Matt Reeves The Batman is just under 3 months away from hitting the big screen globally
and it's now time to start my coverage of the previous theatrical adaptations of the
dark knight.
We begin with Tim Burton's Batman films, looking at the impact and history of them, from his
original 1989 Batman film to Batman Returns.
This video essay kicks off my Road to The Batman series, where I of course
create content on the previous adaptations, Matt Reeves's filmography and topical videos
surrounding his upcoming 2022 film.
During the build-up, I will also be covering any
news and information surrounding the director's latest project.
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But without further ado, let's dive into my video essay on the impact of
Tim Burton's Batman films.
In 1989, Tim Burton gave us his groundbreaking comic book adaptation of Batman, an experience
that was at times laughable but also full of ghoulish darkness, something only he
could merge successfully.
While the later movies became a bit of a parody and called for a redefining of the character
by Christopher Nolan, the original theatrical take contains
most of what we expect from the caped crusader and set in stone the future of the character
to be one of the biggest pop cultural relations for next few decades.
Back before franchises having the darker approach, the
original Batman became a stone for many to leap off and compared to the 1960s TV show,
most viewers were not familiar with the edgier Batman comics and graphic novels inspired
Burton's films.
The 1989 film Batman was a shock in this department, creating a Gotham City as a somewhat seedy
New York, with trash- filled streets, steam and dominating skyscrapers,
alongside a Batman that was a slight turn away from the comics.
Without Tim Burton's Batman, we may not have had the influence of different takes to fill
the void and the success of it led to much of the inspired superhero takes we see today.
Watching these films now, it's like Burton was an artist given a blockbuster canvas to
play with.
Yes, we get a thrilling opening-title sequence that references the Batman of the
1960s and some expected great superhero action, but it's the gothic approach by Tim burton
that makes this film as classic as it is, and it has stuck with fans for a very
long time.
He is an artist that infused inspired melancholy into his work, and we know that he preferred
to create his own characters, rather than reading or adapting famous comic
book heroes to the big screen.
But the iconography of Batman fueled his imagination more than any other, especially through the
themes that hold supernatural quality.
The opening scene of the original film, where Batman descends
out of the shadows and attacks thieves, feels more vampire than anything the Gothic director
has ever done before.
At the time, it brang a new sense of what the superhero
movie could be, offering a touch of German Expressionism and film noir, bringing us back
in ways to the artistic tacklings of earlier film, which helped to inspire one of the co-creators
of Batman, Bob Kane.
This was all, of course, a big risk at the time, but without it, we wouldn't see the
character land in the hands of say a Christopher Nolan or comic
book movies having the room to be something other than just an adaptation.
They could be much more and fit within the structures of
different genres to bring a sense of added creativity to the comic book film.
But probably the other big risk that Batman 89 took was through the casting of Michael
Keaton as Bruce Wayne.
Tim Burton and the studio had considered other actors and Warner Bros
wanted a traditional leading man that you'd get in much action films of the time.
Keaton’s brooding take on Batman is now, of course, a favourite amongst fans and comparable
to say the casting of Heath Ledger it's not out of
the ordinary for the tone to completely change once they see a great performance.
But what was strange about this casting is how much
of a departure Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne was from the comics and how people grew to
it.
He is not a playboy nor is he all that heroic.
His Batman is a creature of constraint as he needs to go out at night and beat up criminals
with his bare hands.
He doesn’t save the victims of criminals, because their pain gives him the permission
to release his own.
There is not a huge plan about saving the city as you see in most comic book films today.
And from the opposite perspective, the character of Joker only grew after Jack Nicholson
was cast in this iconic role.
It's probably one of the most extravagant performances in a superhero movie and as expected,
it was the part that everyone thought the actor was born
to play.
But Batman 1989 was also brought to life despite a lack of backstory.
While many other entries had brought the origins of the caped crusader, Burton live-action
entry assumes that the audience already knew something about
him.
He's an iconic figure with a large fandom, plunged into the almost alien world of Gotham
City, relatable to the audience's fascination of it in this film.
But being a vigilante in a grim town was nothing new for action film fans and always brings
a good source of excitement.
It was a blend of this that really helped to bring the city and the now-iconic
characters to life.
Beautiful yet gruesome set designs bring out Gotham’s appeal, along with the colourful
range of unlawful characters.
