Madonna in Dick Tracy (1990) - Episode 103

Pop Screen

This week, Pop Screen is showing you Dick. As part of our ce-e-le-bration of the fortieth anniversary of Madonna's breakthrough single Holiday, we're taking you back to 1990, when Warren Beatty became one of the few men to ever tell her what to do as he directed his then-partner in the comic book hit of the summer, Dick Tracy.

Obviously, the landscape of comic book adaptations has changed since the days when a 1930s detective strip was a box office smash and Captain America was the subject of a cheap B-movie. But has it changed for the better? This question can only be answered by bringing back Andrew of Behold! podcast, who revisits his childhood favourite film to ask: does it hold up, and why isn't it set on the moon? Plus vital detours to discuss the film's excellent make-up, Al Pacino's, uh, high-intensity villain performance, the documentary Six by Sondheim and the insane excess of a film that can afford to get Kathy Bates for, essentially, one great sight gag.

If you'd like to help us hold on to the rights for a 1930s comic strip using a series of Zoom calls - seriously, it's a thing we discuss - you can back us on Patreon, where you'll get an exclusive episode on Dangerous Game, another of the many curios in Madonna's screen career. Plus written reviews of Red Dwarf, The X-Files and classic series Doctor Who, From the Video Aisle works its way through the [Rec] series, the film and TV miscellany podcast Last Night... and more. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for more.