Batman '89 The Official Batman (1989) Thread - Part 6

[carpenter82]

No one has bettered Burton (and Pratt/Czapsky) when it comes to Batman visuals on the big screen.

I still maintain that no one has captured the image of Batman better than Burton did in the 89 film. There's so many iconic shots of the character in that movie.

 

[Sawyer]

DC absolutely has to put out a new collected edition of the B89 comic adaptation for the 30th anniversary. No excuses. I need to own this.

 

[Sawyer]

If McFarlane doesn't use this new deal with DC as an excuse to make a Keaton Batman figure, I swear to God...

 

[theMan-Bat]

I have...

 

[Elayis]

You can only see a hint of it here, but one of my favorite things about this movie is the way Batman's eyes are highlighted in certain shots. I don't care that it's not realistic, it looks incredible and it would be criminal if Reeves' doesn't use it.

As for the film itself, it's a little bit before my time (I was born three years after its release). It holds up for the most part, but it's definitely a product of its time. The villain getting more screen-time than the hero, studio mandated pop music, a complete disregard of the source material, a pointless love interest. And frankly, this Batman is straight up horrible at crime fighting. Still, it's fun for what it is, and certainly the best of the pre-TDKT live-action films, but it's never truly resonated with me. A lot of the changes feel like a poor attempt to "grow up" the character, and yet there's still tons of infantile humor and questionable logic. I didn't become a comic book fan until the first X-Men film, so Begins was my first real exposure to the character. I didn't even start collecting comic books seriously until 2005.

 

[Sawyer]

If this is some sort of joke, I'm going to do a murder.

 

[theMan-Bat]

The villain getting more screen-time than the hero,

In Cinefantastique [November 1989] writer Sam Hamm explained, "In fact, there are only about four minutes of Batman in the first hour. The better to keep him offstage and shadowy and make his brief appearances as flashy as possible so you don't notice quite as much that he's not there."

Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Cinefantastique" November 1989 (Volume 20 Number 1 & 2)

In Fantazone #1 (1989) 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

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."

studio mandated pop music,

Tim Burton wanted to use two Prince songs, originally it was gonna be Prince classics "1999" and "Baby I'm A Star", for just the art museum scene and the parade scene, and have Danny Elfman do the full score.
Danny Elfman explained, "The producer, Jon Peters, wanted a pop score. He wanted to use Michael Jackson, Prince and George Michael. For a short period, I had to walk away from the film. I knew what the score should be, and I knew that collaborating with a pop artist – as much as I deeply respected him [Prince] – would not yield good results. Tim [Burton] was like, 'Play the march! Play the march!' He was talking about the theme for the titles. I put that on, and Jon [Peters] suddenly goes from skeptical to getting out of his chair and, like, conducting. Tim was like, 'You’ve got it.' To Jon’s credit, he turned around completely and became a huge supporter. That’s when he said, 'We’re going to do something that no one’s ever done: We’re gonna have two soundtrack albums.'"Danny Elfman on Film Scores, ‘Simpsons’ and Working With Tim Burton – Rolling Stone

a complete disregard of the source material,

Eh?
In Comics Scene #3 (1988) Batman (1989) scriptwriter Sam Hamm explained, "I felt it was just like that original Batman story in 1939 which starts out with Bruce Wayne sitting around talking with the Commissioner. Then there's this mysterious Batman who goes off on his exploits. And the shock at the end is it [Batman] turns out to be Bruce Wayne. The twin agendas I thought were right to work with were: 1) Determine what is the kind of story structure that will make Batman sufficiently menacing. He's a frightening character. His whole gimmick, the only reason to wear the bat costume, is to frighten people. And 2) Do what that initial [1939] Batman story did and take Batman as a fait accompli. In other words, if you start with Batman and work backwards to [show he is] Bruce Wayne, then you have a structure that allows you to see this character's impact on the rest of the people in the story. You don't have to waste half-an-hour [on the origin and] getting him into the costume. People are paying to see the guy in the [bat] suit kick some bad guys. If you're paying to see Batman, then you want to see Batman."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Comics Scene" Issue #3 July 1988

