BATMAN (1989) 4K UHD Blu-ray Review + 35mm & Super 8
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- Tim Burton's big screen adaptation of the comic book superhero on 4K disc from original 35mm negative. Includes the history of the character as well as the film plus the successful teaser trailer that set the path for the massive worldwide box office gross in excess of $400m.
This 4K disc is very good quality. I don't think it's quite up there with the 'Jaws' 4K release but that is a difficult comparison given Jaws is mainly bright light with a panoply of colours everywhere but make no mistake that 'Batman' in 4K is surprisingly good. Both Jaws and Batman were shot on 35mm so don't expect them to look as good as films shot on VistaVision or 65mm/70mm such as 'The Ten Commandments', 'Murder on the Orient Express or 'Tenet'.
Your videos are a highlight of the week. I just bought the 4K disc yesterday.
Thank you Adam. Took me a couple of days just to put this short one together. John.
I love the bits of history included with the reviews.
That's what makes sitting down to record these fun for me Jeremy because a lot of memories seem to come back from somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind. John.
JOKER = Jack Nicholson period
Too bloody right!
@@moviecollector5920 You are welcome Sir
We absolutely love your videos. They are beautifully presented, look great and are jam packed with great information, especially on 8mm releases. We could watch your videos all day. Please keep them coming!
Thank you. Well, The Fifth Element is next so more Super 8 coming in that one... and 35mm for that matter. John.
This movie is another gem and my favorite Batman! Love your presentations sir and you've convinced me to getting the 4k version! Thank you!
Some comments have quite forcefully stated that the film has too much blue in the colour Gilbert. I didn't notice but I did notice how closely it matched the 35mm trainler running throughout this video. Just one thing to be aware of if you know the film really well. I only ever had it on VHS so don't know it as well as some. I was actually impressed by the colour palette on this 4K which came from original camera negative so had to be graded from scratch. John.
omg. hahaha. did anyone catch the subtle "continuity" joke? that was great. and all joking aside, a great video and a great film. my favorite BATMAN movie of all. thanks!
Thank you Ricky. My favourite Batman movie too. May look at the Nolan films next though so that may change. John.
Thanks for doing what you do 😊 its very entertaining and your passion comes across really well 😊 do you think you'll review the Justice League blu ray when it releases? 😊
I fear I'm getting old now Stephen because I've looked at a few of the modern superhero films and I just don't like them much. I wanted to do the Batman vs Superman remaster 4K but I looked at the trailer and gawd does that look truly awful. So please convince me otherwise because I'd really like to be able to watch more of Batman - and Superman for that matter. As a guideline I thought 'Man of Steel' was terrible but I think it generally has a good reputation so what do I know?!? John.
@@moviecollector5920 I believe MC, it's because the new 4k release features proper IMAX scenes (1.33:1 AR). Zack Snyder lately has been releasing material showing scenes intended for a large IMAX screen, the Snyder Cut had this as well. The remaster also features new colors and contrasts overseen by Snyder himself. But as you see, it regardless doesn't change the film. I'm also losing interest in superhero films, which become more of a commercial product than actual cinema. True 'superhero' films will always be the classics such as Donner's Superman or Burton's Batman.
@@moviecollector5920 Thank you so much for your reply and time 😊 if you didn't like Man of steel, then I highly doubt the sequels will convince you otherwise, especially considering they are considerably longer affairs. I myself really enjoy them, but they are not for everyone :) two films that I would be tempted to recommend to you would be Logan (2017) and Joker (2019). Again thanks for your time, love the channel and your insights :)
@@milkeywilley56 Thank you Stephen and Lord Krit. I'm currently thinking that I will get an order in for the Batman vs. Superman re-master because regardless what I may think of the film - and who knows, I may like it after all - it will be interesting to see how good it looks and that's what 4K reviews are mainly about.
John.
Can't wait to hear your opinion on it😊😊😊
Thanks John. Your videos are so much better than the crap we have to put up with on tv nowadays. I hope you feel inspired to make many more in the future. Best Danny
Nice one Danny. I haven't had television since the digital switchover when we analyzed what we actually watched and at the time it was just Ashes To Ashes and the news. We decided we could do without television from that moment and life has been so much happier ever since.
@@moviecollector5920 I wish I could convince my wife of that. If I have to watch another episode of Masterchef I will run screaming from the room!
@@DesandSam It could be worse Des, it could be Eastenders, Coronation Street or Emmerdale Farm!!!
@@moviecollector5920 Sadly two out of those three are included in the scream inducing diet of dross.
@@DesandSam Oh dear!
Wonderful review as always! I always loved the music to this movie. I feel it adds a great deal of atmosphere. I wish I had kept all my movie trailers I collected over the years.
Agreed on all counts. Danny Elfman's score for this is perfect. And we can just never tire of running trailers... fortunately I have kept all mine - reels and reels of them. I had to go through quite a few of those 600ft and 400ft compilations of trailers before I found the Batman trailer too but it was nice to revisit them.
John.
You clips are always informative, entertaining and authentic: You've certainly found your calling. Question: Do you do transfer work from Super8 or VHS onto DVD?
I'm actually doing a batch of transfers for a friend right now. It's not something I want to spend my life doing as it is time consuming and not really economic. There are plenty of people out there who spend all their time doing cine transfers etc. but with cine you have to ensure it's not someone who just records the projected film off the wall which is what some of them do and claim to be 'professional'. John.
As always, tons of information, not just about the 4K release but, about film in general. I will invest in upgrading to 4K Batman when my funds allow it, as I have always felt that the original Blu-ray release was a bit fuzzy. As a side note, I know you keep mentioning Murder On The Orient Express, a film which I thoroughly enjoyed. I dug out my 4K copy the other day and I have to agree with you, it does look stunning in Ultra HD. Looking forward to the next instalment (Death On The Nile) and of course, your next video. Take care.
Thank you Ian. Some people have told me that Batman looks a little too blue but I was in no way aware of it on my system (some evidence of it on my television though but not much). But other people know the film better from previous home video releases so they may be right but my comparison was the 35mm trailer you see in this video and the 4K looks so similar to that on my Optoma video projector that I don't think any 'blue' that has crept in can be too bad. John.
I'm hyped to see the transfer, but let's be real, that cover art is bleedin awful. Literally looks like something they stitched together on photoshop. The '89 logo looked really cool.
That's odd Growly because although it's not the original poster art, I think the shiny, glossy slip case is really good. Be funny if we all agreed on everything though.
