I think it's crap as well. I have the original screenplay and the movie follows it very closely. There's very little that was cut...certainly nothing that would give us another 30 minutes of footage.

Dick has been making the rounds on Cinemax in HD but I know how much Disney hates putting out Touchtone Blu-rays. I'm not holding my breath.

I wouldn't doubt that one or both of the montages constitute the bulk of the footage cut as you can tell there is more in them than just tailor-made quick snips. A very similar situation occurred with Scarface where all of the Push it To the Limit montage bits were actual scenes in the screenplay.

I definitely think a more fleshed out film would help Dick Tracy, but ultimately I think it's the finale that falling flat that ruins the movie:

I don't think a more fleshed out film would be better. Most of the fun of Dick Tracy was the extreme cheesiness of the whole thing and the characters that were over the top. DT isn't really the type of thing that is well suited for reality. It's just plain cheesy, over the top, nonsense that's a lot of fun.

http://events.latimes.com/herocomplexfilmfest/schedule/

The Beatty himself will be presenting Dick Tracy at the Hero complex June 9th, probably with a Q&A. Would be a good idea to film this for a future Blu Ray release. Maybe now that he has the rights back to Tracy he'll consider putting together a nice package.

Those things aren't changed by fleshed out film; if anything, they are increased in that there are more scenes that were excised. For instance, I believe Catherine O'Hara's gangster role was really cut.

cool...but i think what will happen right now is that he will produce a remake then they will release the SE of the 1990 film...it makes more sense that way.

I think a case can be made for the reverse. By getting an SE on the market he accomplishes two things: 1) Demonstrates that he is, in fact, still committed to the character and 2) can gauge how enthusiastic the general public still is for Dick Tracy. Pretty much no matter how sales are, it's a win. If sales are terrific, then the case can be made, "They want more!" If sales are disappointing, they can be downplayed, "But we're going to give today's audience a movie for them with this next one!"

Plus, this way it feeds my personal desire to get my grubby paws on a Dick Tracy Blu-ray loaded with bonus content as quickly as possible.

Again, I have the shooting script. It wasn't.

Wow, that makes me think even less of Beatty's efforts; to hire Catherine O'Hara yet having her stay silent and obscured was a terrible decision.

I, too, find it surprising, but not necessarily an indication of any failure on Beatty's part. If the character was written as a bit part, that's still no reason not to cast someone talented and prominent. Maybe that was all she had time to shoot anyway and just wanted to be part of the production.

Ever since I first heard about there being a ton of excised material I've wondered just how true that could really be. The existing cut seems pretty thorough to me in telling its story. After I saw the director's cut of Daredevil (which adds quite a lot of stuff that I hadn't even suspected had been excised from the theatrical cut), I began to think maybe there was some meaty stuff on the cutting room floor. But if the shooting script doesn't really have much more to it as you say, then at least I feel better about my original doubts.

On a side note, my theme for this month's Make-Your-Own Challenge is movies and TV shows based on comic book and comic strip material. Good thing, because it's not really eligible for the other challenges (save Academy Awards). I suppose a case could be made for the Holiday Challenge, since the climax takes place on New Year's Eve and it's suggested that much of the film takes place in a relatively short time span. Which reminds me, I always wondered why, if the film leads up to New Year's Eve, there's not one indication of Christmas in the movie. If I ever run into Jack Epps, Jr., Jim Cash or Warren Beatty, I hope I have the presence of mind to ask them.

If great quality Blu Ray copies of Dick Tracy, The Rocketeer and The Shadow were released I would be a happy guy. Until then, I have to settle for The Phantom to take care of my HD 30's/40's comic book hero needs.

Oh, I'd love a special edition of Rocketeer. When I was 11, that was my favourite movie. I had the fast food cup with the lid being his helmet, I had a model of his plane, I had (and still do) the poster, a figure, the book, the trading card set, and of course the dvd. The only sad thing is that Dave Stevens, the creator of it, is dead, so there won't be a commentary from him. But and Alan Arkin and Billy Campbell would be cool.

Warren Beatty screened Dick Tracy at the Hero Complex Festival the other day, talked about making a sequel and it was confirmed they're working on the Blu-Ray.

I just wish Beatty's track record wasn't one of speaking vaguely about things that may or may not materialize ten years after he says them. Still, I'm hopeful this will lead to something on shelves in the next year or so. With the color scheme of Dick Tracy, I think it could be one of the most gorgeous Blus in my library.

Agreed. I think the Blu-Ray is coming sometime in 2012 (along with this year, that will be a big year for comic book films). As to the sequel, let's hope Beatty realizes he doesn't have a lot of years left, so the time to hesitate is through.