Dick Tracy : The Noir Edit

Bad Movies Made Less Bad Presents:
The Comic Strip Icon Recut for More Maturity - with a Little Help from Miles Davis.

Major Changes:

• B&W as good as possible (Some scenes were originally colored so wild, this was all that could be recovered)
• More noir vibes, more adult focus. Tracy edited to have a bit more confidence, less doubt, except when it comes to women.
• Original songs trimmed when the narrative allows, Miles Davis added where possible.
• Removed excess shots of bad makeup.
• Lots of dumb lines removed or edited for pacing.
• Big Boy lines are trimmed to seem darker and more menacing, less of a parody. (That worked well for a while. Then, he had a few jokes that landed that I couldn't remove. So Big Boy starts off more menacing, but I let Pacino off the leash after a while.)

Editing Intent:

As an adult I have never felt a ton of love for due to the outrageous color scheme, and the makeup fx were always downright nuts to me as well. Its amazing that this came out the year after the first Burton Batman movie - its a complete ripoff, blasphemous in retrospect really. I can't believe I didn't notice back then it was THIS similar to the Batman. Hindsight is 20/20.

But I was amazed at how I could actually appreciate everything in this movie without all the color - even the makeup isn't quite as bad - it seems like THE PERFECT movie that a Young Bruce Wayne would have watched. There are so many similarities to Batman, besides of course the Elfman soundtrack: Big Boy seems like a hybrid of the Joker and the Penguin, Dick Tracy seems like Batman if he were a cop, the "Kid" is basically Robin. Elliot Ness similarities, sure, but this is a superhero before there were superheroes. Its so weird how much this copies and tries to be a prequel. I don't think I noticed before with all the color and ridiculous makeup. But it also hit some pretty iconic "noir" beats too.

Cut List:

• New B&W Grade added.

• Intro music and radio voiceover replaced with "Générique" (Miles Davis) with some foley added as it fades.

• Shots of Little Face removed.

• Shots of Dick and Tess inside the Theatre removed.

• Removed some of Tess and Dick dialogue leaving theatre.

• Shortened Breathless song.

• Tightened Flattop arresting Lips and Breathless

• Tightened Tess and Dick dialogue outside the diner.

• Tightened Dick fight in the slums and Kid's reaction time.

• Tightened up Big Boy's encounter with Lips.

• Removed Dick's hesitation in diner.

• Removed close up shot of Dick stiring a can of beans.

• Tightened Dick's witness-badgering.

• Shortened Mumbles interrogation.

• Removed some of Big Boy's rehersal to highlight his menacing nature and avoid the slapstick.

• Tightened Dick's arrest of Big Boy.

• Reedited Dick and Breathless's first meeting and rescored it with "Le Petit Bal #Take 2" (Miles Davis)

• Tightened Dick returning home

• Tightened Big Boy leaving jail

• Reedited Dick and Breathless's second meeting in dick's office and rescored it with "Chez le Photographe du Motel" (Miles Davis) with some foley added as it fades.

• Tightened Big Boy's proposal with the bosses for more menace, less attributing where the quotes came from.

• Tightened Big Boy's kidnapping and attempted murder of Dick Tracy for more menace, less sillyness.

• Removed Dick and Kid discussion about Dick's badge after the certificate ceremony.

• Tightened Dick and Breathless metting at Dicks appartment, removed the kiss and rescored with "Julien Dans l'Ascenseur (Miles Davis)"

• Tightened No Face's dialogue with 88 Keys.

• Tightened Bog Boy's dialogue with 88 Keys.

• Removed Dick saying "reload" to himself when covered in cement.

• Removed Breathless and 88 Keys Duet and rescored with a cover of the Love Theme from Chinatown.

• Removed Tess asking her mother to repeat herself.

• Tightened Dick and Kids orphanage discussion

• Tightened Dick being drugged and framed.

• Removed 88 Keys laughing goofily.

• Tightened the second Mumbles interrogation scene and the following car ride discussion.

• Tightened New Years Eve Party scenes for more directness, less silliness. (left the weight joke.)

• Added old timey car horn foley.

• Tightened Big Boy escape with Tess.

• Tightened Big boy and Dick scene inside drawbridge tower.

• Tightened Breathless reveal and rescored with "Séquence Voiture #Take 1" (Miles Davis) with some foley added as it fades.

• Shortened final "The End" shot

• Rescored credits with "Générique" (Miles Davis)