DICK TRACY
Warren Beatty's 1991 adaptation of the classic Dick Tracy comic books has only improved with age. At the time of it's release, DICK TRACY's visual style was unlike anything the movies had seen and perhaps some of the public didn't know what to make of it. Beatty decided to have a color palette of just 7 crisp colors, the same colors that were available when the Dick Tracy comics were first published. By doing so, he has created a cinematic world that has the miraculous ability of never feeling dated. This is incredibly refreshing when you consider that fact that the continuous development of computer technology and special effects has caused so many great movies of the past to lose some of their magic over the years. Not the case with DICK TRACY.
Warren Beatty has certainly proved himself over the years to be an incredible contributor to the art form of film with a resume including REDS, BUGSY, BONNIE & CLYDE and more. However, never before and never since has Beatty put out a film full of such nostalgic excitement and fun.
Though there were many different comics and story lines regarding everyone's favorite cop Dick Tracy, Beatty managed to consolidate them all into one engrossing film. DICK TRACY begins with Big Boy Caprice (played by Al Pacino with a great deal of abandon and fun) starting to gather together all the city's gangsters for one unified deal. Together, all of them can rule the city.
Big Boy's plan includes buying out the nightclub where Breathless Mahoney (played by Madonna, in perhaps her best performance) sings and then turning it into a den for underground gambling. Meanwhile, Dick Tracy and his ever-faithful girlfriend Tess Trueheart (Glenne Headley) have just taken under their wing a young orphan (an incredible Charlie Korsmo) with an endless appetite for food and action. As Dick Tracy tries to get to the bottom of Big Boy's plan, he sees his only link to getting to the truth is Breathless Mahoney... a woman who's not willing to help him until he shows interest in having her as his woman.
The plot is simple, but it is more then compelling enough as a compliment to the incredible visual flair of Beatty's comic book adaptation. Everything including the special effects, make-up, costumes, music, and all the performances are perfectly suited to the film's tone. Everything has a comical cartoonish quality to it, including the dialogue, however everyone involved seems so aware of this quality that they've successfully embraced it and incorporated into their work.
For such a unique film, it's amazing that all the pieces can come together and blend so wonderfully as a cohesive whole... but I suppose that's just a credit to Beatty's directing here. He has managed to literally bring the world of the Dick Tracy comic strips to life on screen in a manner that has only been matched by Robert Rodriguez's SIN CITY. They are two films very different in substance, however their ability to create a unique world so powerfully is unmatched by other comic adaptations.
One of DICK TRACY's most entertaining qualities is the cast it has gathered together. The ensemble is a who's who of great actors even down to the smallest of roles (watch for Kathy Bates and Catherine O'Hara in "blink & you miss them" cameos). Everyone here is having fun without losing focus. Pacino's Big Boy is a thrillingly over-the-top bad guy opposite Beatty's cool and collected all-American hero. Also, the two leading females offer polar opposite performances of equal appeal. Madonna has never been so compelling in a role (aside from a refreshing performance in A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN) and she embodies a Marilyn Monroe gone bad like no other could have. Glenne Headley is so engagingly sweet that you don't even notice how spineless she is... she's the epitome of "damsel in distress". And Charlie Korsmo as the kid offers one of the most brashly confident child performances captured on film in recent years.
To top it off, DICK TRACY also features some incredible original music from Stephen Sondheim. Music plays a major role in DICK TRACY from the montages to the live performances, and yet it only enhances the film. DICK TRACY is just an example of all the elements adding up to make a great whole... and there's no single element that ruins it for the rest of them. This is a movie that made me feel like I was a kid again in awe of the new things that only film can show me. It's a shame DICK TRACY isn't more fondly remembered then it is... b/c for today's filmmaker this should be held up high as an example of what to aim for when creating a comic book adaptation.
... A ...
Warren Beatty's 1991 adaptation of the classic Dick Tracy comic books has only improved with age. At the time of it's release, DICK TRACY's visual style was unlike anything the movies had seen and perhaps some of the public didn't know what to make of it. Beatty decided to have a color palette of just 7 crisp colors, the same colors that were available when the Dick Tracy comics were first published. By doing so, he has created a cinematic world that has the miraculous ability of never feeling dated. This is incredibly refreshing when you consider that fact that the continuous development of computer technology and special effects has caused so many great movies of the past to lose some of their magic over the years. Not the case with DICK TRACY.
Warren Beatty has certainly proved himself over the years to be an incredible contributor to the art form of film with a resume including REDS, BUGSY, BONNIE & CLYDE and more. However, never before and never since has Beatty put out a film full of such nostalgic excitement and fun.
Though there were many different comics and story lines regarding everyone's favorite cop Dick Tracy, Beatty managed to consolidate them all into one engrossing film. DICK TRACY begins with Big Boy Caprice (played by Al Pacino with a great deal of abandon and fun) starting to gather together all the city's gangsters for one unified deal. Together, all of them can rule the city.
Big Boy's plan includes buying out the nightclub where Breathless Mahoney (played by Madonna, in perhaps her best performance) sings and then turning it into a den for underground gambling. Meanwhile, Dick Tracy and his ever-faithful girlfriend Tess Trueheart (Glenne Headley) have just taken under their wing a young orphan (an incredible Charlie Korsmo) with an endless appetite for food and action. As Dick Tracy tries to get to the bottom of Big Boy's plan, he sees his only link to getting to the truth is Breathless Mahoney... a woman who's not willing to help him until he shows interest in having her as his woman.
The plot is simple, but it is more then compelling enough as a compliment to the incredible visual flair of Beatty's comic book adaptation. Everything including the special effects, make-up, costumes, music, and all the performances are perfectly suited to the film's tone. Everything has a comical cartoonish quality to it, including the dialogue, however everyone involved seems so aware of this quality that they've successfully embraced it and incorporated into their work.
For such a unique film, it's amazing that all the pieces can come together and blend so wonderfully as a cohesive whole... but I suppose that's just a credit to Beatty's directing here. He has managed to literally bring the world of the Dick Tracy comic strips to life on screen in a manner that has only been matched by Robert Rodriguez's SIN CITY. They are two films very different in substance, however their ability to create a unique world so powerfully is unmatched by other comic adaptations.
One of DICK TRACY's most entertaining qualities is the cast it has gathered together. The ensemble is a who's who of great actors even down to the smallest of roles (watch for Kathy Bates and Catherine O'Hara in "blink & you miss them" cameos). Everyone here is having fun without losing focus. Pacino's Big Boy is a thrillingly over-the-top bad guy opposite Beatty's cool and collected all-American hero. Also, the two leading females offer polar opposite performances of equal appeal. Madonna has never been so compelling in a role (aside from a refreshing performance in A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN) and she embodies a Marilyn Monroe gone bad like no other could have. Glenne Headley is so engagingly sweet that you don't even notice how spineless she is... she's the epitome of "damsel in distress". And Charlie Korsmo as the kid offers one of the most brashly confident child performances captured on film in recent years.
To top it off, DICK TRACY also features some incredible original music from Stephen Sondheim. Music plays a major role in DICK TRACY from the montages to the live performances, and yet it only enhances the film. DICK TRACY is just an example of all the elements adding up to make a great whole... and there's no single element that ruins it for the rest of them. This is a movie that made me feel like I was a kid again in awe of the new things that only film can show me. It's a shame DICK TRACY isn't more fondly remembered then it is... b/c for today's filmmaker this should be held up high as an example of what to aim for when creating a comic book adaptation.
... A ...