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Warren Beatty, Charlie Korsmo, Glenne Headly, Madonna, Al Pacino ... see more see more... , Dustin Hoffman , William Forsythe , Charles Durning , Mandy Patinkin , Paul Sorvino , R.G. Armstrong , Dick Van Dyke , Seymour Cassel , James Keane , Allen Garfield , John Schuck , Charles Fleischer , James Tolkan , Kathy Bates , Catherine O'Hara , Henry Silva , James Caan , Bert Remsen , Frank Campanella , Michael J. Pollard , Estelle Parsons , Mary Woronov , Henry Jones , Mike Mazurki , Robert Beecher , Marshall Bell , Rita Bland , Lada Boder , Hamilton Camp , Marvelee Cariaga , Ned Clafin , Billy Clevenger , Robert Costanzo , Stig Eldred , Tony Epper , Tom Finnegan , Michael Gallup , Jack Goode Jr. , Michael G. Hagerty , Dee Hengstler , Chuck Hicks , Lew Horn , Liz Imperio , Jack Kehoe , Sharmagne Leland-St. John , Arthur Malet , Ed McCready , Colm Meaney , Lawrence Steven Meyers , John Moschitta Jr. , Michael Donovan O'Donnell , Ed O'Ross , Karyne Ortega , Tiny Ron , Bing Russell , Karen Russell , Tom Signorelli , Ray Stoddard , Neil Summers , Jim Wilkey , Ian Wolfe , Neil Ross , Michelle Johnston , Walker Edmiston

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... read more read more... 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

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44% liked it

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65% liked it

43 critics

PG, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Warren Beatty

Release Date: June 15, 1990

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DVD Release Date: April 2, 2002

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Flixster Reviews (2,243)

  • fb1664868775
    December 11, 2011
    fb1664868775
    Though the film as whole doesn't totally work, visually and stylistically, this is a masterpiece. Also a fantastic cast altogether and a standout performance from Dustin Hoffman.
  • phubbs1
    August 21, 2011
    phubbs1
    Based on the hugely popular comicstrip from the 30's Tracy was merely a regular tough guy cop of the era that fought hoods, the main difference that made him so popular was the oddball mutant-like villains that he was up against which were pretty much like extreme caricatures.

    A... read morelmost like a fantasy version of 'The Untouchables' the film has an obvious plot with good guy cops, bad guy villains, beautiful dames in nightclubs, lots of dimly lit offices highlighted by neon lights streaking in between the drawn blinds, fedora hats aplenty, tommy guns and sharp suits.
    The film is also made in a highly inventive way, making everything look like a real comicstrip (very much like 'Sin City') using only the same few colours used in the original comicstrip and with lots of matte paintings and models. It looks very impressive even today with the neon selected colour palette, abit dark at times but its very effective and could be mistaken for cgi at times.

    Add to that some fantastic costumes with highly colourised suits and pinstripes, all buildings in and out are coloured the same, a nice use of classic old cars as they zoom around and of course the tommy gun makes it all come together when when you see Beatty in a full shot firing it decked out with trenchcoat and fedora.

    The film is very reminiscent of Burtons Batman of course and this might be to do with Danny Elfman creating the musical score, its excellent as usual but maybe abit too close to Batman in all honesty. The whole film does have that Dark Knight feel about it, the classic 'Shadow' type vibe which is to be expected but it still stands well on its own.
    Like the comicstrip the hoods are one attraction with all the varieties of facial deformities on show, the makeup is really well done on all bad guys it just makes you wish there were more of them. Nice casting for all the hoods and policemen but the inclusion of Madonna wasn't required and should of gone to a proper actress and I firmly believe Sean Young would have made a better 'Tess Truehart', Young was the original choice.

    Very stylish fun flick which is also a decent homage to the original material surprisingly, one of the better adaptations that has made been over the years which is just about the right level of violence and camp 60's Batman and Robin type action.
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    July 29, 2011
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    Their turf. Their game. Their rules. They didn't count on His law...

    Very good crime/comedy film. The style was really what made me watch it and was very good, it felt like watching a comic book Very good acting by everyone and a very nice cast including Al Pacino, Warren Beatty... read more, Dustin Hoffman, and Madonna. The story was crime style and it was enough good to deliver and entertain. It is very good and in some ways more memorable than much of what goes on in the film.

