Superficially, sure, the Keaton films were accurate. Tim "anyone who knows me knows I'd never read a comic book " Burton had someone show him some pages from Dark Knight Returns and the early Kane/Finger comics and went "yeah, make it look like that I guess" and that's about it . In terms of the actual essence of the characters, though, Nolan nails it, without question .
Couldn't disagree more. The "Tim Burton never read a comic book" mythos is from the gospel of Kevin Smith's An Evening with Kevin Smith (2002) smack talking Tim Burton. Except Smith misquoted Tim Burton's words from "Anybody that knows me knows I do not read comic books" to "'Anyone who knows me will tell you that I would never read a comic book.' Which, to me, [profanity] explains Batman." Kevin Smith admitted to having had "some bad blood" aimed at Tim Burton all because Tim Burton brought in Wesley Strick to do a rewrite of Kevin Smith's Superman Lives script in 1997, just as Tim Burton brought in Wesley Strick to do a rewrite of Daniel Waters' Batman II script in 1991.
https://nypost.com/2001/08/07/directors-duel/
In 2007 Kevin Smith admitted, "For me, it's like, I would definitely cast Michael Keaton as Batman. I thought Michael Keaton was an awesome Batman."
Holy Retread Batman! Kevin Smith Picks Michael Keaton For His JLA Cast
Producer Michael Uslan explained, "In my first three meetings with Tim Burton, it was my responsibility to introduce him to Batman [comic books] and provide him with the material. I only let Tim see the original year of the Bob Kane/Bill Finger run, up until the time that Robin was introduced. I only let them see the Steve Englehart/Marshall Rogers and the Neal Adams/Denny O’Neil runs. I was very careful to not show them the comics from the ’60s."
Michael Uslan: Man Behind the Batman - Part 1 - SuperHeroHype
Over three lunch meetings, Uslan loaned Burton a stack of comic books, including a photocopy of Batman #1 (1940) written by Bill Finger, art by Bob Kane, Sheldon Moldoff, and Jerry Robinson, which includes the original two-page Batman origin and introduced the Joker, Catwoman and Professor Hugo Strange's Monster Men; Batman #217 (1969) "One Bullet Too Many" written by Frank Robbins, art by Irv Novick, Batman #251 (1973) "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" written by Denny O'Neil, art by Neal Adams, etc. Out of his personal collection, Uslan shared with Burton his all-time favorite Batman story, Detective Comics #439 (1974) "Night of the Stalker" written by Steve Englehart, art by Sal Amendola. "Just as important as what I gave him was what I kept away from him," Uslan says. "I didn't want him to see the campy and ridiculous stuff."
How the Dark Knight Became Dark Again
In Movieline #103 (1989) Tim Burton said, "You don't want him to start saying things like 'There's a bat in the window. Now that's an idea!' We tried to avoid that... What we didn't want to see were word balloons coming out of Michael's mouth..."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Movieline" June 23, 1989 Vol. V Issue #103
In Starburst #133 (1989) Tim Burton said, "You can't just do, 'Well, I'm avenging the death of my parents - Oh! a bat's flown in through the window. Yes that's it, I'll become a Bat-Man!' ... works on the comic page - but not so much for movie purposes."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Starburst" Issue #133 September 1989
So Tim Burton must have read the original origin story with the bat flying in through the window, the oath to avenge the parents, etc. or he wouldn't have know anything about any bat flying in through a window, or avenging the death of the parents, etc.
In Cinefex #41 (1989) Tim Burton even explained, "I had looked at the Batman encyclopedia [referring to The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes: Batman (1976) by Michael Fleisher] and found that the mythology contradicts itself - it changes it's own history and has gone through many alterations over the years. So early on, I realized that even if I wanted to be true to the 'real' Batman, there could be substantial argument as to what that really was... We were drawing from the original comics for inspiration - there was bound to be a certain '40s feeling to it."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Cinefex" Issue 41
Tim Burton explained in his book Burton on Burton (1997), "I loved The Killing Joke. It's my favorite. It's the first comic I ever loved. And the success of those graphic novels [Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke] made our ideas more acceptable."
