Is the Tim Burton Batman on it's Way to Being Forgotten

[TheBlueHombre]

DC Comics has said that there will be a 25th anniversary of the Tim Burton BATMAN film coming out this fall as well on DVD and Blu-ray. It's all part of their 75 years of Batman promotion.

[High C]

Hello all, first time post here, I was a member of the old Batman forum page, and have lurked here since this one was created. Thought I'd finally join up in part due to the series finally coming out.

I have loved 1989 Batman ever since it came out. For nostalgic reasons it remains my favorite superhero film of all time. 1989 was THE summer of Batman-he was everywhere. I loved it-still do. Watched the film on its release date for it's 25th.

Keaton, the atmosphere, the 40s/80s look, Jack Napier replacing Joe Chill, I loved it all.

Welcome to the board, honestly, hope you enjoy it.

And to each his/her own, but the Joker replacing Joe Chill as the murderer of Bruce's parents really bugged me. It wasn't good, IMO, that Burton had so little respect for one of the biggest pieces of canon in the Batman mythos.

[JackNapier]

Are you saying Nolan's Batman was the hero Gotham deserved, but not the one it needed? I dunno, in the first Burton film Batman leveled Gotham City trying, and failing, to catch one villain. Which really kind of rankled me. Nolan's Batman, in the second & especially third film was the most inspiring & selfless Batman we've had in my opinion since ... I guess I should say Dozier's.

Bale's Batman flying off with "a bomb" to save lives was an odd parallel to Adam West's Batman running off with a "bomb" to save lives. There was a level of awe there that I don't believe Burton ever captured or even tried to. Keaton was the best thing in the films, but his Batman today seems rather self motivated. Not a lot of talk about saving Gotham, more focused on his "trauma".

I'm glad someone else sees this. The Bruce Wayne/Batman of the Nolan films is a hero in every sense of the word, and even though the films are deadly serious, there are some little homages to the TV show: the mask the Joker wears in the opening scene of The Dark Knight being modeled on the one Cesar wears at the opera in "The Joker Is Wild", Ann Hathaway's Catwoman outfit being inspired by Julie Newmar's, the hero worship children have for the Nolan Batman(the little boy in the narrows in Batman Begins, the two kids playing in the car while Batman speeds by on his Batpod in Dark Knight, the kids at the orphanage in Dark Knight Rises). Nolan himself is a big fan of the TV show. I like how Bale's Batman will sacrifice everything in order to protect the innocent, much like Adam's Batman. And as for the voice-yeah, sometimes it sounds nuts, but it's supposed to be because of an electronic enhancement built into the cowl to distort the voice on purpose(seen on the Batman Begins DVD extras, but unfortunately cut from the movie itself).
Keaton was great, but his Batman really had a psychotic edge that made him seem almost as dangerous as the criminals he was fighting.

[High C]

Nolan himself is a big fan of the TV show.

I've never seen him quoted as saying that. I'd like to see some evidence of that.

I don't bedgrudge people enjoying Nolan, even though I think his movies are far overrated and I think his 'gritty realistic Batman' is anything but. But I think it's a serious reach to see any actual homage to 1966 here.

[JackNapier]

Nolan himself is a big fan of the TV show.

I've never seen him quoted as saying that. I'd like to see some evidence of that.

I don't bedgrudge people enjoying Nolan, even though I think his movies are far overrated and I think his 'gritty realistic Batman' is anything but. But I think it's a serious reach to see any actual homage to 1966 here.

It might take a little while to find it, but the information is out there. He has a one sheet from the 1966 movie framed and hanging in one of his offices. When I dig it up, I'll post it. I read it an article when The Dark Knight Rises was released.

[Spikor1982]

Thanks!

I think the big reason for changing Chill to Napier was to give Batman and Joker a deeper connection as adversaries and to give the film a bit more dramatic flair. But like you say to each his own.

Hello all, first time post here, I was a member of the old Batman forum page, and have lurked here since this one was created. Thought I'd finally join up in part due to the series finally coming out.

I have loved 1989 Batman ever since it came out. For nostalgic reasons it remains my favorite superhero film of all time. 1989 was THE summer of Batman-he was everywhere. I loved it-still do. Watched the film on its release date for it's 25th.

Keaton, the atmosphere, the 40s/80s look, Jack Napier replacing Joe Chill, I loved it all.

Welcome to the board, honestly, hope you enjoy it.

And to each his/her own, but the Joker replacing Joe Chill as the murderer of Bruce's parents really bugged me. It wasn't good, IMO, that Burton had so little respect for one of the biggest pieces of canon in the Batman mythos.

[Progress Pigment]

Nolan himself is a big fan of the TV show.

I've never seen him quoted as saying that. I'd like to see some evidence of that.

