None of the people involved in this "making of" can see the forest for the trees. Legal slavery was a bad law written into the original version of the U.S. Constitution. Thousands died during the U.S. Civil War in order to amend said document and erase the bad law, and Hollywood has made countless movies glorifying this sacrifice. Today, 99% of Americans consider Prohibition a BAD law, written into the U.S. Constitution of the 1920s. Figures just as heroic as PUBLIC ENEMY's fictitious boot-legger Tom Powers (James Cagney) died during that decade to overturn this legal miscarriage (by keeping the forbidden pleasures of beer and wine alive on the palate of a generation that otherwise would have been doomed to tee-totaling ignorance), but director William A. Wellman's ENEMY movie makes a mockery of their sacrifice. Instead of showing the esteem the public held for such men, that allowed Joe Kennedy Senior's sons to be elected to the U.S. House, Senate, and Presidency, it portrays these wily beer-smuggling stalwarts as some kind of family outcasts, having their hard-won profits literally torn up by supercilious siblings. PUBLIC ENEMY was totally out-of-touch with the realities of its day, and this "making of"--while deserving a rating of "10" for technical merit--must be debited at least two rating points for being equally oblivious to which Powers brother was ultimately the good guy here: the brazen forward-thinking, grapefruit-mashing wise guy, not the namby pamby globe-trotting look-at-me-I'm-a-wounded-Marine-war-hero-with-a-chest-full-of-medals Ashley Wilkes clone.
5 Reviews
Public Enemy: An Outraegous Film In '31 And Still That Way!
ccthemovieman-116 March 2008
Although several "film experts" are in this documentary on the great classic gangster film, "Public Enemy," most of the opinions are expressed by current movie director Martin Scorcese. You could just tell that if Jimmy Cagney was in his prime today, Scorcese would have him as his main actor. He loves him.....but who doesn't?
Of all Scorcese's comments here, the one I liked the best (and I think he did, too) concerned the reaction the young people had when he showed this movie while filming "The Aviator." Leonardo DiCaprio, other actors and a bunch of 20- something guys who worked behind the cameras, all watched "Public Enemy" on a big screen on the set. They all loved the movie and applauded at the end. Nobody thought this film was dated and they were awed by some of the startling scenes they saw in this movie. "Public Enemy" is over 75 years old and young people still find this very entertaining! It speaks volumes for the film.
Scorcese also noted something else that I found very interesting: none of the violence in this movie is ever seen! It's all done off-screen. You don't see it, but you are in the same area in which it happens and you get the idea of its brutality through reactions of other people, or their screams. It's very effective and impresses Scorcese, who admits his shortcoming in being unable to do this in his own violent movies! He thinks it makes some of the violence much worse. He makes his point by showing us some good examples in this documentary.
Also in this 20-minute DVD bonus feature, we hear comments about actress Jean Harlow and director William Wellman , and we see some of the famous scenes in this movie and what makes them effective.....in addition to the violent ones noted above. First and foremost is "the grapefruit" in which Cagney mashes a grapefruit in the face of Mae Clarke. I agree, though, with Drew Casper, who thought more startling than that was the scene in which Cagney grabs Clarke by the hair and drags her across two rooms and boots her out the door!
According to the commentators here, that's what a lot of these gangsters acted like in real life: cocky and brutal. Cagney, who grew up on the tough streets of New York, was a realistic guy to be playing roles like the one he did here. He had the toughness, the accent and the screen "presence," a word Scorcese likes to use.
That's what "Public Enemy" has in spades: screen presence. If you have the DVD of this famous film, please check out this bonus feature. It's entertaining, too.
Of all Scorcese's comments here, the one I liked the best (and I think he did, too) concerned the reaction the young people had when he showed this movie while filming "The Aviator." Leonardo DiCaprio, other actors and a bunch of 20- something guys who worked behind the cameras, all watched "Public Enemy" on a big screen on the set. They all loved the movie and applauded at the end. Nobody thought this film was dated and they were awed by some of the startling scenes they saw in this movie. "Public Enemy" is over 75 years old and young people still find this very entertaining! It speaks volumes for the film.
Scorcese also noted something else that I found very interesting: none of the violence in this movie is ever seen! It's all done off-screen. You don't see it, but you are in the same area in which it happens and you get the idea of its brutality through reactions of other people, or their screams. It's very effective and impresses Scorcese, who admits his shortcoming in being unable to do this in his own violent movies! He thinks it makes some of the violence much worse. He makes his point by showing us some good examples in this documentary.
Also in this 20-minute DVD bonus feature, we hear comments about actress Jean Harlow and director William Wellman , and we see some of the famous scenes in this movie and what makes them effective.....in addition to the violent ones noted above. First and foremost is "the grapefruit" in which Cagney mashes a grapefruit in the face of Mae Clarke. I agree, though, with Drew Casper, who thought more startling than that was the scene in which Cagney grabs Clarke by the hair and drags her across two rooms and boots her out the door!
