DVD Review: Batman Returns Two Disc Special Edition

After the monumental success of the first Batman, a sequel was inevitable. What was not inevitable was how it would be received. Batman Returns , released 3 years later in the summer of 1992, brought with it high expectations and built in merchandise tie-ins for young children. Batman Returns, however, was anything but a children’s film. Dark, terrifying, yet fascinating; Batman Returns picks up some years alter the first film. Batman a.k.a. Bruce Wayne(Michael Keaton again in the title role) has earned the faith and trust of Gotham City as their protector. As Christmas approaches, a group of insane circus performers led by the Penguin a.k.a. Oswald Cobblepot (Danny DeVito), are terrorizing the city. The Penguin is a deformed, grotesque, birdlike man who was abandoned by his parents as an infant. After revealing himself to the people of Gotham under a false guise, the Penguin teams up with the corrupt businessman Max Shreck (Christopher Walken). Their goal: to get Penguin elected as Mayor of Gotham and set up Shreck’s new power plant which will drain the city of its energy supply. Shreck’s put-upon secretary Selina Kyle (Michelle Pfeiffer), killed by Shreck upon learning of his plan, is licked back to life by alley cats, swears vengeance, alters her personality, sews herself a skintight leather, S and M, fetishistic outfit and goes out into the night with a whip as Catwoman. And let me tell you, she’s a lot better looking with a whip than Harrison Ford is. She crosses paths with Batman and makes it clear that while she’s not all bad, she’s no pussycat either. Catwoman joins forces with the Penguin to defeat their common foe: Batman. To further complicate the situation, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle become romantically involved while being unaware of the other’s alter ego. Even though it’s considered a sequel, director Tim Burton (returning for a second tour of duty along with Keaton) says that this is more of a follow-up. Whatever you call it, Batman Returns is a rarity; that being a sequel/follow-up that is nearly equal in greatness to the original. With Burton at the helm, the tone of the first film is still present if not taken up, or down if you like, a notch as far as being dark and haunting. It is frequently snowing in the film which adds a coldy damp feel as well. Bo Welch’s production design should be given credit for the look and feel which goes well with Anton Furst’s work in Batman. The cast is uniformly superb with Keaton, DeVito, Pfeiffer, and Walken owning their roles. Pfeiffer, in particular, brings an electric sex appeal and chemistry with Keaton that was sorely lacking with Kim Basinger as well as the other female love interests for Bruce Wayne that would follow. Pfeiffer in full Catwoman garb is a vision and a male sex drive sparkplug. However, the plot takes its time to unfold, meanders at times, and with so many villians and subplots you lose track of what each one’s ultimate evil goal is.

Catwoman is a lot better looking with a whip than Harrison Ford

While the film did perform reasonably well (over $162 million domestically), it’s expectations fell short and soon after its release fell into a controversy that could only be explained as the oncoming of the political correctness/conservatism that would by the end of the 90’s engulf the country and have a direct result on the following two Batman films. A backlash by parents and critics against the film began as a result of the extremely dark, gloomy, and ultimately sad tone which was indeed not for young children. There were several instances of young children being taken from the theater in tears by their parents. Many of the concerns revolved around the Penguin. From the cruel beginning of the film where we see his coldy aristocratic parents dumping him in the sewer system as a deformed child to seeing him as an adult biting another man’s nose till blood spurts out and waving a severed body part around, the Penguin is the antithesis of the Joker. He is horribly disturbing to look at and is just plain mean-spirited and depressing. Of course, when you’re disposed of by your parents as a child, you’re not going to be a pleasant adult. The Penguin longs throughout the first half of the film to find his true parents which bring up the idea of old childhood wounds and lifelong resentment. Not exactly kiddy fare, I admit. Burton defends the film in his droll commentary saying that he was making an “operadic tragedy that focused on the duality and sadness of the main three characters” and that “the darkness and tragedy fits these characters.” He also reveals that it was a deliberate decision on his and Michael Keaton’s part to minimize Batman’s presence and dialogue in the film saying that “less is more with Batman” and that there was a great deal of respect given to “Batman’s and Bruce Wayne’s privacy” thus heightening the desire and anticipation of seeing him. Burton also jokes about the Vicki Vale reference between Alfred and Bruce Wayne referring to the uproar by the Batman purists over Vicki Vale being allowed admittance into the batcave in Batman.

The first disc contains the film, commentary, and one theatrical trailer. The second disk contains the extras for Batman Returns. There is The Bat, The Cat And The Penguin which is a brief, made-for-T.V. special hosted by the late Robert Urich. There are interviews with the cast and crew as well as clips from the film. Trust me and stay away from this. It is awfully cheesy and most of the interviews can be seen in the much more entertaining documentary Shadows of the Bat: the Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Part 4: The Dark Side of the Night. In this 30 minute episode of the multi-part documentary that spans all four films, you get the real behind-the-scenes story on the making of the film from all the cast and crew. Of particular interest is hearing the infamous Sean Young story where upon learning of original Catwoman Annette Bening dropping out of the film due to her pregnancy, Young stalked onto the Warners lot dressed up as Catwoman and burst into producer Mark Canton’s office in a desperate attempt to win the role. Once again, Young is present in the documentary as she is in the earlier parts on the second disk of Batman.

Penguin teams up with Shreck to get elected into Gotham's mayor office

We also hear how Danny DeVito stayed in character on and off screen which terrified the crew as well as how, unlike the first film, Burton had to deal with toy companies asking what the characters would look like physically befote he even knew. He admits that having the built-in marketing and fast-food tie-ins was “a strange, new type of pressure” and that he didn’t care nor handle that particular area well. That led to pressure from the tie-in companies which, combined with the backlash from the critics and parents’ groups, led to Warners not asking Burton to return for a third Batman. Co-writer Daniel Waters recalls seeing the film with audiences and seeing people in literal shock and kids crying after the film ended. Co-writer Sam Hamm, returning for writing duty, defends the film as well saying that “aside from toy tie-ins, the film was never presented as a a child-friendly film.” Like Catwoman says at the end, ”Don’t pretend this a happy ending.” The rest of the extras include the Beyond Batman Documentary Gallery that covers the technical and conceptual aspects of Batman Returns, the Heroes and Villains Profile Galleries and the Face to Face music video by Siouxie and the Banshees which is a truly bizarre and embarrassing piece of crap.Batman Returns - Two Disc Special Edition is available at Amazon and AmazonUK. Visit the DVD's database for more information.