WHO made Johnny Depps hats for Public Enemies

[Mr. Lucky]

If you look at the films of Michael Mann - Miami Vice, Heat, etc. - he's always put style over substance, accuracy of detail over depth of character. He makes...pretty movies, but not great films. The aforementioned Miami Vice movie was almost unwatchable, when the characters spoke. It's too bad because I really, REALLY wanted to be blown away by Public Enemies. But, quite honestly, it pales in comparison to a movie like Miller's Crossing or even the older Cagney and Robinson era portrayals. And, on a personal note, I hated the 'hand held' style used - annoyed the bejesus out of me!

 

[Doublegun]

Just came back after seeing it a second time. Few things I noticed: in the beginning at Michigan State Pen (which looks much more menacing in real life than in the movie) the guards open the gate and then open the door to the prison before the gate is shut. That does not happen. Never are two gates/doors open at the same time. (I have been in that correctional facility a couple of times, for work related visits and it is a very intimidating place). Also, is appears MP shoots at Nelson 12 times - about 4-more than the capacity of a 1911.

Good movie - I enjoyed it. There is a enough of a story and cinimatography to make it a great escape for a couple of hours.

 

[anon`]

Also, is appears MP shoots at Nelson 12 times - about 4-more than the capacity of a 1911.

This is all the more an amazing feat when you consider that Purvis wasn't present when Nelson was fatally wounded...

I agree with ScottF: while it may be practical, excusable and even at times necessary to cut corners where props and set design is concerned, it is never acceptable to defenestrate historical accuracy as Mann did when it is as well documented as this film's subject matter happens to be.

But the costumes and firearms were pretty.

 

[Mulceber]

This may seem like a stupid question, but how is Dillinger's name pronounced? I always thought the "g" was soft as in george, but in the video Garrett posted, they pronounce it hard as in "gopher." Has our pronunciation of his name changed over time, or is the narrator in that video just being an idiot? -M

 

[K.D. Lightner]

I have to go see that film, I love those old 30's fedoras and styles, love Johnny Depp, and want to see the "oxblood" colored hat.

It reminded me, when I was young, oxblood was a deep reddish color for shoes they now called "cordovan" or even "burgundy." Don't know why they stopped calling that color oxblood, I thought maybe it made people today squeamish.

Is the name coming back?

karol

 

[Feraud]

Edit-
I should put this comment in the movie thread..

 

[nulty]

If you look at the films of Michael Mann - Miami Vice, Heat, etc. - he's always put style over substance, accuracy of detail over depth of character. He makes...pretty movies, but not great films. The aforementioned Miami Vice movie was almost unwatchable, when the characters spoke. It's too bad because I really, REALLY wanted to be blown away by Public Enemies. But, quite honestly, it pales in comparison to a movie like Miller's Crossing or even the older Cagney and Robinson era portrayals. And, on a personal note, I hated the 'hand held' style used - annoyed the bejesus out of me!

I agree here completely. The movie never got me into the vibe of the period. There wasn't enough character development to give context to the myth surrounding Dillinger and the whole Public Enemy phenom. How he was a product of his time. The costuming didn't feel right. The hat that Purvis wore later in the movie had a block that felt more modern Stetson than depression era. A contrast that hit me was when Dillinger was in the movie theater..the movie within the movie...Gable and Powell looked right...the rest of the guys looked wannabe....Depps hats were great though and so was the rest of what he did...Loved those pants he was wearing at the end....

 

[Madcap72]

I like the suit Purvis was wearing in the end when they took Dillinger down

The ONLY thing I don't like, is now prices are going to skyrocket on the guns depicted in the movie, of which I only have half (Thompson, 1903, 1911 .38 super, Rem mod 11...)

I do like they tried to fit in the 1911 .38 super machine pistols the Dillinger gang used.

 

[anon`]

The ONLY thing I don't like, is now prices are going to skyrocket on the guns depicted in the movie, of which I only have half (Thompson, 1903, 1911 .38 super, Rem mod 11...)

Not that most of the weapons depicted were affordable to the average collector to begin with!

 

[Boxerken]

This may seem like a stupid question, but how is Dillinger's name pronounced? I always thought the "g" was soft as in george, but in the video Garrett posted, they pronounce it hard as in "gopher." Has our pronunciation of his name changed over time, or is the narrator in that video just being an idiot? -M

Dillinger is pronounced with a hard g in German. Here in the U.S. for some reason it went to the softer g.

 

[Chiliarches]

Not that most of the weapons depicted were affordable to the average collector to begin with!

What's tragic is that they always were; like everything else with any intrinsic value, collection mania overtook guns years ago.

To other gun-knowledgeable forum members - was it just me,or was Depp's Pocket 1903 parkerized along the top of the slide? Did Colt ever make them that way?

 

[djhatman]

I loved the movie. It was by far the best movie I have seen this summer. I have seen more movies this summer then in years past and it was great.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

The hat that Purvis wore later in the movie had a block that felt more modern Stetson than depression era.

This is becoming a trend in modern films depicting the golden era. Clint Eastwood's recent Changeling, which takes place in late 1920s Los Angeles, has a lawman --one of the lead characters-- in a very tapered, very 2009-looking, short-crowned fedora. Lo and behold, Public Enemies shows another lawman --Melvin Purvis-- in a very tapered, very 2009-looking, short-crowned fedora. Heck, maybe it's the same one!


.

 

[scotrace]

...Melvin Purvis-- in a very tapered, very 2009-looking, short-crowned fedora..

Glad you said this. My dislike for Bale wasn't coloring my opinion, after all. It was also snapped funky. "Graham must be wincing."

 

[Blackjack]

Just wondering if they were "off the rack" or were they specially designed for the film.

 

[JPMcAdara]

Just wondering if they were "off the rack" or were they specially designed for the film.

That would be Optimo Hats of Chicago, one of the finest hat makers out there. They were designed specifically for the film. I, for one, am anxiously awaiting the color to available again to us regular fellas which hopefully will be this fall. I think Goose posted a link to an article about it on the Public Enemies thread.

JP

 

[Akubra]

Johnny Dep's Hat in Public Enemy

According to the Chicago Sun Times it was this guy


http://www.suntimes.com/business/1623888,CST-NWS-HATS16.article

What a shop!!!! I love those high end Panamas, but I think my wife would kill me if I spent $500 on a hat.

 

[HatSoup]

This makes the movie unrealistic. People didn't walk around wearing $500 hats during the Great Depression.

 

[Tomasso]

^^^^^

$500 today would have been around $40 back then.

 

[Fletch]

People didn't walk around wearing $40 hats, either. Not populist heroes like Dillinger, anyway. He was well dressed, but strictly an off-the-rack sort of guy, and always wore his hair in the high-and-loose cut of the typical Midwesterner of those years.

Of course, recreating off-the-rack clothing from the mid 30s today might cost even more than doing full-bespoke Hollywood threads. So many of the old techniques have been thrown away.