Nolan:
Like a lot of people my age, my first introduction of Batman was the television series with Adam West. When you're watching as a five-year-old, you really have no concept of the campiness and the humor of it. But still, the central appeal and the fun of the character comes through. That was really where I first encountered the character, and then came the comic books and the graphic novels a few years later. Although I'm not a huge comic book fan, and I never pretended to be -- it's very dangerous to pretend you're a comic book fan. I was smart enough to surround myself by co-writers like David Goyer and my brother Jonah, who it turns out is more of a comic book guy than I realized. I've actually given him a copy of Batman: Year One for a birthday. So my collaborators very much presented the comic book end of things to me.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page ... e&id=42454

[High C]

Nolan himself is a big fan of the TV show.

I've never seen him quoted as saying that. I'd like to see some evidence of that.

Nolan:
Like a lot of people my age, my first introduction of Batman was the television series with Adam West. When you're watching as a five-year-old, you really have no concept of the campiness and the humor of it. But still, the central appeal and the fun of the character comes through. That was really where I first encountered the character, and then came the comic books and the graphic novels a few years later. Although I'm not a huge comic book fan, and I never pretended to be -- it's very dangerous to pretend you're a comic book fan. I was smart enough to surround myself by co-writers like David Goyer and my brother Jonah, who it turns out is more of a comic book guy than I realized. I've actually given him a copy of Batman: Year One for a birthday. So my collaborators very much presented the comic book end of things to me.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page ... e&id=42454

Fair enough. But to say 'big fan' still is a bit of a stretch, based on that. Maybe 'he says he appreciates the 1966 Batman' would be more accurate.

[wally wingert]

WHAT Tim Burton film???

[robinboyblunderer]

Holy Witty Wingert!

[Pengy]

Are you saying Nolan's Batman was the hero Gotham deserved, but not the one it needed? I dunno, in the first Burton film Batman leveled Gotham City trying, and failing, to catch one villain. Which really kind of rankled me. Nolan's Batman, in the second & especially third film was the most inspiring & selfless Batman we've had in my opinion since ... I guess I should say Dozier's.

Bale's Batman flying off with "a bomb" to save lives was an odd parallel to Adam West's Batman running off with a "bomb" to save lives. There was a level of awe there that I don't believe Burton ever captured or even tried to. Keaton was the best thing in the films, but his Batman today seems rather self motivated. Not a lot of talk about saving Gotham, more focused on his "trauma".

It's funny Adam West said something similar. He said Batman was killing almost as many people as Joker was trying to take him down. I agree with him.

Keaton's Batman had no real meat to his character. He was diminished into a supporting character in his own movies. The villains were the stars and the focus was all on them.

For all his faults Schumacher at least pushed the narrative back to Batman more, and tried to do some interesting things with his character in Batman Forever.

Nolan is the only one to get Batman right, IMO. The pain, tragedy, the quest to be a hero and save Gotham, getting his origin right with Joe Chill, and a proper friendship with Commissioner Gordon. That's one thing I hated about the old Batman franchise. Gordon was a bland nonentity.

Fair enough. But to say 'big fan' still is a bit of a stretch, based on that. Maybe 'he says he appreciates the 1966 Batman' would be more accurate.

Nolan has a framed poster of the 1966 Batman movie in his home office, too.

I also think Anne Hathaway's Catwoman costume was a total homage to Julie Newmar's.

[Jaws63]

[quote I also think Anne Hathaway's Catwoman costume was a total homage to Julie Newmar's.[/quote]

I will give credit where credit is due Anne Hathaway, when she get's on her motor bike to help Batman(this scene takes place towards the end of the movie). I couldn't help but think how strikingly similar in looks Anne was to Julie Newmar.

[Yellow Oval]

I also think Anne Hathaway's Catwoman costume was a total homage to Julie Newmar's.

This is very true. I also would say that Christian Bales' Batman costume was a total fromage (French for 'cheese') to Adam West's!

[Batfink]

Great thread. Just want to reiterate what others have said here. The Tim Burton Batman films will not be forgotten. There is a whole generation out there that discovered the Batman character through that first film. Much like as many of us here discovered the '66 TV series as their gateway to the world of Batman.
The great thing about Batman and his world is that it is open to a multitude of interpretations. Be they, Dark, Comedy, Film Noir, Western, Good, Bad, etc, they all work due to the strength of the character(s).
A point about Batman Returns. Over the years I think the focus of discussion tends to focus on Danny DeVito's Penguin (even if the opinion is it was a good, too dark or bad performance) and rarely does the great performance by Michelle Pfieffer get mentioned. I had wished in that movie the focus could have been just of Catwoman and Batman (and their alter egos). A good try by Burton to make it all fit but still didn't work, in my opinion.
Yes, Michael Keaton's performance and take of the character was brilliant. Wish he could have done more.

[robinboyblunderer]

Interesting points. Michelle Pfeiffer's performance was the highlight and the brief scene at the formal dance when she says: "Does this mean we have to fight?" is a window onto a different and better movie.

DeVito's Penguin is grotesque, a terrible, no no...one of the worst interpretations of a Batman character ever, even worse than BAAAAAANE! BAAAAAAAAAYYYYYNNNNEEEE!

Pfeiffer's performance was a mix of sex appeal, madness and tragedy. Whenever she was on screen the movie became more interesting and then we'd back with the Penguin and his circus. Blehh!