Batman (1989)

Thanks to the ambitious vision of director Tim Burton, the blockbuster hit of 1989 delivers the goods despite an occasionally spotty script, giving the caped crusader a thorough overhaul in keeping with the crime fighter's evolution in DC Comics. Michael Keaton strikes just the right mood as the brooding "Dark Knight" of Gotham City; Kim Basinger plays Gotham's intrepid reporter Vicki Vale; and Jack Nicholson goes wild as the maniacal and scene-stealing Joker, who plots a takeover of the city with his lethal Smilex gas. Triumphant Oscar-winning production design by the late Anton Furst turns Batman into a visual feast, and Burton brilliantly establishes a darkly mythic approach to Batman's legacy. Danny Elfman's now-classic score propels the action with bold, muscular verve. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com essential video

Not perfect, but somewhat important.

Keaton and Basinger are very bland, and some new guy named Knoxx is all over the place and Gordon ain't in much. And the Joker upstages Batman. But the dark feel would rub off on many comic-book adaptions, and the big success would lead to more superhero films. (For better or worse.) And Jack Nicholson is very good, amd the set and score are amazing. Worth a rent. October 16, 2008

IMPORTANT TO THE COMIC FILM HISTORY, BUT HASN'T AGED WELL!

It's a tough thing growing old!......and this film hasn't grown old gracefully. Tim Burton tried so hard to make the film the fans wanted to see, but the 1966 TV show is still present to a degree in this "not so dark" romp through Gotham City! I do enjoy this film despite it's flaws, but you have to remember at the time this was fairly new territory. I went to see this opening night and it was a grand experience for the most part although I was not completely happy with the film!

Keaton who fans and critics scoffed at for being picked to play the caped crusader is actually pretty good and way better than Kilmer or the abysmal Clooney! Jack Nicholson's Joker is a slightly more deranged Caesar Romero, his perfomance is sometimes genius, but ultimately it's not that memorable because of the uneven tone of the film. A tone that switches from dark to camp to Hollywood and back again. If there is one consistent critique that remained the same in the last 20 years, it's that the Prince music is horrible and inappropriate in this film! Making the art gallery scene one of my least favorite parts of the movie!

OK enough already, the film is still pretty entertaining earning a 3 1/2 star rating from me and this two disc edition is awesome! Great DVD transfer and lots of Batman goodies to look at!
October 6, 2008

Classical Batman

The Best Batman movie. Val Kilmer was the 2nd best. Michael Keaton has a nice black Batman costumeBatman (Two-Disc Special Edition) September 27, 2008

batman movie

Works good..I love this film always have. Trying to get most if not all of them. September 25, 2008

Why is Prince's Partyman video edited? WHY!?!?!?

Bought this to get the Prince videos and watched in horror as I discovered that they put a poorly edited version of the Partyman video and not the full version. If they ever do another special edition of Batman, they MUST include the real versions of the Prince videos and not crappy edits. September 18, 2008

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