The Official Batman (1989) Thread - Part 3

[Rodrigo90]

Bless you

 

[regwec]

Very cool, though they screwed up the unveiling of The Joker by having him visible throughout the scene.

 

[Comics N' Toons]

People liked the movie adaption by Denny O'Neil? To me it's a pretty lazy replication of the movie.

As a Denny O fan, I actually really agree with you. Those adaptations were not that great!

 

[Mister Meddle]

I have the digital copies of the comic adaptations, they're pretty easy to find. I find them fascinating because it seems that they're usually based on the original scripts.

Take this as an example.

 

[Rodrigo90]

Never seen that before.

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

Neither have I, I knew Knox was originally supposed to die but I've never seen those pics.

 

[Mister Meddle]

I just found the scene in the script.

REVERSE ANGLE to see Vicki Vale, taking the photo of the year. She looks down at him and shakes her head. A SHOUT FROM ELSEWHERE wakes her up. VOICE Batman's fallen to the ground. Over there. Vicki spins around. LOOKS in that direction and follows the voice. EXT. CATHEDRAL GROUNDS - NIGHT People run toward the place where Batman has fallen. CLOSER We see the figure of Batman completely covered with his cape, face-down in the courtyard. A CIRCLE OF PEOPLE, press, and police surround him. Commissioner Gordon steps into the circle. VOICE Turn him over, now we'll see who this guy is. Gordon approaches the body. Vicki RUSHES UP. Looks down at the cape-covered body. Looking at her camera, conflicted, she raises it to take her prize photo. ON CAPE -- as Gordon pulls back cape and turns over the body. TIGHT ON FACE -- it's not Bruce Wayne, it's a groggy Alexander Knox (in his own clothes). ON VICKI -- she flashes a picture and brings down her camera. A smile plays across her face. ON KNOX -- he blinks his eyes at the light. KNOX Can I still make the late edition? EXT. ELSEWHERE IN THE SQUARE - NIGHT Through a crowd, A MAN walks into a side street. He turns around. It's Bruce Wayne. He's got his utility belt over his shoulder. He DISAPPEARS into the darkness.

 

[Rodrigo90]

How did he end up flying in the dumpster, to ending up like that? Lol

Must have been an entirely different scene.

 

[Mister Meddle]

The scene was actually quite different.

Knox was trying to cut some of the balloons free with a pair of metal cutters (instead of swinging a bat at the Joker's henchmen) while Vicki was waiting for him in his car but he got shot by one of Joker's goons. She dragged him into the car and drove off while the goons were firing at the vehicle. The car eventually broke down and Vicki dragged Knox into a shelter next to the Gotham Cathedral. Then he went unconscious.

So that's how he got there. Batman probably pulled him outside and placed his cape & cowl over him to distract everyone so he could escape without getting chased. Since he no longer had a vehicle to fly away in.

 

[Elevator Man]

^Interesting. Never knew the story behind that moment in the comic adaptation.

But I read somewhere in an old Starlog magazine with an interview with Robert Wuhl or one of the cast & crew behind the scenes. Saying his character was supposed to be killed, but Burton and co. liked his character so much that they decided to let him live.

Very interesting alternative leading to the finale. I do sometimes wonder how Batman got off that Cathedral in the final cut. Not to mention how he got away from Gordon and the police force. Creating a distraction makes perfect sense.

 

[Dave McFly]

I may have posted this in the past (or somebody else has) but this still cracks me up .

[YT]Ma8iHBZ7C8w[/YT]
t:

 

[Travesty]

That's so random.

"I like pizza!"

 

[Mister Meddle]

Very interesting alternative leading to the finale. I do sometimes wonder how Batman got off that Cathedral in the final cut. Not to mention how he got away from Gordon and the police force. Creating a distraction makes perfect sense.

I wondered the same thing as well. Since the footage is most likely sitting in a vault collecting dust it would be nice of them to put it to good use and include the alternative ending in the bonus features of a future re-release. Unfortunately I doubt it will ever happen.

