The Dark Knight Hype surrounding TDK compared to B89

[danblood]

Just wondering about this today as I was only four when B89 was released.

The release of TDK has bought much hype and excitement mainly I believe surrounding Heath and the Joker. My question is this, to anyone who remembers the release of B89, what was the scene before it's release? were people saying this or that about Jack's abilities to portray the Joker? what was the general feeling surrounding a "dark" Batman movie? and were fans as hyped as this?

just curious and I'd like to know... cheers!

p.s wasn't sure if this would be TDK or B89 related but put it in this forum in hope

 

[sarg2k]

Jack helped get the film off the ground.

The big hysteria was behind Michael Keaton as Batman, made it on the cover of loads of newspapers. They were after Keatons blood.

I was 6 when it came out so was too young to watch it, but if you want a comprehsive document of it I recommend the Batman special edition DVD with the extra disk.

Crammed with extras that should give you the good stuff

Just wondering about this today as I was only four when B89 was released.

The release of TDK has bought much hype and excitement mainly I believe surrounding Heath and the Joker. My question is this, to anyone who remembers the release of B89, what was the scene before it's release? were people saying this or that about Jack's abilities to portray the Joker? what was the general feeling surrounding a "dark" Batman movie? and were fans as hyped as this?

just curious and I'd like to know... cheers!

p.s wasn't sure if this would be TDK or B89 related but put it in this forum in hope

 

[sarg2k]

Just noticed you are in the UK

If you want to buy the DVD go to

http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/1117127/Batman-Special-Edition/Product.html

 

[J.O.K.E.R]

I think that it is difficult to compare as it is such a different market these days. With Batman 89 you had the new factor and the controversy around Keaton but with Dark Knight you have a rejuvanated franchise with a critically acclaimed predecessor. Also, we have the hype around the late Heath Ledgers last performance.

 

[J.O.K.E.R]

I think that it is difficult to compare as it is such a different market these days. With Batman 89 you had the new factor and the controversy around Keaton but with Dark Knight you have a rejuvanated franchise with a critically acclaimed predecessor. Also, we have the hype around the late Heath Ledgers last performance.

 

[danblood]

I think that it is difficult to compare as it is such a different market these days. With Batman 89 you had the new factor and the controversy around Keaton but with Dark Knight you have a rejuvanated franchise with a critically acclaimed predecessor. Also, we have the hype around the late Heath Ledgers last performance.

That's very true, I would still love to have been old enough to get excited about it back then!

Jack helped get the film off the ground.

The big hysteria was behind Michael Keaton as Batman, made it on the cover of loads of newspapers. They were after Keatons blood.

I was 6 when it came out so was too young to watch it, but if you want a comprehsive document of it I recommend the Batman special edition DVD with the extra disk.

Crammed with extras that should give you the good stuff

Sweet nice one, I have only the single disc edition at the moment if you say the 2 disc is crammed though I may look into it thanks!

That's interesting, about Keaton, I say he pulled it off though

 

[sarg2k]

That's very true, I would still love to have been old enough to get excited about it back then!



Sweet nice one, I have only the single disc edition at the moment if you say the 2 disc is crammed though I may look into it thanks!

That's interesting, about Keaton, I say he pulled it off though

Yeah I was a Keaton fan as well but I loved Jack.

I remember wanting to watch Batman but it was a 15 so I was way to young, I got it on VHS when it came out and it blew my mind.

As much as people slag off B89, BR and BF they are a major part of my child hood and I love them all equally, even all the faults but that is me nit-picking now I am older.

Back then also bare in mind the internet was no where near the level it is at now so it was all word of mouth or media publications, the level of hysteria is alot more difficult to compare. But Batman 89 was HUGE

 

[Riven]

The hype surrounding B89 was enormous. The marketing permeated everything, it was everywhere. The combined effect of the iconic figure of Batman, the casting of Jack Nicholson (positive feedback) and Michael Keaton (mostly negative feedback) gave this movie such a boost. "Bat-mania" reached such a high point that distributors literally ran out of merchandise to sell, there was such a high demand for everything to do with the movie. DC didn't have enough paper to print comics on that summer.

