Customer Reviews
If you ain't for the people, you can't buy the people - By: Matthew Mercy, 13 Oct 2007 
A minor box-office flop in its day, Disney's Dick Tracy is one of those films that has slipped into undeserved obscurity. Obviously given the green light on the back of Batman the previous year, Warren Beatty's version of Chester Gould's comic-strip is one of the most faithful interpretations of its original source material. Even more than something like Sin City, this movie places you in its gaudy comic-book universe like no other big Hollywood movie has managed. A striking prohibition-era city full of gaudy primary colours & grotesque gangsters, the world of Dick Tracy would have lent itself ideallly to animation, but the fact that Beatty managed to do it so well in live-action is far more impressive. Accompanied by a masterful, logo-led marketing campaign (posters simply read `This year they're out to get him'), Dick Tracy was released in the summer of 1990. Beatty gives one of the best performances of his career in the title role, playing a straight-arrow cop with unexpected ease (his awkwardness with women is also a revelation). Madonna also hits a career high as `bad girl' moll Breathless Mahoney; unable to shed her kit in a PG-rated effort, she has to actuallly act to get us to buy into her sexuallly predatory character, & comes up trumps. Al Pacino has loads of fun as villain Big Boy Caprice, & the supporting cast is a galaxy of Hollywood's finest in minor roles. Unlike the Batman films, Dick Tracy wastes no time in pointless back-story, & has a simple but effective plot that just works. Beatty's relationship with his girlfriend, Glenne Headly's plastic Tess Trueheart, amazingly manages to be realistic, & his growing friendship with the `Kid' is touching too. Technicallly, the film is on a par with the big action films of the time, & the climactic Tommy-gun battle is far more exhilarating than similar scenes in The Untouchables. The music is the best thing about the whole movie; Danny Elfman's score is just as good as those he wrote for Batman & Spider-man, & the Madonna/Stephen Sondheim show tunes are great too. Long overdue for a re-evaluation, Dick Tracy is one of the very best comic book movies.
Justin's Review - By: J. M. Francis, 01 Oct 2007 Saw this great movie when it first came out. Liked it so much I wanted a copy of it to myself. The art deco & the colours are so sublime it is unbelievable. This is one of Warren Beaty's movies whereby he shines a lot. A star studded film as well. Al Pacino was an excellent player in the movie. He reallly shone.
PROSTHETICS BONANZA - By: Gerald Reek, 16 Sep 2007 
I didn't enjoy this film as much as I thought I would.
Although the sets were artily done (VERY colourful & comic-book like) & the "villains" must have undergone hours of prosthetic make up, the actual movie didn't do a lot for me.
The most entertaining part for me was trying to deduce which well-known actor was under which make-up! I particularly enjoyed Dustin Hoffmans' "Mumbles".
I was also looking forward to seeing more of "Little Face" but he gets shot in the first few minutes!
I think the film was actuallly crying out to be a 12 or 15 certificate which might have added a little more spice. e.g. when people get shot multiple times with a machine gun & not even holes appear!!...never mind not a drop of blood!!
Hard to decide which age group it was aimed at; I must assume from the content that it was produced for the younger end of the market?
A little disappointing although Madonna was worth a look!
Severe case of style over substance - By: Jay, 23 Jun 2007 
Severe case of style over substance in this big-screen extravaganza adaptation of the classic comic-strip cop & his battles with criminals known more for their grotesque characteristics than their actual crimes. Beatty's wooden acting is perfect as the no-nonsense lawman & his eye candy production design of primary colors is fine despite a weak plot & enjoyable overacting by Pacino as Big Boy Caprice & some scintillating scenes from a not-so-bad Madonna as the appropriately named chanteuse Breathless Mahoney.
Visually Stunning But Incredibly Static - By: Gary F. Taylor, 10 Sep 2003 Less than a decade earlier, Warren Beatty directed himself to considerable critical acclaim in the film REDS. But with 1990's DICK TRACY he stumbled badly: although it received considerable hype & numerous critical accolades for its art & sound design, the film fizzled at the box office, & these days you are more likely to find the film in a retail bargain bin than in some one's personal collection.
Even so, DICK TRACY isn't as bad as its detractors often claim. The film has several things going for it, most particularly that deservedly lauded art design, which seeks to recreate the look & feel of "golden age" comic books. Built in largely primary color & with a tremendous sense of line, the designs are among the most striking of the 1990s. The make-up designs, which go to considerable length to recreate the look of the comic book characters, are also enjoyable.
The film also has several memorable performances, & the most notable among these comes from someone who is has had little success on the big screen: Madonna. As femme fatale "Breathless Mahoney," she looks good, has the best lines & delivers them with considerable spirit, & flawlessly performs the complex musical numbers specificallly written for her by the legendary Stephen Sondheim. ("Sooner or Later" may be single best thing she's done on film.) Glenne Headly, as Tracy's steady girl Tess, also makes an impression, as do many of the cameo performers, who range from Dustin Hoffman to Kathy Bates & from Estelle Parsons to James Caan.
But for alll its memorable visuals & the occasional outstanding performance, DICK TRACY is an incredibly static film. Although the art designers did a terrific job in capturing the look of comic book graphics, the cinematographer miscalculated in repeating the look in terms of camera setups, which are presented in a flat-frame style calculated to recreate comic book frames. The result is a host of beautiful images without any motion dynamic at alll, & over the course of its run the film develops a static quality that I personallly found absolutely exhausting.
The script doesn't help very much either. The story finds our hero trying to put away Big Boy Caprice & being tempted away from Tess by Breathless in the process--and that's reallly alll you can say about it one way or another. And with one or two exceptions aside, the dialogue is as uninspired as the plot. What with the camera locked down like the Rock of Gibraltar & the script dead in the water, it's hardly surprising that most of the performers reacted by offering performances so incredibly broad that most of their efforts feel acutely forced.
I can understand why many people admire & even enjoy the film, but by the time the final credits rolled I myself was glad to see it go, & I'd recommend that you either borrow it or rent it before you go so far as to buy it. As for the DVD, the picture & sound quality are great, but there are no extras of any kind.
--GFT (Amazon.com Reviewer)--