John.
I got the steelbook version which is better
I 'like' the 4k remaster but not so much because they added a very obvious blue tint. I am not sure why these tints are being used instead of the original colors. Regardless, the visual quality is stunning. In my humble opinion, I believe the Burton Batman films (especially '89) to be the best adaption of the Batman character (but not so the best Batman films). I also heard that the teaser you found was a very early rushed piece for the holiday season to advertise the film and to silence the comic-book fandom over Keaton's Batman depiction (who had not been seen other than leaked images). Great video again, keep up the amazing content! As always - LK
I just looked at the 4K on my television and although there is more of a blue tint in some scenes on that than through my projector I could only pick it out because I was looking for it. Cliffhanger on 4K has more green to it than I was used to but I only spotted that because I know the film so well. It didn't spoil it for me and Batman too looks so darned good - just like that 35mm trailer in fact - that if they did change the curve a little I think it most likely enhanced the overall definition. Some people haven't purchased this disc because someone put them off because of a blue tint which is a terrible shame because it's a top-notch release. I enjoyed it more than I did at the cinema all those years ago.
John.
The new scan was long overdue but my issue aside from the slight teal color timing creeping in (more on the BD disc than the UHD) was the removal of the theatrical audio mix in any form and it being supplanted with the new Atmos remix that completely replaces all of the original design “old timey” sound effects with brand new highly anachronistic ones. I own all four original Batfilms in every format but I can’t bring myself to look at the new releases primarily because of the audio being completely changed.
I understand that completely because I can't look at the re-hashes of the original Star Wars. But if you don't know the film too well then it's fine. I only ever had the VHS of Batman and that was such poor quality so to see this 4K is like watching the film for the first time for me. At least they didn't create new scenes and change the film all over the place. It doesn't look blue on my video projector, I think it looks like the 35mm trailer which is what you see on the screen in this video. Maybe we all got used to the look of Batman on the home market and the 35mm original release looked more like the 4K. Doubtful but possible. Nothing I can do to placate the sound changes though other than perhaps to try the Dolby Digital 5.1 sound rather than Atmos because it may be more like the original. I did think it sounded pretty darned good though. John.
@@moviecollector5920 sadly I’ve never gotten to see 89 on a print but I have seen Returns. They brightened both Burton films for video and crt viewing on the Laserdisc and VHS releases and they stayed that way to varying degrees until the new 4k version. Color wise it’s largely excellent but Warner does have an issue where their 1080p discs have color issues from the 4k down conversion. On 89 it’s very minor. Where they messed up was on Returns by changing all the cold blue lighting to a definite teal-ish hue.
The 4k is a much better rendition that we’ve ever gotten before although the Laserdisc is excellent for the time. I’ve always been a fan of the original mix and even noticed the LD and first dvd have a more engaging low end to them than what was on the special edition and bluray. So if you can find some older editions it is a cheap and fun examination to make. I’m such a nerd for these films I kept my vhs copies and the flipper DVDs with the 1.33 opened up framings as well.
My personal favorite are still the LDs if I’m honest. It’s hard to get Returns and B&R without laser rot but they all have great picture for the format and excellent sound. Forever actually sounds better on its surround matrix mix than the discrete.
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader I didn't get Batman on LaserDisc but if I do ever see a copy at a film fair then you can be sure I'll be snapping it up. I doubt I'd run it all the way through but they're just such lovely collectables of favourite films to have and look at occasionally. I will scrutinize the 35mm trailer and the 4K more closely sometime because some people are really quite upset that their copies seem to be more blue than mine. It's possible some of this is down to televsion backlights which may be more blue on some than others. Doesn't seem to be the case with my projector but the television does show a little more of a blue hue in particularly dark scenes. I suppose if I'd have known some people thought this was an issue I could have looked at it a little more closely and perhaps explained that this 4K scan came from the original camera negative and therefore there was no colour grading already applied. That occurs on the interpositive which is then used to create the internegative and therefore all the release prints looked the same... or at least, that was the plan. With a raw scan from which to work the film had to be colour timed and corrected from scratch and therefore the people doing it had to work with a tool such as Black Magic Design Davinci Resolve which is probably somewhat different to how the internegative was created. In other words, there are bound to be differences. Not that I've ever had to think about this before of course but it has made me understand why Cliffhanger tended more towards green but I doubt anyone else would have noticed.
Another interesting little snippet - other chaps I follow on RUclips who talk about 4K discs often complain if there is not a new Dolby Atmos track to play through their sound bar or surround amplifier. It's just a shame there isn't always the option to select the original matrix Dolby Stereo four track but I suppose it's a lot more work for the disc authors for little return or appreciation.
John.
Love the reviews. You're a truly movie connoisseur, sir.
Thank you Rodrigo. I appreciate the vote of confidence. Should be the Spider-Man films next so you can expect 4K, Super 8 and 35mm again. John.
The blue hue version with modified sound effects and no way to watch the original. Hence I’ve kept my earlier releases on Bluray as well. Otherwise an good release in my opinion.
People have convinced me the 4K is blue Carl but I don't know the film that well (only ever had the poor quality VHS) but perhaps because of that, I did not notice. However, it doesn't look blue on my video projector and only a little blue on my television so I suspect my settings are tending away from blue generally. Also, the trailer you are watching in this video is actually the 35mm apart from the short sequence of the Super 8 projector running showing the Super 8 version of the same trailer. That looks pretty much the same colour temperature to me and that 35mm trailer is how I know the film best. I'll take a look at it all again in the future and scrutinize it even more so Batman will RETURN!
Batman v Superman is trash (sadly) please don’t review it its filled up with bad cgi and the story is very poorly written.
It might be good fun then. But I think I'm concluding that this is mainly about the look of a 4K release and it was shot in all manner of formats from Super 16 to 15/70mm IMAX and that might prove interesting... even if I'm expecting the film to be complete tosh!
John.
I'm saw your halloween video and it was wondering how is the sound quality of halloween on super 8 because i know the new mics of the movie are pretty bad
The sound on the Super 8 was rather good but we're talking Super 8 here and not the latest home movie sound we're used to these days. There was a sound fault on the master for reel one where Dr. Loomis has just made the call from the telephone booth and then the camera pans away to the body by the pick-up truck and the sound just went off for a couple of seconds and so I re-recorded that reel from the VHS years ago. Other than that all was fine. The image quality looks noticeably similar to the 35mm prints so colour is very muted and definition is certainly not up to the best of Super 8. But it's Halloween, it's on Super 8 film and it's 2x anamorphic 'Scope. A little piece of home movie magic. I was so excited to get this film full length all those years ago and I still love to run it just about every Halloween more than 30 years later.
