4) Dick Tracy (1990)
Dick Tracy is, hands down, an unsung masterpiece of American cinema, and the character himself is one of pop culture’s longest serving denizens. Starting out in the 1930s as a basic urban crime strip featuring the titular hardboiled detective putting bozos behind bars, passing years, new eras and fresh visionaries would see the hero sent to space and even reimagined as a hippie. But as we all know: times change, characters change and reinterpretations continuously happen, but in the case of this old Dick, it’s been up and down to say the least.
But for his 1990 blockbuster – directed and starring Warren Beatty in full-bore Harrison Ford mode – the story is what we’d imagine a Dick Tracy adaptation to be; a noir-flavored action flick with a stone-faced hero oozing of rugged machismo, femme fatales who spell nothing but trouble, grotesque mobsters, thieving orphans and a jazz soundtrack that swings us all the way back to the halcyon days of Hollywood crime capers, set in a world that feels both classic and steampunk. They just don’t make ‘em like this anymore…
Boasting an all-star cast of Warren Beatty, Madonna, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, William Forsythe and Dick Van Dyke, the performances are excellent across the board. Every character plays a noir archetype with aplomb, and the film is a perfect balance between the classic crime fare of yesteryear coupled with the cartoonish oddness. Despite being an homage to days long past, Dick Tracy is a truly wonderful movie that’s stood the test of the time.