 "Batman and the Joker Triumph" | 2008-08-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: A26IVJJTXOE85B |
| I love this movie! jack nicholson is impeccable as the joker. this movie feels like the dark 80's comics. i am so grateful for this masterpiece. thank you tim burton and jack for getting everything on point. this, batman begins, and the darknight are the only worthy batman movies worth watching. sorry joel shumacher, your movies suck! IF YOU LIKE THE JOKER THAN YOU MUST WATCH THIS MOVIE |
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| "Batman, and while you're at it ..." | 2008-07-31 |
| - Reviewed By joe_ryan_jr |
Batman succeeds as well as it does because, unlike most films, it doesn't look phony by trying to be real. Instead, it broadcasts its own artificiality: "Look at us -- we're doing art!" And extremely well.
Part of what gives Batman its self-awareness is an aspect of the film that I haven't seen remarked on: the range of spoofs of popular and sometimes important art that are sprinkled through it.
-- It starts by spoofing itself: the Joker reprises Carl Grissom's "You're my best man!" scene.
-- The Joker spoofs the melting witch of The Wizard of Oz.
-- The two-bladed thug spoofs the swordsman of Raiders of the Lost Ark, except that where Indiana Jones gives up and shoots him, Batman plows straight through him with his fists.
-- The Joker's lieutenant then spoofs Crocodile Dundee with his big hunting knife, except that what was so imposing in Crocodile Dundee ("This is a knife!") is laughably inadequate for confronting Batman.
-- The Batplane spoofs E.T. in crossing the moon, and then spoofs Star Wars in its strafing run through the canyon of the skyscrapers.
-- The Joker spoofs Dirty Harry's long-barreled pistol.
-- The whole tower scene is a prolonged spoof of Notre Dame de Paris ("The Hunchback of Notre Dame").
I'm sure I've forgotten other films Batman spoofs, and missed more. Batman never lets you forget that you're watching a movie about a comic book.
P.S. Kim Basinger is brilliant in an under-rated performance that realistically swings her urban working girl between conceited yuppie, terrified hostage, and insecure single: "You weigh a little more than 108!" -- "Oh, really!!" |
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| "Batman-Two Disc Special Edition.........." | 2008-07-31 |
| - Reviewed By blackaciddevil01 |
It's hard to believe that stars like Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, Dennis Quaid, Harrison Ford, Charlie Sheen, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Selleck and Bill Murray were all considered for Batman, at some point. It's even harder to believe that Tim Curry, Willem Dafoe, David Bowie and James Woods were considered for the Joker. Thankfully, the powers that be gave us Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson in their respective roles that made this film a classic among Batman fans. Directed by Tim Burton, Batman was a critical and financial success. The film inspired Batman: The Animated Series and a series of films. Up until the release of "The Dark Knight", it was the highest grossing film based on a DC comic book. In my opinion, this movie is the definitive Batman movie. With over 50 years of comic books to be based upon, it's the one closest to Bob Kane's original vision for Batman. Although there were three more movies to follow after this one, This movie is my most favorite out of them all. I mean, it had an all-star cast involved with it like Kim Basinger, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Palance, and Jerry Hall. Heck, even Batman creator Bob Kane has a cameo in the movie. Who wouldn't like it?? This Two-Disc Special Edition includes features such as Audio Commentary by director Tim Burton, Legends of the Dark Knight Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Parts 1-3 Beyond Batman Documentary Galleries, On the Set with Bob Kane featurette, and three music videos by Prince. Definitely worth getting if you're a Batman fan.
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 "Michael Keaton is the best batman." | 2008-07-24 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2PV6GK1HV54Y9 |
| Batman directed by Tim Burton is a cool and classic action adventure. Jack Nicholson is perfectly cast as the Joker, his laugh is wickedly memorable. Kim Basinger is great as well, too bad she's always being typecast. I love Michael Keaton as Batman, he's funny, suspicious, and fits the role to a T. Buy this 1989 blockbuster today! |
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| "The Knight Versus the Joker" | 2008-07-24 |
| - Reviewed By amp70214 |
The Good Things
*Some good action scenes, especially at the end.
*Very solid cinematography. Seems very fresh and original. Quite a few strong images.
*Pretty dark and moody, but not overwhelmingly so.