John.
Would you believe that only today I was wondering if you did a video about this film and I missed it? Glad to see that I hadn't. Good stuff.
Yes I do believe that because we live in the matrix , the evidence is all around us.
Funny you should say that Raul because I was thinking along those lines long before The Matrix ever came out.
John.
It actually took a couple of days to video it and put it all together Timothy so gawd only knows how long it will take to cover the Spider-Man films! John.
There is blue tint in this 4K and it's very brighten up. I prefer the old 2010 blu-ray for the color grading but the detail is good on the 4K and Atmos is good as well. The teaser you have is great it really shows a piece of superhero cinema.
I didn't spot that blue tint but a few people have mentioned it. Back in 1989 Agfa stock had a blue tint so it's possible that the negative stock used did have a slight blue hue to it and that is what you're seeing. Many release prints came with it as standard back then and it looked good on huge screens in the West End of London. But it could also be that you have a telly with a backlight that is casting a bit too much blue into the image. My own telly does this a bit but it's a telly so it doesn't bother me. But then, I don't watch films on it and haven't since video projection in the home became viable in about 2004/2005. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Just to mention that I watched batman returns 4k and that didn't have the teal issue and looked much sharper
@@LILGHETTI A number of people mention 'teal' but the fact that it's not common parlance to use that word to describe a blue/green colour hue suggests to me that someone used it in a review of the 4K somewhere and it's been passed around. To understand how the film looked originally we all need to have a 35mm release print to hand so the closest we have currently is the 1989 teaser trailer I show in the video. I think the 4K disc is close to that look but I haven't exactly studied it. John.
Your channel is a treasure. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and reviews. I am considering opening my own very soon. The Terminator 2 UHD disc is one very interesting subject, I hope you will talk about how messed up of the master is. (And maybe the LOTR/Hobbit & Star Wars UHD discs as well).
Thank you Spike. I have heard stories about the T2 disc and I do think it's a shame they've tried to clean up some of the special effects because I think things like the obvious stunt man on the motorbike jump sequence are part of the film's charm. As for what they may have done with noise reduction if that is true then I can't understand it. I saw a 70mm blow-up print at the Odeon Leicester Square and it was wonderful so why the original 35mm negative had to be 'cleaned up' after being scanned like that is beyond me. However, it is beginning to look like modern televisions are exacerbating film grain due to excessing back lighting. I suspect OLED and QLED sets may be the major cause here because they are so 'enhanced'.
I'm trying to get Keith at Euphoria Pictures to do something special with the Lord of the Rings because he has a fabulous collection and love of those films. I only ever saw the first film and didn't like it much. However, I do have all three trailers to the films on Super 8 and they are all fantastic so one day soon I will try again. But as for Star Wars, I have reviewed the latest (have to be careful with Star Wars because they used to be very hot on copyright infringements and I don't want to risk getting into trouble even though I just use trailer extracts) but as for the first film, don't start me off about the destruction of that film from 1997! I have the first three movies on 'Scope Super 8 features so fortunately I don't have to watch the re-hashes.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 Regarding Terminator 2, the DNR that is used is quite the same as it was on the second release of Predator on blu-ray. It's very agressive and completely erases the grain of the 35mm reels. They also change the photography and some VFX too. To be honest, I'm fine with it when it comes to 3D screening. Cameron supervised this new master and it was done for the release of the 3D version in theaters. Erasing the grain, changing the color tones is part of the 3D experience and it is a different movie that Cameron just made wth this version.
The main issue with the UHD release of the movie is that Studio Canal/Lionsgate used this specific master to make their disc... Cameron did not supervised this, I would bet anything on it. He previously supervised the releases of Aliens and Titanic on blu-ray and the DNR was used in a subtle way on both of these titles. Aliens still retains some very fine grain, I can't imagine Cameron giving the go-ahead here, it doesn't match up. We're talking about the man that was against releasing anamorphic aspect ratios for Abyss, Strange Days, True Lies & Titanic on DVD since it was shot on super 35 and should be seen in 4/3 aspect ratio...
About Star Wars Episodes I to VI on UHD, I really love the HDR on these titles, it's very close to SDR presentation in term of average luminance. Definition wise, on the original trilogy, it's sometimes very good, but for most of the time it is on par with the blu-ray discs and even worse (The DNR again).
On the "Prelogy", Episode I has a softer image than the 1080p disc... and Episode II & III were shot at 1080p and there is no differences at all with the 1080p discs.
Did you get any copies of the "Harmy" Despecialized edition in 1080p or the "Project 4K77" "Project 4K80" & "Project 4K83"? They also include the Original 6-Track and Dolby stereo tracks!
@@spikewilliam I don't suppose James Cameron had any knowledge that the mast of the 3D version (ridiculous in my opinion but if it brings in money then films are a business so good luck to them) was being used for the 4K disc release. I have the film on Super 8 and it looks terrific so even if a decent 4K copy of this does ever get released and I purchase a copy I will only look at it out of interest as I'll always watch the film on Super 8 ahead of anything else. Those little film reels are special to me.
I haven't seen any of the Star Wars 4K transfers you mention. I had seen that original prints had been issued and on sale on eBay but I assumed they were pirate jobs. Is this the case? I have The Phantom Menace on 35mm and it's different to the release on Blu-ray so they even messed around with that film. Although I should admit that I've never watched the Blu-ray all the way through so there may just be a change in the early parts of the film. I'm such a fan of these films that I can't bear to watch a version that was not what I saw in the cinema and have seen and loved so many times at home.
@@moviecollector5920 lets Hope the New t2 4k Will get it right.
@@benjaminjensen7402 I didn't know they were giving it a second go. No doubt it will be a lot better next time around. John.
I remember seeing this when it was first released, I was a bit underwhelmed by it, it could never have lived up to the hype. I'll have to dust off my old DVD and give it a spin. I enjoyed Michael Keaton a big difference from his performance in Beetlejuice and one of my favourites, Night Shift. Panoply is a great word John! Looking forward to your next video.
I too was a little disappointed with it back in 1989 Steve, possibly because I didn't much care for Jack Nicholson's Joker. But now that I've grown to like Jack Nicholson (I think The Bucket List was the game changer for me) I think his portrayal of the Joker is wonderful. And being able to see the film in this quality was the icing on the cake. The colour was really striking on my system but it seems many people are being left a bit 'blue' by it.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 i love this movie i was 12 when it came out and wachted it in the cinema with My grandmother back in 89,wonderfull memories.
