The Dark Knight There's Something About Alfred

[ActuallyRobin]

Suppose this is the right place for this particular topic.

After watching the TDK teaser for the zillionth time it reminded me of something that has mildly bugged me about Michael Caine's portrayal of Alfred: He sounds, well, common. In the teaser, it sounds to me like Alfred says 'Some men just wanna watch the world burn' it just doesn't seem like something a butler would say.

Also, in BB, when Alfred and Bruce are flying back to Gotham, Alfred says 'actually sir, i was finkin about myself'.

Now don't get me wrong, I think Michael Caine is a great actor, but he can do posh (see Zulu), so no idea why he goes all cockerney. Maybe I'm just too fond of Michael Gough. Oh well, thought I'd throw this out for conversation.

 

[OwenRocky]

He was OK in it. I have no qualms about him, but I hope he starts growing in his mustache. It was sorely missed in BB.

 

[Super_Ludacris]

Incidentally the title of this thread is the title of the next movie....

 

[DeaDheaD]

Incidentally the title of this thread is the title of the next movie....

 

[Rezzo]

He sounds, well, common. In the teaser, it sounds to me like Alfred says 'Some men just wanna watch the world burn' it just doesn't seem like something a butler would say.

Alfred is not exactly your typical butler...

 

[ActuallyRobin]

Alfred is not exactly your typical butler...

well no I suppose he isn't I don't know, I mean it doesn't bother me much, it's just a niggle that doesn't detract from the awesomeness of the films

 

[GoogleMe94]

Suppose this is the right place for this particular topic.

After watching the TDK teaser for the zillionth time it reminded me of something that has mildly bugged me about Michael Caine's portrayal of Alfred: He sounds, well, common. In the teaser, it sounds to me like Alfred says 'Some men just wanna watch the world burn' it just doesn't seem like something a butler would say.

Also, in BB, when Alfred and Bruce are flying back to Gotham, Alfred says 'actually sir, i was finkin about myself'.

Now don't get me wrong, I think Michael Caine is a great actor, but he can do posh (see Zulu), so no idea why he goes all cockerney. Maybe I'm just too fond of Michael Gough. Oh well, thought I'd throw this out for conversation.

i totally agree man, gough rules. i created a thread a while back about my issues with caines alfred. michael caine was OK, but just OK. i too am not very fond of the cockney accent (and it is HEAVY). that part where bruce is arrivin at the airplane and alfred says "you look very fashionable" i thought he said right afterwards "powerful and might(y)". then i used the subtitles and he actually says "*something* in the mud", its like, WHAAA? i didnt get that at ALL, stupid accent. i also thought gough was more, um, butlerish. despite the crap B&R, the alfred parts were pretty incredible. i almost had a tear in my eye when clooney is talkin to alfred when hes sick in bed, it was very touching scene with him, and defined alfred for me. i also remember alfred saying things like " a gentleman does not discuss his ailments in public.", that to me was very alfred/butler type dialogue. nothing in caines portrayel reminded me of alfred, he was just playing michael caine. its not his worst performance, but its certainly not his best. i much prefered him as Scrooge in the muppet Christmas Carol, he was brilliant in that because he fit that role. IMO he doesnt fit alfred particularly well. i know alot of ppl always make fun of caines cockney alfred, lol. it IS pretty funny.

 

[Bat-Mite]

I loved Michael Caine's Alfred, but I definitely know what you guys mean. Alfred is usually portrayed as being all snooty (though he always has a sense of humor). Caine's Alfred definitely had Alfred's classic sense of humor, but seemed a lot more down to earth. In the teaser, he says "You hammered 'em" (at least, I think that's what he said.. had to listen to it a few times to understand it), and I can't imagine Alfred ever saying anything like that. I still love Caine's Alfred, though. I can't say he's better than Gough because he did a superb job in the movies he was in as well. Just two very different interpretations of the character.

 

[BubbaGump]

I love the thread title.

 

[ActuallyRobin]

I love the thread title.

I toyed with others for a couple minutes before this one popped into my head

 

[GoogleMe94]

In the teaser, he says "You hammered 'em" (at least, I think that's what he said.. had to listen to it a few times to understand it)

LMFAO!!t:

i also had a problem with that, it sounded like "aminum", i still cant understand that. SUBTITLE TIME!

