Batman '89: Scene by Scene

[JohnnyGobbs]

29. Sad Memory; Getting In

Great post Homer and I agree with virtually everything you've written but I do have a few points, or quibbles to raise regarding what is probably my favourite scene in the Batman franchise thus far.

I'm no 'Burtonite' or 'Nolanite', whatever those terms may mean, since I believe that both directors' respective takes on Batman are equally valid, and as it goes, equally successful (I guess you could call be a fence-sitter on this one). However, one area where I honestly feel Burton trumps Nolan is in his depiction of Thomas and Martha Wayne's death.

Burton's flashback sequence may not be as visceral as Nolan's more faithful though prosaic interpretation of their murder but it is in my opinion much more affecting, primarily thanks to Elfman's haunting score and the overall context of the sequence; Bruce identifying the man who murdered his parents and thereby being forced to recollect the very moment his entire life changed. I also feel these sequences are really where Keaton comes into his fore; he is excellent at playing the deep-seated trauma that explains the seemingly eccentric behaviour he has thus displayed, not to mention his semi-reclusive existance.

I also feel that Basinger does a far better job here than perhaps you are giving her credit for. I may be the only one to say so but there is some genuine emotional sting to Vicki and Bruce's 'perfect world' exchange; and for all my misgivings about Basinger in the more action-orientated sequences (particularly with respect to her persistent screaming) she does equipt herself well in some of the more emotional scenes such as this one and the moment at her apartment when Bruce is on the verge of disclosing his identity. Many may disagree, but I don't think her Academy Award for L.A. Confidential was a mistake, and the warmth with which she imbued Lynn Bracken is on display during these quieter, more poignant moments. Personally, I for one am relieved that Sean Young didn't get cast as Vicki since her persona, both on and off screen has never been particularly sympathetic, give or take Blade Runner.

Finally, I always like to think that it is only after Napier's broadcast and his revealing parting shot to Bruce at Vicki's apartment that Bruce is finally able to piece together the identity of his parents' murderer (recall the mystified look on Bruce's face between The Joker uttering the immortal, "Ever danced with the devil..." line, and then promptly shooting him).

Whilst many traditionalists may balk at The Joker serving as the Waynes' murderer and therefore, the catalyst for Batman's birth this adds a much more operatic and definitive feel to the film as Batman and The Joker get to finally face-off against their figurative creator, and consequently, their most significant foe (although this conceit admittedly works better for a 'one-off' film than it would have done in Nolan's more properly sequential series). Also, as Bruce only discovers the identity of his parents' murderer during the course of the film's events (a plot-thread that is admittedly left ambiguous since it is also implied that he has been keeping a file on Jack Napier for some time), surely it makes sense to construe 'Joe Chill' as the moniker Bruce has ascribed the unidentified assassin up until the moment he is 'reunited' with Napier, in a similar way to how Ed Exley refers to his father's killer as 'Rollo Tomasi' in the aformentioned L.A. Confidential.

 

[Homer J. Fong]

I also feel that Basinger does a far better job here than perhaps you are giving her credit for. I may be the only one to say so but there is some genuine emotional sting to Vicki and Bruce's 'perfect world' exchange; and for all my misgivings about Basinger in the more action-orientated sequences (particularly with respect to her persistent screaming) she does equipt herself well in some of the more emotional scenes such as this one and the moment at her apartment when Bruce is on the verge of disclosing his identity. Many may disagree, but I mdon't think her Academy Award for L.A. Confidential was a mistake, and the warmth with which she imbued Lynn Bracken is on display during these quieter, more poignant moments. Personally, I for one am relieved that Sean Young didn't get cast as Vicki since her persona, both on and off screen has never been particularly sympathetic, give or take Blade Runner.

I guess I can come off a bit overzealous in my criticism of Basinger's performance, but again, I don't by any means think she's bad in the film, but uneven. There's definitely something there, between her and Keaton, but I feel like the writing lets them down. (Although, I should say, if I were writing a Batman movie featuring a love interest that wasn't Selina Kyle, I wouldn't know how to make that love interest genuinely compelling either.) And she is definitely great in L.A. Confidential.

(although this conceit admittedly works better for a 'one-off' film than it would have done in Nolan's more properly sequential series)

That's a good point. It is an idea best left contained in one film like this, because it's hard to imagine where the Batman/Joker relationship could go once you establish that "young Joker killed young Batman's parents" in the first movie.

Also, as Bruce only discovers the identity of his parents' murderer during the course of the film's events (a plot-thread that is admittedly left ambiguous since it is also implied that he has been keeping a file on Jack Napier for some time), surely it makes sense to construe 'Joe Chill' as the moniker Bruce has ascribed the unidentified assassin up until the moment he is 'reunited' with Napier, in a similar way to how Ed Exley refers to his father's killer as 'Rollo Tomasi' in the aformentioned L.A. Confidential.

I like that comparison; that's probably not something I ever would have thought of, but it's apt. I like it more than I also like it because I recently saw L.A. Confidential (which I'm guessing you watched recently yourself?) for the first time.

 

[JohnnyGobbs]

I like that comparison; that's probably not something I ever would have thought of, but it's apt. I like it more than I also like it because I recently saw L.A. Confidential (which I'm guessing you watched recently yourself?) for the first time.

I guess I mentioned the whole 'Rollo Tomasi' thing because I was trying to reconcile both 'Joe Chill' and Jack Napier being the killer of Bruce's parents, and it struck me that if Chill was never apprehended for the murder of Bruce's parents, as I believe is the case in some versions of the Batman comics, his identity may simply have been Bruce's own psychological construct. Ed Exley also shares many traits with Bruce Wayne, the savage murder of a parent(s), a privileged background which is even more prevalent in the James Elroy novel, and an unswerving duty to fighting crime. As I recall, Guy Pearce was even rumoured to have been cast as Batman just before Bale nabbed the part. Not to put too fine a point on it, I would also argue that Exley and his nemesis, Bud White, almost represent the duel aspects of Bruce Wayne, the dashing, diplomatic playboy and Batman, the merciless, single-minded vigilante.

Speaking of "L.A. Confidential", it's also a Warner Bros film and it strikes me that there are various themes, not to mention cast members like Kim Basinger and Danny Devito, that feature in Burton's Batman films, especially the whole gangster and corruption element that serves as the initial plot thrust for "Batman 89". The "Witches of Eastwick" is another WB film that for some reason recalls the Batman films for me, partly because of the casting of Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer, both of whom play variations on their roles as The Joker and Catwoman, and also because, like "Batman 89" it struck me as one of those big-budget more adult-orientated genre movies which we rarely see these days.

 

[Homer J. Fong]

30. Chemical Inferno

(Running time: 1:33:52 – 1:35:43)

Spoiler

Four shots: the steel changing-room door opening, utility belt buckling, chest emblem turning to face the camera, and our hero rising, with a fierce, determined, and just flat-out scary look in his eyes. That’s certainly my favorite “suiting up” montage in any Batman film, and it might be my favorite Batman on film moment period.

And now, ladies, gentleman, and smizmars…the pyrotechnics! The sequence with the Batmobile roaring through and destroying Axis Chemicals is staged well enough, but the interesting point here is, of course, the issue of the Burton-Keaton Batman being seen killing, on several occasions. Each instance is pretty cartoonish, but still, this is not something that’s questioned, the moral dilemma is not confronted in either of the Burton-Keaton films. Batman is a ruthless vigilante. I like to think of it as the character finding his moral compass over the course of those two stories, 1) because that makes the transition from the Keaton Batman to the Kilmer Batman more believable, and 2) because that’s basically what happened in the comics. It was not long before it was decided that the hero of the book should not be seen killing, but that morality was not in place from day one.

The Joker waving to Batman from his helicopter is a wonderfully serial-like way to cap off the Axis Chemicals siege. The fun is just beginning, Batman!

 

[Homer J. Fong]

31. Gotham's Greed

(Running time: 1:35:44 – 1:38:08)

Spoiler

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Party party party party party!

I love the opening shots of this scene, starting on the balloons and then showing reactions of various citizens taking notice of the arrival of this kind of intimidating but very exciting parade. The nature of this character, The Joker, is, he can be so broad and larger-than-life that we frequently find ourselves not so much sympathizing with him as losing ourselves in the fun that he’s having – it’s infectious, and we have to then remind ourselves that, oh yes, those balloons? They’re going to disperse Smilex gas and kill all of those people.

This scene is very aptly titled “Gotham’s Greed,” because you just have to ask when watching it, “Did you people forget that this is the guy who poisoned all those people? And that even before that, he was the #1 Guy of the city’s top crime lord?” One of the most interesting topics of the Batman mythology as a whole to me is: how dark and corrupt should you make Gotham to necessitate a figure as extreme as Batman, but also show that this is a city worth saving at all? This film strikes a decent balance, but when it comes to the large crowds, well…Gotham has as ridiculous a mob mentality as Springfield on The Simpsons. Although, if you were living in the slums of a city that was already as bleak as Gotham and someone was throwing $20m in cash from a parade float, wouldn’t you try to grab as much as you could, too?

Other notes:
-I don’t actually know whether Prince’s “Trust” was playing on set to the shooting of this scene, but I would imagine it was, because it’s so perfectly in sync.
-The Joker’s sycophantic goons dancing behind him always make me laugh – here and in the museum sequence set to “Partyman.”


32. The Batwing

(Running time: 1:38:09 – 1:42:35)

Spoiler

I can just hear the applause that surely reverberated through every theater showing this movie in 1989 at that first image of the Batwing now. Put the angst and psychological drama aside for a second, that is a moment that wants you to sit back and say, “This is cool.”

Jack Nicholson is hilarious in this movie, that is rarely disputed, but ever since The Dark Knight, when we were all treated to that incredible performance by Heath Ledger, the consensus seems to have become, “Well, Jack was funny and campy, but not at all scary.” There’s less intensity to Jack’s performance, maybe less depth, but I absolutely think he has his moments of being genuinely frightening, and his little speech on top of the parade float is one of them (“And now comes the part where I relieve you, the little people, of the burden of your failed, useless lives. But, as my plastic surgeon always says, if you gotta go, go with a smile!&#8221. And that’s not just my terrified 10-year-old self saying that.

The action in this scene – the panic in the streets, followed by the Batwing seizing the balloons and then releasing them into the sky – is fine, I have nothing in particular to say about it. What stays with me most about this set piece is simply The Joker’s pronouncement of, “My balloons.” So understated, so hurt, so childlike; it’s really a brilliant delivery. And then he turns to Bob and says to him, “Those are my balloons.” It’s like this is grief coming in stages, because, of course, the next scene begins with him wearing kind of a dazed look on his face and then shouting now, “He stole my balloons! Why didn’t somebody tell me that he had one of those…things!” He then tells Bob to hand him a gun, shoots Bob with the very gun he just handed him, and then dryly asks for “a minute or two alone, boys.” I love it.


33. "Come to Me."

(Running time: 1:42:36 – 1:46:26)

Spoiler

There it is, another outstanding bit of iconography, the cover to the original Danny Elfman score album, and the most gratuitous shot in the movie. There’s no practical reason for it, it just comes down to: If you have an opportunity to get a shot like that, you cannot pass it up. It’s a beautiful image.

The Batwing dives down, Batman readies his attack on The Joker himself now (minus balloons), and, after a bit of trash talk (“Come on, you gruesome son of a *****. Come to me.&#8221, The Joker pulls a ludicrously large gun from out of his pants, and takes the Batwing down with one shot. A single shot and he finds the perfect spot. Is that ridiculous? Absolutely! It’s totally absurd! So much so that I personally just can’t criticize it, ‘though I know many others have.

And off we go, into the church cathedral and the climax of the film...

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

Batman's targeting system must have been set on Stormtrooper level, because despite having a bulls-eye on Joker's face, he completely misses.

 

[El Payaso]

I always believed that thge Batwing's tommy guns were designed to hit aims bigger than just a man.

 

[ALP]

I never thought Batman was trying to shoot the Joker.

Firstly, it's simply not in Batman's style to shoot. Not even when he is displayed as a killer he still doesn't shoot people.(although I think there was a small run in the 40s where he had a gun, not sure)

I always assumed he meant to shoot to the sides of the Joker, to scare and intimidate him. The bull's eye was Batman's aim of where to not shoot.

 

[The Joker]

He shot some of Joker's thugs with the Batwing's guns.....

 

[ALP]

He shot some of Joker's thugs with the Batwing's guns.....

edit; nvm. I have not noticed that.

He must have meant to shoot around them to but his missles went awry

 

[El Payaso]

He shot some of Joker's thugs with the Batwing's guns.....

Possibly, even when I don't remember seeing a specific thug being shot directly. I felt he was trying to destroy the parade float, of course not caring if some bullets would impact some thugs.

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

I always assumed he meant to shoot to the sides of the Joker, to scare and intimidate him. The bull's eye was Batman's aim of where to not shoot.

Wouldn't it be a lot easier to have the bull's eye where he wants to aim? Seems like it would be only more difficult for it to do the opposite. And if he's planning on shooting missiles and machine guns, he might as well just hit the Joker and end it all.

 

[ALP]

Wouldn't it be a lot easier to have the bull's eye where he wants to aim?

Maybe that is what he was meaning to do. Michael Keaton was wearing eye glasses in this movie as Wayne but not as Batman, so Batman may not have been able to see properly without his spectacles

Seems like it would be only more difficult for it to do the opposite. And if he's planning on shooting missiles and machine guns, he might as well just hit the Joker and end it all.

But he first had to have that chat with the Joker about how they made each other. Otherwise Joker would die in vain without knowing the boy of the parents he killed went on to become Batman.

 

[The Joker]

Possibly, even when I don't remember seeing a specific thug being shot directly. I felt he was trying to destroy the parade float, of course not caring if some bullets would impact some thugs.

That is probably what happened. But some thugs definitely got hit. You see their bodies shaking and all from being riddled with bullets.

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

Maybe that is what he was meaning to do. Michael Keaton was wearing eye glasses in this movie as Wayne but not as Batman, so Batman may not have been able to see properly without his spectacles

Don't give me that ****, he had those goggles in in the Batwing. t:

 

[Homer J. Fong]

34. Belltower Ascent

(Running time: 1:46:27 - 1:50:02)

Spoiler

Now, as Robert Wuhl tells it on the Shadows of the Bat documentary, this climax was conceived incredibly late in the game, after Nicholson and Warren Skaaren had gone to see The Phantom of the Opera and decided, “Hey, we should do an ending set in a cathedral too!” You could argue the arbitrariness of it, but I do think that, for an idea cooked up so late in the process, it works remarkably well. It has kind of an improvised feel to it, but in a positive way, it flows nicely. It’s also interesting to me that in this ending where the two main characters are enacting their dark psychological battle, they’re ascending rather than descending. (I’m not stupid, I know they’re ascending so that The Joker can fall to his death, but still.)

To me, this is where Batman most closely resembles Batman Returns, in that this is the film at its most theatrical and (take a drink) operatic, and the sequence is almost entirely free of dialogue – there is some, from Gordon, but it’s boilerplate, it’s of no significance. There are, of course, sequences with little dialogue and great theatricality in this film, too, but those things are more prominent in Returns.

Kudos to Roger Pratt, the tremendous Director of Photography on this picture, who I haven’t mentioned often but who does great work, and in these belltower scenes in particular. Really, you know what’s going to happen, there are no great surprises coming, but there is an eerie mood and a constant tension over the next few scenes that’s due in no small part to the cinematography.

Other notes:
-The Joker dropping Vicki’s shoe for Batman to find is a fun, dark Cinderella homage, one of Burton’s “gothic fairy tale” moments. His next would be Edward Scissorhands, which actually was a gothic fairy tale.


35. "Bat in My Belfry"

(Running time: 1:50:03 – 1:53:11)

Spoiler

I’ve said it before, pretty much everyone’s said it before, and I’ll say it again: Burton’s not much of an action director. And the previous big fight scenes don’t work for me, so I was surprised to find that this scene held up much better than I’d remembered. That’s not so much due to the choreography, but the camerawork, which is really fluid and engaging. It keeps the pace up without becoming overly kinetic. Shadow is used well without ever losing track of where you are or why. The fact that Batman fighting Joker’s thugs is intercut with Joker forcibly dancing with Vicki certainly helps, too, making this the best action sequence in this movie.

The Joker does not have a theme in this movie, but in a way, he has two: “Partyman” and/or “Trust” and the waltz, which is played in a more victorious manner when he kills Grissom and a more romantic manner here. It’s such a unique touch, this mad waltz, and I can’t see anyone but Danny Elfman employing it and taking such joy in it.


36. Downfalls

(Running time: 1:53:12 - 1:59:34)

Spoiler

Here it is at last, the showdown. There’s a fantastic psychological edge and focus to this confrontation, and that’s not something you get in your average superhero movie or summer blockbuster. Despite their appearances, it’s the child Bruce Wayne and the teenage Jack Napier duking it out at this point. Batman reverts to his usual voice, the voice that spoke to Jack in Vicki’s apartment, when he says, “Excuse me. You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?” Bruce/Batman knows who Jack/The Joker is, and now it is vice versa. Although the fact that The Joker seems genuine when he says “What are you talkin’ about?” makes you wonder just what he’s put together, his follow-up of “I was a kid when I killed your parents,” and, again, Bruce speaking in his normal voice says that he knows Batman = Bruce Wayne; identity is not an issue at this stage. It’s an appropriately raw, cathartic face-off.

The rest of the scene is more mechanical. The drama is over, and what’s left is to dispose of the villain. The Joker clutches onto the helicopter’s ladder, but Batman then anchors his grappling hook onto the parapet. Joker’s grip loosens. Under the strain of both holding onto the ladder and being wrapped around the parapet, the latter breaks away. Unable to hang on any longer, The Joker falls to his spectacular demise. (Not so spectacular from an effects standpoint, though.) That’s a good death scene. What comes next makes it a great death scene: The Joker’s body is broken and dead, but a monotonous laughter drones on. Gordon kneels down and finds the prank bag containing The Joker’s Last Laugh. Classic.

And that’s another very controversial aspect: this film’s decision to kill off The Joker. This story would be so anti-climactic and unsatisfying without his death, though. I for one would not want to see the character just carted off to prison or Arkham at the end. Plus, there's the aforementioned issue of, "If you introduce the idea that Joker killed Batman's parents in the first story, where do you go after that?" The book needed to be closed, so to speak, and it was.

Other notes:
-“If this clown could touch Grissom, I’d’ve handed him his lungs by now.” “Of course, if anyone else calls you beast, I’ll rip their lungs out.” What’s with this guy and the lungs?
-I think it’s funny that Vicki’s little attempt to distract The Joker, so that Batman can catch him off-guard, doesn’t really work. Joker’s clearly taken aback by her sudden arousal

 

[Homer J. Fong]

37. Signals

(Running time: 1:59:35 - 2:02:17)

Spoiler

“Please inform the citizens of Gotham that Gotham City has earned a rest from crime. But if the forces of evil should rise again, to cast a shadow on the heart of the city…call me.”

It is not an origin story in the way Batman Begins is, but Batman does take place at the beginning of the character’s career, as this scene clearly demonstrates: a time when some people even doubt his very existence, and the very idea of such a figure, whether you trust him at all or not, is troubling. There’s great mystery surrounding this Batman, and the more we see of him onscreen, the more that’s going to be stripped away. I hope that the next rebooted series begins with Batman fully formed, no origin or backstory, no filling in the blanks, just hitting the ground running. (Those sentiments apply to Superman too, of course.) But, I digress.

The unveiling of the Batsignal is a moment so stirring, and so mythic, in its presentation, and it turns poignant when Vicki looks up and sees it herself, and the music shifts from a hero anthem to something more lyrical. This final scene is actually surprisingly optimistic. When I was given the Batman Anthology box set, as a gift, the first thing I watched was not this movie, but the Shadows of the Bat documentary, and when Part 3 closed to the tune of Danny Elfman’s “Finale,” I remember thinking, “Closing a documentary on the first movie with a piece of music from Forever, that’s weird.” I hadn’t seen this film for so long, and I had forgotten that that piece was not from either of the more traditionally rousing Elliot Goldenthal scores, but from this one. It’s excellent, but even with its more inspiring nature, it still closes with those five signature brooding notes of the main theme. Maybe “surprisingly optimistic” is the wrong way to put it, because this is not a somber or depressing film, and, although it is a hopeful end, the look on Vicki’s face as she tells Alfred, “I’m not a bit surprised” has such uncertainty that you know this is not an open-and-shut happy ending. (Spider-Man 2 closes on a similarly effective note.)

The final shot is masterful, panning higher and higher, until we find it, that last image that tells us no matter who may rise against him, no matter what happens, Batman will be there, watching, and waiting.


38. End Credits

(Running time: 2:02:18 - 2:06:09)

 

[ALP]

I love the fact that Joker is wearing the exact same gloves as drawn by Brian Bolland in TKJ. Nice little addition there, Ringwood has a good eye.

will post a couple of thoughts on the movie tomorrow. A job well done Mr Fong.

 

[Homer J. Fong]

[YT]dhvTUhqJR5M[/YT]
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Batman made the dark, brooding, cynical "anti-hero" even more popular and the virtuous, idealistic hero even less popular. Batman brought some character and depth back to the action-adventure movie, a genre that had deteriorated and been increasingly dumbed down over the 1980s. The real mark of the success of Batman, though, is its influence on superhero movies. It's been overshadowed by The Dark Knight now, which I do believe is a better film, one with more depth and resonance, but this is the film that really showed that superheroes can be portrayed with an edge and complexity that you may not expect. I'm not overlooking Superman, that was the first picture that demonstrated how to treat a comic book character with some respect and reverence onscreen. But Batman is, of course, a different animal. For the many people who are/were aware of Batman but don't read comics, who don't hold up The Dark Knight Returns, Year One, or The Killing Joke as brilliant, defining works, this is the story that showed them that there's more to Batman, and therefore maybe other similar characters, than an amusing (or campy) adventure story that leaves you with nothing afterwards but the memory of a pretty good time. Now, not everyone does regard comic books in general and Batman in particular with that fairness, some do still look down on the form, but this movie did a great deal for the character. It is not the best Batman movie, but it is always interesting. And because Burton has taken on other studio-tentpole, highly commercial kinds of films since, Warner's choice of him seems a little less strange - but it was really strange. Yes, his two movies at that point were both for Warner, but they were Pee-wee's Big Adventure and Beetlejuice, highly offbeat comedies that are for an acquired taste. An unexpected choice, but a brilliant one, and since then we've seen many out-there-but-successful choices for comic book adaptations: Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil) for X-Men, Sam Raimi (the Evil Dead trilogy, The Quick and the Dead, A Simple Plan) for Spider-Man, Jon Favreau (Made, Elf) for Iron Man, Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia) for Batman. That does give me some faith in the studio system, that someone up top can take a chance on a unique talent once in a while.

But hey, you don't want to read any more of this, you want to see the Batdance! Right?

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Keep bustin' indeed.
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[Homer J. Fong]

It's worth mentioning: Sean Young? She made a movie released in '89 called Cousins - directed by none other than Joel Schumacher.

I love the fact that Joker is wearing the exact same gloves as drawn by Brian Bolland in TKJ. Nice little addition there, Ringwood has a good eye.

will post a couple of thoughts on the movie tomorrow. A job well done Mr Fong.

Okay, didn't notice that. (I've only read The Killing Joke once, though.) Between Batman and The Dark Knight, the Joker of The Killing Joke is represented very faithfully: Batman's Joker has the look (there are certain panels in that book where I go, "Wow, this looks exactly like Nicholson!" but of course, it was the other way around), The Dark Knight has the ideology, the whole "one bad day" thing (the "If I'm going to have a past, I'd prefer it to be multiple choice" line is depicted well, too).

 

[circa81]

Hay Homer, 29. Sad Memory; Getting In is my favorite scene, I don't find it tacked on badly written at all. Just wanted you to know.

 

[Homer J. Fong]

Hay Homer, 29. Sad Memory; Getting In is my favorite scene, I don't find it tacked on badly written at all. Just wanted you to know.

Again, I feel that, yes, Bruce & Vicki should have an emotional dialogue after she's found out he's Batman, but I find the execution makes it poorly timed. The rest of the scene I like a lot.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

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Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia) for Batman.

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Both movies have brooding, obsessed protagonists. Nolan wasn't really that unexpected a choice.