'Public Enemies': From Real to Reel Featurette

We ran a story several weeks ago about Michael Mann shooting the climactic scene of Public Enemies in the same spot where that scene played out historically. That stuff happens in movies. JFK is a great example, probably the best one of the past 20 years or so, of relying on actual locations to add authenticity to the film. For Public Enemies, it turns out quite a bit of the major scenes were shot in the very spots where John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) developed his nationwide notoriety, breaking out of the joint and evading G-man Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale). Trailer Addict has a side-by-side comparison of those actual buildings from the 1930s and their current occupation as filming locations in Public Enemies. It's pretty cool: Public Enemies opens on Wednesday.

Comments

[Lengthy Johnson]

Hmm... after seeing this and after reading George Ebert's review, I begin to suspect where this movie is going.

The harshness of the digital photography, which made me jolt, is part of the documentary zeal of this project.