My dad happened to rent out Public Enemies on bluray over the weekend. I was somewhat disappointed when I went to see it in the cinema – and a large portion of my disappointment arose from Michael Mann’s filming style; he filmed in digital rather than on film and used handheld cameras. The effect was somewhat disconcerting in a 1930s period piece, looking almost like my dad had shot it on his handheld camcorder. It appears that a smaller screen (a High Definition TV) works wonders in remedying these technical faults.
Would it look even better on my iPod?
It’s still pretty far from a perfect film – a smaller screen doesn’t help a cluttered and meandering plot – but it does at least stand up better. It’s odd that a smaller, more modest media system could have so profound an effect on the film (particularly since it was downscaling from where I’d originally seen it).
I don’t think it’s a classic, but – if you were disturbed by the visual elements in the cinema – it merits another look on home media.
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: high definition, home media, public enemies |
the m0vie blog 
Interesting … perhaps smaller screens will shrink Mr. Depp’s pores to size Not Large Enough to Store Small Change In. I’ll have to give this one a go on my little postage stamp TV.