@@benjaminjensen7402 Your grandmother must have been alright Ben! What a treasured memory that must be. John.
Always great reviews. Have you ever done The Dark Knight? Some great full IMAX scenes
I have. But I haven't uploaded it yet as I only finished it yesterday! John.
@@moviecollector5920 Amazing! Can’t wait!
Hi. I heard that the Batman 89 4k has a blue/purple tint, not found in the blu-ray. That is why I skipped it. Did you encounter this issue? thanks!
Nope! It looked just like a 35mm film and that's good enough for me. John.
I remember seeing this movie at (iirc) a midnight premiere in Liverpool. As I approached the cinema I realised there was a queue. The queue stretched along the street, round the corner, behind the cinema and back up the other side of the block. It was great seeing Batman brought to life on the big screen having been a fan of the Adam West TV show as a kid.
Cinema had been in the doldrums for a few years and then this film arrived and brought people back in droves. Shame the present comic book films aren't as good or as believable. John.
Always good to see your reviews on these 4K releases.
Thanks Stephen. This one seems to be doing rather well but a divided opinion on the quality of the disc. It seems someone put out a review claiming blue hues and everyone has followed him. I think it's a surprisingly good, film-like transfer.
i think i'm the only person that hates the new batman movies.
As I plan to watch one or more of them soon you may not be alone much longer!
You're not. The Snyderverse is pretty god awful.
@@SeanTanktop I might be able to have a bit of fun with this one then.
@@moviecollector5920 I will admit that I definitely have a morbid curiosity at what you would think of it. Looking forward to the video!
I love the format of your videos and your knowledge and enthusiasm for films and film technology shines through . I always look forward to my notifications to see what gem your reviewing next. Keep up the great work, I appreciate the time and effort you put into your productions
Thank you Richard. I am hoping to do the Spider-Man films next but that might be a bigger production so could take a while.
John.
This is definitely my favourite Batman film. I'm itching to get this on 4K. I totally agree with your point on film grain, I think it adds a subtle texture to a films look, especially when a film like Batman takes place in the grimy underbelly of Gotham city, film grain adds to the aesthetic in my opinion. Great video once again John 😃😃👍
Thank you Jason. As a result of this review I had a lot of people (and I mean 'a lot') cajole me into finally watching Christopher Nolan's 'Dark Knight' films which I'd specifically avoided owing to the way the Batman films had declined to a rather poor standard. A bit like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequels perhaps... but I never bothered to watch any of the Chainsaw sequels. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Yeah, you're not missing much with the Texas Chainsaw franchise, although I am one that prefers the remake over the original :)
The 35mm looks so damn good.
I think it looks remarkably similar to the 4K but others who know the film really well think the 4K has too much of a bias towards blue. It's wonderful to have that trailer though - couldn't quite believe it when I went through that box. I did pull another couple of trailers out that day and they may well appear in the next video which is planned to be my ten favourite comedies. John.
I've just discovered this fellows channel,what a find.
Brilliant stuff
And yes the "bat" marketing was crazy during the film release,they put batman on anything and everything possible much like Star Wars at the time
I just wish I still had my original tee shirts but unfortunately I wore them so often that they're all long gone now. John.
Excellent video John 🦇 I remember this being a real jaw dropper when Keaton was announced for playing Batman, but I think he was perfect in the part 🤩🤩👍👍 that Trailer is a incredible thing to have 🤯😁 I think the 4K of Batman looks amazing 👏 never seen Batman v Superman 🤯 gotta a bad feeling about it haha another great video John 😊😊😊👍👍👍
We loved your video about the scalpers John. I had to show Susie the start of that several times. And you've got me into these bloody slip cover things now! I think the Batman slip is really nice but others don't seem to like it. I was never a big fan of the Batman logo on black for every previous release so it's nice to have something new, arty and shiny.
Some people have said Batman on 4K has a blue hue to it but not on my video projector it doesn't... or at least, it doesn't seem to. It looks remarkably similar to the 35mm trailer in terms of colour bias, clarity and film grain. However, I may be getting to the bottom of why you see excessive film grain on some of the better 4K releases when it's practically invisible on mine. I was suspecting over bright images and then the other night I put the 4K of Spider-Man on and it was immediately excessively grainy. I set the HDR to minimum and the grain was down to normal, near invisible levels. More investigation required so let me know what you can find if you get a chance.
John.
The insight you have blows my mind every time
Batman's a very interesting and historical piece of cinema. I got somewhat tired of the films by the time of Batman & Robin so I avoided the Christopher Nolan movies... but I'm watching the first of his this evening so that should be fun. John.
Looking forward to your review of the Batman Returns disc! It's probably the prettiest 4k disc I've ever seen, except maybe 2001 and Lawrence of Arabia.
I never liked Batman Returns Brennan. Loved Michael Keaton in the role though. If I see it cheap I'll give it a whirl. John.
Just picked up Batman 4k on HMV's ebay store at 50% off. £9.99 well spent. Was never really happy with my previous Batman Blu, so looking forward to finally seeing this.
It hasn't looked so good since we all enjoyed the 35mm prints back in 1989. You're going to have a great evening and only a tenner too. Amazing! John.
I was actually lucky enough to meet Danny Elfman. It was the end of 2022 and it was work experience coming up. My mom was doing a live concert of The Nightmare Before Christmas so my mom decided to take me to rehearsals before the show. I met him 3 times during that day, first one he shook my hand the second time he was lucky enough to sign my cd of Edward Scissorhands. And the 3rd time (which happened at the interval of the show) I got a photo with him. I’ll never forget that moment ever since.
Treasured memories Reuben and the photo you managed to snap will help it to stay vividly in your mind for the rest of your life. One of the great movie score composers of our time. John.
My memories of Batman 1989 , well I was 13 and I remember when the buzz started , back then we didn't have the interne, we only read about it , I recall they put out all the Adam west Batman tv shows as a build up, finally when it came out wow it was huge, the line ups were crazy and I had to wait about 3 weeks and when I finally did I loved it, the theatre went crazy when Jack Nicolsons name came up, the movie still holds up today , is it perfect ofcourse not , but many many fans of the comic book and all forms Batman love it just as well. Fav part of the movie for me is the beginning when the robbers meet Batman , that entire scene was gritty and great, also the intro to the Batmobile and I love the very last scene when the camera pans up to the sky and we see the Batman standing on the top of the building staring at the bat signal. Still gets me every time.Thx John
There never has been another Batman as good as Michael Keaton. There never has been another Joker as good as Jack Nicholson. But the Christopher Nolan films were very good too. Seeing Mr. Keaton back in the role for The Flash was rather special. It was like he'd never been away.
