Let's talk Batman 1989

[Barkworm]

Since most of the discussion in the Flash thread seems to be about the 1989 Batman film, let's have a thread of its own for it.

How old were you when you first watched it? I was too young in 1989 to go see it so the first time I watched in was on television in 1991 or 1992. I had listened to an audio play version of it before so I kind of knew what to expect but the actual film blew me away. The way Batman kicked people's asses was the most badass thing I had ever seen.

Favourite and/or most memorable scene? Apart from the opening scene and basically every scene with Batman in it, the scene that genuinely scared me as a kid was the one where the Joker electrocutes Rotelli. Nicholson's performance - although reminiscent of Cesar Romero - amazed me.

Least favourite scene? I wrote about this in the other thread, the "You wanna go nuts?" scene is dumb. It doesn't make sense for Bruce to provoke Joker that way, Keaton is pretty hammy in it and the Joker's "Devil in the Moon" line comes out of nowhere.

Although Burton completely winged the cathedral scene, I always found it super exciting and entertaining.

Overall favorite memory of it? Without a doubt the soundtrack. Elfman's later work can sound like a parody of himself but his Batman theme is one of the greatest ever.

IMJ wrote about the impact the film had and I can see why it did. Interestingly, in Germany it supposedly bombed, probably because the 60s Batman show was first released here in the 1980s and people expected something completely different.

I still love the film, I guess I'm one of those 1980 boomers, lol.

[Andrew NDB]

From the other thread:

My own memories of Batman 89 are fairly magical. I faintly remember seeing it in the theater and afterward my dad was amazed at how good it was. That he didn't think it was possible for Batman to be portrayed that "dark." And then I remember everyone talking about Batman in elementary school, and pretending to be Batman on the playground. Then the NES game which was pretty hard but I liked.

Now that you mention it, the "let's get nuts" line and particularly the delivery of it struck me as OOC even then, or at least out of place. And yeah, you're going to gamble your life that the Joker is going to shoot you in a little 1' x 1' pan (and #2, that it would even stop a bullet) and not, y'know, the face? Or the groin, and work his way up? It was just dumb all around.

[CyberCubed]

I was only 4 years old in 1989, so I have no idea if I saw it in theaters or not. I think I did, but if not we had it on VHS at home anyway and watched it in the early 90's. I had the toys, etc.

The scenes I remember the most is Batman taking out that guy in 1 hit who was moving his arms around like a maniac in front of the Batmobile like he was going to be some hard guy to beat. Other memorable scenes is Joker shooting the guy in the chair 5 times, the whole scene with the paintings and Joker's gang throwing paint on it, the ending sequence with Joker hanging off the ledge, and Batman's entrance and being shot and the thugs thinking they killed him.

[IMJ]

Then the NES game which was pretty hard but I liked.[/I]

At the time that first Batman game was amazing - it was like "Ninja Gaiden meets Batman". But as far as the "Bit wars" generation of gaming goes, the SNES Batman Returns game is by far the definitive Batman game in my mind....

[Andrew NDB]

At the time that first Batman game was amazing - it was like "Ninja Gaiden meets Batman". But as far as the "Bit wars" generation of gaming goes, the SNES Batman Returns game is by far the definitive Batman game in my mind....

I had a lot of fun with Batman: Return of the Joker on NES. It was more involved than the movie adaptation and I was actually able to beat it... I think.

[IMJ]

I had a lot of fun with Batman: Return of the Joker on NES. It was more involved than the movie adaptation and I was actually able to beat it... I think.

That was a strange game....

I remember it was touted because it used the "Sun-5" chip I think it was called, which enhanced the graphics and allowed for greater parallax scrolling. But when you played it and Batman was shooting a "wrist launcher" of infinite Batarangs, you just knew you were playing some other game that was simply skinned with Batman over it :lol:

But Batman Returns on SNES? Man - that was Batman. Literally just walking around Gotham beating up bad guys.... lol! Ironic too, because in some ways that game was just Final Fight skinned with Batman....

[Coola Yagami]

Too many scenes and lines for me to comment on my favorite.

Offhand, I liked the Joker and his goons dancing around in the museum, the whole bit with 'my balloons.... those were my balloons...', the Joker commercial, the part where Batman crashes into the museum, etc.

[IMJ]

Too many scenes and lines for me to comment on my favorite.

Offhand, I liked the Joker and his goons dancing around in the museum, the whole bit with 'my balloons.... those were my balloons...', the Joker commercial, the part where Batman crashes into the museum, etc.

I loved that scene. It was like a neat "comic book set piece" in the middle of the movie the way that the Parade Day fight was in Spider-Man against the Goblin.

[Walkabout]

I was 9 when it came out and I LOVED it.
It's still one of my very favourite films, and I can rewatch it without any boredom whatsoever.


Hard for me to pick a favourite scene, but pretty much any of the pre JokerJack Napier scenes might be my answer.
The Police raid on AXIS chemicals?

I'd agree that the apartment scene where Bruce "gets nuts" is probably the worst of it.

