Movies What can you tell me about Dick Tracy?

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

This is a movie I only know about because of the AVGN episode -- I haven't encountered it in any other context, which is remarkably weird to me.

If someone speaks about a film on the internet, no matter how obscure that film may be, I usually find conversation about/around it, but that simply hasn't been the case with this one (not even on the recommendations following another watch of the classic nerd episode). And that? That has peaked my curiosity in a way that's rarely approached these days.

So... Please tell me: is it a good movie? Is it even among your favorites? Would you recommend giving it a watch or should I avoid it like the plague?

Thanks!

 

[Stingy Perry Stingy Perry]

I haven’t watched it lately but I did see it when it came out(dang I’m old). So what I might tell you maybe some stock memory of mine.

We all know that it came during the 90s. Batman Returns, Darkman(Liam Neeson before Schindler’s List) and Rocketeer all came that same era. I kinda liked it for what it is and that is crime noir that aimed younger demographic. It’s a product of its time and I’ve seen a lot worse movie than this. It’s not for everyone I’ll give you that but it has a certain charm that’s why some people always brought it up when there’s the chance. As for me I loved it as a kid and now that you mentioned it I might give this one a go this holiday.

 

[JustLooking123]

I have only played the MegaDrive game about it (with the same name) and it was a blast!
Though, it's as difficult as hell!
And later levels are a bit repetitive... but the first few levels really worth trying it!

 

[Nebulon_Galaxy]

Well he's kinda of a dick

 

[TruxtonTatsujin TruxtonTatsujin]

I also don't really know anything about the character or the film, but I can tell you that the Mega Drive game based off it is genuinely good. It's a side scrolling shooting game where you get to fire off into the background as well, it's really sick. It does get very hard in the later levels though.

 

[redux007]

This is a movie I only know about because of the AVGN episode -- I haven't encountered in any other context, which is remarkably weird to me.

If someone speaks about a film on the internet, no matter how obscure that film may be, I usually find conversation about/around it, but that simply hasn't been the case with this one (not even on the recommendations following another watch of the classic nerd episode). And that? That has peaked my curiosity in a way that's rarely approached these days.

So... Please tell me: is it a good movie? Is it even among your favorites? Would you recommend giving it a watch or should I avoid it like the plague?

Thanks!

It's like "Rodger Rabbit," but not as good. Or, a movie like "The Shadow." Or, "The Phantom." Could even be compared to the "Super Mario Bros" movie. You know the one like, "Blade Runner?" If you're not familiar with any of these movies. Imagine a movie made in the 1970's - early 1990's with little to no digital effects and a great deal of strange and original practical effects used in conjunction with a script that is fairly family friendly.

 

[χKai]

Had this as a kid and it came with an audio cassette tape apparently?

That guy really has no face: when I first saw, I thought it was just because he was far away, but after reading as a kid, he really has no face! Scared me bad, and I couldn't tell ya why.

 

[What's His Face]

This is a movie I only know about because of the AVGN episode -- I haven't encountered in any other context, which is remarkably weird to me.

If someone speaks about a film on the internet, no matter how obscure that film may be, I usually find conversation about/around it, but that simply hasn't been the case with this one (not even on the recommendations following another watch of the classic nerd episode). And that? That has peaked my curiosity in a way that's rarely approached these days.

So... Please tell me: is it a good movie? Is it even among your favorites? Would you recommend giving it a watch or should I avoid it like the plague?

Thanks!

The movie is based on a newspaper comic series of the same name, starring the eponymous Dick Tracy (an allegory of sorts to the famous Law Enforcement agent Eliot Ness) played by Warren Beatty, against his arch nemesis Big Boy Caprice (an allegory to notorious mobster Al Capone) played Al Pacino...including his gang of thugs that inspired an entire generation of comic writers (every corny mobster from Batman & Spider-Man can be traced back to Dick Tracy). The film co-starred Madonna, Dennis Hoffman, Glenne Headly, and a cornucopia of Hollywood stars from Dick Van Dyke to James Tolkan. This was a pretty major all-star cast for the early 90's.

The movie was released in 1990, one year after the successful Tim Burton Batman film, during the early-to-mid 90's push of "Cheap/Forgotten Comic Character IP Movies" - which included The Phantom, The Rocketeer, Tank Girl, The Mask, The Shadow, Judge Dredd, etc. Dick Tracy is far better that the majority of these movies, though Tank Girl is one of my faves of the era.

Dick Tracy's key gadget is his two-way wrist radio , which allows him quick live updates from Police HQ. The movie was shot with a strong stylization reminiscent of comics, with bold colors and deep shadows. In true "sign of the times," Dick Tracy had a kid sidekick - a plucky hopeless street urchin, and a lovely sweet girlfriend he was even sweeter on.