*Production design is completely awesome. Gotham City is very imaginatively designed. The Batmobile is still probably the best in this film. The Batwing is cool. There are loads of nifty gadgets, cool costumes, and good sets.
*Storyline is not too bad. Lots of memorable scenes. Has a good amount of drama, romance, action, and snippets of comedy.
*Characters are good and well-acted. Michael Keaton is cool. Jack Nicholson makes a good, funny, somewhat menacing Joker.
*Music score is good, and there are a few good late 80s songs in there (lots of Prince!).
The Bad Things
*Seems a bit long or slow in the first hour or so.
The Questionable Things
*Some parts are a little goofy (but it's not too bad in this case).
Even though the newer Batman films are stronger in a lot of ways, this version is still quite original and entertaining. It has good characters, a pretty good story, and some excellent production designs throughout. The ending has a lot of great action too. Definately reccomended for anybody who is interested in comic-book heroes.
The one-disc version has okay image and sound quality, and no special features. The two-disc version has good quality and a number of featurettes. |
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| "The Joker" | 2008-06-23 |
| - Reviewed By spiderman48892 |
| Why not start off a batman sprea with the first one containing Batman's most vile and sicotic villians the Joker. Jack Nicholson portrays the joker in a meaningfull way. true that he dosen't kick Batman's butt. but he toys with him mentally. which is a good start on nicholson's part. and michael keaton as batman it could'nt get any better. Keaton portays batman in the darkside of him. this movie is awesome. Tim Burton at his best. it's a must see for all batfans |
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| "A MUST SEE IF YOU TRULY LOVE BATMAN !!!" | 2008-06-11 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3B6OUAV65SIA1 |
I was nine years old when this movie came out and I can remember seeing it in theaters with my mom and dad. I remember also seeing this movie when it landed on VHS and how me,my dad and uncle must have watched it like 2 times. This is one of those types of movies you can watch over and over and over again without ever getting tired of it! A great All-Star cast,fantastic visual presentation,excellent plot,rememorable lines. If you know someone who has never got into comics this is pretty much a great way to introduce them into it by getting this move. If you are a true Batman fan and don;t have this movie in your collection,then I suggest adding this to your DVD collection.
Its amazing how visually the presentation of this movie has improved since its theatrical release,very clear,rich,smooth. Almost as if the movie came out just last week. It has close captioning in English and in Spanish for those of you that are hearing impaired and loads,loads of DVD extras which I'm not gonna spoil because that's how good they are. For the great price that Amazon has available for this DVD its a win-win situation. I highly reccomend getting this DVD. |
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| "The Original Bat gets its Due on DVD" | 2008-05-11 |
| - Reviewed By bjthoms |
| As a boy, I remember fleeting images of Tim Burton's Batman, mostly the gloomy atmosphere that he created and Jack Nicholson's iconic Joker, especially how he was created. Then some years later, after seeing Sam Rami's Spider-Man (2002), I decided to pick up the old VHS copy I had of the film, and re-watch it, with more maturity as my advantage for understanding it better. I can say that the moment Danny Elfman's music started playing I was hooked all over again, and by the time it was over, I had nothing but good things to say about it, and it motivated me to get back into my Batman craze all over again. Though Batman Begins (2005) is more well-made than Batman (1989), Begins will never have the epic score that Danny Elfman created for this film. I believe his score is the strongest part of the film, but Michael Keaton (as Batman) and Nicholson as The Joker are what make the movie good as well. |
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| "The film that started it all..." | 2008-04-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: ANCOMAI0I7LVG |
It feels unfair to compare Burton's 1989 film with `Batman Begins'; Christopher Nolan's vastly superior introduction to the Dark Knight. So, I will try with all earnestness not to do that. Burton's original is dark, brooding, moody and effective to a point, but it falls short of the brilliance that was captured by Nolan's recent attempt to revive the superhero genre.
I will say this; this is a superhero movie that for the most part feels like a `superhero' movie. Remember the days before the nipple-suits and the emo haircuts? `Batman' is one of the first films to take the `superhero' genre to a serious level, ditching the camp that comes along with most of this franchise and creating a dark and mysterious atmosphere, richly rewarding. It's a shame that the Batman films began to wane and drift backwards into camp and gag-jokes instead of sticking with Burton's original vision. Thankfully Christopher Nolan revived it, in a huge way, with `batman Begins' and it looks like `The Dark Knight' will be just as rewarding.