John.
This movie was a game changer at its time. Saw it in the cinema and was stunned. Part 2 was good too. Unfortunately the franchise was watered down by part 3 and 4 which were bad to awful, but not done by Burton.
The 4k disk is great. Love the Gotham look and the bat-mobile is the hero, I agree. Nevertheless, I like The Dark Knight a bit more. Great review - as usual.
Thanks Gerald. I didn't like Batman Returns but I dare say I'd think more of it today. John.
It's O.K. Nicholsons Great, the soundtracks great, I would absolutely love to see it in 4k. But me personally, for Batman, I look no further than Mr C Nolan. Sorry.
I was put off anything Batman after the three sequels to the original film so I have yet to enjoy the Christopher Nolan films. I did see about an hour of the first one but had to turn it off because it just wasn't Batman but I think I've got over that now and ready to give them another try. Wait until the 1989 Batman is on sale for a tenner somewhere Clive and snap up a copy. I think you'll find it's a better film now than it ever was. Just like me, it's improved with age!
John.
Well done another interesting review......Have you looked at the 4k MY FAIR LADY . is it worth bothering with im wondering i did like the original Lol
Lance
My Fair Lady is one I plan to purchase sometime. As it was 65mm I think we can expect it to be another one of the best so far. The bigger the film format, the better the image quality. John.
I thought Warner Bros did a terrible job on this disc. They put this awful looking blue teal filter over everything which was never supposed to be there, I don't know why they did that. They also changed the sound effects to guns, explosions and Batman's technology like his grapple and batmobile. Even the rubbish cover art has blue teal on it. Oliver Harper did a great review on this disc going more into detail about the changes and how it takes away from the original look and sound of the film. It's a shame Warner Bros did such a disappointing job on this film unlike there other 4K transfers which look amazing.
I didn't have the blue hue to the image. For me it matched the 35mm and if anything was tending to orange but that's what a decent HDR does. Worth going through all the settings on our projectors and televisions on occasion to make sure some weird digital setting hasn't been automatically applied when something else has been modified. A great looking video on my system that I probably liked as much as I did because it looks like film. The slip cover's pretty fabulous too with its shiny, glossy finish. I don't usually notice such things but this one caught my eye. Funny how we can see things differently.
As great as I think this 4K looks, I wish Warner Bros. had opted to included the original sound mix for this movie's first time looking like it did during the premiere with deep contrast and steely blues.
Instead what they've done is taken the Dolby Atmos track and squashed it down into that 5.1 track, which to me is the very same as DVDs taking a modern surround sound remix of a classic film and squishing it into a mono track just to say it has one. It's lazy and inauthentic.
Most people prefer to have the latest possible soundtrack Kevin so they pander to the masses rather than the smaller band of genuine enthusiasts and you can't blame them for that because it is a business after all. I don't know how much extra work it would have meant to apply and synchronize the original sound on there as well but in my own experience these things take a very long time and are fraught with danger. I've completely messed up a product attempting less complicated processes than this on disc and had to go back to a backup.
With regard to the colour and look of the image, I don't know the film that well as I only ever had a poor VHS copy and that was difficult to look at really. However, this transfer is from the original camera negative which means everything had to be done again from scratch. Unless the technician carrying out all the grading had an original 35mm print to check against it must be almost impossible to match a film exactly. The only other option to get this right is to transfer from the internegative where all the grading had already been done but then there's more film grain and a slightly softer image.
John.
It should be noted that the Dolby Digital 5.1 on this 4K UHD release is simply a downmix of the Dolby Atmos sound mix.
Interesting. But I suppose that's the easiest way.
@@moviecollector5920 - It's a shame that they didn't include the original mix. Having options for people is the way to go, if you ask me.
@@SimonChristensen I agree but I suppose there wouldn't be many that would select it so with the amount of work it takes it's probably not worth the financial investment. I'm the world's worst because I always like to have the original version of a film but then when there's a new soundtrack I always opt for that. Ridiculous really.
hello there.i have a copy of a magazine "Movie Collector" from the 90s as part of my interest in Laserdisc. were you
ever involved its publication ?
No, never asked to do anything for that one. But I did buy each copy as it came out. Didn't last long though as I recall. John.
Tell me something, my friend. You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight..
Or did you watch movies in dark like me..
Thanx!
BRILLIANT!
Fun and informative video. Thanks for producing it. Good work.
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it. John.
This is great film but more so now.
The editing of this film is off in one important scene. This the scene were Batman rescues Kim Basinger and The Joker says "Where does he get all those wonderful toys" The edit at the time was ubrupt and ruins the line for me.When you have Jack Nicholson delivers a line.Dont cut it short.It is a grand line. The scene is of by couple of seconds and this edit then scene change was so abrupt and effects the scence so much it . Throws away the line for me.As you can see even to this day. I know I'm Picking at a fault most people did not notice.Good Video 😎
Now you've got me onto editing... how about the continuity in the art gallery when the Joker and his gang are vandalising everything? Paintings are vandalised and then the next cut they're back to normal. I don't think it matters as these things sometimes have to have compromises when editing a film together but I know other people have gone nuts about this poor continuity. Some even complain about the purple make up smudge on the Joker when he first appears back at Jack Palance's apartment - "Jack is dead my friend... you can call me Joker!"
John.
Love Batman ‘89.
I don’t know about audio/picture quality, but Batman v Superman is a bore to watch.
That seems to be the general consensus so far Ian but a few people have said there are a few good Batman scenes. I'm beginning to think that my next Batman review will be the Nolan films. We'll see. First this one has to prove itself otherwise it's probably a bit of a waste of time. John.
Batman returns has superb picture quality on 4K even better than this ....I highly recommend it
I'll try to generate some enthusiasm Barrie but I didn't like it at all back in the day. As I haven't seen it since maybe I'll enjoy it a whole lot more now.
I love grain
Grain is the sign of a true film. Video cameras are amazing now but there's a magic ingredient missing and I think it's grain because the recent remake of Midway had it added and I was fooled. John.
I've been trying to find a 35mm print of Carpenter's Halloween for a while? Where do you get your prints?