In Cinefantastique [November 1989] Tim Burton explained, "We could never get Robin in before the last third of the movie. By that time we just wanted to get on with the story rather than introduce somebody else new in tights simply because the comic lore dictated it. Luckily, when I made the decision to cut him out entirely - something that made everybody nervous - that comic book issue was published where fans voted to kill off Robin [Batman #428 (1988) "A Death In the Family Chapter 5" written by Jim Starlin, art by Jim Aparo]. The timing was very helpful in convincing Warners that Robin didn't matter."
www.1989batman.com/2013/08/vintage-magazine-article.html
Micheal Keaton explained on WTF with Marc Maron that Tim Burton gave Keaton the Dark Knight Returns to read, "This was gutsy on his part, Tim said 'I'm doing Batman. Would you read the script?' I wasn't familiar with the comic, but here's what he did, he said, 'read this one,' which was the Frank Miller thing, which was Dark Knight Returns."
Danny Elfman explained on the Batman special edition DVD that Burton sent Elfman the Dark Knight Returns to read, "After Beetlejuice I got a call from Tim saying 'I'm doing this thing you might be interested in it.' He sent me the Dark Knight comics."
This idea that Keaton managed to make Bruce/Batman feel like two different characters while Bale didn't is...certainly a take. Bale actually managed to create three distinct personas: The shallow, careless Billionaire Playboy, The monstrous, rage filled Vigilante, and the real man, who has a dry sense of humor. And all those personas are actually closer to the spirit of the character than what Keaton did.Keaton didn't actually portray Bruce Wayne, he portrayed a broodier, borderline psychotic version of himself. Like Hellblazer said, Keaton is accurate in a superficial sense, its why he and Affleck are often overrated.
Michael Keaton actually managed to project various sides of Bruce Wayne: The calculated champagne guzzling philanthropic billionaire playboy image that Knox mocks as "worthless" and "vain." The script explains that when you think Bruce Wayne's not paying attention -- you're dead wrong. He doesn't miss a thing, and the script revealed that he actually was drinking non-alcoholic ginger ale in a champagne glass pretending it's champagne, which Miss Vale later figured out when she said, "I feel a little drunk [referring to the bottle of champagne she drank] and you're not anything." Then Keaton's Mr. Wayne claimed that one drink from the champagne and he'd be "flying" drunk, and he has casual affairs with Miss Vale and Miss Kyle. There is also the business side of Keaton's Wayne that Shreck sees at the meeting in Batman Returns. There's the mysterious vigilante Batman image terrifying superstitious criminals, and then there's the real reclusive Wayne in the Batcave working on a case, or working on the Batmobile in Batman Returns etc., that Alfred knows. And all those personas are actually closer to the spirit of the character than what Bale did. While Bale portrayed a broodier, borderline psychotic guy that clearly has issues, like his Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. Bale said himself, "I also kind of view Batman—you know, somebody mentioned American Psycho. (Pause.) He's kind of an American psycho."
Groucho Reviews: Interview: WonderCon Batman Begins Panel Transcript
I see Bale as accurate in a superficial sense, its why he and Affleck are often overrated by the majority of casual fans conforming to popular assumptions.
It doesn't help that Keaton's Bruce Wayne got overshadowed by the main villains (particulary in Batman Returns) and that he feels like an afterthought in his two movies. I think it would have been better if Batman 89 was an actual origin story for Batman. I do agree that Keaton's Batman superficially looks awesome and I love the look of his Batmobile. But I think Bale nailed the essence of the character and that Bale's Batman is arguably the most heroic live action Batman.