Favourite memories?
Having my picture taken with the Batmobile, the T shirts,the the soundtrack album and being corrupted by Prince,the ERTL Batmobile crashing my Matchbox/HotvWheels collection!

I thought Returns was amazing too.

[IMJ]

I was 9 when it came out and I LOVED it.
It's still one of my very favourite films, and I can rewatch it without any boredom whatsoever

It's ironic, isn't it? All of the arthouse guys think the Nolan films are absolute masterpieces, although they are littered with problems and glaring script-shortcuts. But they are set in a "real world", so that is soooooo amazing.

Yet the Burton films are basically always going to be timeless because of the nature of Gotham City in his movies while someday, maybe even already, the Nolan films are going to look like a product of their time.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the Nolan movies by any means. But there is a truth there - the people that live and die by those movies are the same ones that come out of every Marvel flick saying 'it's the best Marvel movie YET!"

[CyberCubed]

One thing that seems weird to me is Joker put on tan make-up to hide his clown face when he would go out later in the film. That doesn't feel like something Joker would do, if his faced was scarred by acid he would always go out with his white face instead of putting on make-up to hide it.

[Walkabout]

It's ironic, isn't it? All of the arthouse guys think the Nolan films are absolute masterpieces, although they are littered with problems and glaring script-shortcuts. But they are set in a "real world", so that is soooooo amazing.

Yet the Burton films are basically always going to be timeless because of the nature of Gotham City in his movies while someday, maybe even already, the Nolan films are going to look like a product of their time.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the Nolan movies by any means. But there is a truth there - the people that live and die by those movies are the same ones that come out of every Marvel flick saying 'it's the best Marvel movie YET!"

The 89 film is fun, yet dark with that dash of otherworldliness.
To each his own, but I don't want "hyper realism" or whatever in a Batman movie.
I'm generally disposed to like Batman but I was not swept away by the Nolan movies.
Maybe I am too old now, hehe.

I can't wait for it to swing back around to the "campier" side of things.

[Coola Yagami]

One thing that seems weird to me is Joker put on tan make-up to hide his clown face when he would go out later in the film. That doesn't feel like something Joker would do, if his faced was scarred by acid he would always go out with his white face instead of putting on make-up to hide it.

It was because he was still going as Jack in front of the other mobsters. They didn't know he was the Joker yet.

I noticed in some of the comics he also did that to disguise himself, like in the Death in the Family issues.

[TheCanadiandrome]

I was 6 in 1989, can’t remember how old I was when I first watched it, but I loved it as a whole and imo, it still holds up well after all these years, as one of the best portrayels of Batman in cinema

[DarkFell]

My seven year old self loved this movie. I didn't understand much of it, but I thought that it was pretty cool.

A deeper appreciation for the movie was former later on when I watched a few clips of the campy Batman TV series.

[Barkworm]

Did you know that despite being one of the most succesful superhero films ever in terms of sold tickets, WB actually lost money on it? Here‘s a fascinating article on the topic (from 1991!):

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-03-21-ca-796-story.html

Seems like the guys at WB have always been a bunch of clueless idiots.

[Sumac]

Those 'tards let OG Superman movie series to turn into a crap and then were directly responsible for Batman & Robin. It is miracle they have successes at all!

[Andrew NDB]

Did you know that despite being one of the most succesful superhero films ever in terms of sold tickets, WB actually lost money on it? Here‘s a fascinating article on the topic (from 1991!):

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-03-21-ca-796-story.html

Seems like the guys at WB have always been a bunch of clueless idiots.

A lot of that is, as they say "Hollywood accounting."

https://www.darkhorizons.com/john-cusack-slams-hollywood-greed/

[Antoniocafe]

I have a very difficult time imagining that this movie didn't make a huge profit, let alone a profit at all. The movie did tremendous at the big office. And the merchandise was huge as well. I remember eating the cereal. It wasn't bad as recall.

W48U3arRsN0

[Coola Yagami]

I have a very difficult time imagining that this movie didn't make a huge profit, let alone a profit at all. The movie did tremendous at the big office. And the merchandise was huge as well. I remember eating the cereal. It wasn't bad as recall.

W48U3arRsN0

Yeah, that cereal was pretty bad-ass. I remember it tasted like a slightly-different flavored Captain Crunch.

[LeotheLateBloomer]

I have a very difficult time imagining that this movie didn't make a huge profit, let alone a profit at all. The movie did tremendous at the big office. And the merchandise was huge as well. I remember eating the cereal. It wasn't bad as recall.

W48U3arRsN0

I didn't even know this was a thing until now.

I was 2 when this movie came out so I never got to see it in theaters until 2019 when our theater played it to celebrate the film's 30th anniversary.

But I didn't watch this movie til the late 2000s when my friend bought me the movie collection on DVD. I think this is still my favorite live action Batman film because while it was dark, it wasn't afraid to be a little loose with humor. And Bruce exploring love felt natural. I actually enjoy the "let's get nuts" line for the wrong reasons.

I like it even more than the Nolan films which I do like but I'll probably never go back to those films.