Dick Tracy | 
| Actors: Marvelee Cariaga, Seymour Cassel, Charles Durning, Stig Eldred, Charles Fleischer
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.99
Buy New: $4.50
You Save: $5.49 (55%)
New (43) Used (16) Collectible (1) from $3.94
Rating:  101 reviews
Sales Rank: 3628
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.6
MPN: DISD18372D
UPC: 717951005298
EAN: 0717951005298
ASIN: B00005T7I1
Theatrical Release Date: June 15, 1990
Release Date: April 2, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com essential video
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 smolders 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 colors, 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
Product Description
Mystery, adventure, and romance in the life of comic strip detective Dick Tracy.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG
Release Date: 5-JUL-2005
Media Type: DVD
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| Customer Reviews: Read 96 more reviews...
 FLAT TOP June 16, 2009
Francisco J. Calderon (Mexico City, Mexico)
Like an earlier reviewer so cleverly said, the less you know about the strip, the more you'll enjoy the film!
"Dick Tracy" is not a movie about the strip, but about the memories it evokes. Unfortunately, you'll have to be eighty years old to have those! (the Tracy I recall was a boring TV cartoon that flied around in a trashcan). And chances are even so your memory will trick you, for the strip itself was anything BUT "nice clean fun".
A failed masterpiece that -literally- ended up in the moon, "Dick Tracy" was in its heyday a cartoonist's personal crusade against organized crime. Outraged by the murder of fellow Chicago journalist Jake Lingle (who turned out to be corrupt), cartoonist Chester Gould created Tracy as his way of exposing criminals for what they were, and what should be done with them. For him, they were the scum of the earth: human souls of such deformity, it even reflected on their features. Thus there was no joke on The Brow's brow, or on Flattop's flat top. These guys were not ugly villains, but true human monsters.
Confident of its Law & Order moral framework, the strip had no qualms about depicting sordid situations (sons murdering their parents, lovers quarrels with knives, villains getting impaled, victims beheaded, teenagers drowned, etc.), much to the delight of its millions of young readers. Today,"political correctness" would make such a comic strip unthinkable, but back then no one thought of it that way. People saw it as a simple Good vs. Evil moral story, where bad guys were ugly and good guys always win. "Nice clean fun".
And that's just what appears in the movie. A bland and predictable story, sugarcoated in eye candy. It's all make believe visual nostalgia in bright colors and retro cars. Lots of fedoras, spats, tommy-guns and badges, in a fantasy 1930's American city full of newsboys wearing caps, sodajerks in bowties, Chinamen with pigtails, and elevated trains against the sunset. Shanties swing when hosting fistfights, boilers tremble before they explode, callygraphy gets written with bullets, and entire gangs fly through the air if they face Tracy. To top it all, there's an all star cast in outlandish makeup, several catchy Stephen Sondheim songs, and even a Madonna nipple if you look for it. Enjoy!
P.S.: To most older people, Ralph Byrd was THE Dick Tracy of the movies. Actually, he sucked! Warren Beatty does an acceptable performance here, but nothing to write home about. Me, I always thought Robert Stack had Dick Tracy in mind when portraying Eliot Ness on TV. "The Untouchables" itself is closer to the spirit of the Tracy comic strip than this movie is. As for looks, Victor Mature would have made the ideal silver screen Tracy. Alas, he never played the part.
One of the best comic book adaptations, next to Sin City June 8, 2009
Jason Roberts (Alabny, Or.)
I've been watching "Dick Tracy" for years, and as a result it's become a vital part of my life - it was with me throughout childhood and I used to see it quite often. Seeing it now, as an adult, it's still a very good movie - dark, satiric and incredibly misunderstood. About the only thing that can be said is the Oscar nomination Pacino received - other than that it is rarely discussed and didn't make much of a fuss when it came out.
Pacino is over-the-top but to good effect as he's clearly having loads of fun. Beatty is great as Dick Tracy and behind the camera manages to capture the atmosphere of a film noir comic book better than any other film, possibly, I have ever seen. Just taking a look at one scene from the film is breathtaking. The lighting, velvet overtones and smog/smoke combine to create a great effect.
There are some really funny cameos including one by Dustin Hoffman as "Mumbles," and I don't think there are any flaws at all in terms of acting - even the mandatory kid-character is far better than expected.
Overall, a really fine movie that has become misunderstood over the years since its release and is incredibly underrated. The critics' reviews are very positive (check out RottenTomatoes.com) and after seeing the film once again it's not hard to see why - this is a perfect example of capturing the essence of a comic book, from style to eccentricity.
Eh..... May 4, 2009
John Herrera (San Jose, Ca)
Bought this movie because I had wanted to see it again.
Forget Al Pachino was the bad guy
not as good as i remembered tho.
fairly fast, ok price.
 Slow Service December 21, 2008
Adam Hill (Ashland, KY)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
DVD was great but service company was very slow getting it to me. Overall DVD worked very well, delivery just sucked.
I don't watch Madonna Much But She Nailed this! More movies Please December 16, 2008
Barkingmad (Colorado (wild west) USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Larger than life. Fun ! Sexy ! (clean sexy; only suggested under tone) Colorful sets to the max but not too.
Warren Beatty could not have been better. I don't see enough of his films. I am going to look for more of his films.
Wow the make up and costumes are really somethin' ! I didn't get who the other actors were until I read about 'em. Cool stuff !
Not too violent. Ok for kids if you let them watch anything with guns. I grew up watching tons of stuff with guns in the sixties. This movie is like that. Not like Dirty Harry scary stuff. I played with plastic guns as a kid. I don't own a gun now and do not beat people up etc if they disagree with me.
Not saying that I would not remove guns and violence from our culture if I could. Just that this movie is not harmful considering all else that goes on.
Heck I am a yoga instructor and meditate ("for crying out loud" as they used to say).
Fun movie ! Just like you slipped into an old comic book came to life.
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