 

[Dark Knigh7]

Oh good lord, I remember seeing the Batman billboards before anything was officially announced, and it was just a picture of the Bat-symbol. Everybody was talking about it, people were throwing ideas left and right about who was going to be Batman etc. It was a crazy time. I was only 7 when it came out, but I've been a Bat-fan since I was 4, and it was NUTS.

I read every article that came out, and bought everything that was bat-related. I went to see it about 4-5 times in the theater. I also remember the 20/20 special they had on it, which I taped, and I wore out the tape by just watching previews and clips over and over again.

Awwww, memories.

 

[danblood]

Thats awesome, all I remember is having it on VHS too. Oh and the Megadrive game anyone have that?

 

[honest george]

I was in high school in 89, it seemed bigger then. It was the first serious Batman film, it was the only comic book flick out that summer (unless I'm missing something), it had the Keaton controversy and it had Jack Nicholson. There was Batman merch freakin' everywhere. The local news was doing stories about vendors trying to sell knock off merchandise.

This is the second Batman flick (of this series anyway) and the third superhero movie this summer alone; not to mention the barrage of other comic book movies lately. Yeah, I'd say B89 was way bigger.

 

[Cobblepot]

B89 was way bigger in the Netherlands then BB and now TDK, there's hardly any mention of it in media and no merchandise to be found (not even BB!). Whilst B89, we got it all. Coffe mugs, dolls, action figures, stickers you name it.

 

[Commodore Schmidlapp]

This isn't even close. As much as think BB is the better movie, the hype of B89 has been matched by very few movies. Batman was EVERYWHERE in 89.

 

[FinchersGhost]

This isn't even close. As much as think BB is the better movie, the hype of B89 has been matched by very few movies. Batman was EVERYWHERE in 89.

Yeah... I'm told the Hype was so insane that you'd walk down the street and see people with the symbol shaved in their heads.

 

[Man Who Laughed]

I was only three when it came out in theaters, but it's the first movie I ever remember actually seeing. It was on tape, and it was a s***ty recorded HBO version that gets lighter and darker throughout the whole movie, but I loved it. I think another reason the hype for that was so much bigger is because not only was it the first serious comic book movie, but also the only comic book movie.

If you look at the comic book movies that have come out in the past years, starting with X-Men, they have become more and more fan-centric. Spider-Man got the public interested, but as time went on, the storylines of all comic book movies started to be more comic oriented. Now, instead of movies for the public that also please the fanboy, we have movies for the fanboys that the public is welcome to sit in on.

Take Iron Man. Every comics fan knows who Iron Man is, and they know the story. So when *we* watch the movie, OUR excitement is at 10. "OMG! That's War Machine! Nick Fury! Alcohol+Stark=major story arc!" THIEIR excitement is at 7. "Hey, that was pretty cool. Whoa! That suit looks awesome! That last fight scene was pretty cool!"

Comic book movies are becoming more fan-centric. They have more in-references. Example, Heath Ledger's death (RIP). At the time, I had been walking around my house talking about how great he was gonna be as the Joker for months. Come the day he died, I got home from work and my mom says, "Hey, did you hear about Heath Ledger? Did you know he was going to play the Joker?" Even my friend Brandi, who LOVES Batman but is not a comics reader didn't know. And we had been jointly counting down the days to the release of TDK.

 

[Joker8906]

I agree with the post above

except the normal non fanbase SHOOTS BACK UP cause OMG its SAM JACKSON!!!!!!!!!111111111111

 

[Danielson]

I think something to remember is the different types of hype. TDK is exploring a totally different source, the internet. I think something can be said about TDK threads pwning every other superhero thread on any board that I go to. Not to mention the viral stuff and things that it's gotten people to do.

This has a sort of underground feel, if they put out craploads of merch, it wouldn't be the same type of marketing. I do have two DK shirts and my cousin has a Heath Joker shirt. Other than that, they're creating buzz now through more hidden stuff that's buzzing by word of mouth after seeing something. I was about a year old when B89 came out, so I obviously don't remember a thing, but this movie has got all sorts of hype. It's not like you see it, but it's like, when I wear my DK Bat logo shirt, I get at LEAST 10 people ask about the movie, when it's coming out, what I know, and not people who I would think would be comic guys, like loose acquantanses and people like that.

