Batman [VHS] [1989]

One really can't overstate this film's lasting impact on contemporary Hollywood cinema. While Richard Donner's Superman laid the foundations Tim Burton's gothic masterpiece established what we know today as the comic book adaptation as huge summer event flick. The commendable successes of the recent X Men and Spider-Man franchise owe their success (and indeed production) to the 1989 Batman.
There's nothing I can say about the film itself that hasn't already been said. But just in case you spent the 80s and 90s on the moon;
It looked amazing in 1989 and it still looks amazing today!
Michael Keaton silenced any critics with his deft portrayal of a tormented, psychologically plausible Dark Knight and remains my favourite big screen Batman (with Christian Bale a close second).
Jack Nicholson's Joker provided us with one of the most iconic screen villains of all time.
But I'm assuming you know all about the film.
You want to hear about the DVD don't you?
You know when I bought my first DVD player back in '01 I was shocked and appalled that I couldn't find a Special Edition of one of my favourite films Batman. So I stuck with my VHS copy until I my girlfriend bought me the vanilla DVD one Christmas. Still I yearned and cursed Warner Brothers for not giving Bat-fans and cinema enthusiasts the 2 disc treatment that had been awarded to so many lesser films.
While it was a wait of nearly 5 years WB really pulled out the stops to create a Special Edition worthy of the Dark Knight's legacy.

The film itself has been completely remastered. Grain is seriously reduced (no mean feat in a film with this amount of matte work), colours (particularly blacks) are nice and rich which is essential in a film with this dark a palette, and the film is generally much crisper and sharper. The 5.1 and DTS tracks are superb and really do justice to Danny Elfman's score. Tim Burton's commentary track is pretty good. Anyone who's seen an interview with him knows he prefers to let the films speak for themselves but he raises some interesting points on why he knew Keaton was the man for the job, why Robin was cut from the film and what HE would have done with Two Face.
Disc 2 is where the real meat of the extras lies in easily negotiable (but sadly non-animated) menus.
Legends of the Dark Knight is an in depth look at the origins of the comics and the varying multi media representations of The Batman from the Pulp rooted violent detective of the 30s through to the swashbuckler of the 40s (and visiting the enjoyable movie serials of 1943 and 1949 along the way), the time travelling, space exploring self parody of the 50s and 60s and the darker return to source material of the 70s and 80s culminating neatly in the work of Frank Miller and its effect on the Batman film. While the 60s TV show is mentioned it is (unfortunately) devoid of footage, presumably due to the ongoing rights wars between WB and Fox for the show. Narrated by Mark Hammill and featuring interviews with everyone from Stan Lee to Frank Miller to Dennis O'Neil this is a quintessential Batman documentary.
The 3 Shadows Of The Bat documentaries comprehensibly track the film's long, LONG journey from conception to post production in an incredibly informative and enjoyable way from the perspective of Executive Producer and Bat-fan Michael Uslan. Interestingly these run all across the 4 Burton / Schumacher films and are an excellent means of illustrating the journey the franchise took in the space of 8 years.
The Beyond Batman documentaries are slightly smaller, more manageable featurettes that document every aspect of production from the production design to scoring.
As if all this weren't enough there are some nice little touches like the fun but short On The Set With Bob Kane segment and the Heroes and Villains mini segments in which Batman comic writers, the film makers and the actors themselves share their thoughts on what the character is all about. Another neat little segment is the Robin Animated Storyboard Sequence. Voiced by Batman Animated Series actors Kevin Conroy and Mark Hammill this illustrates how the introduction of Robin might have looked had it not been jettisoned.
In conclusion this 2 disc DVD is one of the few Special Editions truly worthy of the title. WB have finally given The Dark Knight his due!
Thank you reader for making it all the way to the end of this extremely long winded (but I hope, helpful) review!

This is one of the best comic book films. Quite old now made in 1989 I originally had the plain DVD of this. As soon as I saw that a 2 disc version was coming out I had to upgrade to get an insight to all the behind the scenes footage. The film itself is great, the best Batman film by far including the more recent Batman begins. It has plenty of action, stunts, gadgets, the best Batman Michael Keaton and the wonderful inspired casting of Jack Nicholson as the sarcastic, sadistic Joker. Kim Basinger plays the love interest and it has the best Batmobile of any of the films! "I gotta get me one of those!" Tim Burton is the perfect director for the overall dark vision of the film. It also has a great sound track with Princes top tracks or the overall score of the film blending in great with the story. The whole film is class from the industrial gloomy dark Gotham City set, the costumes, vehicles, gadgets, music and the great cast. Everyone should see this.

There are tons of extras on this version. The history of Batman is a 40min look at the invention of the character by Bob Kane from comic book creation right up to this movie version mainly focused on the various comic book versions Batman has seen over the years. A quick look at the set at Pinewood studios. A feature on the heroes and villains of the film with interviews of the actors. A short storyboard for a Robin scene that was dropped from the film. Music videos of Prince's Batdance, Partyman and Scandalous.

The Shadows of the Bat is a feature about the journey of the films continued over the other Batman films. This starts with the ideas behind making a Batman film, the vision of the film they wanted. Moving away from the camp Kaapow TV series and getting back to the original idea of a dark, sinister Batman world with a traumatised Bruce Wayne turning vigilante against Gotham City's villains. The trouble of getting a studio to make the film and agreeing to the idea of the overall dark tone of the film. This features interviews with the producers, Bob Kane, Tim Burton and scriptwriters. With the go ahead the next part features on the location for filming ,Pinewood studios, and casting. This includes interviews with all the main cast, and Tim Burton done in 2005. The last part concentrates on the gathering hype of the film and the impact it had when released. Total time for this feature is 70mins!

The Beyond Batman features shows the production design drawings and ideas for the sets and locations as well as what inspired them. A feature on the best car of any film The Batmobile! Showing the designs and how it was made. The other features cover the gadgets, Batwing, and Jokers toys. The idea and design of the Bat suit and the Joker make up and costume. Also the score of the film. Each of the mini features are about 10mins long. A great film everything about it is top class and finally with the behind the scenes features and interviews you've been waiting to see. Hope this review helps! Overall 9/10

This is a cracking film. The detail of Tim Burton's Gotham vision is astounding, and this is a very beautiful film as well as a hugely entertaining one. An epic performance from Jack Nicholson dominates the film, but Michael Keaton is fantastic too, in a more understated way, as is Jack Palance.

This movie is great fun and well worth watching.