I saw the movie in the theatre back in 1990 once, but never saw it since. That's not a mark against it, as I normally only watch a movie once - I mention this only due to my memory being a bit fuzzy. I recall really enjoying the movie - it was a lot of fun with great acting, fun 20's-style song routines ('Back in Business' especially), great cinematography, and an entertaining story. It's very predictable, mind, but it's definitely worth a watch - especially if you have some kids in the house.

There was one controversy regarding the movie (besides Warren Beatty screwing everyone on two legs) revolving one of the early scenes involving "Steve the Tramp" and his characterization of being a violent child abuser (to the kid who eventually becomes Dick Tracy's sidekick) and the scene insinuating Tracy beating The Tramp mercilessly, and another news blurb regarding the "back of the box" description for the character's figure toy as well. Both which I thought were overblown.

 

[Advil Lavs]

I can only tell you it has a funny name. I've watched the AVGN episode but I don't even remember what happened in it

 

[Isegrim]

I barely remember the movie. My strongest impression of the character was the 1960's cartoon. I thought his wrist communicator with a TV screen, ages before smartphones was the coolest thing I ever saw as a child. Heck even Dick Tracy hardly participated in that cartoon, he just delegated his assigments to his funny cartoon flunkies where they did some kind of slapstick antics against equally zany villains. So even though I liked the show, there was hardly anything I knew about Dick Tracy himself except for his watch.

 

[Zerohour2k12]

Much like you, I only know of Dick Tracy cuz of the Nerd. I like his outfit though. Pretty Cool.

 

[bjork]

The first time I heard of Dick Tracy was in the old Looney Tunes short, "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery." Daffy Duck reads a Dick Tracy comic and then dreams he is Duck Twacy (it's good if you haven't seen it), but I didn't know it was based on a real thing. My grandparents told me it was a comic in real life too, and then that was the end of it.

So fast forward to 1990, and I forget the exact timing, but I think it was the next big movie based on an old property after Batman the year before? In 1989 you could not get away from Batman, the marketing push was just insane and long. They brought back the 60s TV show in reruns, tons of merch, and then it was one of (if not the) first VHS tape in the US sold at a bargain price. I think it was $20, but a lot of places did deals like "buy three pizzas and get a Batman VHS!" and so even after it left theaters, it had a really long tail.

For Dick Tracy, it was probably bigger but for a shorter time, because once the movie was actually out, people went, "...oh." I don't know box office numbers or anything, but I don't think it quite panned out quite as well as they had anticipated. I want to say I watched it once it came out for rental, but if I did, it left such a small impression that I don't really remember. I do know that it didn't get sequels, but that's because there's a weird thing where Warren Beatty owns the rights to Dick Tracy, but if he doesn't do something with the property, the rights are supposed to revert back to whoever he bought them from, but it's been tied up for years because of legal stuff. At one point, I guess Bruce Campbell had the idea of doing a weekly Dick Tracy show and MAN would he have been great in that role.

tl;dr - I don't think you're missing out on much

 

[redux007]

The movie is based on a newspaper comic series of the same name, starring the eponymous Dick Tracy (an allegory of sorts to the famous Law Enforcement agent Eliot Ness) played by Warren Beatty, against his arch nemesis Big Boy Caprice (an allegory to notorious mobster Al Capone) played Al Pacino...including his gang of thugs that inspired an entire generation of comic writers (every corny mobster from Batman & Spider-Man can be traced back to Dick Tracy). The film co-starred Madonna, Dennis Hoffman, Glenne Headly, and a cornucopia of Hollywood stars from Dick Van Dyke to James Tolkan. This was a pretty major all-star cast for the early 90's.

The movie was released in 1990, one year after the successful Tim Burton Batman film, during the early-to-mid 90's push of "Cheap/Forgotten Comic Character IP Movies" - which included The Phantom, The Rocketeer, Tank Girl, The Mask, The Shadow, Judge Dredd, etc. Dick Tracy is far better that the majority of these movies, though Tank Girl is one of my faves of the era.

Dick Tracy's key gadget is his two-way wrist radio , which allows him quick live updates from Police HQ. The movie was shot with a strong stylization reminiscent of comics, with bold colors and deep shadows. In true "sign of the times," Dick Tracy had a kid sidekick - a plucky hopeless street urchin, and a lovely sweet girlfriend he was even sweeter on.

I saw the movie in the theatre back in 1990 once, but never saw it since. That's not a mark against it, as I normally only watch a movie once - I mention this only due to my memory being a bit fuzzy. I recall really enjoying the movie - it was a lot of fun with great acting, fun 20's-style song routines ('Back in Business' especially), great cinematography, and an entertaining story. It's very predictable, mind, but it's definitely worth a watch - especially if you have some kids in the house.

There was one controversy regarding the movie (besides Warren Beatty screwing everyone on two legs) revolving one of the early scenes involving "Steve the Tramp" and his characterization of being a violent child abuser (to the kid who eventually becomes Dick Tracy's sidekick) and the scene insinuating Tracy beating The Tramp mercilessly, and another news blurb regarding the "back of the box" description for the character's figure toy as well. Both which I thought were overblown.

