Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A postmodern classic gets the 2 disc treatment it deserves!, 19 Jul 2007
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!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
At last the extras!!, 23 Jul 2006
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
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
TIM BURTON CREATES A FILM WORTHY OF THE BATMAN NAME, 8 Aug 2007
ts been more than 15 years since Batman ravaged the box office and took in more than 400 million dollars world wide and it still holds up beautifully in the recent competition in super hero movies. Tim Burton's Gothic masterpiece is still just that. A masterpiece. Even in spite of the now dated effects. Some still herald it as the best super hero movie and in my opinion that is not far from the truth. The story is not completely faithful to the source material but the power of the film's style easily transcends the flaws that are indeed few and far apart. In short Batman (1989) rocks! Acting wise the movie is excellent with an all star cast that provides us with some great performances. Michael Keaton was cast as Batman in a controversial move by Burton and despite the initial uproar from the loyal fans he has since gained a very loyal following who names him as the best Batman even in these post Batman Begins days. This is not hard to agree with. Despite Jack Nicholson getting by far the most attention Michael Keaton does a great job in bringing Bruce Wayne to life. He balances the guilt and brooding melancholism well with the character's wish for justice and brings some of his comedic talent into the character as well giving him a lot of edge. Kim Bassinger, however, is mercilessly boring to watch. Sure she has some appeal in the looks department but lets face it. She was never much of an actress. The supporting cast does very well as well. Billy Dee Williams proves he can do more than back Han Solo up and Jack Palance's performance is truly unique. Michael Gough is also good and unflinchingly loyal as Alfred Pennyworth despite a relatively small amount of screen time. The shining star, however, is of course Jack Nicholson who proves himself one of the most versatile actors to his day with his tour de force performance as the Dark Knights ultimate nemesis, The Joker. He literally steals every scene he is in and in spite of his joking nature he proves to be truly menacing. It almost seems as though the rest of the cast is struggling to keep up with him because he is quite simply brilliant as The Joker. Heath Ledger has some big shoes to fill, even though I know Christopher Nolan's vision of The Dark Knight is drastically different from Burton's.
In terms of how the film looks it is easy and perhaps a bit obvious to label it as Gothic which is of course Tim Burton's favored style. Its not only in the settings of the movie but also in the wardrobe and general make-up. The film has some incredible shots of Gotham with its towering spires and dark alleys and is always interesting to watch. The design of the Batsuit is dark to say the least and actually a little bleak. Luckily this was remedied in the sequel but it still looks great. The Batcar looks incredibly cool and is one of my favorite car designs for any movie I have ever seen. All the gadgets are in place as well and they all look great.
In terms of storytelling the film is excellent. The flow is great and the advancement of the characters is very satisfactory and the birth of The Joker is one of my favorite film moments ever. What I feel the movie lacks, however, is any real character development for Batman himself. Even though Burton struck gold by casting Jack Nicholson as The Joker it was also Batman's unfortunate undoing. Despite Keaton's sincere efforts the film feels much more like a movie about The Joker than Batman. This is, in my opinion, a shame because as Batman Begins proved, Batman himself can be an interesting character. This is one of my only beefs with this otherwise excellent movie. The story works, however, and despite being a movie about a man who dresses up like a bat has a lot of credibility.
All in all Batman is a great super hero movie. Easily still one of the best in the (sub)genre. Tim Burton's vision defies time and is still as entertaining today as it was when it was first released. Kudos to Mr. Burton and all other involved.
8/10
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