Costume designer Bob Ringwood explained in Cinefex #41 (1989) about the black batsuit [like bats are black, and Zorro and the Shadow wear black], "Bats are black, of course – not blue – and black is much more sinister and sexy. After talking to Batman creator Bob Kane, we found out that he had always thought of Batman as being in black, but that it was very difficult to draw a black-on-black drawing for the comic strip. So he had drawn it in blue [and gray] so that he could use different tones of the color for effect. In his mind, the blue [and gray] was just a symbolic version of black. Our black costume was really nearer the original concept."
The Detective Comics #28 (1939) "Frenchy Blake's Jewel Gang" text narration, written by Bill Finger, says, "A mysterious figure in black watches in the darkness above them -- it is the 'Bat-Man.'" And "The black clad figure of the Bat-Man swings into the looted apartment." Reprinted in Batman Archives vol 1 (1990) and Batman Chronicles vol 1 (2005).

Detective Comics #39 (1940) "The Horde of the Green Dragon" text narration, written by Bill Finger, says, "Again the intrepid black-clad figure of the Batman..." Reprinted in Batman Archives vol 1 (1990) and Batman Chronicles vol 2 (2006).

Detective Comics #46 (1940) "Professor Strange's Fear Dust" text narration, written by Bill Finger, says, "The Batman! Garbed in the hues of night itself..." Reprinted in Batman Archives vol 1 (1990) and Batman Chronicles vol 3 (2007).

Detective Comics #49 (1940) "Clayface Walks Again" text narration, written by Bill Finger, says, "Mysterious being of the shadows, garbed in garments as ink-hued as night itself, the Batman, flits amidst the darkness like the winged creature whose name he had adopted." Reprinted in Batman Archives vol 1 (1990) Batman Chronicles vol 3 (2007).

In the Comics Interview Super Special (1989) Sam Hamm also explained, "The Joker's origin is pretty much as it was in the comics with the fall into the vat. We don't use the Red Hood shtick because the basic fact is most people don't read comic books, so it wouldn't make any sense to them. The Killing Joke was not around when we started doing this. The thing that was important to me was trying to ground this stuff in an existing reality that everybody could understand. So we've got a gangster plot - crime lords and all that kind of stuff - Godfatheresque."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Comics Interview Super Special" Screenwriter Sam Hamm Interview
Jack Nicholson would have looked pretty silly if he was suddenly running around wearing a red helmet over his face and a cape during the whole chemical factory robbery scene just to be slavishly faithful to the 1951 Red Hood story.

In Comics Interview #77 (1990) DC writer Jack C. Harris asked, "Was the other man in the alley on the night the Wayne's murder suppose to be Joe Chill?" Producer Michael Uslan explained, "Yes. In fact you'll recall that it was Chill who grabbed Bruce's mother's necklace." Michael Uslan also explained, "In fact, and you'll have to check this with Bob Kane, I think he [Bob Kane] said that if the Joker had been created earlier [in 1939], he would have been the Wayne's killer in the comics, as well."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Comics Interview" Issue #77

In Batman #1 (1940) the Joker kills with a deadly Joker venom chemical weapon which contracted the cheek muscles in the victims face into a ghastly grim as it kills - that's Smilex. Smilex must be made of nitrous oxide laughing gas, laced with strychine, and discontinued CIA VX, which is what discontinued CIA DDID nerve gas in Batman (1989) was likely based on, and causes victims to have laugh spasms and contracts victims cheek muscles, causes paralysis to the victims muscles and kills the victims by asphyxia.