 

[Mr.LethalWeapon]

Keaton does not look intimidating at all in this. Stoic yes, but not intimidating!

It's all in the lighting. Here's a shot of him from 3 seconds earlier in the same scene.

Batman always looks better with some shadow.

 

[Comics N' Toons]

Now he looks much better in that shot. You are right! It's all in the lighting. He looks more monolithic there.

 

[Mister Meddle]

IMO the only problem was the cowl. Obviously it was a too big for Keaton's head. In some scenes it looked kind of bad. The cowl was too thick and it was literally covering half of Keaton's eyes. The Returns version was a huge improvement.

Since we're on the subject of lighting; I always thought Batman looked beast when they made Batman's eyes glow while the rest of the face was remained hidden in the darkness. Much like what they did with Bela Lugosi's Dracula.

 

[Two-Face]

I wish I still had these, even the BF version great than actual film. The ending was great for all three films. Thanks for posting these J.

 

[Mister Meddle]

The Batman and Batman Returns comic adaptations are on eBay and they're very cheap. Most of them are under $5 and they're either in terrific condition or still sealed. I downloaded a digital version for free but I might buy myself a copy to add to the collection.

 

[Mister Meddle]

Earlier I read the comic adaptation and I was a little bothered that Gordon flashed the signal at the cathedral instead of the dark sky (as seen in the movie). I took another look at the script and found this:

ON PRESS -- they are quiet. KNOX Question. How do we call him? GORDON He gave us a signal. ON GORDON -- he steps to a searchlight and flips it on. EXT. GOTHAM CITY WIDE - NIGHT On the side of the old cathedral, the BATSIGNAL - the yellow moon, a black-caped man, the melancholy icon calling for help in the dark night of Gotham City.

Obviously the idea came from The Dark Knight Returns. I never liked the idea, glad that it didn't end that way.

It's not a big deal but I thought it was interesting and decided to point it out. One of these days I should read the entire script. It seems like there were a lot of changes and possibly several interesting deleted scenes.

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

I think the thickness of the cowl makes Batman look beastly.

 

[Ponyboy]

^Yep. Batman definitely seems more physically intimidating in the first film. I think part of it's the chunkier suit and the way the character was lit.

 

[Comics N' Toons]

IMO the only problem was the cowl. Obviously it was a too big for Keaton's head. In some scenes it looked kind of bad. The cowl was too thick and it was literally covering half of Keaton's eyes. The Returns version was a huge improvement.

Since we're on the subject of lighting; I always thought Batman looked beast when they made Batman's eyes glow while the rest of the face was remained hidden in the darkness. Much like what they did with Bela Lugosi's Dracula.

The nod to Dracula was intentional from Burton I remember reading!

 

[Senator Pleasury]

I think the thickness of the cowl makes Batman look beastly.

I agree. That's why I preferred it. It makes you believe he's a human bat more than the perfectly sleek cowl.

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

The 89 cowl is probably my favorite a slight bit above the BR cowl because it is so large, thick and clunky it is more beastly and gave Batman a more animalistic look when partly covered in shadows.

On a side note I have been thinking about designing a small line of 89 related Batman shirts, do you guys have any input or interest? I have been on the hunt for many years for 89 related Batman shirts but have come up mostly empty handed except for the overpriced usually XL sized stuff on Ebay. I was thinking with the Hot Toys stuff doing well and the 66 Batman gettin new shirts 89 would be cool too.

 

[Comics N' Toons]

The 89 cowl is probably my favorite a slight bit above the BR cowl because it is so large, thick and clunky it is more beastly and gave Batman a more animalistic look when partly covered in shadows.

On a side note I have been thinking about designing a small line of 89 related Batman shirts, do you guys have any input or interest? I have been on the hunt for many years for 89 related Batman shirts but have come up mostly empty handed except for the overpriced usually XL sized stuff on Ebay. I was thinking with the Hot Toys stuff doing well and the 66 Batman gettin new shirts 89 would be cool too.

I agree about the 89 cowl and would definitely be interested to see (or own) Batman 89 shirts!