DVD Review: Batman - Two-Disc Special Edition

Of the first Batman films, the one that clearly stands out as the best is Batman. At the time the most expensive movie ever made; it was not only a huge financial success, grossing over $251 million domestically, but also a cultural phenomenon. It was one of the most heavily promoted and released films ever and was so well marketed that by time it was released in the summer of 1989, the public´s appetite for it was at a frenzy. The Batman merchandise was sold out before the film opened and the 30 second teaser trailer released in theaters and Warner Brothers home video releases in early 1989 was highly instrumental in driving up the excitement. Directed By Tim Burton (fresh off of Pee-Wee´s Big Adventure and Beetlejuice) and starring Michael Keaton (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Jack Nicholson(Jack Napier/Joker), and Kim Basinger(Vicki Vale), Batman was the first film adaptation of the caped crusader that stayed true to creator Bob Kane´s original vision. Gone was the cheesy, tongue-in-cheek camp of the 60´s TV show to be replaced with a moody, grim, noirish tone that was criticized for being too dark and violent for children. In the first installment Batman is still a mystery to the citizens of Gotham City so much so that they think he´s just as bad as the criminals he preys upon. More problematic for Batman though is the Joker. Formally mobster Jack Napier, the Joker is intent on poisoning Gotham City with his Smilex gas, which contains the same chemical that disfigured him and left him with a hideous, permanent grin via a battle with Batman early on in the film. Kim Basinger catwalks in as photographer Vicki Vale who is determined to unmask Batman´s true identity. The Gotham City that we see here is one of the most amazing sets ever filmed in a movie. Production designer Anton Furst and Burton´s collaboration give Gotham a New York´ish type feel. And even though Burton says he tried to make Gotham more modern and tímeless so as to avoid the comparisons with the greatest visual setting in sci-fi cinema; that being Ridley Scott´s 2019 Los Angeles in Blade Runner, the comparisons and similar look are abundant. Also evident is the influence Fritz Lang´s Metropolis and other German expressionist films(which emphasized shadows and darkness) had on the look of Gotham which Burton admits later in his commentary. Much like the aforementioned films, Burton´s Gotham City is overcrowded with anonymous people and filled with grey, intimidating skyscrapers that almost touch the clouds.