Jack Nicholson's Joker wore what costume designer Bob Ringwood called "retro '40s" Golden Age Joker comics wardrobe. Jack Nicholson's Joker wears what are in essence '40s style, double-breasted three-piece suits, tail coat, trench coat. His hat, which, as Bob Ringwood pointed out, is really a pork-pie classic, with the gaudy purple, green and orange Joker colors from the classic '40s comics. He carries a cane, that's from the comics. His phooey posy squirts acid, also from the comics in Joker #1 (1975) "The Joker's Double Jeopardy" written by Denny O'Neil and art by Irv Novick [reprinted in The Joker: The Clown Prince of Crime (2013)], Detective Comics #476 (1978) "Sign of the Joker" written by Steve Englehart and art by Marshall Rogers [Batman: Strange Apparitions (1999) reprints "Sign of the Joker" (1978)], both the phooey posy squirting acid and the high voltage joy buzzer are in Detective Comics #570 (1987) "The Last Laugh" written by Mike W Barr and art by Alan Davis [reprinted in Legends of the Dark Knight: Alan Davis (2012)]. His seeing himself as an artist is from the comics, too. Joker even wears an oversized artist beret hat in Batman #52 (1949) "The Happy Victims" written by Bill Finger, art by Bob Kane and Lew Sayre Schwartz [ Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus vol. 6 (2018) reprints "The Happy Victims" (1949)], Batman Kellogg's Pop-Tarts Comics (1966) "The Joker's Happy Victims" written by E. Nelson Bridwell and art by Carmine Infantino [The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told (1988) reprints "The Joker's Happy Victims" (1966)].

In Prevue [September 1989] Jack Nicholson explained, "As a kid, I liked Batman because it was the only comic book that took place at night. So I told Tim [Burton] and the writers to make sure they don't lose that old, ominous, black-and-purple night feeling."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Prevue" September 1989

In the book Jack's Life: A Biography (2015) by Patrick McGilligan, it's explained, "Talking with Bob Kane, Nicholson learned that Kane had based the Joker on a character played by Conrad Veidt in a 1927 movie, The Man Who Laughs. The Veidt character wears a perpetual freakish grin because as a boy his check muscles were slit. Nicholson made an effort to track down the silent picture, directed by the German Expressionist Paul Leni, and watched it for pointers."

, a pointless love interest.

Stop the press! Who's that-? Vicki Vale. She loves Bruce. But does she like... Batman? In Cinefantastique [November 1989] Sam Hamm explained, "The basic story [of Batman] is about a guy who has a sick hobby that ****s up his love life. The duality that we'd established in the character made it apparent that being Batman isn't very healthy."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Cinefantastique" November 1989 (Volume 20 Number 1 & 2)

In Comics Scene #14 (1990) Batman (1989) script writer Warren Skaaren explained, "The concept I had for that [Michael Gough Alfred] character is that Alfred is a father figure for Batman. He tries to talk Batman into engaging into this relationship with Vicki. He says at one point, 'I'm getting too old to mourn the loss of old friends...or their sons.' That line indicates that Alfred is getting to be an older guy, and he's afraid that Batman - that Bruce Wayne is going to be hurt, so he wants Bruce to become more healthy. Part of that would be to accept this relationship with Vicki. So, Alfred's in cahoots with Vicki, as an unspoken conspirator. He brings her into the Batcave because he wants Bruce to be with her. Batman has many problems because he has to operate without being caught and the fact that he falls in love with Vicki Vale exposes him in a way that makes it harder for him to function."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Comics Scene" #14 August 1990

In the book Batman: The Official Book of the Movie (1989) by John Marriott, Kim Basinger explained that Vicki Vale is more than just a scream queen, "Gutsy, enterprising, modern and adventurous. She also possesses a lot of truth and honesty and stands up for what she believes in."

I respect Tim Burton using Vicki Vale and Selina Kyle from the comics instead of just making up his own love interest and love story. Unlike Lisa Carson, Marsha Queen of Diamonds, Andrea Beaumont the Phantasm, Chase Meridian and Rachel Dawes that all were not even in the comics.