Dark and foreboding, we watch the likes of the Joker with brightly coloured suits and
creepy makeup, alongside his band of clown-like pantomimists, who hold machineguns and prey
on the crowds of civilians.
Yes, his characters and the designs here mirror the artwork from the graphic novels, but there
is always that Burton feels with the designs utilizing scar
structuring to bring more of the gothic appeal.
And some of the gangster’s actions do lean more towards the comical, but the majority
of the film has the appropriately dark touch expected from the awe-inspiring Batman.
It's a blend of comedy and darkness that gives Tim Burton's gothic take everything that you
would want from a live-action adaptation of the
Dark Knight.
There's also decent scenes of action, including chases in the Batmobile and Batplane to help
to light up the slower segments, and it’s always great to see Batman
make the most of his many high-tech gadgets to take down the enemy.
And with a thrilling showdown set in a cathedral, the intriguing characters, inventive art,
and the performance of Nicholson, it was the 89 film that set
the groundwork for one of the most successful franchises in cinema's history.
The combination of the music, set design, and overarching
vision gave us a film that remains timeless decades on.
It’s an out-of-date city of broken characters clashing, where technology is out of the past,
and the music rises above.
The impact of Batman 1989 transcends its production as it helped set in motion the modern studio
machine, building off the already established incentive that Jaws or even Star
Wars helped pioneer.
It became the highest-grossing movie ever at the time, paving the way for other hits
like Jurassic Park and just about every superhero box office smash that
came after.
Despite its commercial structure, it was heightened by Tim Burton’s imagination, becoming an
operatic and unusual blockbuster about damaged people who do not become
less damaged simply because their misery finds company.
Bruce Wayne, Jack, and even Vicki Vale are all eccentric and have an almost sensitive
reaction to order.
The Joker redecorates everything orderly and respectable
in his own troubled way, and Batman is not that different from him when considering his
Batcave and other tools used in his own form of branding.
There's a lot more lying below the surface when it comes to this film and while it probably
isn't the best of the Batman motion picture experiences, what can't be
denied is the stamp and impact it had on blockbusters of the time and today.
But while Batman 1989 was a box office hit, Tim Burton however had struggles on that film,
including the fact that the script was constantly evolving
during shooting.
With it being a success, Burton was of course hired to make a sequel with a greater significant
degree of creative freedom and I think it definitely
shows.
Coming now to Batman Returns, this is fully a Burton film, with the filmmaker upping his
artistic aesthetic and happily walking the line between menacing and unpleasant when
it comes to the Penguin.
In fact, his use of the antagonists is one of the greater elements of Batman Returns.
It further has a strong approach to its three main characters, exploring
the primal, animal-inspired facets of these larger-than-life icons of superhero history.
He infuses the film with horror imagery, which as we've hinted at, is a clear inspiration
of the original iteration of Batman and amplifies it even further.
This is something that Matt Reeves is also going for, tackling the horror situated within
Batman's world but also in the central character when it comes
to his backstory and emotional exploration.
In Returns, Danny DeVito’s Penguin isn’t a simple villain with plans to blow up Gotham
City for the sake of it.
He’s a deformed outsider who’s been swelling in the shadows for many decades.
Initially, he just wants to be accepted, but in teaming up with the corrupt
businessman Max, played by Christopher Walken, his plans become more wicked.
We learn that by the film’s conclusion, the Penguin’s master plan involves kidnapping
infants and dumping them in toxic waste and Max brings
a political edge to the film’s plot that elevates it above a simple blockbuster story.
This morally bankrupt man who literally throws his secretary out of a window sees only opportunity
in the Penguin, attempting to forge him into a Mayor that will grant him even more control
over the city.
And then there comes the iconic take on Catwoman, with Michelle
Pfeiffer's neither hero nor villain becoming a breath of fresh air for the film, as she
toys with Batman and Penguin.
Almost a balance between two dark sides of a coin.
There’s a sense of sexuality to the character with Pfeiffer using it to her advantage, playing
at times for comedy, at others for terror, and
sometimes a bit of both resulting, in possibly the definitive onscreen iteration of this
character.
And yes I do love Anne Hathaway's take and am extremely excited to see what Zoe
Kravitz does, but when it comes to Catwoman so far, I think Pfeiffer is still my personal
favourite.
When adding to all these elevated elements from the first film, whether it be themes,
story, characters or Burton's greater creative push, the further festive atmosphere also
gives us a completely different Gotham City from
Batman 1989.
