Dick Tracy

If Dick Tracy was in black and white, the pope wouldn't be religious. Giving a new sense to the concept of color in a movie, we are offered an unique experience throughout a comic-strip world, and it's one of the few movies which succeeded in doing so, thanks to a serious script, good direction, great performances (Al Pacino is astonishing) and most importantly a powerful mix of cinematography, art direction and costume design. Using only primary colors, the experience is quite different from anything we have seen before. And there is also a quite successful hommage to all the gangster-movie genre, pratically extinct from modern cinema. Overall, I see this movie as a fresh attempt and a touch of originality to a cinema which relies more and more on the old and already-seen formulas. 7 out of 10.

If you were a fan of previous incarnations of Dick Tracy, then this is the film for you. If not, find another film to watch...

Warren Beatty does a decent enough job as Dick Tracy who battles the underworld. Warren also directed this film and did a good job.

Dick Tracy was always a great character complete with an unrivalled rogues gallery of villains (except for Batman). The villains are all here and kudos to the make-up department who made the bad guys totally hateful. The plot is also quite good as well and the colour is good too. I believe the film was shot in only six (or maybe seven) colours and the sets of the city are totally faithful to the original Dick Tracy comic strips.

Obviously, this film tried to emulate Batman but immitation is the sincerest form of flattery. This film is almost as good as Batman and certainly not deserving of the criticism it had when it first came out.

One more thing-Madonna as Breathless Mahoney. I don't know if a film like this suited Madonna but it was great to see her in it because she is beautiful and improves with age.

All in all, a cracker of a film which I urge youngsters to see because they will enjoy it.

After seeing Dick Tracy in the 6.99$ bin at Future Shop I decided to give it a go with no previous knowledge and being a big fan of Mafia and Crime movies. I was very surprised to see a very fun, smart entertaining movie with solid performances throughout. The movie moves along well, it has of course another solid performance from Warren Beatty, but the real standouts of the film are Al Pacino and Madonna. I was happy to find out that Pacino was nominated for his performance as an over the top gangster trying to take down the city. Madonna was great as the damsel in distress, she really impressed me and added depth to her performance. If you go in with the attitude of wanting to watch a fun, smart movie with great acting and a solid script then give Dick Tracy a try. I don't think you will be disappointed. And Watch for the cameos from Paul Sorvino, James Caan, Kathy Bates and Dustin Hoffman among others.

"Dick Tracy" is one of our family's favorites -- the actors are great -- the art direction is exceptional -- the music is magic. It's not supposed to be "To Kill A Mockingbird" -- it's a fun experience.

Stephen Sondhemim's songs are stellar: "Back in Business" is energetic, "Sooner or Later" is just right, "What Can You Lose" is haunting -- even tunes like "Live Alone and Like It" add to the story

Got to love the giddily over-the-top performances of Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, Glenn Headly, Charlie Korsmo, Mandy Patinkin, James Caan, Dick Van Dyke, supporting villains... The list is far too long. And, yes -- even Madonna and Warren Beatty are awesome. Written with a smile a minute (how many times have we looked at each other and said, "Wait a minute -- I'm having a thought -- it's gone!"?).

However, one of most telling things about in this film is that everyone involved seems to be having a good time -- and that above all adds to the enjoyment for the viewer. So, if you haven't already, why not give "Dick Tracy" a chance -- accept it for what it is -- a Sunday comic strip brought to life -- and in a wonderful way!!

Warren Beatty successfully bringing the comic strip to life , the renowned police detective Dick Tracy who this time tries to solve a case involving Big Boy , the public enemy nº 1 . Beatty wears the caps on all fronts , as he is actor , writer , producer and filmmaker , incarnating the legendary police detective Dick Tracy from Chester Gould's comics and his relentless crusade against crime . However his Tracy is somewhat flat in comparison other comic book heroes . Dick Tracy is the only man tough enough to take on ranting mobster boss Big Boy Caprice (Al Pacino) and his band of menacing mobsters (William Forsythe and Dustin Hoffman who made a small character as Mumbles as a favor for Warren Beatty) . Big Boy and his gang set out a wave of crime that bring them face to face with dapper Tracy . Dedicated to his work but at the same time devoted to his loyal sweetheart (Glenne Headly ), Tracy find himself torn between love and duty . Tracy becomes even more difficult when he gets saddled with an engaging orphan (Charlie Korsmo) . The comic strip detective finds his life vastly complicated when a singing siren named Mahoney (a seductive Madonna) makes advances towards him while he is attempting to fight Big Boy Caprice's united mob . Later on , Tracy tries to find his kidnapped girlfriend while Big Boy is on the loose .

This comic strip spring to life similarly the original drawings and being faithfully recreated , though sometimes looks like an extended stage musical . The bad guys all have overblown features and they and the cops , journalists all wear different coloured coats to correspond to the drawings in the original comic strips created by Chester Gould . The timeless and imaginative settings capture the essence rather than reality of the city . There's so much music in the movie mostly from Mandy Patinkin and especially Madonna as the singer Breathless Mahoney doing her best screen acting to date . Good though excessive performances from Al Pacino who is perfectly cast as the gangster Big Boy looking like a caricaturist impression of a cartoon and splendid Dustin Hoffman as his hoodlum named Mumbles . The make-up used for all of the villains was based directly on how they were drawn by Chester Gould in the original comic strip , the only exception was Big Boy Caprice, whose make-up was designed by Al Pacino himself. People expecting Gothic scenarios and spectacular action of Batman may be disappointed , but moviegoers will be thrilled . Colorful and stylistically superior cinematography by the Italian Vittorio Storaro , shot in a few colors , the main colors in the film are only six that the original comic strip appeared in: red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple, plus black and white . Jolly and amusing musical score by Danny Elffman .

Other films about this classic comic book character are the followings : ¨Dick Tracy¨ (1947) 15 chapters starred by Ralph Byrd and directed by John English and Ray Taylor ; ¨Dick Tracy Detective¨ (1945) the first feature movie directed by William Berke with Morgan Conway and Jane Greer ; ¨Tracy returns¨ 15 chapter serial directed by William Witney with Ralph Byrd ; ¨Tracy meets gruesome ¨(1947) with Ralph Byrd and Boris Karloff ; ¨Tracy vs Crime Inc¨; ¨Tracy vs Cueball¨(1946) by Gordon Douglas with Morgan Conway and Anne Jeffreys ; ¨Tracy's dilemma¨ by John Rawlins with Ralph Byrd and Jack Lambert , among others .