The Golden Age Vicki Vale first appeared in the comics in Batman #49 (1948) "The Scoop of the Century!" written by Bill Finger, art by Bob Kane, Lew Sayre Schwartz and Charles Paris, edited by Whitney Ellsworth [reprinted in Batman in the Forties (2004)]. Vicki Vale was a news photographer and her hair color varied in the early comics from red to blonde. Vicki Vale was portrayed as blonde in Batman #56 (1949) "A Greater Detective Than Batman" written by Bill Finger, art by Jim Mooney, edited by Whitney Ellsworth, and other comics.
She was called a "famed news photographer" and continually risked her life to obtain sensational news photographs. She was romantically linked to Bruce Wayne and developed a fascination for Batman and suspected and was on the edge of discovering the secret identity in the classic comics. In the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns cartoon (2013) DVD special feature Batman and Me: The Bob Kane Story Tom Andrae said, "He told the printer that he wanted her [Vicki Vale's] hair to be blonde. They made a mistake and colored it red instead. In 1948 on the beach of Santa Monica he had a brief affair with her [Marilyn Monroe]."
So Kim Basinger's Vicki Vale being blonde is closer to the original intent of Vicki Vale in the comics.

And frankly, this Batman is straight up horrible at crime fighting.

And frankly, this Batman saved Vicki Vale and saved the city. He cracked Joker's poison code. He defeated Joker and his Goons. He also struggled, wasn't always winning, got shot, fell down, crashed, got beat up and bloodied. His bat cowl restricted his peripheral vision. He had to turn his entire body in order to see to the side, but Bob Ringwood explained in Cinefex #41 (1989), "that turned out to be kind of a good thing - it forced him to move in a rather butch sort of way because he had to turn his entire body in order to see to the side. It gave him a powerful, definitive kind of movement. Instead of just his head moving, the whole body swings around with the cape sweeping out behind him." I'm glad Michael Keaton's Batman isn't a perfect omnipotent Batgod. Since the Silver Age era DC comic books have had a habit of making Batman too perfect. If comic book Batman is a perfect omnipotent Batgod and is the world's greatest everything, and can beat Darkseid and the whole Justice League then how is the Penguin and the Mad Hatter, etc. gonna be a challenge for him anymore? Adam West's Batman show use to make a joke of West's Batman having an improbable gadget and special long underwear to get out of every trap with ease.

Still, it's fun for what it is, and certainly the best of the pre-TDKT live-action films, but it's never truly resonated with me. A lot of the changes feel like a poor attempt to "grow up" the character, and yet there's still tons of infantile humor and questionable logic.

In Cinefex #41 (1989) Tim Burton explained, "I felt it should not be too dark or too campy - I was right in the middle about it. So I pitched 'true' Batman - not the [Adam West Batman] TV series and yet not [Death Wish (1974)] this extremely dark, unhumorous thing. I thought it could be funny as long as it's not at the expense of the characters."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Cinefex" Issue 41

Tim Burton explained in Batman: The Official Book of the Movie, "Batman began as a dark detective. Batman is at heart a vigilante. The only way I could create a Death Wish-type situation was by balancing Batman's crime-stopping antics with absurd humor. The humor is very important to me. I was determined to take it back to a darker vision, a dark melodrama, but with absurd humor."

