Dick Tracy

Filmmakers hoping to jump on the latest comics-to-movies craze (Spider-Man, The Hulk, Daredevil) could do worse than watch Warren Beatty’s take on a previous generation’s hero. The perfectionist director-star got so much right, starting with the primary-colored matte-backdrop sets, and with the crisp transfer on this DVD — sadly devoid of any extras whatsoever — you want to fall into the painterly frames (designed by the late Richard Sylbert, who won an Oscar). Then there’s the surprisingly tough rat-a-tat-tat style, some fun Sondheim songs, and Oscar nominee Al Pacino as nasty Big Boy Caprice. Be warned: The makeup on villains like Pruneface and Flattop looks dated, and the underwhelming script is as plain as a yellow raincoat. Still, Beatty is ever mindful of the nature of his source material, and that’s half the battle.