This review is strictly for the Blu-ray. You can check out my review of the film over HERE.

Blu-ray Rating: 7.5/10

Director’s Michael Mann’s PUBLIC ENEMIES is based on real events about 1930s bank robber John Dillinger and FBI agent Melvin Purvis’ attempts to capture the criminal. The PUBLIC ENEMIES’ Blu-ray embraces the film’s strong connection to fact, giving you a good idea of how historically accurate PUBLIC ENEMIES is (respectably close), and also offers further exploration on the people and events depicted in the film.

The features Larger than Life: Adversaries and Last of the Legendary Outlaws, and both offer a look into the film’s iconic anti-hero, John Dillinger. You get to hear about his background and his slick persona with notable people offering commentary on the infamous outlaw, including the man playing Dillinger, Johnny Depp, and director Michael Mann. The Adversaries extra also provides you with a broader look at Melvin Purvis, whose personal life and background is barely touched on in the film.

Michael Mann’s admirable effort to give PUBLIC ENEMIES an authentic feel is documented in the feature On Dillinger’s Trail: Shooting on Location, which explores Mann’s propensity to shoot at the actual places where the film’s events really happened. We are told about several of the real locations that the film was shot at, and how if Mann couldn’t use an actual location, he would find a building or apartment similar and make it up to resemble the actual place as best as possible.

Criminal Technology is also a cool feature, as it displays some of the big advantages Dillinger and his men had over the police. Dillinger’s ability to buy very expensive and cutting-edge weapons, plus the lack of coordination and communication by the police force, are all displayed. This feature helps you better understand why Dillinger was able to get away with with so much.

The PUBLIC ENEMIES Blu-ray contains the pretty standard “making of” feature in Michael Mann: Making of PUBLIC ENEMIES, and is done in familiar fashion with the cast and crew talking about the film. Nothing special, but if are you fan of the “making of” features, it is worth checking out.

A commentary by director and co-writer Michael Mann is also available on the Blu-ray. Plenty of interesting information about the film’s construction, shooting, and accuracy to history are noted in this commentary. Mann also gives you details about the film’s real-life characters that aren’t revealed in the film, offering a more complete view of these characters, much like the Adversaries feature.

All the features mentioned are in Hi-DEF (well, Mann doesn’t talk in Hi-DEF, but everything else is), a nice plus as a Blu-ray disc does not always mean Blu-ray features. The PUBLIC ENEMIES Blu-ray has enough features on it to please fans of the film and those interested by the historical events and time depicted within it.