    Based off of a comic book created by Chester Ghould. Dick Tracy is one of the toughest and the best police officer for the city. He is currently on the hunt for the biggest crime boss named Big Boy Caprice who recently killed off the former crime boss Lips Manless. Now Big Boy is rallying up all of the criminals in the city who are not only trying to make the city bow to Big Boy's wishes but to eliminate Tracy their only huge competition. However Tracy is facing with a whole lot of issues, as he is trying to not only track down Big Boy, but to keep his girlfriend Tess Trueheart, take care of a nameless orphan and dodge a seductive club dancer Breathless Mahoney and a mysterious gangster named "The Blank". Can Tracy overcome these obstacles and save the city?
  • cancercapricorn2002
    June 17, 2011
    cancercapricorn2002
    Dick Tracy is a comic book that pre-dates even Batman and Superman, having made his debut in 1931. The "cops and robbers" storyline is based off of creator Chester Gould's experiences living in Chicago during the Roaring 20's. In fact, the heroic gang buster Tracy is partially ba... read moresed on the legendary Eliot Ness and Tracy's chief adversary, Al "Big Boy" Caprice, was based on the infamous Al Capone. What set the comic apart (and Warren Beatty faithfully recreates)was it's pulp crime thriller story lines with some basis in reality. Unlike Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man, Tracy rarely faced the same foe twice. As in reality, most of Tracy's villains either: A. Were arrested and went to prison for life. B. Were killed in a gunfight with Tracy. OR C. Died some twisted and/or ironic death befitting their character. It's gripping tales, strange villains, and exciting pace has made it a mainstay of the Sunday morning comics.

    In the film, Warren Beatty stars, produces, and directs this exciting adaption of the comic. In the title role, Beatty's terrific. Channeling his inner-Humphrey Bogart, Beatty gives a dead-on portrayal of the tough and morally indestructible hero, tempering the character with the right balance of human faults to make you root for him.

    Since there's no clear-cut "epic" story in the Tracy mythos, the story plays like a recreation of 1930's gangland wars with a heightened sense of reality. Al "Big Boy" Caprice (Al Pacino) is a brutal and ambitious crime boss looking to form an organized crime syndicate with other villains from the legendary "Rogues' Gallery" including the trigger-happy Flattop (type-cast villain, William Forsythe), the scratch-happy Itchy (Ed O'Ross from "Six Feet Under"), the appropriately named Mumbles (Beatty's "Ishtar" co-star Dustin Hoffman), the intimidating Influence (veteran character actor Henry Silva), and the sour Pruneface (veteran R.G. Armstrong), along with others. But there's only one thing standing in his way in Big Boy's quest to control the city: Dick Tracy.

    But Tracy has problems of his own. Despite his toughness, Tracy can't even muster the courage to propose to his sweetheart Tess Trueheart (Glenne Headly). He has to look after a street urchin called "The Kid" (Charlie Korimso). And fend off the sexual advances of Big Boy's night club siren, Breathless Mahoney (Madonna, spoofing her "Material Girl" persona). Add to that a mysterious, not to mention Faceless, foe who's helping Tracy fight the bad guys one minute and setting him up the next moment.

    The movie, despite the depth of plot, moves fairly quickly with an energy that never wanes one bit. From a visual standpoint, the vivid color schemes are used to give the film it's comic book feel, which a touch of film noir undertones. Danny Elfman's score (as good as anything John Williams has done) really drives the piece. And the All-star cast which also includes Paul Sorvino, James Caan, Charles Durning, Dick Van Dyke, and "Bonnie & Clyde" alums Michael J. Pollard and Estelle Parsons, elevate the film's integrity, making it a must see for any true comic book fan.
  • ajv2688
    April 14, 2011
    ajv2688
    I've never been able to make up my mind about this movie. It's got horrible dialogue, it's way over the top, Madonna's in it, and the story could use some work. But then again, I love the over the top quality, the style, the colour, and the action scenes. Overall, I'd say it's... read more pretty good, but it could be better.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    December 31, 2010
    TheDudeLebowski65
    I've always seem to put off viewing this film. I was a fan of the comics when I was a kid, but I never seen the film. Until recently. Dick Tracy directed by and starring Warren Beatty in the title role is a good adaptation directed with style. Beatty's vision of the film focuses ... read moreon a cartoonish, over the top visual style, and it looks great. The film is not only a fine adaptation of the Dick Tracy comics, but it also evokes the classic pulp style of the 1930's onwards. The style is incredible, the feel and the tone of the picture is flawless. The cast that Warren Beatty has assembled here is top notch and you have a lot of heavy weights from previous mob films, James Caan, Paul Sorvino, William Forsythe and of course Al Pacino in the role of Big Boy Caprice. You can't have a pulp comic book crime action film without such an incredible cast of talented actors to bring these characters to life. Madonna is surprisingly good as femme fatal Breathless Mahoney, and her chemistry with Warren Beatty is superb. Warren Beatty's direction is almost flawless
    and the film's stunning visual style is the high point of the film. However I thought the film script could have been slightly better, other than that, the film succeeds at entertaining and thrilling. A very fun hour and forty minutes. A very memorable comic book adaptation. If you've enjoyed Tim Burton's Batman, and love films with a terrific visual style, then give Dick Tracy a viewing. The classic pulp feel of the picture makes this a worthwhile film to watch.
  • sononothing
    September 18, 2010
    sononothing
    Dick Tracy was an answer to Tim Burton's Batman. "We can do comic book movies, too. Hell, Tracy was older than Batman. Give the guy a chance. So Disney backed legendary playboy Warren Beatty in making Dick come to the big screen.



