Batman (1989)

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

Director:

Tim Burton

Writers:

Bob Kane (Batman characters), Sam Hamm (story)

Stars:

Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger

Won 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 26 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

Gotham City. Crime boss Carl Grissom (Jack Palance) effectively runs the town but there's a new crime fighter in town - Batman (Michael Keaton). Grissom's right-hand man is Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson), a brutal man who is not entirely sane... After falling out between the two Grissom has Napier set up with the Police and Napier falls to his apparent death in a vat of chemicals. However, he soon reappears as The Joker and starts a reign of terror in Gotham City. Meanwhile, reporter Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) is in the city to do an article on Batman. She soon starts a relationship with Batman's everyday persona, billionaire Bruce Wayne.

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Plot Keywords:

dc comics | bruce wayne character | batman character | alfred pennyworth character | harvey dent character | 

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Taglines:

Justice is always Darkest before the Dawn.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

Batman Official throwing gadgets Official Facebook

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English French Spanish

Release Date:

23 June 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Batman

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$40,489,746, 25 June 1989, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$251,188,924

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$411,348,924

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., The Guber-Peters Company, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints) DTS (DVD version) Dolby Digital (Dolby 5.1)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on his success with Superman (1978), Richard Donner was considered to direct. He wanted Mel Gibson to star as Batman.

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Goofs

The Joker publicly announces that he will be throwing a big parade in the streets of Gotham. The police have been after him throughout the whole movie, yet they're nowhere to be seen during the parade, the easiest time to capture him. (An explanation was written but not included in the film: see trivia.)

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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!

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits appear as the camera goes through/around a giant Batman symbol.

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Alternate Versions

The original (non Special-Edition version) Region-1 DVD actually contains two different versions of the film. The fullscreen version is the theatrical version, the widescreen version has one brief shot replaced. It is a small scene near the end at 1:54:06 just before Batman fights the Joker in the Clocktower. In the fullscreen version Vicki Vale gets a disgusted look when she kisses the Jokers jacket and pulls a lint out of her mouth, however in the widescreen version she really seems to like it.

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Connections

Referenced in Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. (1990)

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Soundtracks

The Future
Written, Produced and Performed by Prince

User Reviews

Burton`s masterpiece

This is truly a Fantasy/Comic movie-masterpiece. First of all- the excellent cast- Jack Nicholson shines in the role of the manic and crazy Jocker. Nicholsons character is truly amazing- like a mixture of his former roles/characters in "Chinatown" (Jake Gittes), "One Flew Over the Cuchoo`s Nest" (Randle McMurphy), "Prizzie` s honor" (C.Partanna), "the Witches of Eastwick" (Daryl Van Horn) and of course "The Shining" (Jack Torrance)- but (the character) still keeps his own style. Michael Keaton also proves to be the ideal type for Burtons`s Batman. He reminds on the dark Batman from the "Dark Knight" Batman comics, and is the exact opposite of Batman introduced by Adam West in the 70`s. Second, Tim Burton created a unique athmosphere, exactly matching to the characters. Some people say that this movie is to dark, but I wouldn`t agree. I must not forget to mention the exciting Batman Theme composed by Danny Elfmann. Burton`s Batman, differnt from all the other Comic-hero movies, like Spiderman, Superman, Flash or Hulk, provides a refreshing character dimension.

One of the best movies in the 80`s.