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:

Only one will claim the night.

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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

The only live action Batman film to feature only one supervillain from the comics.

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Goofs

(at around 26 mins) During the Axis raid, when the thug gets caught up in Batman's rope, he yells to be let down repeatedly, but his mouth doesn't move.

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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

In order to put the 126m. movie in 120m. video cassette, South Korean video distributor cut two scenes when the movie was first released on VHS. The first one is a whole sequence where The Joker kills a mob with a quill pen in front of the city hall. The second is the arrival of Batman on the rooftop of the cathedral and a few fight scenes with the goons. After the police sweeps the cathedral with searchlights, the scene abruptly cut to the scene where a goon with rope(the third goon that attacks Batman) desperately seeks Batman. Also, the initial South Korean DVD release has only widescreen version of the movie, so it featured a strange cut where Vicki pretends to tempt The Joker. This scene has been fixed on the special edition DVD.

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Connections

Featured in Atop the Fourth Wall: Comic Book Quickies #6 (2016)

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Soundtracks

There'll Be A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight
Written by Joe Hayden, Theodore A. Metz (as Theodore A. Metz)
Performed by Jack Nicholson

User Reviews

Good attempt to translate the comics to the big screen

In a Gotham City overrun by crime a new menace exists. In the shadows and rooftops a giant bat is terrorising the criminals who live in the night. Elsewhere crime boss Grissom's right hand man Jack Napier is trapped in a chemical factory by police. With Batman's intervention Napier is accidentally dropped into a vat of chemical. Considered dead he later turns up, scarred and twisted with a new sense of humour. Calling himself the Joker he takes over the city's gangs and begins to terrorise the city. Millionaire Bruce Wayne begins relationship with reporter Vicky Vale and finds himself personally drawn into conflict with the Joker as both himself and his alter-ego.

This was very much a huge blockbuster and had a great deal riding on it in terms of merchandising and a possible franchise. As such Burton always seemed like a risk - although his dark toned work and complex characters probably made him a great choice. The film starts promisingly, many questions are asked - is Wayne totally balanced? What drives him to become the bat? etc - and the tone of the movie is darker than a friendly blockbuster. This is continued by the investigation by reporters Vale and Knox, but starts to wane (pardon the pun) with the development of Vale as a love interest and the hamming of The Joker. At some point the film loses the character complexities and decides to become a straight up good v's evil with plenty of effects and gadgets. That said it's still very dark and the set pieces are well handled. In fact it's the best of the Batman franchise so far.

The problem is that it lacks a bite for Batman fans. I've always felt that Batman was always a few steps away from the criminals he's chasing, surely he can't be totally balanced and right in the head? Here these questions are half touched but never developed.

Keaton is an unlikely Batman, but is the best so far. He deals well with Wayne's past when it is brought up, but is an unlikely action hero. Nicholson is pure ham, but is good for it. He hogs all the best lines and is clearly enjoying himself - the only downside being that he regularly eclipses Keaton's Batman. Basinger's Vale is built up far too much and should have been cut out of the story rather than become a key part of it. The rest of the cast are good and I always like to see Tracey Walters in a big screen film!

Overall this is a good stab at the Batman legend. It's dark tone gives it the feel of the comics without the characterisation, but at the end of the day it comes down to good guy v's bad guy.