So far, this movie tops my Most Anticipated of 2009 list (holla, Shane!). The ingredients are excellent: Christian Bale, Johnny Depp, Michael Mann, 30s America setting, gangster story.Here's the first trailer, just released today.
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7 comments:
Looks great!! Can't wait to see this one.
That trailer just made me smile all the way through.
By the way I rewatched The Untouchables finally in the last year and it wasn't as bad as I remembered. It was pretty good actually, and I had forgotten some great bits like the first-person camera that sneaks into Malone's apartment.
I was also impressed that you could count DeNiro's scenes on one hand. I admire roles that make a big impact with minimal screentime, and Capone really casts a shadow over the rest of the movie.
So how do you feel about Mann's almost inevitable use of anachronistic music in Public Enemies? Another date-stamping repeat of the Untouchables' only mistep? Or will it actually be cool this time (I'm sure it was cool in 1987 too)?
I've been thinking of revisiting The Untouchables recently as well (especially since it's on BR).
You think Mann will use inappropriate music? How come? The only other period movies of his I can think of are Ali and Last of the Mohicans, and as far as I can remember the music fit (don't remember Ali's specifically, but it didn't stand out as bad; LotM just used a sweeping score).
I don't know if I should expect him to use inappropriate music, I'm just crossing my fingers that the kewl music in the trailer is not representative of Mann's vision for the film.
But while trailers are notorious for being independently edited and cued, the visual material can only be Mann's and the trailer's final image (admittedly as cool as can be) of Bale using his Tommy gun like he's in an action movie suggests that Mann is adopting a 21st century visual style for the film.
The only question is whether he will adopt an audio style to match, as the editors of the trailer have only followed his visual lead.
On the subject of 21st century action style, I'm always skeptical when I see characters using two pistols at once (as Depp does in the trailer). Brandishing two pistols at once seems absurdly impractical. Accuracy would drop significantly and reloading would be a pain. The only possible benefit I can think of would be in laying down heavier covering fire than one pistol could provide, since covering fire needn't be highly accurate. But then, why wouldn't you use a tommy gun? And there's no reason to need to provide covering fire in a bank. I don't think it adds any intimidation factor, either. If you've got a gun pointed in your face, are you any more scared when a second one pops up?
It's a little annoying to see in a Mann film, because he's been really appropriate and accurate with his weapons usage, and pistols akimbo seems like a Michael Bay thing to do.
Agreed! But at the same time it seems like a very "gangster" thing to do. Make sure you are completely covered and "overpowering" the enemy. Plus it creates a very intimidating visual.
Since we are dissecting it all, I wanted to mention that though I am really looking forward to this film I am not a big fan of Mann's use of HD video here. I find it very aesthetically unappealing. I bought it in his films Collateral and Miami Vice, but it seems wholly inappropriate for a "period" film like this. At the same time, it could make an interesting artistic contrast to the production design and setting, which begs to be shot on film. I'll reserve complete judgment until I see the film.
Hm, that's a point of contention as well. This will probably have a very different feel from, say, The Godfather because of the digital as opposed to film stock. Like you, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for their choice right now, but we'll see how it affects the look of the movie.
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