I doubt you'll manage to find a 35mm print of Halloween - well, not one that hasn't faded to pink by now. In 1978 all the prints had a tendency to fade over time and prior to this the only prints that didn't were Technicolor Imbibition Dye-Transfer prints but they had gone the way of the Dodo by then. In 1979 Kodak introduced low-fade film stock and that became mainstream in 1982. This means that films printed during or after 1982 (with a few exceptions as I don't know the exact date the new stocks were standardised and even then some old print stock would have still been around until it was all used up) should still look as they did today.
I haven't picked up any 35mm prints for years now. I used to look at the 35mm Forum every day and that's where most of them came from. The cost of shipping them from all corners of the world tended to cost more than the actual prints but even so they only tended to total up to £250 so bargains as far as I'm concerned. I expect the 35mm Forum is still around but if it's not there have got to be Facebook groups on the same subject with collectors willing to trade.
John.
Just watched that teaser on RUclips.. Definitely something to check out!
I need to give that roll of 35mm a run again soon Bob but my projector's away with Noel Pratt getting a bit of a service and a few upgrades right now. I can't wait to have it back. John.
I want to live in your basement .
Ho ho. We don't have a basement! What is the cinema was originally intended to be a dining room but that changed the day we moved in here. First show was 'Mickey Mouse The First Fifty Years' on Super 8 on that first night. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Interesting. I pictured your rare reel to reel films shelved and ready for play in such a subterranean setting, hence my humor . Consider reviewing the 4K edition of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds as I have preordered its solo release .
Regards
-AJ
Can you say anything about the colour timing? Specifically the blueish tint on the 4k. Is that there in the original 35mm? There’s a lot of controversy about it.
There have been many comments about it and whereas I do not know the film well enough to say too much I can say that I was impressed by how colourful the 4K disc is. I remember it as being dark and colourless but I was probably influenced by my awful VHS copy which is all I've seen since seeing it at the cinema in 1989. As far as I can see the 35mm trailer is remarkably similar but as that is the trailer that's running throughout this review (apart from a short section of the same trailer on Super 8) you might be able to tell better than I.
Whatever the truth, the original camera negative was scanned for this release and that is not graded. This means the new master needed to be colour graded so without a 35mm print on hand to check it against I'm not sure how the original release prints can be matched exactly. There were 70mm blow-up prints from the negative so they probably looked different to the 35mm mass produced prints which are struck from the internegative which itself is struck from the interpositive and it's the interpositive that is used to work out all the grading. So, the internegative is graded to facilitate mass production from it.
I hope all this makes sense.
John.
People who are grainophobes have no business critiquing the look of film transfers. I'm so glad you're not one of them.
I never used to think about film grain much, only when it was deliberately coarse to give a particular film a gritty look ('Klute' 1971 for example) but this recent spate of home video film reviewers complaining about film grain has made me appreciate it more. I do think it's possible to shoot a modern film on video but as with 1917 and Le Mans '66, they look absolutely fabulous but there's something missing and it's film grain. I need to look at the re-make of Midway again because they introduced fake film grain to that and I think it actually worked.
I can see responding to all the comments is becoming a little more challenging as your challenge blows up. And it is, and it will continue because the work you put out is fantastic. Extremely well spoken and very knowledgeable. Your passion for this medium is obvious as soon as speak. Keep up the amazing videos. You are slowly becoming one of my favorite channels. Always get excited to see a new vid.
Thank you Jorge. I've been sat here for almost an hour so far responding to everyone but it's the right thing to do. Thank you for your encouraging words though which are always welcome. John.
Forgot to ask I would love to get a Pearl and Dean advert set as the original cinema showing . Is there anyone out there who could do this on Blue Ray. It would create a great atmosphere before the main film showing. Mark
Well I have it on Super 8 but I'm not sure what the copyright situation would be with regards to releasing it on Blu-ray. I think someone's put it up on RUclips though.
John.
They absolutely ruined the color grading on these new transfers (Especially Batman Returns)😢 I had to go back and buy the 2010 Blu-rays…
I’m very surprised you didn’t mention/notice this being that you have the 35mm print.
That's because it closely matches the 35mm print. A fabulous 4K that rivals having a 35mm print but without quite having the same fun about it. John.
Fantastic review of the 4k disc which I watched last week its glorious the score by elfman is bombastic. Keep up the great videos
I don't know which of his scores is better - Batman or Spider-Man. But I expect I'll find out soon when I run Spider-Man again.
John.
My favorite musical sequence in the film is when Batman has Vicki in his car, and they're driving through the mysterious forest on their way to the Batcave. Great stuff.
I’m wondering if someone is also a comic book collector? 🍷 Hello from San Diego (Lyle)
Another great one... I’ll definitely took a re-look at this title. It’s been many years.
I used to have loads of the comics as a child Lyle but unfortunately the all got thrown out when the old family home was sold years ago. I wasn't there at the time to prevent it so it was a little upsetting. Fortunately I've replaced the Spider-Man comics with five volumes containing reproductions of all those comics I lost. I'm expecting to include those in the forthcoming Spider-Man 4K review coming soon.
John.
the older bluray has darker blacker tone the 4k has more detail but clearly has a massive blue hue in the tones all over the movie. i wonder did the original print look more like the older bluray or the 4k with the blue hue... i will always choose original color grading over more detail but i think the 4k disc has a blue hue that was never present in original print but i am not 100 percent sure
There is some blue in the darker scenes on my television after people quizzed me about it but it was not apparent on my video projector so if it hadn't have been mentioned, I wouldn't have spotted it. I can understand people thinking the colour has been changed but it's not like what has been done to Star Wars which now looks like a completely different film. Batman is still Batman and I don't think it's looked as good as this since the cinema and does look strikingly similar to the 35mm trailer on this review. John.
Wish Tim Burton would use the scope format, think he only used it on Mars Attacks?
Batman would have looked even more impactive in 'Scope. I remember being disappointed that the masking didn't open right up at the cinema in 1989. John.
Excellent review! If you liked this Disk Batman Returns also looks spectacular. Batman forever and Batman and Robin also look very good, but the films themselves just aren’t very good.
Agreed. I really wanted to like them but they just didn't match up. I'll now reply to your comment on Batman vs Superman because the trailer really is truly awful so I'll take some persuading. John.
Great content and presentation of your video reviews. Very barry norman approach👌👍
Thank you Morton. John.
Batman v Superman isn't a very good movie. Its a sequel to Man of Steel.