`Batman' follows the Dark Knight as he tracks down the insane Joker who is attempting to take over Gotham City with toxic gas. The Joker was horrendously disfigured thanks to betrayal from amongst his fellow crooks and wants to exact revenge. Batman also must juggle his personal life (that as Bruce Wayne) when the beautiful photographer Vicki Vale starts making eyes at him.
For the most part there is little to complain about here. The movie is exciting and entertaining and takes the genre to a place it had yet to be taken. The discrepancies within the plot are forgivable (this is a `superhero' movie) and the lack of real character development is understandable. `Batman Begins' for a lot of people was too long and too slow because Nolan decided to forsake an action filled film and focus on really creating the man that shaped the legend. I personally felt that that move was genius, but it's understandable why Burton would want to focus on special effects and action scenes in order to draw in a crowd as apposed to slowing down the pace and alienating the action junkies. The real drawback for me though was the acting. I found Michael Keaton's Batman to be decent, but I found his Bruce Wayne to be stale. Christian Bale brought Bruce Wayne to a whole new level that Keaton couldn't even comprehend. Yes, Wayne is a mystery, but the audience is supposed to desire to understand that mystery. Keaton bored me. Kim Basinger was you token hot chick here. There is really no development on her part. She's pretty and infatuated and she screams a lot (which can get kind of annoying).
And then we have Jack Nicholson. I'm bracing myself for a lot of `unhelpful' votes here. Let me say this first; I absolutely LOVE Jack Nicholson. He is one of my all time favorite actors in the world, and I totally understand that he plays a variation of himself in most every performance he gives, and I like that about him. Here though, I found myself annoyed. He hams up the Joker so much that he just becomes goofy. There are moments of brilliant `insanity' but for the most part he overdoes it to such an extreme that he loses any real maniacal nature. He just comes off like an idiot. I hate saying that because this performance is lauded by a lot of people as the performance that makes this movie so great, but honestly I don't see it.
In the end, I like `Batman', I just don't love it. I would watch it again and it is far grander than anything that Schumacher did with that dreadful `Batman & Robin'. Burton captured the grim feeling that surrounded the comics baring this name and infused his own visual style, which worked wonders for the film. As a `superhero' action film `Batman' is top notch. As a character study and dramatic marvel it loses ground. It all really depends on what you want to see. I personally prefer `Batman Begins' but I know a lot of people who prefer Burton's classic.
Either way, you can't really go wrong. |
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| "Go Joker!" | 2008-03-18 |
| - Reviewed By radioactiveman12 |
This is a solid film. Not my favorite Batman film - I like Batman Begins more - but solid. The thing is, without one key player it wouldn't be as good. Yes, Tim Burton's directing is excellent, the visuals are respectable, and I like Prince's soundtrack a good deal more than I probably should (favorite songs: "Partyman", "Scandalous" and "Trust"). Visually, the film is a marvel - I especially like the portrayals of the Batmobie, the Batcave, and the Batplane. This enough to make it a good, 3.5 to 4-star movie.
But here's what brings it over the edge: The Joker. Jack Nicholson outdoes himself from his first appearance as the full-blown villain (a murder set to carnival music), pumping out a flurry of puns and one-liners, equipped with many memorable props, including a boxing glove on a spring, a gloved hand that pops out of a gift box, a hand buzzer with a sick twist, and a REALLY big gun. Just when you think he can't get any better or funnier, he does. It all peaks in the unforgettable clock tower scene, where he delivers one my favorite line in the movie. I won't spoil it for you, but it's brilliant.
The only real problem with the film is that all of the other major players step back and let Nicholson run away with the show. Michael Keaton's Batman is bland, lacking in the mystique that the role requires, though he makes for a good Bruce Wayne. His girlfriend Vicki Vale (Kim Bassinger) pretty much spends the entire film shrieking, a check in the "minus" column for her likability. Alfred (Michael Gough) is decent, but I prefer the dry-humored treatment he gets in Batman Begins. I like Robert Wuhl as the uppity reporter Alexander Knox, but sadly there's not enough of him.
This is a good film, but I think Batman Begins does a better job with Batman. |
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