Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6905 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-06-15
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 100 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
A flawed but stylish adaptation of the Chester Gould comic strip by director Warren Beatty, who also stars in the title role. The minimalist plot involves a battalion of baddies who confront the intrepid detective in a series of strung-together vignettes. Al Pacino is a comedic if overblown standout as Big Boy Caprice and Madonna simply smoulders as aggressive blonde bombshell Breathless Mahoney. It matters not that the plot is Spartan, as this dazzling eye candy is much enhanced by Stephen Sondheim's songs, including the Academy Award-winning ditty, "Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)". Beatty took his cue from the source material and concentrated on the relationships between these people, whether strained, romantic or hateful. The performances are subtle and more amusing than you would expect from such a visually bold picture. Shot in bright, primary colours, this also won Oscars for Best Art/Set Direction and Makeup (for those inventively hideous criminals). Watch for well-known names, such as Dustin Hoffman and Dick Van Dyke, in cameo appearances and supporting roles. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Special Features
1.85 Wide Screen
English
Region 2
Interactive Menus
Scene Access

Synopsis
Once again, director Beatty assembles an all-star cast. Dick Tracy, America's top crimestopper, goes up against a mob of colourful gangsters in this rich production. Academy Award Nominations: 7, including Best Supporting Actor--Al Pacino. Academy Awards: 3, including Best Makeup, Best Art Direction, Best Song ("Sooner or Later" by Stephen Sondheim).

Customer Reviews

If you ain't for the people, you can't buy the people
A minor box-office flop in its day, Disney's Dick Tracy is one of those films that has slipped into undeserved obscurity. Obviously given the green light on the back of Batman the previous year, Warren Beatty's version of Chester Gould's comic-strip is one of the most faithful interpretations of its original source material. Even more than something like Sin City, this movie places you in its gaudy comic-book universe like no other big Hollywood movie has managed. A striking prohibition-era city full of gaudy primary colours and grotesque gangsters, the world of Dick Tracy would have lent itself ideally to animation, but the fact that Beatty managed to do it so well in live-action is far more impressive. Accompanied by a masterful, logo-led marketing campaign (posters simply read `This year they're out to get him'), Dick Tracy was released in the summer of 1990. Beatty gives one of the best performances of his career in the title role, playing a straight-arrow cop with unexpected ease (his awkwardness with women is also a revelation). Madonna also hits a career high as `bad girl' moll Breathless Mahoney; unable to shed her kit in a PG-rated effort, she has to actually act to get us to buy into her sexually predatory character, and comes up trumps. Al Pacino has loads of fun as villain Big Boy Caprice, and the supporting cast is a galaxy of Hollywood's finest in minor roles. Unlike the Batman films, Dick Tracy wastes no time in pointless back-story, and has a simple but effective plot that just works. Beatty's relationship with his girlfriend, Glenne Headly's plastic Tess Trueheart, amazingly manages to be realistic, and his growing friendship with the `Kid' is touching too. Technically, the film is on a par with the big action films of the time, and the climactic Tommy-gun battle is far more exhilarating than similar scenes in The Untouchables. The music is the best thing about the whole movie; Danny Elfman's score is just as good as those he wrote for Batman and Spider-man, and the Madonna/Stephen Sondheim show tunes are great too. Long overdue for a re-evaluation, Dick Tracy is one of the very best comic book movies.

Justin's Review
Saw this great movie when it first came out. Liked it so much I wanted a copy of it to myself. The art deco and the colours are so sublime it is unbelievable. This is one of Warren Beaty's movies whereby he shines a lot. A star studded film as well. Al Pacino was an excellent player in the movie. He really shone.

PROSTHETICS BONANZA
I didn't enjoy this film as much as I thought I would.

Although the sets were artily done (VERY colourful and comic-book like) and the "villains" must have undergone hours of prosthetic make up, the actual movie didn't do a lot for me.

The most entertaining part for me was trying to deduce which well-known actor was under which make-up! I particularly enjoyed Dustin Hoffmans' "Mumbles".
I was also looking forward to seeing more of "Little Face" but he gets shot in the first few minutes!

I think the film was actually crying out to be a 12 or 15 certificate which might have added a little more spice. e.g. when people get shot multiple times with a machine gun and not even holes appear!!...never mind not a drop of blood!!
Hard to decide which age group it was aimed at; I must assume from the content that it was produced for the younger end of the market?

A little disappointing although Madonna was worth a look!