Batman (1989)

Director:

Tim Burton

Writers (WGA):

Bob Kane (Batman characters)
Sam Hamm (story)

Release Date:

23 June 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Plot:

The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being the clownishly homicidal Joker.

Plot Keywords:

Gotham | City | Police | Police Commissioner | Psychotic

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 7 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Michael Keaton	...	Batman / Bruce Wayne
Jack Nicholson	...	Joker / Jack Napier
Kim Basinger	...	Vicki Vale
Robert Wuhl	...	Alexander Knox
Pat Hingle	...	Commissioner James Gordon
Billy Dee Williams	...	Harvey Dent
Michael Gough	...	Alfred Pennyworth
Jack Palance	...	Carl Grissom
Jerry Hall	...	Alicia
Tracey Walter	...	Bob the Goon
Lee Wallace	...	The Mayor
William Hootkins	...	Lt. Eckhardt
Richard Strange	...	Goon
Carl Chase	...	Goon
Mac McDonald	...	Goon (as Mac Macdonald)

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Mexico:A | Malaysia:U | South Africa:PG (DVD rating) | Spain:13 | Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:6 (re-rating) | South Korea:15 | USA:TV-14 | Brazil:Livre | Germany:12 | West Germany:12 (f) | Ireland:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1990) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Israel:PG | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (original rating) | USA:PG-13 | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:12 | Iceland:10 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Acton Lane Power Station, Acton Lane, Acton, London, England, UK

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Corto Maltese is also an island country in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, one of Tim Burton's inspirations for Batman.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the fight in the alley after the chase, a goon with two swords appears, and Batman knocks him out. The actor in the Batsuit is clearly not Michael Keaton - the jaw is slightly offset. After this, it is Keaton again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Passenger: Excuse me.
Tourist Dad: I'm sorry, this is my cab.
Passenger: Sorry.
Tourist Dad: Listen, I was here first!
[as the cab drives away]
Tourist Dad: Oh, God! Oh, taxi? Taxi!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare (1993) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Serenade no. 13 in G, K. 525 ('Eine Kleine Nachtmusik'), second movement

The First Two Batman Are The Last.

When I saw this movie in the theater back in '89, I was just a kid - a kid paralyzed by the looks and the charisma of the super-hero ever! I didn't know much about directors those times, so I gave all the credit to Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. Years later I understood that Tim Burton -leading as my favorite director- was all behind this, making Gotham City darker and wicked, taking Batman to a fearsome -unlike that horrible TV show!- and heroic level as he should have been. As Michael Keaton was born to fulfill his destiny as Batman, I don't think anyone else could handle the Joker except Jack Nicholson. I have never seen any character more suitable than these pair of super actors as super heroes. I don't know whether I should be happy or sad for the first two movie was shot by Tim Burton, for the following ones was not as good as the ones shot by him. The third one was not as bad as the fourth. But the "Batman and Robin" was the final humiliation ever made to me (I really don't know what Joel Schumacher was thinking). I bet everyone involved in the first two was crying their eyes out at the end of the movie. Anyway, Tim, Michael, Jack and Kim was the best crew for a movie, and they made it worth watching it over and over again. "Batman" is amongst the best movies I've ever seen.