any Lounger has yet placed his order for a purple fedora like the one Depp wears in one scene.

actually, the hat that you are talking about in a deep, dark red called oxblood that can take on several different hues depending on lighting conditions.

 

[KL15]

I'd like to see what ended up on the cutting room floor. I think there was alot of action that was cut out of this film. Hopefully the DVD will have some of the deleted scenes.

 

[vwguy]

I'd like to see what ended up on the cutting room floor. I think there was alot of action that was cut out of this film. Hopefully the DVD will have some of the deleted scenes.

They shot so much of the two bank robberies they filmed in town I was suprised to see only a few minutes of each made the cut, let's hope they put the rest on the DVD.

Brian

 

[kuwisdelu]

I'd like to see what ended up on the cutting room floor. I think there was alot of action that was cut out of this film. Hopefully the DVD will have some of the deleted scenes.

Aye, I'm hoping for a longer director's cut at some point.

 

[Brian Sheridan]

Director's cut? The film was way too long as it was. The shaky, handheld shots made some of the shoot outs hard to follow. Also, the lack of characterization made most of the secondary gangsters indistinguishable with the exception of Baby Face Nelson.

I liked it though but basically because of Mann's attention to detail.

Hated the changes in history they made to make it more "dramatic."

Like others here, I can't wait for the Blu Ray DVD. Mann shot this in HD so the Blu Ray should look incredible.

 

[kuwisdelu]

It didn't feel long to me. If it were longer, perhaps it would allow for more characterization. I'd like to see a longer version. It's hard to cover so much material in such little time and do it justice.

 

[lindylady]

I saw it last week with my husband. He loved the old Tommy guns (warning to those who get squeamish at the sight of blood: just enough in this film to make you wince). I enjoyed the immense detail in clothing, background, props, even the way the characters spoke. Everything seemed to be on point. Can't wait for the dvd.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I enjoyed the immense detail in clothing, background, props, even the way the characters spoke. Everything seemed to be on point.

A judge repeatedly says "okay" to the lawyers in his courtroom. An African-American shoeshine man says "How ya doin'?" to white Texan customers whom he'd never met before. On point for the era? Heck no.


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