Batman (1989)

The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being Jack Napier, a criminal who becomes 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 7 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

bruce wayne character | batman character | dc comics | joker character | criminal | 

---

Taglines:

Only one will claim the night.

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure

---

Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Batman film franchise has attracted the longest list of actors who have Oscar and Golden Globe wins or nominations. Twenty Oscars, and thirty-nine Golden Globes. The franchise has won three Oscars. Jack Nicholson Three Oscars, nine nominations Seven Golden Globes, ten nominations George Clooney Two Oscars, four nominations Four Golden Globes, seven nominations Michael Caine Two Oscars, four nominations Three Golden Globes, eight nominations Tommy Lee Jones One Oscar, three nominations One Golden Globe, three nominations Christian Bale One Oscar, one nomination One Golden Globe, one nomination Halle Berry One Oscar One Golden Globe, three nominations Heath Ledger - (only actor to win an Oscar or Golden Globe for a Batman character performance) One Oscar, one nomination One Golden Globe, one nomination Kim Basinger One Oscar One Golden Globe, one nomination Nicole Kidman One Oscar, two nomination Three Golden Globes, six Nominations Ben Affleck Two Oscars, two nominations Two Golden Globes, one nomination Morgan Freeman One Oscar, three nominations Two Golden Globes, four nominations Anne Hathaway One Oscar, one nomination One Golden Globe, two nominations Marion Cotillard One Oscar, one nomination One Golden Globe, two nominations Christopher Walken One Oscar, one nomination One Golden Globe nomination Jack Palance One Oscar, two nominations One Golden Globe Michelle Pfeiffer Three Oscar Nominations One Golden Globe, five nominations Tom Wilkinson Two Oscar nominations One Golden Globe, three nominations Uma Thurman One Oscar nomination One Golden Globe, three nominations Liam Neeson One Oscar nomination Three Golden Globe nominations Michael Keaton One Oscar nomination One Golden Globe, one nomination Gary Oldman One Oscar nomination Jim Carrey Two Golden Globe, four nominations. Danny DeVito One Oscar nomination One Golden Globe, five nominations Maggie Gyllenhaal One Oscar nomination One Golden Globe, twi nominations Drew Barrymore One Golden Globe, two nominations. Chris O'Donnell One Golden Globe nomination. Tom Conti One Oscar nomination Two Golden Globe nominations Matthew Modine Two Golden Globe nominations Eric Roberts One Oscar nomination Three Golden Globe nominations Ken Watanabe One Oscar nomination One Golden Globe nomination Joseph Gordon-Levitt Two Golden Globe nominations Arnold Schwarzenegger One Golden Globe, one nomination Alicia Silverstone One Golden Globe nomination.

---

Goofs

(at around 1h 1 min) The gas mask that Vicki wears in the museum is just the mask part. It didn't have any filters on it and wouldn't have protected her from anything.

---

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!

---

Crazy Credits

Lee logo during end credits

---

Alternate Versions

An unofficial version of the film has aired on Latin American TV at least once. Besides being dubbed into Spanish, the film's ending is heavily edited as follows: When The Joker puts on glasses and says: "You wouldn't hit a guy with glasses on, would you?" Batman punches him and knocks him over the edge. In the original version the climax continues beyond this point. But in this changed version, The Joker simply plummets to his death after the punch. This was achieved by cutting from the punch to the birds-eye-view shot of The Joker falling. The next shot is simply The Joker lying dead and the crowd of people looming over him. The entire struggle on the ledge and attempted helicopter escape are completely omitted.

---

Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Million Dollar Movie Week 2 (2010)

---

Soundtracks

Beautiful Dreamer
Written by Stephen Foster
Performed by Hill Bowen & Orchestra
Courtesy of CBS Special Products, a Service of CBS Records, a division of CBS Records Inc.

User Reviews

Stylish and Thrilling

Dark, foreboding and vastly entertaining, BATMAN changed superhero movies forever. Gone are the days of happy-go-lucky heroes arriving just in time to save the day. Director Tim Burton's Caped Crusader is a vengeful creature of the night preying on criminals who would turn his city into their personal playground.

BATMAN is one stylish, thrilling and one helluva ride. While he's not generally associated with action, Burton proves it to be his forte as the Dark Knight Detective swoops out of the shadows, crashes through windows and employs a host of what his nemesis calls "wonderful toys," such as grappling hook guns and the amazingly versatile Batmobile. And man on man, this Batman kicks some ass, at one point daring an armed henchman with a "come here" finger gesture.

BATMAN wouldn't have worked nearly as well as it does without the right casting ingredients. The hiring of Michael Keaton in the lead role drew plenty of snickers, but the underrated actor showed up his detractors with a suitably mysterious performance. We know his heart is in the right place, but we're never quite sure what we should make of him. Jack Nicholson's famous performance as the villainous Joker is every bit as good as they say. Nicholson is equal parts amusing and sadistic beneath the white face paint and green hair. Sexy Kim Basinger, as reporter Vicki Vale, also makes the most out of her screen time.

BATMAN is one of those films whose obvious flaws are so easily overlooked. The worst sin a movie can commit is to be dull, and that's something BATMAN never does.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English French Spanish

Release Date:

23 June 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Batman

Filming Locations:

Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$40,489,746, 25 June 1989

Gross USA:

$251,348,343

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 (DVD) Dolby Atmos (Blu-ray release)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1