Blu-ray Review: Dick Tracy (1990)

In some ways, Warren Beatty’s 1990 adaptation of Chester Gould’s comic strip Dick Tracy is a very special film. For one, there’s the exclusive use of primary colors for the costumes and sets, creating a very authentically “comic strip” feel. And speaking of the sets, they’re all deliberately flat and artificial, again evoking the look of the source material. All of this was captured so stunningly in the Oscar-nominated cinematography by Vittorio Storaro.

Then there’s the Oscar-winning makeup by John Caglione Jr. and Doug Drexler. Together they created playfully grotesque appliances that all but erased the recognizability of some of the famous stars beneath them. Danny Elfman’s score and Stephen Sondheim’s original songs, which evoke the 1930s setting, are memorable as well. And the cast, led by Beatty in the title role, is a veritable who’s who: Dustin Hoffman, Paul Sorvino, Dick Van Dyke, Seymour Cassel, Charles Durning, William Forsythe, Mandy Patinkin, and James Caan. Al Pacino received an Oscar nomination for his supporting part as mafia boss “Big Boy” Caprice. Madonna turned in one of her better performances as nightclub singer Breathless Mahoney.

In other words, all the ingredients were seemingly in place for that rarest of cinematic creations: a summer blockbuster laced with artistic merit. Disney was gunning for their own Batman, the franchise that began with Tim Burton’s 1989 megahit. What they ended up with was not so much a home run, but a ground rule double. Dick Tracy did solid business that summer, finishing ninth for domestic box office in 1990 (12th worldwide). It won three Oscars (in addition to Best Makeup, it won Best Art Direction and Best Original Song). But it didn’t spawn a sequel and it didn’t wind up lingering at the forefront of many people’s memories.

Revisiting the film on Blu-ray, it’s not difficult to see the problem. No one bothered to make sure Beatty had a great story to tell. The screenplay (by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr.) is a functional bore that, while hard to dislike entirely, merely provides a framework upon which to hang all the cool technical elements detailed above. After “Big Boy” Caprice makes his move to gain control of Club Ritz, killing owner Lips Manlis (Sorvino), Tracy makes his move to take Caprice down. That’s really all there is to it, when all is said and done. The result is a 105-minute running time that feels more like 125.

Article Author: The Other Chad

My name is Chaz. A former co-worker (Dave) always misheard my name as "Chad." Complicating matters was a third co-worker, who was in fact named Chad. So Dave habitually called me the "other Chad."

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