Why Or Why Didn't The HD Video Look Of Public Enemies Work For You?

It seems like no critique of Michael Mann's Public Enemies would be complete without discussing the high definition digital cinematography. It seems to really annoy some people (there was a long discussion on this week's /Filmcast about this) while others believe that the technology adds to the realism of the moment.

On this week's episode of The Totally Rad Show, they reviewed Public Enemies, complete with a discussion of the digital look. Alex Albrecht explained that the digital look didn't work for him (watch the clip after the jump) because the story didn't make sense to be presented in this way. For example, a film like Collateral works much better with the digital look because the look of the story, and the setting of downtown Los Angeles works for the digital aesthetic.

So I'm wondering, movie and story aside (lets not talk about the movie, we already did that) — were you bothered by the High Definition look of Public Enemies? Why did you think it didn't work for you? Could it be that we're just use to the film look and that kids growing up today might think that the digital look looks more realistic? Or is it like Alex suggests, a look that shouldn't be used for certain types of stories, like period films? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!