JCC BATMAN 89: Celebrating 30 years

Oh, c'mon...the "Partyman" sequence is one of the best scenes in the movie. It shows exactly how off-the-rails Napier became after his disfigurement. The tone is similar to Heath Ledger slamming the mob guy's head onto a pencil in "The Dark Knight".

 

Yeah, I don't mind the partyman scene either. I'm much more put out by the bits where Batman kills people.

 

It's a fricking awesome scene though

 

I'm not bothered by Batman killing people. I'm much more bothered by Batman uselessly hovering over and clumsily trying to deter and derail an undeterrable and non-rail-dependent Talia in big-ass trailer truck in TDKR.

 

He loved the money it made him on the backs of others.



This is literally Bob Kane's grave. The only person who helped him with Batman, as per his final wishes, was God. Not Bill Finger, who he regretted not giving credit to (and he only said this after Finger died in poverty, and never once attempted to use his power as "creator" to get Finger co-creator credit) after many years of coasting on his work.

And it's not like Siegel and Shuster, as they were credited as creators from day one. The issue with Siegel and Shuster is that DC has been screwing over their estate to this very day.

I never met Kane either, but considering the wealth of commentary from surviving contemporaries, historians, and critics, it's pretty safe to say the image he sought to present wasn't close to the truth. A minor consolation - Bill Finger's name is finally included as co-creator on Batman comics, 75 years after the fact.

 

Well, since you brought it up, where else do you think our capacity for imagination comes from? No other creature on the planet has such a detailed ability across the creative spectrum like we do...and since immaterial things don't come from nature, there has to be another source for it. Just sayin'...

Where did you hear that?

Last I heard, DC settled with the Shusters almost ten years ago; it was the Siegels who caused a lot of the more recent legal crap.

I haven;t seen those sources myself, so at this time all I have is "no comment".

Pardon the pun, but its about time.

 

Well, I most definitely am; even Burton kept him from doing that in the '89 film. Napier's fall into the acid was accidental, unlike Bruce deliberately choosing to leave Ra's Al Ghul on that train in "Batman Begins". It also makes him look like a hypocrite in Nolan's films, because he lets Ra's die while saving the Joker.

 

Prince sucks.

 

Year later, the problem I have with the movie is that Burton doesn't seem as interested in Batman as he is in the Joker. And this attitude is hugely cranked up in "Batman Returns", where Batman seems to be an afterthought, and Burton has begun his lapse into being weird just for the sake of being weird.

I will say this, though; the '89 Batman provided the framework for "Batman: The Animated Series", the definitive portrayal of the character.

 

Yeah, there was another source for it: BILL FINGER.

 

Human exclusionism sucks.

 

i saw the film , i think, the monday after it was released. I remember all the hype. I remember a friend of mine saying he was a little disappointed. i said it was as good as it could have been. But that's what hype does. Personally i think it's a good movie, but not great.

 

I saw this film 11 years ago, and I was absolutely obsessed with it. Then I watched Batman Forever a few month after the fact. I was morbidly depressed.

 

That is the most obnoxious gravestone I've ever seen.

 

I turned eleven just before seeing this in the summer of 89 and it was a very much a big deal back then.

I wouldn't say he was inept because he got shot. Think about it, what's scarier than a guy who shot and then rises from the dead as if it didn't matter.

I got it that Christmas on cassette and finally replaced it on CD a couple of years ago. Got the retail version of the score in 94 and the expanded version in 2010.

 

Ugh, that tombstone. Jaysis. Bob Kane, a shameless, arrogant ****, even to the bitter end. The deity praised there would not be impressed.

I'll say, my favorite scene as well. I was about to enter senior year in high school and Batmania was EVERYWHERE. I went on a weekday morning with my little brother and caught the first show. At the time I thought it was just ok. I didn't care much for Hammy Jack Nicholson playing Hammy Jack Nicholson with clown make up and prosthetics, nor for tiny Michael Keaton playing a murderous psycho in a rubbery bat suit. Who as the title character seemed to be no more than an afterthought when compared to the villain. But I loved the score, the weird look of a time displaced city embedded within a gigantic factory. And that car. Definitely my favorite version of the Batmobile.

But yes, time hasn't been kind to this movie. Especially after Nolan and his particular version of the Bat. It's very much an old Tim Burton movie and I've never fancied his particular style. And yes, extremely psychotic, murderous Batman simply is a no-no in my book.

 

I think this Batmobile scene is pretty bad ass as well.

 

Yeah but it might as well be his strategy. "I'm gonna slowly walk towards these guys all ominous-like, and they'll shoot me, and then I dunno I guess I'll get back up and punch them."

Literally Batman could just punch the dudes or approach from a different angle so as to get the drop on them. And if the bullets literally don't work against his armour, why fall down? Why not just stand there and continue marching towards them? The criminals would **** their pants in fear. "OH GOD THE BULLETS DON'T EVEN SLOW HIM DOWN!"

All that said, it's only a weird thing once it's pointed out to you and start watching for it. The movie is still really campy, so it makes sense they'd have these borderline slapstick moments.

Also, I think Alexander Knox is the hero Gotham needs and deserves. Dude goes after Joker thugs with nothing but a baseball bat and a handkerchief to keep the gas out of his lungs.

 

He had a mask.

 

Still the most heroic action in the movie

 

I guess you missed the scene where he blows the crap out of Axis Chemical, killing everyone inside

 

Or, you know, when Batman throws a man to his death? See the 3:00 mark here:



That's also not including the scene in Batman Returns where he tucks a bomb in a Clown's pants, and kicks the clown down a manhole. Fairly fatal.

Sorry, Burton's Batman actually kills.