"Calling Dick Tracy!" "Dick! Such an interesting name!"
Nowadays, the film adaptation of Disney comics has been a routine for years. But the beginning for the company was made several years ago with a very different hero, the legendary in the 30's - 40's Dick Tracy.
Transferring the adventures of Dick Tracy to the big screen was a burning desire for one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Warren Beatty. The project went through forty waves, changed companies and producers, and after ten years of wandering ended up at Disney, which in the late 80s was very different from its mighty present form, having specialized in family films and comedies, while the department animation mainly reminisced about the old glories.
Beatty wanted to pay homage to the hero while pursuing a blockbuster hit and, why not, a franchise. Likewise, Disney, who entrusted him with a large budget, a decision that was reinforced during filming by Warner's huge success with Batman, whose model he tried to follow and apply.
(Mini history of the project:
The original screenplay was written by Jim Cash & Jack Epps Jr, (Top Gun, The Secret Of My Success) at the behest of John Landis, who was later replaced by Walter Hill, who wanted to go with a more dark and realistic approach. Somewhere in there, Beatty's involvement with the design began. After the departure of Hill and another director (Richard Benjamin), Beatty himself bought the rights to the hero and approached Disney. Gradually, the idea of him taking on the direction also matured (it should be noted that he had won an Oscar for directing Reds in 1981), and so the film finally went into production.)
Beatty cast important actors and friends of his (Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Dustin Hoffman, Seymour Kassel), as well as Madonna, then at the height of her glory, who was desperate for a decent big production (so desperate that she accepted to be paid only basic salary - ok, it's too late to fundraise for her). Sean Young was the hero's original partner, but soon left to be replaced by Glenne Headly. In the photography, the meter Vittorio Storaro, in the production design the great Richard Sylbert (The Manchurian candidate, Chinatown, Reds, Carlito's way), in the musical score in a transcription from Batman by Danny Elfman, while the creator of top musicals Stephen Sondheim undertook to write original songs. The perfectionist Beatty had decided to give the project the image of a live comic (tactics that Ang Lee partially followed years later in his own Hulk, and the animation Into the Spider verse) with the corresponding scenery and matte paintings) and the exclusive use seven colors. Similarly, the appearance of the actors would generally closely follow the respective heroes of the comic, with the help of innovative make-up.
The film was supported by very aggressive marketing, which tried to take advantage of every possible opportunity, while the various toy and other product companies, wanting to avoid the slow reflexes they had shown a year before, in Batman, gladly seized the opportunity, with resulting in the release of hundreds of merchandise products (a simple search on eBay will bring you dozens of results even today). At the same time, three (!!!) soundtracks were released (a Madonna album, one with the score, and one with the rest of the songs, but also "inspired by").
The film was released in the summer of 1990. It received very good reviews and was quite successful, but not the huge success that everyone involved expected. So plans for sequels remained plans. But Dick Tracy and its visionary director in one respect paved the way for the success that Disney would enjoy years later with the Marvel movies and the like.
As for the film itself, it remains a quality entertainment proposition, with the artistic choices of the actors generally justified on the screen, offering a fascinating visual (and audio) spectacle, which I personally - hot take - liked much more than the first Batman (because Batman Returns is a movie). The cast is overall very good, sometimes excellent, with Pacino in particular stealing the show and causing a lot of laughs (with a double Oscar nomination that year for The Godfather 3 and for that role). Even Madonna, admittedly in her element, is very good (although vocally her weaknesses are evident - Evita is still a long way off). The scenario is strained by the presence of many characters, but it remains interesting, even with a twist towards the end. The most cinephiles will enjoy and also the various references to classic Hollywood.
*Dick Tracy was nominated for seven Oscars, winning three of them (art direction, song, make-up). The only other movie based on a comic book to do that was Black Panther 28 years later.
https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/dick-tracy-long-journey-of-1990-blockbuster/?amp
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/65076/15-hard-boiled-facts-about-dick-tracy-its-25th-anniversary
https://collider.com/dick-tracy-anniversary-warren-beatty-madonna/amp/
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