In Starburst #134 (1989) Tim Burton explained that he was a fan of the Adam West Batman show and wanted some similar fun humorous flavour so it wouldn't be extremely dark, unhumorous and joyless, "I was a big fan, I loved it. I still do, although I would never say I was a fanatic. I'm not from the hate school who thinks it's blasphemous to Bruce Wayne's memory and against everything he stood for. When I first got involved I knew making Batman was going to be difficult as comic fans are very vocal about the minutest details. But people who love the show are a far larger group than the comic book cotangent because it was more in the public eye. The good thing about this movie is if you liked the TV show it shares a similar flavour. I'm the first to admit there's a visual humorous flair both have in common - just don't expect any 'Thuds' or 'Bangs' though. There is just as much room for the [Adam West] TV show and [Frank Miller's] The Dark Knight. I realized very early on I would be caught in a no-win situation, so I decided to take the movie the way I felt was right and remain unshaken by anything that would eventually happen. I was so clear about the course I was taking."
www.1989batman.com/2014/02/vintage-magazine-article-starburst_18.html

 

[theMan-Bat]

If this is some sort of joke, I'm going to do a murder.

Deluxe Edition! Awesomeness

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Watched it again today, still love it.

 

[The Shape]

In Cinefantastique [November 1989] writer Sam Hamm explained, "In fact, there are only about four minutes of Batman in the first hour. The better to keep him offstage and shadowy and make his brief appearances as flashy as possible so you don't notice quite as much that he's not there."

Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Cinefantastique" November 1989 (Volume 20 Number 1 & 2)

In Fantazone #1 (1989) 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

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."



Tim Burton wanted to use two Prince songs, originally it was gonna be Prince classics "1999" and "Baby I'm A Star", for just the art museum scene and the parade scene, and have Danny Elfman do the full score. In the Prince book Possessed it explains...

Danny Elfman explained, "The producer, Jon Peters, wanted a pop score. He wanted to use Michael Jackson, Prince and George Michael. For a short period, I had to walk away from the film. I knew what the score should be, and I knew that collaborating with a pop artist – as much as I deeply respected him [Prince] – would not yield good results. Tim [Burton] was like, 'Play the march! Play the march!' He was talking about the theme for the titles. I put that on, and Jon [Peters] suddenly goes from skeptical to getting out of his chair and, like, conducting. Tim was like, 'You’ve got it.' To Jon’s credit, he turned around completely and became a huge supporter. That’s when he said, 'We’re going to do something that no one’s ever done: We’re gonna have two soundtrack albums.'"Danny Elfman on Film Scores, ‘Simpsons’ and Working With Tim Burton – Rolling Stone



Eh?
In Comics Scene #3 (1988) Batman (1989) scriptwriter Sam Hamm explained, "I felt it was just like that original Batman story in 1939 which starts out with Bruce Wayne sitting around talking with the Commissioner. Then there's this mysterious Batman who goes off on his exploits. And the shock at the end is it [Batman] turns out to be Bruce Wayne. The twin agendas I thought were right to work with were: 1) Determine what is the kind of story structure that will make Batman sufficiently menacing. He's a frightening character. His whole gimmick, the only reason to wear the bat costume, is to frighten people. And 2) Do what that initial [1939] Batman story did and take Batman as a fait accompli. In other words, if you start with Batman and work backwards to [show he is] Bruce Wayne, then you have a structure that allows you to see this character's impact on the rest of the people in the story. You don't have to waste half-an-hour [on the origin and] getting him into the costume. People are paying to see the guy in the [bat] suit kick some bad guys. If you're paying to see Batman, then you want to see Batman."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Comics Scene" Issue #3 July 1988

Costume designer Bob Ringwood explained in Cinefex #41 (1989) about the black batsuit [like bats are black, and Zorro and the Shadow wear black], "Bats are black, of course – not blue – and black is much more sinister and sexy. After talking to Batman creator Bob Kane, we found out that he had always thought of Batman as being in black, but that it was very difficult to draw a black-on-black drawing for the comic strip. So he had drawn it in blue [and gray] so that he could use different tones of the color for effect. In his mind, the blue [and gray] was just a symbolic version of black. Our black costume was really nearer the original concept."
The Detective Comics #28 (1939) "Frenchy Blake's Jewel Gang" text narration, written by Bill Finger, says, "A mysterious figure in black watches in the darkness above them -- it is the 'Bat-Man.'" And "The black clad figure of the Bat-Man swings into the looted apartment." Reprinted in Batman Archives vol 1 (1990) and Batman Chronicles vol 1 (2005).