My mom is a nurse, I went to her work the other day, and two 30 year old female nurses were talking about the movie. Now, I'm not going to say that this hype has B89 beat, because I've seen the documentaries and the pics and as far as having the logo plastered everywhere, it hasn't, but you can't measure the two the same way because it's totally different techniques and a totally different time. It's been nearly 20 years, which makes me feel old.

 

[Man Who Laughed]

Exactly. The fans have been discussing this movie for at least 2 years.

The thing about movies that I always found funny, is the two types of fans there are. The majority are casual movie goers. People that think you're dedicated if you've seen a movie... more than 4 times. Ever. Then, there's the minority. People that will watch movies over and over until they either find it boring, or they find something else. People that find out about a sequel and follow its progress.

Obviously, I'm the minority. I saw Spider-Man 5 times in theaters, BB 4 times in theaters, each of those at least 15 times on DVD, and, if you wanna talk insane and dedicated, Fight Club 60+ times in the last year, 32 times in July alone. If it all works out, I plan to go to my local theater opening day and buy 1 ticket to every showing of TDK. So there's that. But yeah, TDK is more of a movie thats on everyones mind, as opposed to being plastered everywhere, and I'll take it like that anyday.

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

I wish the hype for TDK was as big as it was for Batman inn 1989, but the only ones truly excited are us die hard fans. Most of the general public I see, still dosent know about TDK or thinks its a re-make of 89, such a shame. I admit though, when the film hits its gonna be big, just not 1989 batman size.

 

[Excel]

I own a dvd that is only about yhe hype for batman. That was simply a different time...i.e.

The opening weekend record was broken 3 times that summer. on memorial day with indiana jones 3; 2 weeks later with ghostbuster, and than the following weekend, batman DESTROYD it by 37%. That could NEVER happen now...it'd be like last year, after spidey 3 broke it; shrek opens to 152 and then pirates to 210. Its absurd.

Anyways, the dvd I have shows it all. At the begining theres an old entertinment tonight story all about how batman merchandise is selling out. Than I see the date it aired-March 23rd, 1989! 3 Months before it opened! TDK is comparable to that. TDK is 2 1/2 months away, and Joker figures are selling out everywhere, so...

The thing with Batman is...it was the first film to have a HUGE marketing campaign. They reallly reinvented the way you market a blockbuster by infiltrating it everywehre-from batman cereal to prince huge hit batdance-there was nowhere to go withotu seeing something for it.

That said, the hype for TDK right now is somewhat comparable to that fo Batmans. TDK is 2 months away, and for as long as uve been seriously tracking films (summer 2002), 2 films havce gotten the interest and buzz this film has tihs early. Episode 3 and Matrix Reloaded. The thign with these are...most big blockbusters, the hype, buzz, interest....it doesnt grow until about 2-3 before it opens. Batman is already at this stage but it 2 1/2 months away. NO film has ever been like that since Episoide 1. None.

The biggest reason for this is indeed heath ledgers death. Big, blockbuster sequels usually only need awareness to make big money. People just have to know about it. EVERYONE already knows about Batman, which means that rather than building awareness, they are building ON it. Do you see what I am saying? There are 2 stages to marketing-awareness and then anticipation. Knowing about and then wanting to see it. TDK already has higher awareness than any film this summer; its the biggie that everyone just knows is coming. That is probably why its gfot so much media attention.

Rigt now it's hard, but I would bet that for 3 weeks or so in Juky, its gonna feel just like april-june did in 1989 for Batman fans.

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

^ I want that dvd, Ive been trying to get my hands on it for a LONG time, if I could get a burned copy, I would pay good money for it.

 

[Danielson]

They could definately make a DVD about TDK hype with the viral stuff and the IBIHD vans. No movie that I can remember has gotten so much hype with so little. You DON'T see Batman plastered all over everything, yet when I go down to the bottom floor of my dorm I see "I Believe in Harvey Dent" stickers, when I wear my Dark Knight logo shirt, random people ask me about it, and not fat dudes with glasses and a classic flash shirt, like chicks and jocks and everyone.

I don't think that the hype is as big as B89, but for the little hype it's produced (most people don't know about all the viral stuff) it's stirred a heck of a buzz.

 

[Excel]

^ I want that dvd, Ive been trying to get my hands on it for a LONG time, if I could get a burned copy, I would pay good money for it.

Such as??

Heh, Id have to find it first.