Dick Tracy

[Dragonfire]

Dick Tracy Legendary police detective Dick Tracy is the only man tough enough to take on gangster boss Big Boy Caprice and his band of menacing mobsters. Dedicated to his work but at the same time devoted to his loyal girlfriend, Tess Trueheart, Tracy find himself torn between love and duty. His relentless crusade against crime becomes even more difficult when he gets saddled with an engaging orphan and meets seductive and sultry Breathless Mahoney, a torch singer determined to get the best of Tracy. A faceless character, the Blank, threatens both Tracy and Big Boy, and it takes all of Tracy's skills to save the city. My Thoughts I first saw this movie not long after it came out to rent.  When I decided to watch it again recently, that was only the second time I've seen the movie.  It had been so long since I last saw it that I had forgotten a lot.  Things get started quickly with a group of mobsters being killed.  It doesn't take long to find out who is behind the murders, so that part of the story doesn't add any mystery.  A little bit of of mystery is added when a new, mysterious criminal turns up and gets involved in what is going on.  There is a lot of action, though there is very little actual violence.  The plot is interesting and makes for a fun, entertaining movie.  Several things are going on, though things don't get so complicated that it is hard to keep up with what is going on.  Some of what happens is predictable, though there are also one or two surprises. The movie has a very interesting and unique look.  Instead of trying to make things more realistic, the comic strip/comic book look is embraced.  Bright, vibrant primary colors are used for just about everything from locations to cars to outfits that the characters wear.  The look of that is a bit different, but I think it works perfectly with the subject matter.  I like the look of things in the movie, though it could be too different for some viewers.  In some shots that show more of the city, it looks like an actual illustration from a comic book.  Many of the characters have very unique looks too and their names are tied into the unique way they look.  Flattop has a flat head and Lips has large lips.  There are a lot of characters that turn up at least briefly.  Many of them are barely used at all.  All the actors did fine with their parts.  Even Madonna is decent.  This is a fun, entertaining movie that deserves to be seen and is worth watching. I did get a review posted at Epinions. Dick Tracy

[Achim]

The movie has a very interesting and unique look.  Instead of trying to make things more realistic, the comic strip/comic book look is embraced.  Bright, vibrant primary colors are used for just about everything from locations to cars to outfits that the characters wear.

I believe they stuck to 7 basic colors.

I remember the art style was a big selling point at the time, and the fact that they didn't reproduce Tracy's nose more like the original. It was said they had tried, but since they can't just show him in profile like in the cartoon they had to drop the nose; so supposedly not a decision of a concerned Beatty.

I'd like to revisit it myself, just not sure I want to buy it.

[Dragonfire]

I found the DVD cheap when I got it, so that helped my buying decision.  I'm glad I picked it up now since I enjoyed it this much watching again for the first time in years.

I read about the 7 colors..I hadn't read about the nose thing.  I wasn't familiar with the source material, so I didn't know that was a change.

[Achim]

Here is a Google image search for ya. I think it's what you might call a "hawk's nose"...?

There is, however, apparently a few images from a comic that was attached to the movie, in which the nose is obviously resembling Beatty's.