Colorful Homage to 30’s Comic Strips
Action, Crime
Dick Tracy (Warren Beatty) is a tough guy who is rather out on the streets than progressing to a desk job and his life is about to get complicated. The smart detective spends more time fighting organized crime than with his understanding girlfriend Tess (Glenne Headly). Along the way they pick up a kid (Charlie Korsmo) and provide him with a roof over his head. The Kid follows him everywhere, while authorities would rather see the boy in an orphanage.
You know Tracy, for a tough guy you do a lot of pansy things.
The Kid on tooth brushing
Big Boy Caprice (Al Pacino) is working hard to unite the mobsters in the meantime. Trying to get Big Boy behind bars, Dick Tracy gets involved with Breathless Mahoney (Madonna), who is desperate to win his affection. (Tess seems to handle this much better than Dick Tracy working too much.) When he refuses the attempts of the femme fatale, Tess gets kidnaped and Dick Tracy is framed and arrested for blackmail and murder. You may guess the rest of the story… A little twist here and there, the mobsters get what they deserve and Dick Tracy may almost propose in the end.
Starting with Dick Tracy’s yellow coat and hat, to every scene of the movie perfectly arranged in stunning colors, this is a wonderful ride not just for comic book lovers. There are many different story lines, make-up and cast are great to look at and the music really adds to the mood. Dick Tracy was a low budget production that received very mixed reviews but was a box office success. The dialogues are fantastic
The Kid: How’s the food? [in prison]
Dick: Good. How’s the food at the orphanage?
The kid: It’s good.
and there is a lot of thinking involved
The enemy of my enemy my friend? Or the enemy of my friend my enemy? Or the enemy of my enemy my enemy? … The enemy of my enemy is my enemy!
Dick Tracy
What’s important is the future, is planning ahead. A man without a plan is not a man, Nietzsche. Wait a minute… I’m having a thought… oh, yes… oh, yes… I’m gonna have a thought… it’s coming…
it’s gone…
Big Boy Caprice
This is a well-loved project Beatty worked on for years. If comic strips are not your thing, give it a go for the great cast and the wonderfully quirky overacting.
Why we love it: Dick Tracy makes my kitschy heart jump. This movie has it all; actors, costumes, dialogues, music, rainy streets, blinds and giant cog wheels and for every montage we love it a bit more.
Recommended for: lovers of color contrast, film noir, movies based on comics
I just loved this movie,who cares about mixed reviews. It reminded me so much of the cartoon (am I that old?) and, as a big fan of yellow, Dick Tracy’s coat and hat was just awesome!
I haven’t seen that in years! X