It was 25 years ago today that the film that would prove to be the most successful super-hero/comic book film ever (at least up until that point) was released. I'm talking, of course, about Tim Burton's Batman. In the summer of 1989, it was an inescapable phenomenon; George Lucas may have started the traditional merchandising onslaught with Star Wars but Batman perfected it: There were toys, comic book adaptations, t-shirts, baseball caps, leather jackets, haircuts, and a soundtrack from Prince (while "Batdance" is undeniably horrible, the other songs-the ones featured in the film- are worth a second listen). In fact, This Forbes article speculates that it might be the birth of the modern summer blockbuster marketing machine as we know it today.It proved that a super-hero film could be for more than just a kiddie audience (which Donner's Superman: The Movie had done as well--- but, at the end of the day, that was very much a kid's movie). They could be dark, edgy and modern. It ushered in an era of adaptions of superheroes that, unfortunately, ended up being a pretty mixed bag: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Crow were both pretty good; Dick Tracy, Captain America, and The Punisher were not (the latter two being Marvel's first attempts at the big-screen, both of which ended up being, pretty much, straight-to-video releases). In fact, it would be another 10 years with the release of Singer's X-men until Superheroes would become a permanent and reliable fixture of the summer blockbuster season (although, the results are often still mixed).
Unfortunately, the film's sequels proved far less satisfying. Due to the success of Batman, Burton was given much greater artistic freedom on Batman Returns which resulted in a really weird movie that alienated most of the fans of the first installment. And, of course, the less said about Batman Forever and Batman and Robin the better (although the former did give us a pretty kick-ass soundtrack).
For modern comic book fans, Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy has supplanted Burton's film as the definitive cinematic vision of the Caped Crusader; however, I feel that Burton's '89 film remains the best Batman movie. That's right; I said that the 1989 Batman is better than even the exalted Dark Knight. I can hear comics purist the world over ripping their hair out right now. But, honestly, what sins Batman commits in terms of not adhering to the comic traditions (Joker killed Bruce's parents ?!?!?) it makes up for by being a more consistent film over all. True, Nolan's film is more consistent with currently accepted versions of continuity and the depictions of characters in the current comics (Gordon and Dent in particular) BUT, as an entity unto itself, Batman works. It's kind of like this: Nolan's films are the faithful cover version of Batman; Batman is less faithful but more interesting interpretation. Sure, Michael Keaton doesn't look like the Bruce Wayne of the comics but he still works as the version of Bruce Wayne we are given in this movie.
Take a look at the following scene from The Dark Knight in which Batman makes his first appearance:
When I first saw the movie, I didn't so much feel as though Batman had shown up as 'a-guy-in-a-Batman-suit' had shown up; there was very little difference to me between Batman and the imposter Batmen that he chastises for dressing up like him and using guns.
This is where Burton succeeds; rather than going for a realistic film, he goes for a surrealistic film.
His Gotham is dark, smoky, and full of shadows. It resembles a real city but, at the same time, it is an exaggerated, nightmare version of the city. Also, notice the two crooks: they are sweaty, pale skinned, and pock-marked. They're grotesques of what we think a street hood should look like. Burton creates a world straight out of the 1930's pulps that inspired the character in the first place. It is also notable that, while the film is intended to be set in 1989 much of the set and costume design has a distinctly 1930s/40s vibe to it. As a result, when Batman shows up in Burton's film, he makes sense; he is a natural extension of the world that Burton has created. I prefer this strange, operatic version of the character to Nolan's more straight-faced depiction of the character and his world. After all, Batman should be a little bit weird.