Batman Returns takes it into nightmarish territory, with huge stone statues, sharp and darker
shadows that really bring out the sense of crime.
It’s essentially a living nightmare brought to life.
There's, of course, modern superhero movies that focus on being grounded and I love when
they capture this properly, like with Joker or Nolan Dark Knight
trilogy, but then Batman Returns succeeds in its own way by giving us an unabashed surrealism
of the unreal.
It was like a fresh start for the filmmaker who even want to pretend
that the first one didn't exist.
This meant bringing in new designers for a new take on Gotham, creating one of deeper
blacks, blues, and metallic greys, reflecting New
York’s Rockefeller Square and architecture.
And most audiences go into a comic book movie expecting it to be about the hero saving the
day and beating the bad guy and have a central arc.
But like Batman 89, Returns also doesn't give you that.
It explores who Bruce Wayne is and how he became this way, while not
being the story of him becoming a hero or growing as a character.
Batman Returns essentially makes Bruce Wayne into a reactionary character and from this,
we learn a lot about him.
In this sense, it gives us the kind of anti-blockbuster approach that Batman has tackled in numerous
films.
Now Batman Returns at the time did prove too dark for some audiences, and it’s very well
could have got an R rating.
In retaliation, Warner Bros refused to hire Burton for the
next sequel, and they overreacted with the light and campy Batman Forever, leading to
the near-death of Batman in Batman and Robin.
But it was a lesson that had to be learnt and
Returns still holds up today as one of the best Batman movies ever made.
It's thoughtful, artistic, and quite unique in its own way.
It's truly a Tim Burton Batman film, not a superhero flick that's a mass-marketed or
focus-group-tested product made with the lowest-common elements in mind.
We get these a lot today and while I quite like them from time to
time, it is great to get a comic book film that comes along and defies those expectations,
lasting long into the future.
Batman and Batman Returns have succeeded that feet in comparable but also different ways.
Returns is of course twisted and certainly not for everyone, but for a character as ever-present
as Batman, it is unforgettable.
Before Christopher Nolan turned the Batman franchise
into a trilogy of realistic crime movies and brought some of the best of the character
we've seen to the big screen, Batman Returns implanted the idea that corporate crime pollutes
the city as much as terrorism and robberies.
That corporate greed is given human form through Walken's Max Shreck, the Gotham
industrialist who becomes entangled with the Penguin in an attempt to increase his political
and financial power.
This is what makes a lot of the differing iterations so iconic,
in that in the midst of all the differing genres and artistic notes on display, there's
a human and reflective quality to it.
But that was my video discussing Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns.
While I prefer Batman Returns and the creative energy that Burton brought to the character
to give us a completely fresh film, Batman 1989 is still
a great comic book movie.
It's clear that Michael Keaton's character is always compelling, the ending is supremely
enjoyable, and Jack Nicholson's Joker brings the chaotic
fun and presence you expect from the iconic villain.
But over time, Batman Returns has become my favourite of the two films as it
deepens its storytelling with something to say, not just about Batman or his villains,
but about Gotham City too.
It's not setting up any particular story as well because it's
simply giving us a darker and emotional story with plenty of style.
Now while it wasn't a cultural defining film like Batman 1989 or Christopher Nolan's The
Dark Knight, I do deeply respect it because it's probably the
best told cinematic Batman story by Tim Burton.
And we've seen the growth of this film over time amongst fans and critics.
It deserves to be mentioned when discussing the
impact of Burton's films, not just for Batman or comic book films but for blockbusters in
general.
This is something that has made Batman my favourite comic book character on
screen.
Different directors have come along one by one and told the stories and made the types
of films that they want to make, giving us a continuously evolving character through
differing interpretations.
And the actors and crew they brought to these projects have also aided these accomplishments
and become legendary from it.
This gets me excited to see what director Matt Reeves will do with his noirish detective
take on the character and hopefully it won't disappoint us.
But let me know down below in the comments section
what you thought of Tim Burton's Batman films alongside whether Batman 89 or Batman Returns
is your favourite of his films.
My next video in this Road to The Batman series continues with a video essay on Joel Schumacher's
Batman films.
I will be following this with videos on Christopher Nolan and
Zack Snyder's takes on the caped Crusader alongside essays on Matt Reeves filmography
as a buildup to his film this March.
This will all be released over the next few months
along with much more content on the 2022 movie very soon.
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