I forgot you can see Madonna’s breasts in Dick Tracy. I wish that weren’t the case because it’s a fun movie and I want to show it to my kids. It’s a fun movie that accurately recreates the comic style of the Sunday strip it is based on.
A bit melodramatic, but it’s based on a property that ran for decades as a newspaper comic as well as having old film serials. Then there were the earlier films and television series. An interesting choice was made with the design and look of the film. The color palate was almost all primary colors, recreating the visual of a Sunday newspaper comic strip. Then there was the set design and matte paintings. Dick Tracy had a very busy screen as far as the sets were concerned.
While it wasn’t a blockbuster hit, Dick Tracy was a success. Sadly, Disney quashed any ideas about a sequel when the returns weren’t strong enough. With the amount of money put into the marketing (3 soundtrack albums even) you can tell Disney was hoping to have a superhero franchise of a sort. Of course it took 20 years, but now that Disney owns Marvel, that dream has finally taken place.
But what of this film?
Alright, so it’s not “good” in a way, because yes, it is visually busy, the acting a bit too melodramatic at times, and the color palate can be hard to take in. But these are also part of what makes Dick Tracy work and fun to watch.
As a moving comic strip, Dick Tracy is a treat. Warren Beatty may not have quite the same square jaw as the comic figure, but he does a fine job as the lawman out to stop organized crime. Then there’s the rogues gallery, with Al Pachino as the top mobster Big Boy. We also get William Forsythe as Flattop, Dustin Hoffman as Mumbles, R. G. Armstrong as Pruneface, Paul Sorvino, Mandy Patinkin, James Caan, Dick Van Dyke, Charles Duerning and many other recognizable names and faces. I do need to mention Madonna, who was in a relationship with Beatty at the time Dick Tracy was made. She actually does a decent job in her role as Breathless Mahoney. Granted, she plays a version of herself, but still, it isn’t the distraction one might expect.
Rated “PG” Dick Tracy definitely warrants parental supervision. Madonna’s boobs are seen through a sheer dress, and while it’s not blatant, they are visible. It may be only for a moment, but it’s gratuitous and unnecessary. And there’s plenty of bullets flying. The violence isn’t graphic, but it’s there.
Disney unceremoniously dumps Dick Tracy onto Blu-ray with no special features. Reportedly there’s several deleted scenes. I bet Beatty would have turned in an interesting audio commentary. And a picture in picture with concept art, design photographs and more would have been welcomed as well.
If you have the DVD, upgrading to Blu-ray is an iffy proposition. Sure the picture is better, and that’s certainly a selling point for this film where visuals are important, but this really does feel like an incomplete package.