On the same day that Batman Begins was released on DVD, Warner
Brothers also brought out a special boxed set of the four previous Batman films,
each with commentaries and a second disc containing special features. So let's
light up the Bat-signal and examine the evidence.
The Caped Crusader is already stalking the streets of Gotham City at the start
of Batman (1989). We see the Dark Knight taking action against a pair of thugs
in an ingenious opening scene that recalls the slayings of Bruce Wayne's parents
many years ago. Batman's war against the criminal underworld has stirred the
interest of local reporter Alexander Knox (Robert Wuhl) and internationally
famous photographer Vicky Vale (Kim Basinger), who would love to get a photo of
this mysterious creature. But their efforts to get Mayor Borg, Police
Commissioner Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent to talk about the Batman
prove to be futile. The power elite of Gotham City is more concerned--at least
publicly--with taking down mob boss Carl Grissom (Jack Palance) and his "number
one guy" Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson). Yet all is not hunky-dory between Grissom
and Napier, who are at odds over the same woman, and so Grissom sets up Napier
for a big fall at the Axis Chemical plant, never realizing the monumental events
he would be setting in motion.
16 years after its original release, director Tim Burton's Batman still holds up
very well, thanks to a great script, some marvelous performances, and Burton's
own steady direction. Michael Keaton, who was a then-controversial choice to play
Bruce Wayne/Batman, does an excellent job with his dual role. And Jack Nicholson
practically steals the movie with his psychotically funny take on The Joker.
Michael Gough is another standout as Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's loyal
butler. Kim Basinger is superb as a woman who is both in love with Bruce Wayne
as well as obsessed with The Batman. Tim Burton keeps the film on that delicate
edge between seriousness and camp, and the production design by the late Anton
Furst remains the best of all the live-action Batman films. In particular his
designs for the Batmobile and the Batwing are my favorites.
In the summer of 1992, Batman returned in…well, Batman
Returns. This superior
sequel managed to be even darker than the original film, but not without its
own sly wit. Many years ago, a badly deformed baby boy is born to the rich
Cobblepot family. When the baby kills and eats the cat, this turns out to be
the last straw for his parents, who dump him, baby carriage and all, right into
the sewer. Thirty-three years later, it's the holiday season in Gotham City,
and millionaire department store owner Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) is
attempting an unsuccessful power play behind the scenes with the mayor over a
new power plant that Shreck wants to build for the city. However Shreck must
push his dissatisfaction aside as he prepares to host the annual lighting of
the Christmas tree in Gotham Plaza--which is abruptly interrupted by a gang of
homicidal circus performers. Amid the ruckus, during which the Penguin has
kidnapped Shreck, Batman arrives just in time to save Selina Kyle, the mousy
personal secretary to Shreck, from being taken hostage by one of the circus
freaks. However, Batman cannot save Selina later on when she unintentionally
discovers the real plot behind Shreck's power plant. Because she knows too much,
Shreck attempts to kill Selina by pushing her out of a window, but he doesn't
count on this little kitty having nine lives.
On the surface, Batman Returns is an enjoyable super heroic lark. But it's when
you look below the surface that you realize just how truly twisted this film is.
Much like the duo personalities of each of its trio of main characters, Batman
Returns is a film of stark contrasts, the most obvious of which is how these
grim proceedings are ironically set against the cheerful holiday background.
When the soulless Shreck (who is named after the actor that played the vampire in
the silent classic Nosferatu, and whose office looks like the interior of a coffin)
arranges for the Penguin to run for mayor of Gotham City, the film makes a not
so subtle point about the real power in politics, and how big business'
unrelenting pursuit of the almighty dollar can be a corrupting force in people's
lives. Although I don't agree with the film's interpretation of the Penguin as
a half-man/half bird hybrid, Danny DeVito still does a tremendous job as the
fine-feathered fiend. Christopher Walken also turns in another superb
performance as Shreck, the very model of a life-sucking parasite that destroys
everyone and everything around him. And this time, it's Michelle Pfeiffer who
steals the movie with her bold turn as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. For the first time,
the filmmakers managed to effectively entwine Bruce Wayne's love interest within
the main plot, and the results are fascinating to watch. The chemistry between
Keaton and Pfeiffer--as both Wayne & Kyle and Batman & Catwoman--is sensational.
