From Product Description:

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Since crime auteur Michael Mann, like his protagonists, plays by his own rules, Public Enemies eschews back story and motivation for a closely-observed, action-packed examination of men at work. FBI supremo J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) kick-starts a nationwide manhunt when he proclaims John Dillinger (Johnny Depp, in top form) Public Enemy #1. Hoover taps Agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) to bring the Tommy Gun-toting bank robber in by any means necessary (the agency also targets Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson). If Dillinger had split the scene then and there, he might have enjoyed a happier fate, but he falls for beautiful coat-check girl Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard, whose open-hearted performance makes her the most sympathetic character in the film). In the end, though, Dillinger is the captain of his own destiny: his loyalty to his girl and his gang overpowers his desire to live free. Though the director also set his first film, Thief, and third series, Crime Story, in his native Chicago, Public Enemies plays more like Heat in Depression-era garb. In that L.A. policier, Al Pacino's cop develops a grudging respect for Robert De Niro's criminal, but letting a lawbreaker go free isn't an option. In this case, however, the tight-lipped Purvis never develops the same sort of esteem for Dillinger--or Hoover--making him the more tragic figure. If Public Enemies is less overtly commercial than The Untouchables or Bugsy, it's still the best mainstream gangster epic in ages and ranks among Mann's finest works. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Stills from Public Enemies (Click for larger image)

12/08/2009

Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Giovanni Ribisi, Johnny Depp, Channing Tatum.

Director, Michael Mann.

DVD.

English, French, Spanish audio; English, Spanish subtitles.

MPAA rating: R.

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 to an American public who had no sympathy for the banks that had plunged the country into the Depression. But while the adventures of Dillinger's gang thrilled many, Hoover made Dillinger America's first Public Enemy Number One.

"This is a very good film, with Depp and Bale performances of brutal clarity."--Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

"Simultaneously an art film and a crime film..."--Los Angeles Times

"A grave and beautiful work of art."--New York Times

2 31 52 56

Unenvolving, unemotional, no drama. Where gangsters ever so boring? Example: at the beginning of the film guys escape from prison. FREEDOM! But are they estatic, laughing, horsing around? Nope, just blank statues. I have more emotion leaving work on Friday afternoon. There should be the extreme highs of pulling off a robbery along with the extreme lows of constantly being hunted, the constant nagging thought of being ambushed by the law at any moment, all mixed with a overiding desperation of a life shoved into smaller and smaller corners. If the characters aren't feeling it, why should I?

It's fortunate that I no longer expect much from a Johnny Depp film because PUBLIC ENEMIES is without a doubt the most boring gangster movie I've ever witnessed. Everything was like BLAHSVILLE. Superficial characterizations, bad lighting, shaky camera when there shouldn't be any, Holyweird music emphasizing every stupid little, inconsequential thing (I thought we had progressed beyond that), etc. I gave it the 2 stars for the costumes (like 30's gangsters on the road would be wearing $400 suits--I didn't say the costumes were appropriate!) and the tremendous amount of $$$ that went into making a movie so damn dull I finally turned it off. <br /> <br />Where have you gone, James Cagney? The early actors were good because most of them knew what it was like to be REALLY down & out. They had to fight for everything they had, including good scripts. <br /> <br />I'm really tired of watching spoiled brats playing tough guys. <br /> <br />Go Back to Malibu! <br /> <br />White Heat <br />Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 1 (The Public Enemy / White Heat / Angels with Dirty Faces / Little Caesar / The Petrified Forest / The Roaring Twenties) <br />Key Largo (Keepcase) <br />Kiss Me Deadly <br />TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Murder Mysteries (The Maltese Falcon / The Big Sleep / Dial M for Murder / The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946)

Ordered this for a birthday present for someone and got it in a very timely fashion-once again I'm very pleased with Amazon.

This is a Michael Mann film, so you can be assured that the direction is more than competent. The period details are excellent; the film is stylish, with excellent art direction and costuming. The machine guns alone are worth the price of admission. <br /> <br />The problem is that both Dillinger and Purvis are men of action, not words. Their speech is laconic and, in some cases little more than a series of grunts. I could have used subtitles for many of the scenes. The plot is straightforward. Dillinger robs banks; Purvis tries to catch him; Frank Nitti looks on; Dillinger robs more banks; everybody shoots machine guns; Purvis tries to catch him . . . The film does not have any noticeable themes and it does not engage us with any significant issues. The characters are largely two-dimensional; the love scenes involving Depp and Cotillard are predictable and unexceptional. The principal actors are not given the opportunity to show their chops and Stephen Lang is largely wasted. Crudup plays the wooden Hoover in a wooden way. Ribisi is a notable exception. His portrayal of Alvin Karpis is one of the best elements in the film. Watch for Diana Krall playing a torch singer. <br /> <br />It's stylish; it's watchable; unfortunately, it's not as memorable as one might wish, considering the constituent elements which don't add up to the sum of their parts.

An excellent adaptation of an era when crime and corruption was rampant. With Johnny Depp as John Dillinger (superb), how can you miss by adding to the mix infamous crooks such as Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd? In addition to the cat and mouse chase with the FBI, Depp's love interest Billie Frechette (played by Marion Cotillard) is the thread in this flick that reminded me very much of the legendary television series "The Untouchables" (starring Robert Stack). Christian Bale is excellent as FBI agent Melvin Purvis. This one gets four stars primarily due to Depp's first class performance. What a talent.