Thank you Ankka939. The general consensus is that it's a bit of a stinker but I may still take a look at it because some of it originated on genuine IMAX 15/70mm. I thought 'Man of Steel' was pretty awful but I may prefer it if I ever dig the disc out again for a second viewing... well, we can but hope!
John.
The BvS remaster just restores the two IMAX scenes to its proper ratio and enhances the colour. The rest is left the same. There are videos on RUclips showcasing the new ratio.
That makes sense. I will look into all this further before deciding on whether to risk the £20 cost. The trailer is truly awful but I guess it's made for children and teenagers so on that basis I should really like it!
@@moviecollector5920 It’s a very marmite movie. You either like it or hate it. Since you said here that you don’t mind a more violent Batman you might like it. There is a particular scene near the end in a warehouse which I think is the best Batman scene so far in all of his movies. Including 1966.
@@thribs I agree, loved that scene, it's probably what Snyder it's mostly good for, fight scenes haha.
@@thribs That's a good start then... or rather, a good ending!
I (51) was the projectionist during the BATMAN show in 1989 and I can very well remember that I was pissed off at the 1.85: 1 format typical for directors such as Tim Burton or G. Del Toro (BLADE 2) wich are against 2.35: 1/2.40: 1 frame format so Batman with 1.85: 1 did not seem very expensive looking production like Dick Donner Superman in compare my opinion again a great 4K review as usual another example i wish WATERWORLD was shot in 2.35:1 instead of 1.85:1
It was always a disappointment if the masking didn't motor out just before the film started. Maybe that was a reason why I was a little underwhelmed with Batman in 1989. By contrast on the home screen, it's great.
I thought Waterworld was good right from the start. Shame it got so critically panned and lost a fortune.
@@moviecollector5920 Yes indeed Waterworld is very entertaining i am a huge fan of Kevin Costner and want on UHD Dances with Wolves both Cuts + both Cuts or at least the theatrical Cut of Wyatt Earp the Directors Cut is available on Japanese Laserdisc from Warner including Dolby Atmos remix and i allways prefe... Wyatt Earp much more th... Tombstone but don't get me wrong Tombstone is also a great movie including A1 cast
Bought this today based on your excellent review.
Let me know when you're having the premiere J B and we'll all come over! John.
You have just inadvertently answered a question which has bugged me for 15 years! I couldn’t remember the Batman comic complication I got as a kid around when this film came out and then I seen it on your table, “the greatest Batman stories ever told” I recognised the cover instantly, I’ve tried for hours to find out what book that was, thank you, thank you, thank you 🙏
And there was a second volume shortly afterwards called 'The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told' but I didn't purchase that one. One day I hope to have the time to read the compilations again as I do enjoy them but haven't been able to since about the time the film came out. John.
I share your love of film grain. I even love the odd pop and scratch etc as I grew up watching movies looking that way. Cigarette burns are missed too.
And how about the little circles in the top right hand corner to give notice that a reel change is coming up? Those were the days.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 - Thats the cigarette burns I mentioned. They might have called them something else in the UK.
The new transfer Is awful…teal everywhere and the new sound effects spoil it
It seems to be the same on the 35mm trailer but see what you think. Didn't notice new sound effects but it's not exactly a masterpiece that I'd watch to death. Children probably did though back in 1990 when the VHS came out. John.
Another great review. You and I seem to be largely of the same opinion about Batman and this film. Did you ever see Batman Vs Superman? I don't know that it would be to your taste. In a way, it's the ultimate incarnation of the early, violent, dark Batman from the 1930s comics (although in Zack Snyder's world, Superman is actually pretty dark too, so there's less of a contrast), but it's a fairly angry and brutal movie overall. I enjoyed it, but not with the same part of me that I enjoyed this Batman with. What I love about early Tim Burton is he's fascinated by loner weirdos who march to their own drummer. When people got upset about Michael Keaton's casting before Batman was released, it was because physically, he doesn't look like the kind of guy who could swing around on ropes and win a fistfight with a giant thug. I think the reason Burton chose Keaton, though, is that he was more interested in the kind of personality that would want to wear a rubber suit out in public. No matter how driven you are to fight crime or avenge your parents' death, the decision to parade around in a costume in public is a whole different kind of freaky, and Michael Keaton embodies it. I'd say if you're looking to review more Batman, the Burton sequel Batman Returns and the Christopher Nolan trilogy (which are much truer to the comics than Burton, even if they don't quite have as pure an artistic vision) would be the place to go, if you haven't already. If I remember correctly, Nolan supervised the 4k transfer and insisted on basing the scan on the interpositive (?) instead of the original negative, sacrificing a bit of sharpness in order to more accurately represent the color grading... or something like that?
Funnily enough Craig, I picked up the Nolan Dark Knight trilogy in last week's visit to HMV. £39.95 for all three films on 4K didn't seem bad to me. Very interesting that you recall he seems to have had the scan done from the interpositives because that is the first generation from the negative and where all the grading is worked out. The internegative then tets all that grading applied and the mass production 35mm prints are then struck from the internegative. There must be some sort of code that is attached to the interpositive that means the video colourist can match what was originally worked out. I have been in several discussions with fellow enthusiasts about all of this following many fans of the 1989 Batman claiming the colour was changed. As that scan was taken from the original camera negative (or so we all believe) then the colour, lighting, curves, brightness and contrast were all done from scratch. Unless there was a 35mm print to match it to then it's got to be almost impossible to match.
I think I am going to pick-up the Batman vs. Superman re-master but it might be a while because I didn't fancy splashing out £20 last week when there were other films I really wanted to see. I'll see how I get on with the Nolan films first and take it from there.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 Really looking forward to your Dark Knight trilogy review, John.
This is one of the few 4K discs I own where I struggle to see the difference to the standard BD. I enjoy the film itself, campy as it is - although it's fair to say it's a little dated. On the whole, I would say unless you absolutely love the film, just get the standard blu ray.
I scrutinized the two James and the difference between them is quite marked once you get to know what to look for. Because our home screens are tiny compared to what these 35mm films were designed to be screened on there is little perceptible difference between the definition of a Blu-ray and a UHD Blu-ray, particularly with the effective upscaling that the 4K players achieve (although I have to say that in my past tests I have compared a standard Blu-ray player to a 4K player with similar results), but where the difference is marked should be in the colour and contrast. And that is the case with Batman. Turn HDR off on your 4K disc and you'll probably quickly learn to pick it up.
Having said all this, there are plenty of titles available where the difference really is imperceptible!