Detective Comics #39 (1940) "The Horde of the Green Dragon" text narration, written by Bill Finger, says, "Again the intrepid black-clad figure of the Batman..." Reprinted in Batman Archives vol 1 (1990) and Batman Chronicles vol 2 (2006).

Detective Comics #46 (1940) "Professor Strange's Fear Dust" text narration, written by Bill Finger, says, "The Batman! Garbed in the hues of night itself..." Reprinted in Batman Archives vol 1 (1990) and Batman Chronicles vol 3 (2007).

Detective Comics #49 (1940) "Clayface Walks Again" text narration, written by Bill Finger, says, "Mysterious being of the shadows, garbed in garments as ink-hued as night itself, the Batman, flits amidst the darkness like the winged creature whose name he had adopted." Reprinted in Batman Archives vol 1 (1990) Batman Chronicles vol 3 (2007).

In the Comics Interview Super Special (1989) Sam Hamm also explained, "The Joker's origin is pretty much as it was in the comics with the fall into the vat. We don't use the Red Hood shtick because the basic fact is most people don't read comic books, so it wouldn't make any sense to them. The Killing Joke was not around when we started doing this. The thing that was important to me was trying to ground this stuff in an existing reality that everybody could understand. So we've got a gangster plot - crime lords and all that kind of stuff - Godfatheresque."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Comics Interview Super Special" Screenwriter Sam Hamm Interview

In Comics Interview #77 (1990) DC writer Jack C. Harris asked, "Was the other man in the alley on the night the Wayne's murder suppose to be Joe Chill?" Producer Michael Uslan explained, "Yes. In fact you'll recall that it was Chill who grabbed Bruce's mother's necklace." Michael Uslan also explained, "In fact, and you'll have to check this with Bob Kane, I think he [Bob Kane] said that if the Joker had been created earlier [in 1939], he would have been the Wayne's killer in the comics, as well."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Comics Interview" Issue #77


In Batman #1 (1940) the Joker kills with a deadly Joker venom chemical weapon which contracted the cheek muscles in the victims face into a ghastly grim as it kills - that's Smilex. Smilex must be made of nitrous oxide laughing gas, laced with strychine, and discontinued CIA VX, which is what discontinued CIA DDID nerve gas in Batman (1989) was likely based on, and causes victims to have laugh spasms and contracts victims cheek muscles, causes paralysis to the victims muscles and kills the victims by asphyxia.

Jack Nicholson's Joker wore what costume designer Bob Ringwood called "retro '40s" Golden Age Joker comics wardrobe. Jack Nicholson's Joker wears what are in essence '40s style, double-breasted three-piece suits, tail coat, trench coat. His hat, which, as Bob Ringwood pointed out, is really a pork-pie classic, with the gaudy purple, green and orange Joker colors from the classic '40s comics. He carries a cane, that's from the comics. His phooey posy squirts acid, also from the comics in Detective Comics #476 (1978) "Sign of the Joker" written by Steve Englehart and art by Marshall Rogers [Batman: Strange Apparitions (1999) reprints "Sign of the Joker" (1978)]. His seeing himself as an artist is from the comics, too. Joker even wears an oversized artist beret hat in Batman #52 (1949) "The Happy Victims" written by Bill Finger, art by Bob Kane and Lew Sayre Schwartz [ Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus vol. 6 (2018) reprints "The Happy Victims" (1949)], Batman Kellogg's Pop-Tarts Comics (1966) written by E. Nelson Bridwell and art by Carmine Infantino [The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told (1988) reprints "The Joker's Happy Victims" (1966)].