According to the commentators here, that's what a lot of these gangsters acted like in real life: cocky and brutal. Cagney, who grew up on the tough streets of New York, was a realistic guy to be playing roles like the one he did here. He had the toughness, the accent and the screen "presence," a word Scorcese likes to use.
That's what "Public Enemy" has in spades: screen presence. If you have the DVD of this famous film, please check out this bonus feature. It's entertaining, too.
Nice Featurette On 'The Public Enemy'
jem13231 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Nice featurette on 'The Public Enemy' DVD goes behind the scenes of the film, giving some historical background to the Prohibition era and examining the rise of bootlegging.
It also examines Cagney's rise to be a star at Warner Bros through appearing in this film. There is some great rare footage of some of Cagney's early roles, including 'Sinner's Holiday' with frequent co-star Joan Blondell and a scene from Lady Killer (1933), a film where he once again kicks around Mae Clarke, forever the 'grapefruit girl' Kitty.
'Beer and Blood' pays special attention to the famed grapefruit scene, debating whether or not Clarke's stunned reaction is genuine (an unexpected first-take) or just a publicity mock-up that Cagney shoved a grapefruit in her face without prior warning.
It also examines Cagney's rise to be a star at Warner Bros through appearing in this film. There is some great rare footage of some of Cagney's early roles, including 'Sinner's Holiday' with frequent co-star Joan Blondell and a scene from Lady Killer (1933), a film where he once again kicks around Mae Clarke, forever the 'grapefruit girl' Kitty.
'Beer and Blood' pays special attention to the famed grapefruit scene, debating whether or not Clarke's stunned reaction is genuine (an unexpected first-take) or just a publicity mock-up that Cagney shoved a grapefruit in her face without prior warning.
An excellent and informative retrospective documentary
Woodyanders30 July 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This short'n'sweet 20 minute retrospective documentary offers several nifty insights into the classic James Cagney mobster gem "The Public Enemy. We learn that Cagney wasn't originally set to play Tom Powers and that his electrifying portrayal of Powers made him a huge star. Moreover, Cagney brought a gritty street reality to his role, spoke in a highly distinctive fast manner, and has an absolutely commanding screen presence because he's such a total bundle of fierce energy. Of course, the infamous "grapefruit" scene gets discussed; Cagney's co-star Mae Clarke reportedly didn't know that he was going to shove it right in her face. "The Public Enemy" also features Jean Harlow in one of her first major roles. Director William Wellman brought a real elegance to the cinematography and fought hard to keep the unforgettably grim ending in the movie. Devout fan Martin Scorsese has some especially cool things to say about the film: He reveals that he first saw the movie at around age ten on a doublebill with "Little Caesar," notes that all of the violence occurs off-screen (Scorsese confesses that he alas is unable to do this in his own pictures!), and, best of all, relates a great anecdote about screening "The Public Enemy" for an audience of young people who all applauded at the end of the feature. Scorsese completely hits the nail right on the head when he cites Cagney's bravura dynamic performance as the birth of modern acting. Essential viewing for aficionados of "The Public Enemy."
Terrific Look at The Public Enemy
Michael_Elliott28 March 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Beer and Blood: Enemies of the Public (2005)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Very good featurette taking a look at the 1931 classic THE PUBLIC ENEMY with James Cagney and Jean Harlow. Martin Scorsese kicks off the documentary talking about his father taking him to see the movie as a double feature with LITTLE CAESAR and he explains the impact this had on his life going forward. At 20-minutes the documentary covers a wide range of topics with Scorsese being joined by Drew Casper, Alain Silber and Robert Sklar among others. There's no question that this documentary belongs to Scorsese has he has some terrific observations on the film and it's especially interesting hearing him talk about how not showing the violence had so much more of an impact. He also makes a joke about how his films don't go for this approach. He also talks about showing the film to the cast of THE AVIATOR and what impact it had on them. The historians go over the fact that Cagney was originally hired for a supporting role but it was another film that made Warner put him in the lead. The work of Harlow is discussed at great length as is the famous ending and of course the grapefruit sequence. If you're a fan of the film then this here is a must see as the cast are extremely entertaining but just be sure you watch the film first as there are plenty of spoilers here.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Very good featurette taking a look at the 1931 classic THE PUBLIC ENEMY with James Cagney and Jean Harlow. Martin Scorsese kicks off the documentary talking about his father taking him to see the movie as a double feature with LITTLE CAESAR and he explains the impact this had on his life going forward. At 20-minutes the documentary covers a wide range of topics with Scorsese being joined by Drew Casper, Alain Silber and Robert Sklar among others. There's no question that this documentary belongs to Scorsese has he has some terrific observations on the film and it's especially interesting hearing him talk about how not showing the violence had so much more of an impact. He also makes a joke about how his films don't go for this approach. He also talks about showing the film to the cast of THE AVIATOR and what impact it had on them. The historians go over the fact that Cagney was originally hired for a supporting role but it was another film that made Warner put him in the lead. The work of Harlow is discussed at great length as is the famous ending and of course the grapefruit sequence. If you're a fan of the film then this here is a must see as the cast are extremely entertaining but just be sure you watch the film first as there are plenty of spoilers here.
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