The Bat Summer of '89

[K.B.]

Post your memories/stories of that one great summer and any merch you got

(Hey batman was EVERYWHERE lol)

 

[BubbaGump]

I saw on the AMC presentation of Batman (with trivia at the bottom of the screen) that someone was shot and killed for cutting in the popcorn line.

 

[kooguy911]

these threads come up alot but they are very interesting to read.

 

[K.B.]

Someone got shot? thats nuts lmao

My oldest sister had 2 over sized books one of which I thin kwas some sort of cataloug. It had all this merch in it including the figures and was printed on glossy paper.

 

[SHADOWBAT69]

I actually have fond memories of all the bat summers, but the summer of 89 is by far my most cherished and remembered. I have to be at work at 5 a.m. tomorrow so Im heading to bed, but Ill share some of my memories and stuff soon.

 

[BubbaGump]

Someone got shot? thats nuts lmao

And killed, mind you. Those Burtonites are something else.

 

[Nepenthes]

I loved my batman bandana. It was yellow with little symbols all over it.

 

[The Shredder]

Ah, yes. The summer of 1989. You couldnt go anywhere that summer I don't believe without seeing someone walking around with the 1989 Batman logo on a t-shirt, cap, shoes, or literally carved into the back of someones head! My personal memories of that summer consisted of playing with Batman action figures, eating Batman cereal, flipping thru the official souvenir magazine quite a few times, and collecting a very decent amount of Batman 1989 trading cards.

A very fun summer indeed.

 

[Nepenthes]

got my first real funny book
bought it at the five and dime
read it till the pages fell
was the summer of 89

 

[K.B.]

Yeah that summer was just INSANE. One of the reasons why batman 89 is something you will more than likely never see again. It was the perfect creative team, actors,time in history, everything. Just one of those rare times where you get magic in a bottle.
Many movies have come and gone and been well made and pulled in a ton of dough but NONE have recreated anything close to what batman 89 did.

As well as going through those magazines of my sisters (which I'll ask if she remembers/still has) I had a TON of bat-stuff. Even suspenders which unfortanatly don't fit anymore (yes I tried lol).

A buddy of mine still has an uncut sheet of batman series 2 cards, the ones with the yellow boarder.

 

[OctaviusINC]

I was a wee baby, being cuddled in my mother's arms.

 

[raleagh]

I was 11 years old when Batman 89 was released, but I remember Friday 11th August 1989 like it was yesterday. The hype build up for the movie was unlike anything I had ever seen. The newspapers were full of articles about the movie in the upcoming weeks to the release. The one I remember the most was about how the movie had been declined a PG rating in the UK because it contained scenes of people with "acid-burnt" faces. Instead it would be the first movie to be given a 12 rating. I was excited and nervous in equal measure: Would I be allowed to see it? Would I be scared by the "acid-burnt" faces? Although the latter question was overshadowed by my excitmentment at seeing Michael Keaton on the front of a Batman comic I had just bought. That day, I met up with my friend who was going to the cinema with me that night and we talked for ages about how cool the movie would be and how gross the "acid-burnt" faces would be.

We went to the Downpatrick cinema that night (it is long gone now and has still never been replaced). It was an old fashioned cinema - one screen, balcony, showed one movie for a month, stopped for intervals - you know the sort. We, along with my father, sat up in the balcony - right hand side, second row from the front. During the title sequence I was in AWE. Where were we? In the batcave? No, it was revealed to be the bat sign. I, like many others, was hooked. After the showing my father took me to the projection room (I'm not sure if he knew the guys, he possibly did) and I was shown how the projectors worked, how they switched over, etc. I was amazed at the mess of it all. There were reels lying everywhere!
Superman 2 had been my first cinema experience, followed by Superman 3, Ghostbusters, Crocodile Dundee and others but Batman 89 had been my best.

 

[Excel]

i own a bat summer 89 dvd and it looks extraordinary...it is marketed like films are today, with batcereal and bat toy commercials...

im still waiting for superman to get this type huge, imagination filled interpretation. I have a few of the tv spots on dvd...id upload if i had any idea how to.

 

[Lazlo Panaflex]

Yeah the summer of 1989 is something I'll never forget, even street vendors were selling bootleg Batman T-shirts, I used go to a shirt store that had iron-ons of Batman patches for your shirts too.

 

[The Shredder]

Oh yeah, and Prince's "Batdance" video was being played what? Everything 30 mins or so on MTV as well.

 

[TwilightPro101]

-shakes head- That's one piece of the movie I always hated. Prince's song did nothing for me then and do nothing for now. -cringes-

 

[K.B.]

Well let me tell you brother, you ain't lived till you had a striptease done to either batdance or scandulos

 

[The Shredder]

Well let me tell you brother, you ain't lived till you had a striptease done to either batdance or scandulos

"Ooh, yeah. Ooh, yeah. I wanna bust that body."

 

[The Shredder]

Edit.

 

[roach]

I remember that summer...I first saw the trailer during the Arsenio Hall show. I remember the episode because Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam were performing and they all had different Batman tshirts on.
I had no job and no money to see the movie. While walking home from school on Thursday before the movie opened I found five dollars on the ground. I used the money to see the film. The line to see the movie was wrapped around the mall and when they announced that they were seating they almost got trampled. I was just blown away by the whole thing.
About a year later when it came out on VCR I had to have it and watched it until the tape got warped.

 

[Genosha]

Actually, I totally remember the night that Batman opened that summer. Its still a very vivid memory.
I was living in LA at the time, 11 years old, and I remember my school just going nuts.
But, and I hate to actually admit this, I was kind of scared at the look of the movie.
I was a major Marvel Comic collector at that time, mostly X-Men and Spider-Man, but I knew about Batman and I really liked the character.

