John Dillinger was "a charismatic outlaw hero"–an interview with Michael Mann, director of PUBLIC ENEMIES
June 18, 2009
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Posted by Part-Time Poet
As his newest film Public Enemies is about to be shown to critics for the first time, director Michael Mann gave an in-depth interview to Patrick Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times. “Even though we got together to talk about Public Enemies, his new film that stars Johnny Depp as John Dillinger, our conversation ranged far afield,” Goldstein notes, “since Mann often sounds more like a Marxist history professor than a filmmaker [. . . ]. “
Goldstein does persuade Mann to explain Dillinger’s appeal: “He was a charismatic outlaw hero who spoke to people in the depth of the Depression. He assaulted the institution that made their lives miserable–the bank–and he outsmarted the institution–the government–that couldn’t fix the problems brought about by the Depression.”
Mann shares a favorite anecdote about Dillinger’s daring escape from the “supposedly impregnable” jail in Crown Point, Indiana: “[H]e didn’t just take a car, he takes the sheriff’s new car, a V-8 Ford,” Mann says, “and then he wrote a letter to Henry Ford, telling him that whenever he stole a car, he wanted to steal a Ford.”
The Zone thanks Theresa for sharing the interview with Michael Mann; you can read the full article, which goes into detail about Mann’s filmmaking process and philosophy, on the Zone’s Porch forum, or HERE. –Part-Time Poet
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