Many thought Keaton being cast as Batman was a mistake

Nicholson´s Joker owns the film and for good reason. Nicholson gives a tour de force performance that is one of his most accessible and enjoyable roles ever. The sadistic glee and outrageousness of his work here is as fun and fresh as it was back in 1989. Michael Keaton, after a wave of controversy over his casting, turned out to be the best Batman of the three who took on the role in the first four films. Many thought Keaton being cast as Batman was a mistake so much so that The Wall Street Journal had a front page story ridiculing Warners for his casting and declaring that the film would be a disaster. ¨It´s in his eyes. That´s where you can see the darkness and sadness of Bruce Wayne,¨ muses Burton. Kim Basinger, who took the role of Vicki Vale after original choice Sean Young was injured in a horseriding accident, does what she can as Bruce Wayne-Batman´s squeeze. Unfortunately all of Batman´s love interests in the films including Basinger here, Nicole Kidman in Batman Returns, and Elle McPherson in Batman and Robin are underwritten and ultimately useless. The one exception being Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns. The first disc contains the movie, full-length theatrical trailer (not the teaser unfortunately or the Diet Coke ad on the VHS release) and Tim Burton´s commentary. It is a monotonous ramble but there are some interesting and amusing asides such as him being terrified of Jack Palance as Nicholson´s mob boss, calling Basinger´s performance ¨really good¨, wanting to base the film after The Killing Joke graphic novel which focused more on the Joker than on Batman, and the near-death threats he received from die-hard Batman purists for being personally responsible for the surprise twist involving the Joker and a young Bruce Wayne as well as the infamous scene where Alfred , Bruce Wayne´s loyal butler who is the one person who knows his dual identity, leads Vicki Vale into the Batcave. Disc two contains the bulk of the extras in the box set. The standouts are Legends of the Dark Knight: The History of Batman and Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Parts 1-3. Quite simply they are must-haves for any fan of this movie or Batman purist as they go into great detail about the history and legend of the dark knight and the making of the film. Legends runs 40 minutes and is narrated by Luke Skywalker himself Mark Hamill, who also voices Joker in the Batman animated series. The documentary traces the steps of Batman from his comic book creation in 1939 by Bob Kane to its multiple reincarnations in TV, radio, print, animation, film, and even war propaganda as each decade progressed. We see several Batman experts comment on the different looks and tones that Batman has gone through including DC Comics staff, Stan Lee of Marvel Comics, director Kevin Smith, and Batman writers including Frank ¨Sin City¨ Miller whose 1986 graphic Dark Knight Returns comic helped pave the way for the return to the older tone of Batman, The Shadows of the Bat documentary here is the first three parts of a six part documentary that continues on the bonus discs of the other three films. The three parts here ¨The Road to Gotham City,¨ ¨The Gathering Storm,¨ and ¨The Legend Reborn¨ run 70 minutes altogether, includes newly-filmed interviews with everyone from the cast and crew, including Nicholson himself, and detail the 10 year odyssey it took to bring Batman to the big screen. Early on it is noted that the financial success of the first Superman film(another DC Comic staple) in 1978 opened the door for Batman and in turn other comic book stories to be greenlit. We hear about how the casting of Nicholson as the Joker gave the film an instant credibility with the media and the public much like Marlon Brando´s casting as Jor El did for Superman. Nicholson was one of the few who had the feeling that it was going to be a monster success which led him to sign his now legendary back-end deal where he took an initial pay cut in return for percentage points from the film´s profit. It is rumored that he walked away from Batman with nearly 70 million dollars. We even see Sean Young discuss how losing the Vicki Vale part to injury was an unfortunate turning point in her career. One can only wonder what would have happened to her career and the promise that she had shown as a solid dramatic actress in Blade Runner, The Boost, and No Way Out had she made the film. It´s unfortunate since she would have made for a much more fascinating and internal Vicki Vale than Basinger did. Young´s career would become relevant again only when she campaigned to play Catwoman in Batman Returns by dressing up in Catwoman garb on the Joan Rivers Show. One also feels for Lando Calrisian, sans mustache, Billy Dee Williams who played Harvey Dent in Batman before he becomes Two-Face. He recalls with bittersweetness how he had hoped to explore Dent´s transformation into a villain as well as the white/black element it would have presented in a future Batman movie. When it came time to bring Two-Face around for Batman Forever, the part went to Tommy Lee Jones. It´s interesting to see Burton comment on how ,at the time of the filming ¨no one was mentioning franchise or toys,¨ yet it began a new trend in marketing movies. That trend being towards having built-in brand companies set up for toys, clothes, memorabilia, food products, etc. Ironic, considering that it would be this trend that would contribute to destroy the first installment of the Batman films eight years later. There is a brief featurette called On the Set With Bob Kane which shows the late creator on the Batman set. There´s also two short featurettes on The Heroes and The Villains of Batman where you have Batman writers, DC Comics staff, the actors who play the parts, and assorted crew members comment on the history, psyche, and look of the respective characters. The Heroes and The Villains Profile Galleries are also included on the bonus discs for the other three films. There is the Beyond Batman Documentary Gallery, also included throughout the other films bonus discs, which covers the conceptual and technical aspects of the film.

Nicholson gives a tour de force performance that is one of his most accessible and enjoyable roles ever

Of particular interest to die-hard´s is the Robin Storyboard sequence. Essentially, it is a four minute animated story-board reel with voice-overs(Mark Hamill voices Joker) that shows how Robin was supposed to have been introduced at the end of the film. Thank god Burton and writers Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren decided to cut it from the script before it was filmed. It is fascinating to watch here in its crude form but would have been severely out of place in the film. There are no deleted scenes here which is surprising.Finally, there are three music videos(Batdance, Scandalous, and Partyman) from Prince. The videos are awful and the music doesn´t hold up well. Watch for the scene in the Gotham museum as the Joker and his crew deface the artifacts set to the aforementioned Partyman. Burton notes in his commentary that the scene was there just to emphasize one of Prince´s songs and market the alternate soundtrack of songs ¨inspired¨ by the film. Batman was also the first film to have a separate soundtrack of ¨inspired¨ songs not even in the film. It sucked then and years later after being blessed with such soundtracks like Songs Inspired by Speed and Twister, it sucks now. Batman – Two Disc Special Edition is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.