However, the commercials looked really scary and I wasn't sure if my parents would let me see it anyway.
So, instead of seeing Batman that night it opened here in the States, I went and saw Honey, I Shrunk The Kids.
Which, coincidentally, really flew under the radar with Batman dominating everything in the media and Honey actually became a pretty big box-office hit as well.
I really loved it and was glad I got to see it that night. I remember going to the theater and seeing the HUGE line for Batman and people were partying like it was New Year's Eve or something.

Well, I did end up seeing Batman that summer. My grandfather took me to see it about 3 or 4 weeks after the opening. I was still a little apprehensive about it because of the darkness of the movie, but once I watched the whole thing, I was entranced.
I had never seen something so stylized. I became a huge Burton fan. I started collecting all of the Batman merchandise that summer, going to the local liquor stores (yes, liquor stores because in LA those stores sold lots of cool stuff besides liquor. Still do, I think) and buying all of the trading cards.
It was so cool!
And then Batman debuted on video and the Batmobile showed up in LA for it and it was this big media event.
Great memories!

 

[CFE]

The summer of 1989 was the most influential summer of my life to date.

I've only told this story a few times...

I was born in April of 1988, so bear in mind I was only 14 months old when the film was released theatrically. And my mom still took be to the theatre to see it on the big screen.

Now older, I'm quite fed up with little children who cry and moan in theatres, and I can't stand them.

But according to my mom, I didn't utter a single peep in "Batman." My eyes were glued to that screen and I watched in awe along with the rest of the audience while sitting on my mom's lap.

And no joke...I couldn't be more truthful about this I swear...

The first word I EVER said was, and I quote..."Matman."

True at the time I couldn't tell an M from a B, but I have a feeling the meaning of what I intended to say isn't lost on anyone here.

19 years later, I ritualistically watch the film very much over 150 times a year. I can quote the entire film from beginning to end by memory. I can give a list of all main cast and most main crew.

I own the film 6 times over: VHS, Original DVD, and SE DVD. One each in packaging and one each from viewing. I no longer watch the VHS simply because it was watched to death, and I don't watch the Original DVD in favor of the SE DVD.

I did own most of the toy merchandise from the film; my favorite piece being the gold and black Batman Crossbow.

"BATMAN" is the one film I will take to my grave; it's the film that will forever remain the closest to my heart for the rest of my life.

All thanks to the likes of a dark and kooky newcomer director, the front man of Oingo Boingo and Mr. Mom...

But I wouldn't have it any other way

CFE

 

[Penismightier]

^ I got a black eye from walking to a shopping cart in the store my folks and I went to after I got The Joker figure in a Toys R Us. Yes, I was too busy just looking at my Joker figure to notice a cart right in front of me. That black eye was a badge of honor.

 

[K.B.]

I've since "retired" my original Batman vhs and bought another copy.

 

[SHADOWBAT69]

Back then, we didnt have the internet like now, where you could get all the latest rumors and info at the click of a button. We had to wait for updates in monthly comic book publications or entertainment magazines or shows. I think that actualy helped build the enthusiasm for this film, especially after they threw together that trailer and started showing some scenes on Entertainment Tonight.

I first read the description for the Batsuit in the back of one of my Batman comics, in the letters section. Every couple months there were updates from Denny O'neil on the project. They said, "imagine Adam Wests costume, but in reverse. Black instead of grey, armor instead of cloth, long ears instead of shirt." I couldnt for the life of me figure out what we were gonna get. Then when I finally saw footage, I was estatic. I couldnt wait to see more. The more that became available, the more I couldnt wait to see this film. Especially with all the hype that started. I was head deep in the batmania. I read the novel a couple weeks before the movie was released, and tried like crazy to imagine what the story would be like based on what Ive seen. I wasnt close at all. There was also a PBS documentary on the film that gave even more insight into the movie, showing more of the production, costumes, and basic designs. I knew this was gonna be something special.

My birthday is June 26, so I asked everyone to not buyu me presents, but instead just give me the money so that I could buy Batman stuff. Everyone gave me my gifts early, because June 23rd was the big day. I remember it like it was yesterday. My mom dropped me off at our local mall (it was my 16th b-day so I wasnt driving yet) and I began my Batman shopping spree. I remember buying a couple buttons, the Toy Biz Batman and Joker, one of the silk tapestries, the official magazine, an Applause doll, and a hat. I ate at McDonalds before I headed over to the theatre because I didnt want to wait at the concession stand, I had to have prime seating.lol. I got to the ticket booth about an hour and a half before showtime and waited for them to begin selling tickets. There I was, first person in line, dressed in black jeans, my Batman t shirt and hat, reading my movie magazine. About 10 minutes later the line began to form and in about 30 minutes time there was a line of poeple all the way down the plaza. But I was first! 30 minutes befoe showtime they opened up and I immediately went right into the theatre and chose my perfect seat. I remember the guy who sat next to me offered to buy me a drink if I saved his seat.lol. So i at least got a coke. When the lights went down and the opening credits started, I was enthralled. I didnt shift my eyes from that screen for 2 hours straight. It captured me and transported me right into Gotham City. No movie had ver affected me like Batman did, not even Star Wars. That team created something special, just like I knew they would.

I ended up seeing Batman in the theatre a total of 18 times between June 23rd and December. The whole summer I spent all my earnings from my paper route on Batman merchandise. I ate Taco Bell any chance I could get, which was quite often because there was one right in front of the "cheap theatre" that also started showing the movie. I had a ton of those cups. Still do. My room was transformed into the batcave, with toys, posters, everything. That Halloween I went as, of course, Batman. I did my best to create the Keaton costume. Made the guantlets and belt from poster board. My mom had made the cowl and cape. I had a black suit. I thought it was great.

It was a good time. Memories Ill never forget.