The third Batman film, Batman Forever (1995), has a new director--Joel Schumacher--as
well as a new Batman--Val Kilmer--while using the same two-villain story formula
as Batman Returns. The villains this time include an overly hammy Tommy Lee
Jones as Two-Face, and a simply unbearable Jim Carrey as the Riddler. Batman
gets a new partner in the form of Robin (Chris O'Donnell), as well as a new
girlfriend in Dr. Chase Meridian (Nichole Kidman), a psychiatrist who studies
criminal behavior. But what is really criminal here is how Batman Forever is the
beginning of the downward slide for the Batman film series. The story crawls at
a snail's pace, and there's virtually no on-screen chemistry at all between any
of the lead actors, especially Kilmer and Kidman. That fine line between camp
and seriousness that director Tim Burton so successfully held to with the first
two films has now been breached, as Schumacher dives head first into the sillier
side, giving us a cartoonish version of Batman that pleases nobody. And then
there are the nipples. I mean the nipples on the Batsuit. Let me make this
perfectly clear: Batman's outfit now has nipples. That fact alone should serve
as a clear warning of what to expect for viewers of this Bat film.
And then there's Batman & Robin (1997), the final Batman film in this set, and it
almost became the final Batman film ever, thanks to the universal hatred it's
inspired among Bat fans. Although George Clooney inherits
the mantle of Batman/Bruce Wayne, it's Arnold Schwarzenegger who gets top
billing here for his role as the icy villain Mr. Freeze. Uma Thurman also joins
the cast as the plant-hugger Poison Ivy, and Alicia Silverstone makes her debut
as Batgirl. Chris O'Donnell, Michael Gough and Pat Hingle return as Robin,
Alfred and Commissioner Gordon, respectively. And the nipples are back on both
Batman and Robin's outfits--although I've noticed that Batgirl's outfit has no
nipples (in one of the behind the scenes documentaries Schumacher says that Batgirl's
nipples are there, but are more subdued) In any case, I guess crime fighting
just isn't as exciting for Batgirl as it is for the Dynamic Duo. Having sat
through this movie again, I can confirm that it is indeed as bad as I remembered,
having first seen it in the movie theater with a friend where the film broke
during the final climax, and nobody in the audience really cared. And no, I'm
not being cute here, it actually happened: the audience very calmly got up and
walked out, without ever seeing the ending, and with nary a complaint heard
among them (the theater gave out free tickets to another show). Perhaps they
were just grateful that the horror was over early.
So what's wrong with Batman & Robin? Oh God…where to begin? For one thing, the
campiness is so domineering, with these lame one-liners, that it took everything
I had just to keep from switching the film off within the first fives minutes.
In his director's commentary Schumacher swears that he didn't set out to emulate
the high camp of the 1960s Batman TV show, yet studio politics forced him to take
a much lighter tone than he wanted, because the higher ups wanted a film that
was more kid friendly (as well as more marketing friendly, hence the outlandish
outfits and gadgets in the film that look like prototypes for the Batman action
figure line). Be that as it may, Batman & Robin so reeks of high camp that it
plays like a remake of the 1960s Batman TV show (to his
credit, Schumacher accepts the blame for the faults of his vastly unloved
Bat flick). In any event, whether you love it or hate it, Batman & Robin is
included in the box set, and if you don't feel like MST3King it with your
friends, you can always listen to Schumacher's commentary, which is pretty
fascinating in some places, especially when he talks about the actors as well as
the people behind the scenes on the film.
All in all, this is a fun box set to watch on a rainy (or snowy) weekend. All four films are
presented in clear and crisp prints in their original widescreen format. And the
sound is also superb. The massive amount of special features will probably keep
you busy for another weekend. Each movie comes with an extra disc that's filled
with various 'making of' documentaries, deleted scenes, and music videos. Plus
there are audio commentaries by directors Tim Burton and Joel
Schumacher regarding each of their two films. If you're a die-hard Batman fan
like me, then you've probably already have a copy of this box set. But even
casual Batfans will enjoy the Bat-mania marathon that this box set offers. If
nothing else, it'll make a great gift.
--SF
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