The point was to establish Batman as mysterious with a quiet demeanour, keep to the mystery and only allude to what happened in the past. I must say that the people who get that, in general, have been wise and intelligent. Kevin Smith claimed, "Tim Burton wasn't really interest in Batman, only the villains." Tim Burton explained in the book Burton on Burton, "That's not true. But there is an inherent difference in the characters. The Joker is an extrovert and Batman an introvert. So you can't match the energy, the balance. You have this character [Batman] who always wants to remain in the shadows, to remain hidden. If these two were standing on the street, Batman would always be wanting to hide [in the shadows], whereas The Joker would be, 'Look at me. Look at me.' So that's part of what the energy of it was. I certainly wasn't less interested in Batman, it's just that he is who he is, and The Joker is who he is. Some people got it, some people understood it. Obviously, a lot of people thought The Joker was the thing, but a lot of people found Michael [Batman] to be more compelling because of that. He captured a certain subtle sadness in his character. And there was a pent-up, bottled-up [rage] feeling to him."
In Fantazone #1 (1989) writer Sam Hamm explained, "It struck me as a much better solution to treat his origin as a mystery and gradually work back to it."
www.1989batman.com/2013/10/vintage-magazine-article-fantazone.html
In Cinefantastique [November 1989] Sam Hamm explained, "The better to keep him offstage and shadowy and make his brief appearances as flashy as possible."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Cinefantastique" November 1989 (Volume 20 Number 1 & 2)
In Fantazone #26 (1992) Batman Returns scriptwriter Daniel Waters explained, "He [Michael Keaton] would go through my scenes and say, 'We don't need all this. All Batman has to say is one line.'"
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Fantazone" Issue #26 Summer 1992
Daniel Waters again explained, "Michael Keaton was great to work with. He was such a smart guy. I would give him all these great speeches and what I thought were great lines, and he would say 'Batman should only say this. Bruce Wayne should only say this.' He was very specific that when Batman is wearing the suit, he shouldn't say three sentences put together at any one time. At the time I was thinking 'I'm giving you gold here! I am going to get into trouble now because Penguin and Catwoman have more lines.' But he was right. Then when I saw The Dark Knight (2008)... there's a scene towards the end where [Christian Bale's] Batman is giving a big speech to [Heathcliff Ledger's] the Joker and you could go grab a bottle of water and come back and he would still be talking. Michael [Keaton] was right. [Christian Bale's] Batman shouldn't be giving speeches in the costume with the Batman voice."
MONEY INTO LIGHT: DANIEL WATERS ON 'BATMAN RETURNS'
Keaton requested that he be given less dialogue. Keaton felt the less he said, the stronger he became and the more he grew in the imagination of the audience, instead of playing the conventional speechifying superhero who's life is like an open book. So Michael Keaton did not feel like he's presence was being overshadowed by the main villains at all. I see Keaton doing a great job, being very restrained, very mysterious version of Batman lurking in the shadows, instead of '80s Keaton's typical fast-talking riffing wiseguy in-your-face comedy in Night Shift (1982), Mr. Mom (1983), Beetlejuice (1988), etc., and on the other hand, it was Nicholson that was really acting nuts. Jack hadn't acted that crazed since The Shining (1980).
Michael Keaton explained in Comic Scene #9 (1989), "Working with Nicholson was a definite intensive for me as an actor. With Nicholson, you get much more than his talent. You get his knowledge and his point-of-view about movies. You get an actor who comes to life right in front of your eyes."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Comics Scene" Issue #9
Michael Keaton explained in Comic Scene #29 (1992), "I like the story idea. I liked the idea of the two villains, and I love the idea that Tim [Burton] was going to do it again."'
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Comics Scene" #29
In Entertainment Weekly [June 19th 1992] Michael Keaton's business partner Harry Colomby explained, "There's no escaping that the nature of the project is 'Let's look at the next villain.' He's in a way the host of this franchise, and he's going to be gracious and open the door and have these people come in."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Entertainment Weekly" June 19, 1992