Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #355 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-11-02
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds
• Running time: 140 minutes

DVD Description
In the action-thriller Public Enemies, acclaimed filmmaker Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard in the story of legendary Depression-era outlaw John Dillinger (Depp)--the charismatic bank robber whose lightning raids made him the number one target of J. Edgar Hoover's fledgeling FBI and its top agent, Melvin Purvis (Bale), and a folk hero to much of the downtrodden public.

No one could stop Dillinger and his gang. No jail could hold him. His charm and audacious jailbreaks endeared him to almost everyone--from his girlfriend Billie Frechette (Cotillard) to an American public who had no sympathy for the banks that had plunged the country into Depression.

But while the adventures of Dillinger's gang--including the sociopath Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham) and Alvin Karpis (Giovanni Ribisi)--thrilled many, Hoover (Billy Crudup) hit on the idea of exploiting the outlaw's capture as a way to elevate his Bureau of Investigation into the national police force that became the FBI. He made Dillinger America's first Public Enemy Number One and sent in Purvis, the dashing "Clark Gable of the FBI".

However, Dillinger and his gang outwitted and outgunned Purvis' men in wild chases and shootouts. Only after importing a crew of Western ex-lawmen (newly baptised as agents) and orchestrating epic betrayals--from the infamous "Lady in Red" to the Chicago crime boss Frank Nitti--were Purvis, the FBI and their new crew of gunfighters able to close in on Dillinger.

Synopsis
Based on author Bryan Burrough's ambitious tome 'Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-43', director Michael Mann (HEAT, LAST OF THE MOHICANS) has crafted a sprawling historical crime drama that follows the efforts of top FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale – BATMAN BEGINS, AMERICAN PSYCHO) in capturing notorious bank robber John Dillinger. A folk hero to the American public thanks to his penchant for robbing the banks that many people believed responsible for the Great Depression, charming bandit Dillinger (Johnny Depp – PIRATES OF TEH CARIBBEAN) was virtually unstoppable at the height of his criminal career; no jail could hold him, and his exploits endeared him to the common people while making headlines across the country. J. Edgar Hoover's (Billy Crudup – WATCHMEN, ALMOST FAMOUS) FBI was just coming into formation, and what better way for the ambitious lawman to transform his fledgling Bureau of Investigation into a national police force than to capture the gang that always gets away? Determined to bust Dillinger and his crew, which also included sociopathic Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham – DOGHOUSE, THIS IS ENGLAND) and Alvin Karpis (Giovanni Ribisi – THE GIFT, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN), Hoover christened Dillinger the country's very first Public Enemy Number One, and unleashed Purvis to take them down by whatever means necessary. But Purvis underestimated Dillinger's ingenuity as a master criminal, and after embarking on a frantic series of chases and shoot-outs, the dashing agent humbly surmised that he was in over his head. Outwitted and outgunned, Purvis knew that his only hope for busting Dillinger's gang was to baptize a crew of Western ex-lawmen as official agents, and orchestrate a series of betrayals so cunning that even America's criminal mastermind wouldn't know what hit him. Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum, and Stephen Dorff co-star.

Customer Reviews

Superior, stylistic crime drama
The subject matter of Public Enemies is similar to that of The Untouchables, with which it compares favourably. However, director Michael Mann has made some interesting stylistic choices for his modus operandi. Most of the film was shot electronically with only a few scenes filmed in traditional 35mm. While on the one hand it provides a somewhat unusual look, being reminiscent of a 1980s BBC drama, on the other the high level of detail and natural colour cannot be faulted.

Much of the time its digital origin is very apparent and this cinéma-vérité feel is juxtaposed anachronistically with the period setting. Nevertheless, the pace of the narrative soon makes you forget this and after a while you begin to appreciate Mann's boldness. Somehow it makes events that happened during the 1930s seem much more recent and immediate. Johnny Depp turns in another polished performance, ably supported by Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard.

This highly recommended disc also includes an informative array of bonus features, including an hour of featurettes and an engrossing commentary from Michael Mann.

Good but not great
This film stars a wonderful Johnny Depp who pretty much carries the film for most of its near 2 1/2 hours. It is visually stunning (with a few caveats, of which more later) often compelling, but there seems to be something missing. A lack of "back-story" is not the problem as Depp makes clear in his own mini auto-biography delivered to Billie "What more do you need to know?". It seems to be a problem with tempo and the development of drama. There are too many shoot-outs, too much of a concentration of the scenes dealing with character in the early part of the film, and too little organisation of the order of scenes, leaving the viewer with a film that lurches from one thing to another rather than allowing a dramatic line to unfold.

Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis plays a rather dull character, and Billy Crudup (who "Watchmen" fans might recognise despite his failure here to turn blue and expose his genitals) was more engaging and watchable, for me. But there is no real sense of a dynamic, dramatic conflict between Purvis and Dillinger. Marion Cotillard is quite good as Billie, without conveying much of what is supposed to make her relationship with Dillinger work. It is a film with lots of great scenes, which don't add up to a great whole. Most viewers will surely empathise with Dillinger (the aspect that he is more hated by much worse criminals than by ordinary citizens no doubt helps) but since towards the end he doesn't seem that bothered about what happens to him, it becomes harder for the viewer to care.

On the BD side, this film was shot on HD cameras (apparently the 35mm scenes were tests and did not make it into the film). This makes for outrageously good visuals at times. Winstead bending down to the pavement in close-up, or in the interrogation room with Billie are about as good as HD gets. Almost hyper-real in the sense of depth, plasticity and three-dimensionality. When Mann wants it so, the film showcases the format with natural colours, sharpness and brilliance of image. But at times there is quite heavy filtration, mainly yellow for darker, indoor scenes. And despite the much-heralded grain-free guarantee from going all digital, some of the night scenes have very aggressive digital noise which is more unsightly than most grainy night-time scenes I have recently seen. Audio quality, as another reviewer mentions, is a mixed bag. The soundtrack is 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio - DTS HD here appears to stand for Dialogue Towards Silence Hail-of-bullets Deafening. Every shotgun shell here would do duty for a nuclear explosion in many other films, while the dialogue is far too quiet. I was constantly adjusting volume, which was very annoying.

What remains is an entertaining but imperfect film which has a hollowness, the sense that something is missing and this prevents the film from being as great as Depp's performance deserves. As a BD the sound issue is annoying, but the picture quality is very good, bearing in mind the few caveats above. Worth a look, but don't put it top of your list.

Public Enemies
Is it possible? Nah, it can't be. It is? I can't believe it!!! For the first time since 2004's Finding Neverland, audiences are going to see Johnny Depp. It's not that this is his first film since portraying the J M Barrie in the 2004 film. Rather it's his first film since then which doesn't see him sporting a weird haircut, signing, prancing about, speaking in cock-er-ney accents or playing Jack bloody Sparrow in those insufferable pirate films. For once, the superb actor is playing it straight. And the verdict? Why doesn't he do it more often!!!

In 1930s Chicago, John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) and his band of outlaws have built a reputation as local heroes, by carrying out clinical robberies on banks whilst leaving the great depression hit American public alone. Dillinger has the run of the town, and its women, with Billie (Marion Cotillard) catching his eye. Hot on his tail though is Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), who the FBI has brought in to catch the notorious criminal, using a raft of new technologies and techniques.

Depp is superb has the 1930s playboy, filling the role with the charm and charisma required to make a conniving bank robber likeable. He also brings to the screen that audacity and star factor that Dillinger himself had at the height of his fame. Marion Cotillard, who won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Edith Piaf, is brilliant has Dillinger's other half Billie Frenchette. She is able to be both the glammed up other half America's most wanted criminal and the vulnerable girl who is sucked into a world she knows nothing of. Unfortunately, she is wasted though, as Mann and fellow screenwriters Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman struggle to give her character the depth and plot she deserves. Christian Bale is on autopilot yet again, as the cold, moody Melvin Purvis. His emotionless performances are becoming tedious and he'll need to break out soon for fear of becoming type cast.

The locations used by Michael Mann in filming Public Enemies are simply stunning. Much of Wisconsin stands in for Chicago, due its high volume of historic buildings. The real beauty comes in the detail of using both the old Lake County jail, from which Dillinger escaped, and Little Bohemia Lodge, in which Mann recreates Dillinger's shoot out with Purvis' FBI team. The veteran director has also switched from using 35mm film to recording on digital film. Although some believe this gives the period film too clean a finish, it actually helps to immerse the audience in the action, actually transporting them back to the high-class restaurants and dusty old prisons of the 1930s. However, with low brimmed hats and many a dark room, it can be difficult at times to tell the difference between many of the male leads.

No matter how good Public Enemies looks, or how well it's acted, the film is lacking a significant dramatic crux. The entire film scrapes around for something to hook onto. In some parts, it's a straight biopic about the Dillinger himself; in others it's about the FBI's pursuit of him; and in others it looks at the relationship between Dillinger and Frenchette. On their own, any one of these would have been interesting, but joined together, the film becomes a slight mish-mash of storylines, which continually veer off in one direction and then another. The traditional `Mann-biguity' about the two leads characters is also missing. In both Heat and The Insider, Mann puts the message across that although his lead characters may be from opposing camps, they're simply two-sides of the same coin. In Public Enemies though, he sets out his stall within the first ten minutes of the film, and form then on in, viewers' perceptions of the two lead characters are skewed.

The Verdict
Although Depp is electric and the setting is spectacular, Public Enemies has had greatness stolen from clutches by a less than engaging plot.