In Prevue [September 1989] Jack Nicholson explained, "As a kid, I liked Batman because it was the only comic book that took place at night. So I told Tim [Burton] and the writers to make sure they don't lose that old, ominous, black-and-purple night feeling."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Prevue" September 1989

In the book Jack's Life: A Biography (2015) by Patrick McGilligan, it's explained, "Talking with Bob Kane, Nicholson learned that Kane had based the Joker on a character played by Conrad Veidt in a 1927 movie, The Man Who Laughs. The Veidt character wears a perpetual freakish grin because as a boy his check muscles were slit. Nicholson made an effort to track down the silent picture, directed by the German Expressionist Paul Leni, and watched it for pointers."



Stop the press! Who's that-? Vicki Vale. She loves Bruce. But does she like... Batman? In Cinefantastique [November 1989] Sam Hamm explained, "The basic story [of Batman] is about a guy who has a sick hobby that ****s up his love life. The duality that we'd established in the character made it apparent that being Batman isn't very healthy."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Cinefantastique" November 1989 (Volume 20 Number 1 & 2)

In Comics Scene #14 (1990) Batman (1989) script writer Warren Skaaren explained, "The concept I had for that [Michael Gough Alfred] character is that Alfred is a father figure for Batman. He tries to talk Batman into engaging into this relationship with Vicki. He says at one point, 'I'm getting too old to mourn the loss of old friends...or their sons.' That line indicates that Alfred is getting to be an older guy, and he's afraid that Batman - that Bruce Wayne is going to be hurt, so he wants Bruce to become more healthy. Part of that would be to accept this relationship with Vicki. So, Alfred's in cahoots with Vicki, as an unspoken conspirator. He brings her into the Batcave because he wants Bruce to be with her. Batman has many problems because he has to operate without being caught and the fact that he falls in love with Vicki Vale exposes him in a way that makes it harder for him to function."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Comics Scene" #14 August 1990

In the book Batman: The Official Book of the Movie (1989) by John Marriott, Kim Basinger explained that Vicki Vale is more than just a scream queen, "Gutsy, enterprising, modern and adventurous. She also possesses a lot of truth and honesty and stands up for what she believes in."

I respect Tim Burton using Vicki Vale and Selina Kyle from the comics instead of just making up his own love interest and love story. Unlike Lisa Carson, Marsha Queen of Diamonds, Andrea Beaumont the Phantasm, Chase Meridian and Rachel Dawes that all were not even in the comics.



And frankly, this Batman saved Vicki Vale and saved the city. He cracked Joker's poison code. He defeated Joker and his Goons. He also struggled, wasn't always winning, got shot, fell down, crashed, got beat up and bloodied. His bat cowl restricted his peripheral vision. He had to turn his entire body in order to see to the side, but Bob Ringwood explained in Cinefex #41 (1989), "that turned out to be kind of a good thing - if forced him to move in a rather butch sort of way because he had to turn his entire body in order to see to the side. It gave him a powerful, definitive kind of movement. Instead of just his head moving, the whole body swings around with the cape sweeping out behind him." I'm glad Michael Keaton's Batman isn't a perfect omnipotent Batgod. Since the Silver Age era DC comic books have had a habit of making Batman too perfect. If comic book Batman is a perfect omnipotent Batgod and is the world's greatest everything, and can beat Darkseid and the whole Justice League then how is the Penguin and the Mad Hatter, etc. gonna be a challenge for him anymore? Adam West's Batman show use to make a joke of West's Batman having an improbable gadget and special long underwear to get out of every trap with ease.



In Cinefex #41 (1989) Tim Burton explained, "I felt it should not be too dark or too campy - I was right in the middle about it. So I pitched 'true' Batman - not the [Adam West Batman] TV series and yet not [Death Wish (1974)] this extremely dark, unhumorous thing. I thought it could be funny as long as it's not at the expense of the characters."
Batman- The 1989 Film: Vintage Magazine Article: "Cinefex" Issue 41

Tim Burton explained in Batman: The Official Book of the Movie, "Batman began as a dark detective. Batman is at heart a vigilante. The only way I could create a Death Wish-type situation was by balancing Batman's crime-stopping antics with absurd humor. The humor is very important to me. I was determined to take it back to a darker vision, a dark melodrama, but with absurd humor."

