Dick Tracy

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Warren Beatty directed and starred in this big-budget action comedy featuring Chester Gould's square-jawed, two-dimensional comic strip detective. Ruthless gangster Big Boy Caprice (Al Pacino) touches off a gang war against underworld boss Lips Manlis (Paul Sorvino), with Big Boy and his minions rubbing out enough of Manlis's goons (along with Manlis himself) to take over his nightclub, and a healthy percentage of the city's criminal activities in the process. Caprice also gains proprietary rights to Manlis's girlfriend, nightclub chanteuse Breathless Mahoney (Madonna). Big Boy's next move to is unite the rest of the city's crooks under his command; this wave of corruption attracts the attention of lawman Dick Tracy, who is determined to smash Caprice's criminal network once and for all. As Tracy plots to put Big Boy behind bars where he belongs, Breathless uses her considerable charms in an attempt to sway Tracy from the path of righteousness; this causes no small amount of anxiety for Tracy's long-suffering female companion, Tess Trueheart (Glenne Headly), and the street-smart kid (Charlie Korsmo) they've been keeping an eye on. The various bad guys, heavily made up to resemble Gould's cartoon characters (though Beatty is not made up to resemble Tracy), include Dustin Hoffman, James Caan, R.G. Armstrong, and William Forsythe. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Audio: 5.1, DTS
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Subtitle: English
• Features:
  • • DTS 5.1 Digital Surround Sound
    • Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
    • French-language track
    • Widescreen (1.85:1)

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Art Direction - 1990 (Richard Sylbert, Rick Simpson)
•     Won Best Makeup - 1990 (John Caglione, Jr.)
•     Won Best Song - 1990 (Stephen Sondheim)
•     Nominated Best Cinematography - 1990 (Vittorio Storaro)
•     Nominated Best Costume Design - 1990 (Milena Canonero)
•     Nominated Best Makeup - 1990 (Doug Drexler)
•     Nominated Best Sound - 1990 (Chris Jenkins, Thomas D. Causey, Doug Hemphill, David E. Campbell)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actor - 1990 (Al Pacino)

• American Society of Cinematographers

•     Nominated Best Cinematography - 1990 (Vittorio Storaro)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Original Song - 1990 (Stephen Sondheim)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pictu - 1990 (Al Pacino)
•     Nominated Best Picture - Musical or Comedy - 1990

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Warren Beatty

• Producer:

  Warren Beatty

• Screenwriter:

  Warren Beatty, Jim Cash, Jack Epps, Jr., Bo Goldman, Lorenzo Semple, Jr.

• Dialogue Writer:

  Frederic Kimball

• Cinematographer:

  Vittorio Storaro

• Composer (Music Score):

  Danny Elfman

• Songwriter:

  Jeff Lass, Stephen Sondheim, Thomas Pasatieri, Andy Paley, William Elliott

• Editor:

  Richard Marks

• Production Designer:

  Richard Sylbert

• Art Director:

  Harold Michelson

• Co-producer:

  Jon Landau

• Associate Producer:

  Jim Van Wyck

• Executive Producer:

  Art Linson, Floyd Mutrux, Barrie M. Osborne

• Set Designer:

  Henry Alberti, James Murakami, Eric Orbom, Rick Simpson

• Costume Designer:

  Milena Canonero

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  David E. Campbell, Doug Hemphill

• Makeup:

  Kevin Haney, Cheri Minns

• Special Effects:

  Buena Vista Visual Effects Group, Lawrence James Cavanaugh, Harrison Ellenshaw, Michael Lloyd

• Animator:

  Allen Gonzales, Sanuel Recinos

• Stunts:

  Billy Burton

• Choreography:

  Jeffery Hornaday

• Casting:

  Jackie Burch

• Makeup Special Effects:

  John Caglione, Jr., Doug Drexler

• Matte Artist:

  Peter Ellenshaw

REVIEW:

• Ravishing production design from Richard Sylbert, gorgeous cinematography from Vittorio Storaro, and a memorable musical score from Stephen Sondheim (performed ably by pop star Madonna) are the highlights of this film from co-writer, director, producer, and star Warren Beatty. Unfortunately, the film's script has been worked over by a committee of scribes, resulting in a somewhat fractured narrative that is the typical end product of too many cooks in the literary kitchen. There is probably no film of the late 20th century that more powerfully proves the old adage, "If it ain't on the page, it ain't on the stage." Every single production element here is superior, from the makeup effects to the costumes, to the supporting players such as Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, and Glenne Headly. In fact, from a strictly visual point of view, Dick Tracy (1990) is probably one of the best-made films of the decade, featuring a crew of skilled artisans at the top of their collective game. In the story department, however, the film never quite gels, displaying the same emotional flatness as the two-dimensional comic strip it's based upon, never coming to life in the exhilarating fashion of other comics-based films such as Batman (1989) and The X-Men (2000). The hard emphasis is clearly on the "noble" in "noble failure," but Dick Tracy just doesn't quite work. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi