Batman: Year One

[TruerToTheCore]

This coming from a guy who prefers Birthright to John Byrne's MOS origin.

Yup, because I prefer real Superman and a story written by a real writer and not some artist who thinks he can write.

 

[jacobed]

I thought this was pretty phenomenal. I loved how it dealt more with Gordon but I didn't like how he was so flawed, I understand flawed people are much more interesting but I always like to think of Gordon as this perfect guy in a city of corruption. Cranston was fantastic as him and I hope he does more voice over as Gordon. I wasn't a huge fan of Ben's Bruce Wayne but I thought he was great as Batman. I'm happy they didn't go with Conroy on this movie because his voice is not good for a young Batman, it was cringe worthy in Gotham Knight. They should have just left Catwoman out and focused more on Gordon and Batman, she was pretty pointless. I was kind of hoping they'd show like Gordon and Batman's first mission together but oh well maybe they'll be a sequel. At 60 minutes though, this is definitely not a purchase. I don't see myself ever watching this again whereas a movie like Under the Red Hood, I still watch it because it is the perfect animation movie to me. I'd say this is definitely worth watching.

 

[biggles2000uk]

I thought this was pretty phenomenal. I loved how it dealt more with Gordon but I didn't like how he was so flawed, I understand flawed people are much more interesting but I always like to think of Gordon as this perfect guy in a city of corruption. Cranston was fantastic as him and I hope he does more voice over as Gordon. I wasn't a huge fan of Ben's Bruce Wayne but I thought he was great as Batman. I'm happy they didn't go with Conroy on this movie because his voice is not good for a young Batman, it was cringe worthy in Gotham Knight. They should have just left Catwoman out and focused more on Gordon and Batman, she was pretty pointless. I was kind of hoping they'd show like Gordon and Batman's first mission together but oh well maybe they'll be a sequel. At 60 minutes though, this is definitely not a purchase. I don't see myself ever watching this again whereas a movie like Under the Red Hood, I still watch it because it is the perfect animation movie to me. I'd say this is definitely worth watching.

you do know its based on the comic?

 

[Tacit Ronin]

I'm happy they didn't go with Conroy on this movie because his voice is not good for a young Batman, it was cringe worthy in Gotham Knight.

Blasphemy!!!!

 

[KRIM]

I never get the issue with Conroy playing a younger Bruce. His voice hasn't changed from when he did MOTP, yet people were perfectly ok with his performance there. Also, it's not like Conroy sounds "old" in the strictest sense. People tend to have the same voice from young adulthood and onwards.

 

[jacobed]

Yes I know it was based on comic but you can change things, take some liberties. I didn't think Conroy was bad in all of Gotham Knight but there was the one story where he is in like his 20's and Conroy's voice just didn't fit him at all. Its not an old voice just booming commanding voice which doesn't fit the younger looking Bruce.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

It's not the age. It's the androgynous anime look clashing with Konroy's manly voice.

 

[LostSon88]

As much as I love Conroy and how he is without question, the DEFINITIVE animated Batman...I don't think he's right for every single animated Bat story as so many proclaim.

There are other actors out there that can do the character justice as well. Bruce Greenwood for example was fantastic in 'Red Hood'.

For me, part of the appeal of these DC animated films is seeing other actors take on these iconic roles.

 

[Nave 'Torment']

It's not the age. It's the androgynous anime look clashing with Konroy's manly voice.

Hahah, indeed!

I think he did a good job and would've been a great young Bruce voice even today. Remember MOTP?

If anything, Conroy's voice in JLU seemed to have a higher tone, almost sounding a tad younger than his BTAS/TNBA counterpart.

I missed the old BTAS cast in Year One. Strongly.

 

[theMan-Bat]

Yup, because I prefer real Superman and a story written by a real writer and not some artist who thinks he can write.

Superman in The Man of Steel is as "real" as your preferred version, many artists are also real writers, and it's the wrong thread for that topic.

The Best animated comic book material since Max Fleischer's Superman

Agreed.

 

[theMan-Bat]

Here's another interview with Bryan Cranston (James Gordon) about Batman: Year One:
QUESTION: "You were Bruce Timm and Andrea Romano's first choice for the role of Jim Gordon in Batman: Year One, but the feeling wasn’t mutual – you initially declined. What made you change your mind?"

BRYAN CRANSTON: "I always talk about the writing – I’ve gotten to a point in my career where I don’t want to just take a job, I want to be part of great storytelling. I always say that I don’t care if it’s a children’s play, I’ll do it so long as it’s great writing. I’ve done some animation work and, quite frankly, I haven’t loved all of it. So when they first offered this to me, I turned it down. I didn’t want to do something that I just assumed was goofy or cartoony. Fortunately, my representatives convinced me that I needed to give this material a fair shake – and I’m so glad they did. I had no idea that animation could have such depth and sophistication. This is adult storytelling, handled in intrinsically adult ways. It’s interesting and thoughtful and dark and nothing that I thought I’d find in an animated script. Jim Gordon is trying to find his moral center. He keeps getting shot down. He doesn’t want to work in this hellhole of a city, hated by his fellow cops, hated by his superiors. His wife is pregnant and he’s conflicted about bringing a child into this troubled world. He’s on an island. I was really surprised – in a good way. This script was well-written, unpredictable, good storytelling. And so I happily ate my hat because I’m so glad they forced me to read it."

QUESTION: "The name in the film's title is Batman, but this is just as much Jim Gordon's story, isn't it?"

BRYAN CRANSTON: "What I was first attracted to in reading Batman: Year One was that James Gordon actually is the star. That's the way I look at it, anyway. That was really unexpected, especially the way he’s portrayed. My first experience with Batman was through the comics, but the (Adam West) Batman television series really had an impact. So I thought (confusing Commissioner Gordon with Chief O'Hara on Adam West's Batman TV show), 'Oh, Gordon’s an old Irishman with that big, thick over-the-top brogue.' But there was no comic book silliness (in Batman: Year One) – there were twists and turns, darkness and light, and truly human mistakes that I’d never anticipated. And it’s as much Jim Gordon’s story as it is a story about Batman’s origins."

QUESTION: "So is this your chance to finally put that education in police work to use?

BRYAN CRANSTON: "(Laughs) In thinking about James Gordon, basically I used my own background. I went to college to become a police officer. There's a certain similar decorum that all police officers have – it’s a skepticism and a curiosity and a bit of cynicism, too. And what I found in reading the script was that all those elements seem to be in place for the character. So all I wanted to do is to bring out that sensibility and make him real. He has to be a real guy, someone you believe could be this police officer, in order for you to accept the plight and the dismay that he's going through, and trying to do the right thing in a city that is surrounded by corruption."

QUESTION: "So all that time on Malcolm In The Middle (2000-2006), playing that great dad, you really were just waiting for some truly dark roles to present themselves?"

BRYAN CRANSTON: "Malcolm In The Middle was a great seven years. We had a great time. And I think what made that story work is that at the core you had a real family that was striving to do the right thing. And when you look at what Gordon is to Batman: Year One, he is a guy who's still striving to do the right thing. Anytime you have that, an audience will even allow you to do the wrong thing if they know that you're trying to do the right thing. So they've got you. It's like they know that, at the core, you're a good person, and that's what he is. So when an issue comes up that forces him to walk a fine line between what is right and what is wrong, and certain things pull him in one direction or the other, the audience empathizes with his struggle. That makes it interesting."

QUESTION: "What makes Batman an interesting character to you?"

BRYAN CRANSTON: "As a character, Batman is someone who has a righteousness about him. And yet, it's not pure. He is a vigilante. He's taking matters into his own hands. So you could say that he's doing good things, but I don't know that you could say he's a good guy because of the manner that he approaches his actions. That's what always makes characters more interesting, that they walk the line of good and bad."

QUESTION: "Was there any element of the script that you particularly enjoyed?"

BRYAN CRANSTON: "I didn’t have any particular favorite lines or scenes, but what I really appreciated about doing Lieutenant Gordon was the inner monologue. I don't remember having (a role) that had that kind of sensibility that allows the character to be honest and open, vulnerable, and let the audience then determine if they're welcome into this man's soul or not. So that was probably my favorite part – to be able to have that running inner monologue going on, which I find fascinating.

QUESTION: What’s your take on comic books?

BRYAN CRANSTON: To a kid growing up in the '60s and '70s, comic books were pretty much one of the only written material that was a diversion for kids. There were three television stations, and movies were few and far between as far as access to them. So you'd get together with your friends and you'd open up comic books when you got tired of playing football in the street, or baseball or whatever. And then you'd allow your imagination to go and to wonder. And the great thing about comic books is that it allows the reader to be his or her own art director. You can see a glimpse of Gotham behind in the tall buildings and you start to imagine the heights of the building, Batman looking down. And when he swoops down, you put that all into your head and fill in the blanks. Sometimes in the comic books, it appeared to me like it was like an impressionistic painting. Where (you thought), “What's that in background? I can't quite make out what that is, but it feels real.” So you fill in the blanks, and that makes it more interesting and like you're a part of the storytelling itself."

QUESTION: "Must you take a different acting approach when playing a real-life individual or a fictional icon – as opposed to a character specifically written for the page?"

BRYAN CRANSTON: "Yes. You approach each character with a little different idea of how and what you need to shape him. I played Buzz Aldrin in From The Earth To The Moon (1998) about the Apollo project for HBO, and that I did approach differently. This is a real person, an American hero, a worldwide hero, and he's still alive. And there's something in the back of your head that says, “I really want him to be proud of this. I want him, above all else, to be able to say that I gave an honest depiction of the sensibility of what was going on then and who I was at that time.” I think that’s, in a sense, the same when working with an iconic figure like Jim Gordon in Batman: Year One. Everybody has a pretty good idea of Gordon – who he is and how he sounds – so you can't go too far against that grain. You need to be in the ballpark. He’s an established character, but the script will give you a good idea of how far you can stretch here or there."

QUESTION: "There are a few fan sites spreading a rumor that you're going be the Riddler at one point or another in a live-action Batman film. Any truth in these rumors?"

BRYAN CRANSTON: "I would love to be able to jump into a character like that – whole hog – and play the Riddler. That would be fun. Although I haven't been lobbying for that, and there's a certain part of me that is really fatalistic about that. It’s like, if it's supposed to happen, then it's supposed to happen. But I can only say that I'd be interested in playing something like that and see how it turns out."
http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/dcuam/batmanyearone/backstage/interview1.php

Here's another interview with Eliza Dushku (Selina Kyle/Catwoman) about Batman: Year One:
QUESTION: "You seemed to easily groove into this character. Where did you go to discover who Selina Kyle is?"

ELIZA DUSHKU: "I found the attitude for this character deep down in the Eliza Dushku archive of bad girls (Laughs). They're in there somehow, somewhere for some reason, and I tap into them when I need them. They’re characters with an edge. I grew up with three older brothers in Boston, and my mother was a single mom. So I spent my early years running the streets with the boys. After I fell into the film and television business, I went back to public school in Boston, and kids didn't think it was that cool. So I had to kind of fight for my street cred. I adopted this really sort-of-hard exterior, and got in a couple fights. So by the time I graduated high school and came out to make Buffy The Vampire Slayer, it was really art imitating life. I was fighting for my life."

QUESTION: "Does being part of the Batman mythology have any special significance to you?"

ELIZA DUSHKU: "It's incredible being part of the Batman legacy. It's iconic. It's Batman. I grew up with brothers and we would play Batman and Robin. Well, I would always try to get in and play, but usually they would let me join the game as some character or another, and they would immediately kill me off (Laughs). So, I used to watch from afar. So now look brothers – I get to be a part of this and you don't. (Laughs hard)."

QUESTION: "Do you have a pet cat? How do you feel about cats?"

ELIZA DUSHKU: "I had 'hobo cats' (stray cats) growing up. We had cats that would climb up on the roof of the house. We would get them off the roof, then two nights later they would be meowing on the top of the roof again. They have little attitudes, too. I ended up with dogs, mainly, but if a cat could act like a dog and could play like a dog and can play rough, then those cats got along with me. I just don’t want house cats or Siamese cats – they're a little too snooty for me."

QUESTION: "Did you enjoy attempting to bring a comic book to animated life?"

ELIZA DUSHKU: "I love that in the DC world, the stakes are high from the get-go. A week ago, I was watching (Christopher Nolan's) The Dark Knight. I love what they did, but it’s different from what we did for Batman: Year One and Catwoman. When you're recreating comics, there's different intonations and character strengths that come out. That’s what I was focused on bringing forth. It’s a little exaggerated, a little nuanced, a little more dramatic. But it's also full of layers and seething with this very cool energy."

QUESTION: "Do you enjoy voice acting?"

ELIZA DUSHKU: "I've had a great time doing voice-overs. It started with video games – the first was a Buffy The Vampire Slayer video game – and really I did it because I thought it would be cool to have my nephews be able to play me on their video games. They won’t talk to me right now – they’re at that stage of being a teenager – so I thought maybe we could have a connection through the video games. I did a video game called Wet last year that was a lot of fun. Then I have some friends over at Family Guy. And then, more and more, I've been sort of reaching out and peeking around to see what things are available to build my voice-over resume. It's fun for me, and completely different from what we do in live action. Voice acting is really invigorating. It still feels like you have to bring the same amount of character and energy into the room. And then to watch it morph into the animated version is really kind of magnificent."

QUESTION: "Was there anything you wanted to personally add to the character that made the experience of voicing Catwoman that much more fun?"

ELIZA DUSHKU: "Well, I wanted to purr, and they let me purr – so that was really like getting a bit of extra credit. I wanted to get in there and really emphasize her relationship with her cats, as I think it’s very feral and very significant. And everyone was really cool about letting me play around with my ferocity."

QUESTION: "What is it you enjoy most about working in this genre?"

ELIZA DUSHKU: "I love my fanboys. Without my fanboys, so many of the projects that I've done wouldn't have had the extraordinary life that they’ve enjoyed. The fanboys have been there with enthusiasm and the support, and their loyalty and their love has made this so rewarding and exciting. It makes me just want to give them more, more, more, more."

QUESTION: "The Whedonverse has provided many actors for the first 16 DC Universe Animated Original Movies. What do you think makes Joss Whedon’s casts fit so nicely in the DC Universe?"

ELIZA DUSHKU: "Joss (Whedon) is such a die-hard comic book fan himself that there’s a natural connection. And when you play in his worlds – worlds that are fantasy-related with all this metaphorical, deep magic going on, it sort of preps you to think the unthinkable and go places with your character that most projects don't give you the opportunity to do."

QUESTION: "Your parents are educators. Did comic books fit into place as literature in your house?"

ELIZA DUSHKU: "My father was actually a fourth grade elementary school teacher, so we had a lot of fun with dad growing up as far as comic books and trading baseball cards. That was actually one of the things that my brothers and my father and I did together – play with action figures and Star Wars and G.I. Joe's and Transformers, and trade and read comic books and baseball cards. My dad actually worked at and had a baseball card shop for a while, and he had comics in there. So comic books were definitely a huge part of my childhood."
http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=1151

 

[theMan-Bat]

Here's an interview with Alex Rocco (Carmine Falcone/the Roman) about Batman: Year One:
QUESTION: "You’re no stranger to gangsters. How did you choose to interpret Falcone?"

ALEX ROCCO: "I always seem to play everybody's dad or the gangster. So Falcone to me was like one of the five families from New York, maybe Vito Genovese, somebody like that. He takes his food very seriously, his drink very seriously, his women very seriously. The bottom line is he's a scumbag, but he thinks he has a lot of class, so I tried to incorporate that. It's fun playing gangsters. Where else can you say, 'Get up against the wall, I'm gonna blow your head away.' Well, where else can you say that and not get arrested? I really love playing gangsters."

QUESTION: "So you really don’t mind being typecast as a gangster?"

ALEX ROCCO: "Not at all. Whatever pays, that’s great. I like comedy and I like gangsters. I always had trouble with love scenes. I'm so insecure. But playing gangsters is great. They usually dress you sharp. And you have a license to pretty much bully anybody. I mean, I wouldn’t dare do that at home. My wife will give me a back hander. So doing it at work is a great release – it saves you all that money at the shrink."

QUESTION: "Is it true you had some real-life experience with gangsters and the mob back in your young days in Boston?"

ALEX ROCCO: "I come from a place called Winter Hill, and I was kind of a wannabe gangster. I started off running errands for the guys that were always dressed nice in the long collars with their initials. They called me Bobo, and it was always 'Bobo, go get me a milkshake' or 'Go grab me the newspaper,' and they’d throw me a few bucks. Plus I learned a lot from the gangsters. Things like you never look at another guy's wife, always leave a good tip, never eat meat on Friday … but you can kill all during the week."

QUESTION: "Did your mob experience help you in the entertainment business?"

ALEX ROCCO: "I tried to use that street energy to get started in this business. A lot of actors just wait for the phone to ring, but you’ve got to hustle. I don’t mean you have to be overbearing, but you have to stay on top of things – read the trades, know what’s going on in the town. I call it 'dare to be stupid.' The worst thing they can say is 'We got nothing for you.' So I've hustled a lot in the 44 years I've been doing this."

QUESTION: "How did hustling get you that first gig on the (Adam West) Batman television series?"

ALEX ROCCO: "I'd worked at the Rain Check Room – an actor's hangout – for a while. You’d see people in there like Robert Vaughn, Shelley Winters and Rock Hudson, who used to comb his hair the other way to try and be incognito. I was one of the two main bartenders along with an actor named Arch Whiting, who was down the other end (of the bar). He worked on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and (the Adam West) Batman, just about any series at that time. Mike McLean was a casting guy at 20th (20th Century Fox), and he used to call for Arch. I knew the routine. He’d call Arch and ask, 'You available – I’ve got one line for Bottom of the Sea.' I was a little jealous and I never really loved Arch that much. So one day, Arch goes to the bathroom and the phone rang. It’s Mike from 20th and he’s looking for Arch. I said, 'No, he's on vacation in Mexico. What are you calling for?' And he said he had something for him for Batman. And I says, 'Hey, I did eight Naked City’s for Gold Medal' – knowing that Gold Medals Studios in New York had burnt down, and they can't get the footage to check me out. I said, 'I'm a hell of an actor.' And he said, “Pay is 150 bucks and it's two lines.” And that was my first gig. I stole the Batman gig and it turned out it was a two-partner (episodes "A Piece of the Action" and "Batman's Satisfaction" (1967)) where they introduced the Green Hornet and (Kato) Bruce Lee, who ended up teaching my kids martial arts. So yeah, it was funny – when they called and asked if I wanted to be in this picture, I flashed back on 1966. So this is fun."

QUESTION: "Do you have any special memories from your Batman TV series experience?"

ALEX ROCCO: "Adam West was terrific. The kiddo that was a pain in the ass was Robin (Burt Ward). The director (Oscar Rudolph) would say 'Grab his wrist and hold him up against the wall,' and then the kid would whine, 'He hit my wrist.' And Adam looked at me and said, 'He does it to every actor.' I remember the villain (Colonel Gumm) Roger C. Carmel, and Julie Newmar was on set. Oh man, Julie Newmar -- I had such a crush on her. She was in costume in the commissary, and I was just smitten."

QUESTION: "Did you ever read comics?"

ALEX ROCCO: "As a kid, I’d go down to Murray's Drugstore in Boston – I’d just kind of turn the rack around and around, looking at all the comic books. I’d buy them and read them, then me and my buddies would trade them. I never did think of them as a collectors' item, but I loved buying them. I had great Batman's and Superman's, and I always thought they were better than baseball cards. It was fun getting baseball cards, but a comic book is an adventure. I liked Captain Marvel and Superman, as well as Batman. I’ve got to admit that I learned a lot from reading this script – I never really knew Batman’s whole back-story with the death of his parents, all of that. I was really drawn in. Now I want to know more about Bruce Wayne in this mythology. When I was a kid, though, it was Captain Marvel – because he was the one that, when he said 'Shazam,' he would change. It was magical. And he's always looked nice. I've always wanted to look like Captain Marvel. So my favorites were Captain Marvel, Superman and Batman. And I’ve got a little bit of love for Wonder Woman because, you know, just look at her. Plus, she’s got an invisible plane. How can you beat that?"
http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=1149

Here's an interview with composer Christopher Drake about Batman: Year One:
QUESTION: "To start things off, can you give us your general thoughts on scoring the Batman: Year One animated feature?"

CHRISTOPHER DRAKE: "Well, this is one of those 'Holy Grail' moments... when I heard word on the street that WB was doing an adaptation of Batman: Year One, I put in the word to Bruce Timm, that I had to do it, and that he could put me and any other composer in a cage match, and I would kill them with my bare hands to prove my worthiness.
When I saw the animatic with the actors performances I was blown away. Bryan Cranston's performance is amazing...the guy even looks like Jim Gordon in real life. Once Gary Oldman hangs up the glasses, Cranston's got my vote for the live action gig."

QUESTION: "Did you read the source material? How much did the original comic influence your scoring choices?"

CHRISTOPHER DRAKE: "Well, I am a huge comic book nerd, and I remember reading the comic when I was in junior high, and thinking it was the greatest Batman story told. I think it's definitive reading if your a Bat fan, or interested in comics in general. Batman: Year One, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: The Killing Joke...it's all right up there with Watchmen as the greatest superhero stories ever.
The influence for the score didn't really come from my interpretation of the comic, however, but from Bruce Timm's concept and direction of what he felt the style of music should be for the adaptation."

QUESTION: "You have scored some mighty big animated action movies for DC. How does the tone of the movie dictate how you score?"

CHRISTOPHER DRAKE: "Well, each movie has its own needs, and musical language. All-Star Superman for example was a more romantic, orchestral score to represent the heroic nobility and gentle qualities of All-Star Superman compared to say Batman: Under the Red Hood, which had to be bleak and evoke a lot of sadness, so alot of electronic sound design elements where used to represent the darkness of that story."

QUESTION: "You’ve previously scored Batman: Gotham Knight and Batman: Under the Red Hood. How would you compare your work on those Batman projects to Batman: Year One?"

CHRISTOPHER DRAKE: "Bruce Timm's design concept for the music for Batman: Year One was to be an anti-Batman score in that, he didn't want any kind of orchestral leitmotif or melodic fanfare for Batman - ala Shirley Walker (Batman: The Animated Series), or Danny Elfman (Batman/Batman Returns) - as Batman hasn't earned it yet, he's just getting started in his crime-fighting career. Bruce Timm didn't want it to sound like a Batman movie, and more like a crime procedural, with the exception of the bat crashing through glass origin scene and the warehouse escape. He felt those where the only two scenes in the movie that needed to play up the big Gothic Batman sound. Also, the film takes place in 1984, so we originally planned to do a very period '80s all synth score in the style of Tangerine Dream (a synth-pioneering electronic music group), or Giorgio Moroder (a synth-pioneering album producer and film composer of Midnight Express (1978) and Scarface (1983)), but Bruce thought that might be too distracting to a modern audience, so in the end the direction was to have the music be minimalistic, with some '80s synth elements mixed in. There's definitely some John Carpenter synth homages here and there, especially with the Flass character. There is a low synth pulse thing that symbolizes Flass and the police corruption. Bruce (Timm) mentioned Michael Mann movies quite a bit, like Heat ((1995) composed by Elliot Goldenthal), so that was definitely an influence on the score."

QUESTION: "How would you describe Batman: Year One? It’s more of a drama focused on Gordon than a straight-forward Batman tale, so that must make you approach the material differently, correct?"

CHRISTOPHER DRAKE: "Yeah, totally. Batman: Year One is really a Jim Gordon story. Its a very small and personal drama, compared to the 'end-of-the-world!' stakes that most of the DC films I've scored. And this story is totally grounded in reality, so the idea was that the music didn't need to support or hype the drama, or any fantastic sci-fi story elements. The actor's performances, and story material where strong enough with out me having to compensate and sell emotions with the music. The sound FX - fantastically done by Rob Hargreaves - really take the front seat for a lot of Batman: Year One, really enveloping you and grounding the real world setting of the story, Batman: Year One actually has probably the least amount of music of any DC film, and at times the music is almost subliminal."

QUESTION: "You’ve become a steady presence in the DC Universe DTV line. Do you find that scoring these pictures provides you with a bit of variety – given how different each feature is from the next?"

CHRISTOPHER DRAKE: "Yeah, that's the fun part, like I said earlier each of these stories have different musical needs. For example Batman: Year One is all minimalism, with a touch of '80s synth, where as the Catwoman short that will be on the DVD is all '90s industrial music, with a touch of noir orchestra."

QUESTION: "You recently tweeted that you just finished scoring Justice League: Doom, saying you could use a recharge in the Lazarus Pit...is that a tease? Care to drop a hint as to what fans can expect from the next animated feature in the DC line?"

CHRISTOPHER DRAKE: "Huh? What do you mean? I was just saying I was pretty wiped out from writing this giant, epic, 15 min fight scene... ya know? Time to hit the jacuzzi...Or maybe that was a cruel bit of misdirection to see how many people where paying attention... maybe..."

QUESTION: "Wonder Woman (the animated movie) is such an epic piece of work. Do you think you’ll be able to top it with Batman: Year One, or perhaps future projects you have lined up?"

CHRISTOPHER DRAKE: "Wonder Woman is my fave as well. Batman: Year One and Wonder Woman, however, are two completely different scores. They couldn't be more opposite of each other in terms of how the music is servicing the story. Wonder Woman was all about epic battles, and a story of gods and monsters, where as Batman: Year One is a much more realistic, grounded, personal crime thriller. Of course I always have the work ethic to try to out-do, and evolve with each score, but at the end of the day my job is about executing the director's concept for what the music needs to be doing to support the story."

QUESTION: "As we wrap this up, care to tell us where we’ll be seeing you next...and why we should all pick up Batman: Year One on October 18th?"

CHRISTOPHER DRAKE: "As you mentioned Justice League: Doom is upcoming. I have a couple of cool video game projects lined up that I can't talk about just yet, but I'm very excited about. And, another epic DC movie that is one of those 'Holy Grail' titles (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns), it's going to be pretty amazing, and unlike any DC score I've done in the past..it's gonna be huge. Hmm...why should you pick up Batman: Year One on October 18th? Because it's F'N Frank Miller's Batman: Year One! As an animated movie! What else do you need?"

QUESTION: "Thanks for taking the time to do these - it's really appreciated!"

CHRISTOPHER DRAKE: "My pleasure, thanks for listening!"
http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/dcuam/batmanyearone/backstage/interview1.php

 

[The Caped Knight]

New Rankings;

1. Phantasm
2. Year One
3. Red Hood
4. Return of The Joker
5. Gotham Knight
6. Sub Zero
---
7. Mystery of the Batwoman

My ranking

1. Mask of The Phantasm
2. Return of The Joker
3. Under The Red Hood
4. Sub Zero
5. Year One
6. Gotham Knights

 

[jacobed]

Phantasm
Under the Red Hood
Revenge of the Joker
Year One
Sub Zero
Gotham Knights

 

[Panthro]

Good film. Just wish I'd been more excited for it when they announced it.

And I'd have to agree that as great as Kevin Conroy is there are plenty of other actors out there who deserve a shot at voicing Batman and have proven they can do it well (case in point: Bruce Greenwood, who actually sounds a little bit like Conroy at times).

 

[Nave 'Torment']

(Mine):
Phantasm
Return of the Joker
Year One
Sub-Zero (I actually loved it)
Gotham Knight (good stories)
Under the Red Hood (great story, easily among the better ones, just wish they had a better animation)

Yeah... some of the others are actually forgettable.

 

[Kane52630]

I just got done watching it, It was really good. It plays it off as film noir which was just like the book. Benjamin McKenzie was decent at times as Batman and Bruce Wayne. In the beginning of the film I wasn't digging his voice but I think once he became Batman I found myself enjoying it. Bryan Cranston as James Gordon was almost too perfect. Overall it's worth watching even though it's a small story that most people wont think it's all that great. 9/10

The Catwoman short was simply amazing. Everything about that short I loved. That is Catwoman without a doubt. 10/10

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

All the actors were great which surprised me.

The graphic novel is better but this still well worth watching just to see Year One done with video and sound.

I give it an 8 out of 10.

I enjoyed it but it doesn't capture the full power of the graphic novel.

 

[Wolfwood]

There's a strong rumor going around that Cranston would play a live action Riddler? First time hearing that. I'm shocked anyone would consider him for anything aside from Gordon lol.

 

[Comics N' Toons]

my rankings

YEAR ONE
Phantasm
Subzero
Gotham Knight
the Red Hood
Return of the Joker

 

[theMan-Bat]

Batman: Year One

Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero

The Batman/Superman Movie

Justice League: The New Frontier

Batman: Gotham Knight

There's a strong rumor going around that Cranston would play a live action Riddler? First time hearing that. I'm shocked anyone would consider him for anything aside from Gordon lol.

That's the first I'd heard of that, too. I'd much rather see Bryan Cranston as Gordon in live-action. Like Christopher Drake said, "the guy even looks like Jim Gordon in real life. Once Gary Oldman hangs up the glasses, Cranston's got my vote for the live action gig."

 

[hippie_hunter]

I never get the issue with Conroy playing a younger Bruce. His voice hasn't changed from when he did MOTP, yet people were perfectly ok with his performance there. Also, it's not like Conroy sounds "old" in the strictest sense. People tend to have the same voice from young adulthood and onwards.

Except Kevin Conroy was 20 years younger when Mask of the Phantasm came out. While the overall style is the same, it just feels a bit different. Because he's older.

Conroy's Bruce Wayne voice in the Mask of the Phantasm flashbacks and even in Robin's Reckoning had a more youthful tone that was just lacking in Batman: Gotham Knight. It sounded like his Bruce Wayne voice from Justice League in which Batman is clearly in his mid to late 30's.

 

[Comics N' Toons]

I thought McKenzie was fine for this role. He was hardly in it anyway. This was a Jim Gordon story!

 

[hippie_hunter]

McKenzie was perfect for Year One IMO. He really pulls off playing a stern Bruce Wayne and does a great job pretending to be a pig.

 

[Gold Samurai]

I think he did a good job and would've been a great young Bruce voice even today. Remember MOTP?

If anything, Conroy's voice in JLU seemed to have a higher tone, almost sounding a tad younger than his BTAS/TNBA counterpart.

That's what I noticed. It was like he had a constant cold.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PETk8eBbfN0


Batman TAS scene

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW48WFfbZZI