    The film is a buffet for the eyes with some gr... read moreeat backgrounds and set design that just jumps out and screams "look at me!". The costuming is also very good, though they did go a bit overboard with the primary colors. Then there's the wonderful make up effects. Don't forget that Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman are in this, too. So what could be the problem?


    The main issue with Dick Tracy is the title character, or we can go deeper and say it was the portrayal of said character. Beatty really doesn't give us much with the role. It's more like "Hey, I'm the guy on the poster, look at me!" The thing is that I got dulled by Dick Tracy. He really doesn't do much except get into traps and get into more traps and get into some trouble to boot. That was ok in the serial world, but as a full length movie it falls flat quick. If your title character sucks, then there isn't much hope for the movie as a whole.



    It is a good film for the kiddies to see, unless you're offended by the almost spanking scene. Like I said, it's a colorful piece that is an achievement on that front. It's almost the mirror image of that 1989 Batman movie. This is colorful while that film is dark and gray, but the characters in Batman are actually interesting, whereas in Dick Tracy they're just there. And this must be the film where Pacino began yelling all the time, too.
  • FrizzDrop
    August 16, 2010
    FrizzDrop
    Very Dick Tracy, with amazing costuming, dizzying amounts of that Tracy panache, and general adorableness. Still, there's only so much cuteness stomachable before you're watching a kid's movie with guns.
  • allan913
    April 8, 2010
    allan913
    A real classic. A blisteringly exciting, wildly hilarious and tremendously action-packed adventure. A dazzling film noir comedy that's truly one of the greatest comic book movies of all time. It's brilliant and simply extraordinary. A stylish masterpiece from Director and star Wa... read morerren Beatty. He also gives on of his best and most entertaining performances ever in one of his best films. Al Pacino is simply magnificent, he gives an outrageously funny and wickedly enjoyable performance. It's smart, very funny and incredibly fun movie.
  • FilmFanatik
    March 12, 2010
    FilmFanatik
    This isn't quite as good as I remember when I saw it as a kid. It has some charm, but its mediocrity overshadows that charm.

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Critic Reviews

Owen Gleiberman
July 7, 2010
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Beatty and his team of collaborators have heightened the vibrantly tawdry urban night world of Chester Gould's classic comic strip. Full Review

Variety Staff
April 23, 2009
Variety Staff, Variety

Though it looks ravishing, Warren Beatty's longtime pet project is a curiously remote, uninvolving film. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
April 18, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

This has an appealing two-dimensional comic-book look, but lacks the vision to go with it, not to mention an interesting hero or a feeling for action. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Summer hasn't officially arrived yet, but it's unlikely to offer a big-budget commercial movie as thoroughly entertaining as this stylish real-life cartoon. Full Review

Peter Travers
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

For all its superficial pleasures, Dick Tracy ultimately flounders because it provides an audience with nothing to take home and dream about.

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

This is a movie in which every frame contains some kind of artificial effect. An entire world has been built here, away from the daylight and the realism of ordinary city streets. Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Tracy is Tinseltown's annual celebration of everything that's wrong with itself: the hype, the agent-negotiated star system, the Hollywood 'fun' assembly-line method of copy-cat mediocrity, etc. Full Review

Rita Kempley
January 1, 2000
Rita Kempley, Washington Post

Dick Tracy is Batman in a fedora -- a much-ballyhooed cartoon noir that's as skimpy on substance as it is burgeoning with jujube-colored, jutt-jawed style. Full Review

July 13, 2010
Film4

A waste of time and money. Full Review

Keith Phipps
July 7, 2010
Keith Phipps, Slate

The film moves at a chug when it should put the pedal to the floor. Full Review

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