Crime

An homage to the 1930s Chester Gould comic-strip character of the same name, Dick Tracy is often overlooked as one of the original and most critically successful blockbuster comic book movies, nominated for seven Academy Awards and winning three. Warren Beatty directed, produced and starred as the crime-fighting detective in a city overrun by bad guys, navigating Madonna's advances as sultry lounge singer Breathless Mahoney who may hold the key to taking down mob boss Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice (Al Pacino) and his band of henchmen. With a star-studded cast and soundtrack by Stephen Sondheim, the movie was more than a nostalgic nod to the comic book genre, but a fully stylised visual spectacular with a two-dimensional flatness and vivid, though limited, colour palette that felt pulled from the page. The limited palette of mostly red, yellow and blue was reflected in the fantastic marketing campaign, with cartoonish character posters by Johnny Kwan teasing the upcoming release with catchy captions such as I'm on my way and Mind if I call you Dick?