So... Michael Mann

[Paul Russell]

don't get me wrong - I'm a HUGE fan of Michael Mann, but...

I just watched Public Enemies Blu Ray (4th time the movie, 2nd time on this media) on a brand new 64" Panasonic Plasma and it occurred to me that Michael Mann should be shooting RED.

He's been sold on video since Collateral, but since then he keeps making great movies that, to be blunt, look absolutely awful. Heat looked fabulous. Last of the Mohicans visually gorgeous (I know, cos I just played excerpts from the Blurays of those on the same screen for comparison).

But PE, despite Johnny Depp and Marion Cotillard filling up a lot of frame, the movie still looks dreadful. It's green. It's noisy in the shadows. It has that horrible video haze around it. Even bringing back Danti Spinotti (Heat, LotM, LA Confidential) as DOP (and using the Sony CineAlta F23) can't save the visual image. It's quite clear that Mann's directing style and preference for video are driving this. Someone please give him a couple of Epics before he makes his next movie.

 

[Solomon Nero]

don't get me wrong - I'm a HUGE fan of Michael Mann, but...

I just watched Public Enemies Blu Ray (4th time the movie, 2nd time on this media) on a brand new 64" Panasonic Plasma and it occurred to me that Michael Mann should be shooting RED.

He's been sold on video since Collateral, but since then he keeps making great movies that, to be blunt, look absolutely awful. Heat looked fabulous. Last of the Mohicans visually gorgeous (I know, cos I just played excerpts from the Blurays of those on the same screen for comparison).

But PE, despite Johnny Depp and Marion Cotillard filling up a lot of frame, the movie still looks dreadful. It's green. It's noisy in the shadows. It has that horrible video haze around it. Even bringing back Danti Spinotti (Heat, LotM, LA Confidential) as DOP (and using the Sony CineAlta F23) can't save the visual image. It's quite clear that Mann's directing style and preference for video are driving this. Someone please give him a couple of Epics before he makes his next movie.

I have to agree! I dont like getting pulled out of a movie by a detail...usually its some large forehead kid kicking the back of my seat, but in Public Enemies...it was the shooting style...that overly motion blurry...hazey...I thought I was alone on this sentiment. lol.

 

[Peter Lyons Collister ASC]

I agree with your statements. I have read several interviews and this is the look they were going for in Public Enemies. They dialed in gain when they wanted to and shot with 360 degree shutter at times. I understand that Mann likes to "bake in" the look on set.

I really don't think the look worked for Pe but if the filmmaker wanted this that is his creative prerogative ....

 

[Steve Marshall]

Here's an interview with Dante Spinotti about their camera choice. Spinotti is very pro digital and I'd guess he had a lot of input into the camera they used

http://www.studiodaily.com/filmandvideo/projects/DP Dante-Spinotti-on-Public-Enemies_11045.html

 

[Christoffer Glans]

The biggest problem is that he set his sector up to 360 instead of 180 (in shutter terms going under 48), this way motion blur is longer and you get that "home video" feeling. I understand he want to be able to shoot at night with practicals, but it looks like shit. The single most important thing is to keep it around 180, otherwise it doesn't matter if the color depth or quality of the image is good, it will still look like shit. Shooting Red will not change anything for Mann, he will most likely put it at 360 again.
I have seen 35mm shot at 360 and it's the best way to get a video-look on film... whoever want's that I don't know though.

Having a video look to a period movie is suicide in my opinion. For what reason would you want it to look digital? I can understand Colateral, I can justify or make up a reason for it and I can live with it. But Public Enemy, not a chance in the world that it looks good. I have seen stuff shot on much lesser cameras and if treated correctly it can look really good. I guess Mann just don't care about it.

There is a reason for having a certain quality to the image when doing period stuff. Today we view history more through a lens then our eyes. Authenticity today is almost equal to "mobile phone camera quality". If we watch the news and they show something shot with a bad quality camera it "is" for real. If someone would have shot the same event with an Epic and graded it put some 2,35 masks on it and send it in, no one would have accepted it for being the truth. But looking back, we define periods by colors and quality. There's a reason most people put vintage filters or shoot something with 16mm to put the audience in the 60-70s. But if you go back longer then that, you can't really use it, but instead you need to remove all distractions of the camera and try to immerse the audience into a world. Having a video-ish look to it will distract people because they think more about the authenticity of a news broadcast instead of a peek into past time.

The choice of having this video-look in a film like Public Enemy, in my opinion it's a very bad choice.

 

[Solomon Nero]

Yeah, the DP knows what he's doing for sure...I personally just really dislike the chosen style.