In Starburst #134 (1989) Tim Burton explained that he was a fan of the Adam West Batman show and wanted some similar humorous flavour so it wouldn't be extremely dark, unhumorous and gloomy, "I was a big fan, I loved it. I still do, although I would never say I was a fanatic. I'm not from the hate school who thinks it's blasphemous to Bruce Wayne's memory and against everything he stood for. When I first got involved I knew making Batman was going to be difficult as comic fans are very vocal about the minutest details. But people who love the show are a far larger group than the comic book cotangent because it was more in the public eye. The good thing about this movie is if you liked the TV show it shares a similar flavour. I'm the first to admit there's a visual humorous flair both have in common - just don't expect any 'Thuds' or 'Bangs' though. There is just as much room for the [Adam West] TV show and [Frank Miller's] The Dark Knight. I realized very early on I would be caught in a no-win situation, so I decided to take the movie the way I felt was right and remain unshaken by anything that would eventually happen. I was so clear about the course I was taking."
www.1989batman.com/2014/02/vintage-magazine-article-starburst_18.html

Quality post right here.

 

[Zorro]

Watching it now and it's 2019 but the film still holds up great to me. Keaton is still my favorite Batman and Jack Nicholson is still my favorite Joker in live action although Val Kilmer is still my favorite Bruce Wayne.

The film is still my favorite live action bat film and yeah nostalgia is a massive factor but I genuinely love the Burton films. They aren't very comic accurate but still feels like Batman type stories with the spirit of the mythology!

Even the bat suit from this and Returns are still my favorite live action suits

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

The film is still my favorite live action bat film and yeah nostalgia is a massive factor but I genuinely love the Burton films. They aren't very comic accurate but still feels like Batman type stories with the spirit of the mythology!

I've always preferred Batman Returns over Batman but I completely agree with your point. Burton really captured that 'Batman' feeling. BR is right up there with TDK for me

And the BR and BB suits are my favourites.

 

[Zorro]

Batman
The Dark Knight
Returns

Are my top 3

 

[The Shape]

FYI

Original 'Batman' Movies Set to Return to Theaters

Of course, I can't make any of the showings, but y'all should if you can. Everyone should experience B89 on the big screen.

 

[I Am The Knight]

Yes, it's wonderful, darling.

 

[Zorro]

Saw it when it came out and a few years ago. Got to check with my Alamo Drafthouse theatre if there's a chance for a 3rd experience

 

[Kane52630]

 

[Eddie Dean]

ew

 

[The Shape]

Lousy lazy covers.

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Remastered Blu-Ray sounds good though.

I can't believe someone got paid to ''create'' those covers.

 

[Gothamsknight]

wow those covers are atrocious. I will be picking up Batman 1989 and Batman Returns though

 

[theMan-Bat]

Those covers don't reflect the styles of the films at all. And Warner Home Video keeps treating the Schumacher two as sequels to Burton's two instead of as their own thing, their own version [Schumacherverse]. In Cinescope [June 1995] Joel Schumacher explained, "I wasn't asked to do the third of Tim's movies... When I was able to bring Val Kilmer in, it really gave me and the rest of the creative team an opportunity to feel that we were doing a new [version] instead of a sequel..."
1995 Batman.com : Magazine article: Cinescape June 1995 - Part 2

Maybe they figure a lot of people wouldn't buy the Schumacher two on their own.

 

[Kane52630]

They grouped them together in the last big release (with better covers btw)

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Here's an early look at the 4K Boxset coming out in September:

 

[OutOfBoose]

Back covers:

"The best Batman yet."
-Pat Collins