 

[Shnitzle1]

no he says "You hounded them".

its quite clear and it makes sense it also fits with alfreds way of speaking he's not one to talk to low to batman.

 

[Alixyveth]

This is interesting, because everyone I've talked to loves Michael Caine except for my dad. He said the same thing - he sounds "common". It doesn't really matter to me; I think he does an okay job, but no one can beat the animated series Alfred. >_>

 

[ray243]

Michael Caine's alfred is a SAS member in ww2...which is what michael caine included in the backstory of Batman begins alfred.

 

[dolfan55aj]

I loved the Michael Caine Alfred. I think it fit perfectly. Although he will never be my favorite. The best Alfred is the one from BTAS. He always had the right accent, look, and the perfect blend of comedy and class.

 

[Ama Zing]

My only issue with Micheal Caine is that I grew up with Muppet Christmas Carol and used to watch it repeatedly, so now anything Micheal Caine is in all I can see is Scrooge.

 

[Reflectionist]

When I saw begins.... I laughed so hard at one part because.....

"Tell them that Joke you know."
Reminded me of
"I took a viagra, but it got stuck in my throat... I've had a stiff neck for hours. A thank you!"

And honestly, there are people like this in every Batman movie. Jim Carrey wasn't playing the Riddler, he was prancing around the set of Forever wearing Green Tights and being himself. Chris O Donnel? Arnold Schwhateverhislastnameis? Clooney? Kilmer? Yeah.

Burton had the sense to recruit people who were perfect for the role but didn't know they were (Like Keaton had only been in Comedies, and the Penguin was written with DeVito in mind.)

 

[Dark Sentinel]

i personally love Caine's Alfred almost more than Gough's..i like the fact that the Caine Alfred is much more down-to-earth than Gough's or even the comics..in my mind it makes him a more credible surrogate father-figure for Bruce.

and i have absolutely NO problem with Caine's cockney accent, and I can understand it perfectly..maybe it's because i do rather good impressions of Caine from time to time i dk

 

[Jack O Lantern]

My biggest problem with Alfred in the trailer is that he pretty much confirms that every plot detail is going to be clearly explained to Bruce and the audience again.

 

[DarkClaw]

Alfred is more of a long time friend to Bruce than his butler. Just think of him as his good chum from England.
How many people in todays world have butlers? People have maids, but in America it's more likely to be some poor immigrant not a high class Brit.

 

[Dope Nose]

i totally agree man, gough rules. i created a thread a while back about my issues with caines alfred. michael caine was OK, but just OK. i too am not very fond of the cockney accent (and it is HEAVY). that part where bruce is arrivin at the airplane and alfred says "you look very fashionable" i thought he said right afterwards "powerful and might(y)". then i used the subtitles and he actually says "*something* in the mud", its like, WHAAA? i didnt get that at ALL, stupid accent.

the line is "You look very fashionable, apart from the mud.". how do you get "powerful and mighty" from that?

 

[GlasgowBat]

it seems to me that the typical portrayol of alfred in the comics and in animation is pretty stereotypial, and is clearly an americans idea of what an english butler would do.

caine's alfred has been on his own for seven years, and has been left with out an employer for even longer. you can see in the short exchange between alfred and thomas that he is more reserved when in the company of his boss, but when we meet him in the present, it is clear that he has not been bruce's employee since the night his parents died. he has been a father, and thus informal and frank with his surrogate son.

when he meets bruce at the plane, looking "very fashionable", he is clearly, for want of a better term, "out of commission" with the whole butlering gig, and is used to being on his own.

i believe that caine says it himself in the extras of the begins game, when referencing to the script.

"the lines were written clearly by an american writer, so it had all these lines like, make haste... whereas a butler would just say hurry up sir"

in my opinion, the father-son dynamic between alfred and bruce has never been stronger in the film versions, and a large part of that has to be caine's alfred performance.

 

[sasquatchs]

I quite like this change, bravo to Caine for taking it away from the stereotype, Begins has enough of those already.

My biggest problem with Alfred in the trailer is that he pretty much confirms that every plot detail is going to be clearly explained to Bruce and the audience again.

That's what I've been dreading. I really hope there's some kind of improvement there

 

[Drizzle]

When I read the thread title, I thought this would have had something to do with Alfred sampling some of Master Bruce's...er..."hair gel".

 

[fu manchu]

i love the interaction between bale and caine.