View attachment 138124

Steve sounds like a massive goddamn asshole.

 

[PacGuy]

This is a movie I only know about because of the AVGN episode -- I haven't encountered it in any other context, which is remarkably weird to me.

If someone speaks about a film on the internet, no matter how obscure that film may be, I usually find conversation about/around it, but that simply hasn't been the case with this one (not even on the recommendations following another watch of the classic nerd episode). And that? That has peaked my curiosity in a way that's rarely approached these days.

So... Please tell me: is it a good movie? Is it even among your favorites? Would you recommend giving it a watch or should I avoid it like the plague?

Thanks!

So you're telling me that you don't know dick about Tracy?

 

[What's His Face]

The first time I heard of Dick Tracy was in the old Looney Tunes short, "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery." Daffy Duck reads a Dick Tracy comic and then dreams he is Duck Twacy (it's good if you haven't seen it), but I didn't know it was based on a real thing. My grandparents told me it was a comic in real life too, and then that was the end of it.

So fast forward to 1990, and I forget the exact timing, but I think it was the next big movie based on an old property after Batman the year before? In 1989 you could not get away from Batman, the marketing push was just insane and long. They brought back the 60s TV show in reruns, tons of merch, and then it was one of (if not the) first VHS tape in the US sold at a bargain price. I think it was $20, but a lot of places did deals like "buy three pizzas and get a Batman VHS!" and so even after it left theaters, it had a really long tail.

For Dick Tracy, it was probably bigger but for a shorter time, because once the movie was actually out, people went, "...oh." I don't know box office numbers or anything, but I don't think it quite panned out quite as well as they had anticipated. I want to say I watched it once it came out for rental, but if I did, it left such a small impression that I don't really remember. I do know that it didn't get sequels, but that's because there's a weird thing where Warren Beatty owns the rights to Dick Tracy, but if he doesn't do something with the property, the rights are supposed to revert back to whoever he bought them from, but it's been tied up for years because of legal stuff. At one point, I guess Bruce Campbell had the idea of doing a weekly Dick Tracy show and MAN would he have been great in that role.

tl;dr - I don't think you're missing out on much

Meh.

Dick Tracy did decently in the theatre. Not gangbusters (no pun intended), but it did pull in more than double its budget in the US and more than triple when global ticket sales are counted. The opening weekend, though, was harsh - less than half the budget. It was one of those movies that got word-of-mouth and people went to watch over the course of the summer. However, Dick Tracy only made about a third of the numbers in profits that Batman did globally. In the end, Dick Tracy is the highest-grossing movie of Warren Beatty's entire career.

I think the reason why no-one talks about this movie is because, after the theatre release & subsequent VHS home release...that was it. It never aired on TV. It never saw a sequel. It got a DVD & BluRay release...but you likely never saw those in stores. It was absolutely NOT a flop by any measure of the word, but it just sputtered. This might be due to Beatty owning the rights to Dick Tracy (of which he is a MASSIVE fan), or it might be due to Walt Disney (owners of Touchstone Pictures who produced the movie) not being happy with the movie. The original intended movie release was supposed to be FAR longer, but Disney forced a massive theatrical cut, then forced the movie to release under "Touchstone" as they felt the movie was "too dark" for their child-friendly image in the early 90's.

Which, yeah, that's fair. The opening scene in the movie is based on the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, after all. And Madonna is...well...Madonna. But if Disney was expecting a fun comic book movie in the vein of Superman...when the movie is about a hard-boiled police detective with a tommy gun fighting criminals based on Gangland Chicago...that was their mistake.

 

[Bakuma1997]

Only thing i can tell is the fact that they showed it in Disney XD once (AFAIK the movie was adult, so it was a great KEK) and i recall reading some comics online to understand the movie, all i learned was the comic being hella violent for a comic strip

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

I also don't really know anything about the character or the film, but I can tell you that the Mega Drive game based off it is genuinely good. It's a side scrolling shooting game where you get to fire off into the background as well, it's really sick. It does get very hard in the later levels though.

It looks like Michael Jackson's Moonwalker.

How come does the Genesis have GOOD tie-in games? That's almost disrespectful to what gaming is XD

 

[HextarVigar]

He had to have his name legally changed due to complaints from parents groups.

His name is now 'Penis Tracy'.

 

[TruxtonTatsujin TruxtonTatsujin]

It looks like Michael Jackson's Moonwalker.

How come does the Genesis have GOOD tie-in games? That's almost disrespectful to what gaming is XD

This one was actually developed by Sega of America themselves, which would explain why the quality is so high, but came out like 8 months after the movie and didn't end up selling very well. Goati had a vid rambling about it's development and some of the game's little details.