As previously highlighted through reviews of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sister Act, this summer the BFI in London is screening a sizeable collection of Disney movies to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney Pictures. By the end of the month, around 50 movies will have been screened between July and August, including many iconic titles.
One of these titles is something of a rarity, as it almost never pops up on the big screen. The film is the multi Academy Award-winning, live-action comic book movie, Dick Tracy, which was originally released way back in 1990.
But if Dick Tracy is a multi Academy Award-winning picture, why doesn’t it pop up regularly on the big screen? Well, this is largely because a.) the movie is something of an acquired taste and b.) it was a bit of a misfire for Disney.
The Mouse House viewed Dick Tracy as being the next Batman (which was a HUGE hit in 1989), but it didn’t live up to expectations. Unfortunately, Dick Tracy didn’t endear itself to general audiences as well as the Caped Crusader did, and thanks to ballooning production costs and a sizeable marketing budget, it wasn’t all that profitable either.
Does this mean Dick Tracy is a dud? No, but it isn’t one of Disney’s big success stories.
However, there is something endlessly fascinating about Dick Tracy. The movie has many of the right ingredients to be a sure-fire hit, and even if it doesn’t totally work it remains a curiosity.
Directed by, produced, and starring Warren Beatty, Dick Tracy is a crime picture, based on the comic strip character of the same name. The movie follows the story of Tracy, as he attempts to clean up his city, which is being corrupted by crime boss, Big Boy Caprice.
In the film, it’s the 1930s and Big Boy Caprice’s crime syndicate is taking over businesses in the city. One of these businesses is popular night spot, Club Ritz.
Caprice takes the club from its owner, Lips Manlis, who he promptly bumps off. He also takes Manlis’ girlfriend, club singer Breathless Mahoney.
After investigating the death of Manlis, Dick Tracy believes Big Boy Caprice is responsible and has him arrested. But when the case fails to stick, Caprice is released from custody and he sets to work on uniting all the major crime players in the city under his leadership.
As the story progresses, Caprice attempts to bribe Tracy to get him on side, but when this fails he unsuccessfully tries to kill the detective, before framing him for murder. All the while, Tracy continuously fights to bring down his foe, while juggling his home life, and some romantic advances from Breathless Mahoney.
As noted above, Dick Tracy has a lot going for it, starting with its very impressive cast. Beatty leads the film, with a long line of support coming from…
*takes deep breath*
…Al Pacino, Glenne Headly, Madonna, Dick Van Dyke, Kathy Bates, Dustin Hoffman, William Forsythe, James Tolkan, Mandy Patinkin, James Caan, Catherine O’Hara, Paul Sorvino, Henry Silva, Charlie Korsmo, and many others.
When it comes to its cast, the film is a ‘who’s who’ of star names. Beatty pulls in lots of big players, even if some of them only drop by for quick cameos, and this sets the movie off on the right track.
Next up is the film’s music, which is a collaboration of three artists. Fresh from the success of Batman, Danny Elfman provides the score, while Stephen Sondheim chips in five original songs for the movie, and Madonna sings some of the tracks.
In total, three soundtrack CDs were released to accompany Dick Tracy. The first was the official Dick Tracy soundtrack album, the next was the orchestral score from Elfman, while the third was Madonna’s album, ‘I’m Breathless’.
Outside of the acting talent and the music, Dick Tracy also boasts a comic book-inspired design aesthetic from production designer Richard Sylbert and set decorator Rick Simpson. Meanwhile, costumes come courtesy of Italian costume designer Milena Canonero.
The film is incredibly stylised too, utilising a very limited and vibrant colour palette which pops off the screen. And if that wasn’t enough, many of the comic book villains depicted in the movie wear effective prosthetics, created by make-up artists John Caglione Jr. and Doug Drexler.
The overall look of the film is influenced by the original Dick Tracy strip by Chester Gould, while also taking influences from German expressionism and the Art Deco movement. With this being a detective story, Dick Tracy also taps into film noir, and the combination of all the above makes it a very unique offering, unlike anything else seen on screen.
On paper, and based on the sheer amount of acting talent and technical wizardry alone, Dick Tracy has everything going for it. It looks faultless and sounds fantastic too, and this certainly didn’t go unnoticed when it made its debut.
Upon release Dick Tracy was nominated for a bunch of accolades, winning amongst others three Academy Awards. It picked up Best Art Direction, Best Make-up, and Best Original Song for ‘Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)’.
So, if Dick Tracy has so much artistic clout, and it impressed industry bods during awards season, why didn’t audiences make this film a monster hit? Well, despite all the things it does right, it still struggles in a few key places and this is where the problems lie.
The script for Dick Tracy is nowhere near as interesting as the production design or the music. The story isn’t as exciting as it wants to be, and lacks any sparkle or originality.
Is it serviceable? Yes – but it is clearly much weaker than everything around it.
And with the script feeling underwhelming, the pacing is all over the place too. Dick Tracy is filled with peaks and troughs (less of the former, more of the latter), and this makes its 105-minute runtime feel a lot longer than it actually is.
It also doesn’t help that Dick Tracy has little in the way of truly big action set pieces to make things exciting. While Beatty is strong in the lead role, he doesn’t quite pull off directing duties, and he struggles to inject much action into the film.
The visuals help to balance this out a bit, and watching Dick Tracy is still an immersive experience, but it becomes evident the film is missing something. It’s not quite a case of style over substance, because the style of the movie has plenty of substance, but the picture is lacking in key areas.
For this reason, Dick Tracy is impressive but it is also frustratingly flawed. Clearly a lot of money is there on screen, but it just doesn’t work as much as you know it should.
The longer the film goes on, the more you can see where the issues are. So it’s a conflicting picture in many ways, and one which isn’t for everyone.
*Sigh*
There’s no denying Dick Tracy’s many accomplishments, and ever since its release back in 1990 I’ve been mildly obsessed with it; but I do accept Dick Tracy has problems. I believe the positives outweigh the negatives, and the creativity of the picture alone gives it strong foundations, however I concede it’s not what it aims to be.
But its return to the big screen for Disney’s 100th anniversary is still a bit of a triumph because it rarely happens, so if you do consider yourself the world’s biggest Dick Tracy fan, you had best start making booking arrangements now. Should you wish to catch it, Dick Tracy will screen at the BFI twice (and twice only) in August, with the first screening on Friday 25th and the second on Tuesday 29th.
As for those who can’t make a screening, but who still wish to watch the film, Dick Tracy is currently available in the UK on DVD. You can also purchase the film through the major digital platforms.
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