Burton's Gotham

[eledoremassis02]

some 89 Gotham!

 

[Cobblepot]

I never noticed the skyline in BR.
Image Batman swooping off from those babies...

 

[union_jak]

The skyline in Returns doesn't really look that much different to that of B89.

 

[dude stannis]

Or WB could easily hire a director that wants to go back to the original scenery of Burton's films. I wouldn't mind that at all, really. I would actually think it would be nice, as if we get that look, then we will lose the realistic views and get Mr. Freeze done the right way.

Or maybe the perfect mix between the two I've had in mind for years.

I love the skyline shot of Returns there. It looks like it's out of Dave McKean's Arkham Asylum artwork.

 

[eledoremassis02]

heres the mat painting for the zoo and gotham

 

[TMC1982]

The big difference in Gothams appearance is because the production designer of the first film committed suicide in 1991.

Bo Welch was the production designer for Returns, taking over for Anton Furst. Like like to think that Gotham looks different in Returns because it's another borough of Gotham City.

 

[GothamAlleys]

In Batman we saw the skyscrapers of the business sector, the cathedral and police department and the Axis Chemical plant. We also saw the newspaper office, the art museum, the movie theatre and the seedy area with prostitutes and homeless men.

This was a broad representation of Gotham as a dirty, struggling city, with the best and the worst in full view.

In Batman Returns we saw a very claustrophobic representation, not contradictory, just alternative.

We saw Gotham Plaza mostly; the Shreck department store featured heavily, with the small independant shops around it and the Mayor's office at the end. We also saw Robinson Park, leading on to the abandoned zoo, and the sewers beneath the city. The rooftop moments, and the car chases, all take place in and around the Plaza.

Returns' Gotham doesn't have to be considered as a reimagining, just as a cross-section of one location within the city.

Thats true but also lets not forget that 89 Gotham was designed in Gothic style while BR Gotham's style was Art Deco and German Expressionism

Love em both

 

[Jeremy Dylan]

I remember the RETURNS Gotham used to have the nickname Soundstage City amongst some Batfans due to it's setbound nature.

I prefer the Furst Gotham overall, but Welch's design suited RETURNS down to the ground.

 

[GothamAlleys]

I remember the RETURNS Gotham used to have the nickname Soundstage City amongst some Batfans due to it's setbound nature.

I prefer the Furst Gotham overall, but Welch's design suited RETURNS down to the ground.

Well, the first Gotham was designed in Gothic/1940's Industrial style, and Gotham is called GOTHam after all. While also visually stunning, I still prefer the design in Batman Returns although as much as I love the movie, it does look obvious that its placed in an interior stage

 

[redfirebird2008]

It's hard to choose between the two Burton Gothams for me. For the most part I like them the same amount. I will say Returns' significantly larger budget has paid off over the years. The film's look has aged better than B89's by a pretty significant amount. It looks stunning on Blu-ray.

 

[echostation]

Does anyone else feel that a fusion of Nolan's batman characters with Anton's production design and the overall Burton look would have been great? I mean I know obviously there will be arguments that like it would have never worked and all that, and yes I do agree with that partly

But I always felt that the best things from the 89 and BR films was the production design and overall look but the characters and story were lacking compared to the Nolan versions, however Nolan's films lacks the beautiful timeless meshwork production setting of combining the 40s to contemporary look that the Burton films have. It's like Burton got the actual physical background of Batman right while Nolan got the characters better, at least to me

I only wish they could be fused together... it would be interesting

 

[dude stannis]

Does anyone else feel that a fusion of Nolan's batman characters with Anton's production design and the overall Burton look would have been great? I mean I know obviously there will be arguments that like it would have never worked and all that, and yes I do agree with that partly

I've been thinking that since always. Ledger's Joker in a gothic expressionist landscape, with a twisted fairy tale melody that turns into his signature screeching theme. Come on, tell me that's not sex?

 

[batman_1989_]

In fact,I've always thought that Ledger's Joker looked straight out of Burton's mind.

 

[El Payaso]

In fact,I've always thought that Ledger's Joker looked straight out of Burton's mind.

Absolutely. It had Burton's classic white make-up and black circles around the eyes. Oh and tangled hair.

 

[ALP]

Absolutely. It had Burton's classic white make-up and black circles around the eyes. Oh and tangled hair.

He was far more terrifying than Burton's usual characters who even if they look menacing are usually tongue in cheek in spirit. But yeah, visually Heath's Joker definitely reminds me of something Burton would have designed. ...Although the actual Burton designs for the Joker were more of the classic type.