John.
@@moviecollector5920 Maybe I need to give it another try, John! My TV is 55", which I suppose is small even by TV standards nowadays. But the HDR just didn't pop to my eyes - I watched the blu ray after and it looked so similar. Compare it to First Blood, or 2001, or Casino - all older films - and it didn't compare. Must be my eyes! 😁 Keep the videos coming!
@@jnicholls21 Aha! '2001 A Space Odyssey' was Super Panavision so no way it's going to match up to 65mm. 'First Blood' was largely outdoors and mainly in daylight as I recall (Batman was largely indoors and shot at night) and Casino was around 1993/94/95 when film stock was possibly a little superior to that of 1989. Remember that Kodak were developing their product all the time and it started improving markedly during the 1980s and hasn't stopped to this day. That is why 'Murder on the Orient Express' looks so damned good because it's a 65mm production and was shot on modern, fine grain film stock. Unbeatable!
John.
@@moviecollector5920 You're like the film teacher I never had! Your videos are such a welcome, refreshing escape from a world of million-miles-an-hour, million-decibel media nonsense. I may well have to invest in Murder on the Orient Express. More expense! 😉
After your comments on how good the 4K quality was on murder on the orient express I purchased it and spot on , the image on my 155 inch screen was outstanding, in fact one of the best I have seen and it does show you what 4K is capable of. Just another note it might just be me but I have noticed on all the projectors I have used over the last 18 years approx have a issue with focus not perfect at the end of a film. This was really noticeable when I had Sanyo plv70 and 80 models, these I found I would need to reset the focus mid way and at the end. The Sony vpl 4K range is a lot better but I do notice a slight shift after a couple of hours. I would be interested on your thoughts. Keep up the great reviews! You talk with great authority and experience, regards Mark. Cromer in sunny Norfolk
I've not come across that problem with drifting focus but 155 inches must equate to ten feet wide so I'm not projecting as wide as that. One day I'll get around to using my ten foot roll down screen in the living room with the 4K projector but up to now I've only used it for film.
I wonder if the driftiing focus is due to the machine getting hot, expanding and causing a minor movement of the lens. This does happen with film projectors so I don't see any reason why it wouldn't with video.
If you see anything on 4K that's better than Murder on the Orient Express then please let me know. It's still better than anything else on my system but I'm beginning to understand why some videos look better on one system than they do on another. Put Spider-Man on the other night and the film grain was really coarse which was down to the HDR being over bright. Turned it down and all was well.
John.
Thank you for your reply reassuring to know that film projectors suffer the same problem. As you say it is due to heat, the Sanyo’s were 2.5 and 3000 Lumens so a lot of heat, unlike the Sony at 1800 . Problem is I guess if you try to alter the focus on the Sony it takes you to the setup screen which would spoil the film , at least you can adjust the lens on a film projector without any alteration of the displayed image, many thanks again, regards Mark
Will you be doing a review of batman returns 4k?
Maybe one day Alamin. I didn't like the film when it was in cinemas so it's probably about time I gave it another chance. John.
The moment I see a new video from you, I'm like a kid in the candy store. Loved this one. Many thanks! I was living in Brussels when this came out in 1989. I saw it at the then world's largest cinema and was blown away. That color palette, the darkness, Elfman's score, the car, the journey to the BatCave, Keaton..... I need to rewatch as I struggled with Jack Nicholson's over the top, campy performance. I'm a fan of Prince, but felt his contribution was jarring. Great review as always. BTW - I'd love to see you review Murder on the Orient Express as I think this is the pinnacle of the format so far.
Ho ho. Thank you Robert. I too had a problem with Jack Nicholson's portrayal of The Joker all those years ago but I think he's grown on me as I've got older. I suspect the film 'The Bucket List' is the big contributor to my change of opinion there but he's done plenty of other great films since 1989. This time I absolutely loved his portrayal and I now appreciate why he was such a major factor in the film's success.
I would have loved to have done a full review of 'Murder on the Orient Express' but sadly there's just not the interest in that film to justify it. However, when 'Death on the Nile' is here you can expect that will be an excuse to cover it in some detail.
@@moviecollector5920 I will rewatch and if the Nicholson performance grows on me. I'm a huge fan of his and love so many of his films, especially the earlier movies when he was acting versus being a star. As a piece of feedback, and please take it as it's intended. I think your best videos are the ones where it's so obvious you love the material. From the feedback on your channel it's clear that you are as much a reason we watch, as the film you review. I've watched and enjoyed many of your videos where I have little interest in the movie. You're that good! Bestest, Rob
I opened an Amazon tab halfway through your review to order a copy! Another fantastic review, insightful and a lot of fun. Thank you sir
Hope you enjoy it as much as my wife Susanne and I did Ahmed. Really surprised how much I did enjoy it actually so not seeing it in many, many years actually did me good.
This is one of my favorite movies. I saw the 4K version on Apple TV app and the quality is very good. That had Dolby Vision. I heard that the disc version doesn't have it for some reason. Sam Raimi's Spider-Man looks very good in 4K as well.
Funnily enough I looked at the first half of the 4K disc of Spider-Man last night and the HDR required adjustment to get the best out of it. I think Batman looks better and unlike Spider-Man doesn't require any messing about but because Spider-Man is mainly shot outside in daylight I expect most will think it's the superior imagery. I will scrutinize further and see what else I can find.
John.
Hey, John! I just got the Arrow video Blu-ray of Tremors last week. I highly recommend it.
I never really thought that much of Tremors. Has it improved with age?
Heck yeah, it does! I hadn't watched it since the '90s and I loved it. One, no CGI and two, I'd say that 95% of the jokes land and most of them are LOL funny. It also looks so much better in widescreen.
I hope you will keep an eye out for the 4K version of Dune which is rumoured to be coming out later this year (from Arrow?). A truly epic movie which never got its due.
I did see it at the cinema but I too didn't like it much. Maybe it will have now come into its own and we'll see it in a new light. If Arrow are putting it out at least we all know it will be a good job. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Thanks for replying! I know some people found Dune too confusing or too weird, but I think it is a unique vision and has some groundbreaking effects for its time. Plus the music is terrific. I have both soundtrack CDs.
What you think about Batman Returns? I really like it and Michelle Phieffer is very good as Catwoman. I also like Batman Forever. Its colorful so it looks great with HDR.
Many have told me the sequel looks great on 4K disc but I didn't like the film so I've avoided it over all the intervening years. Michael Keaton as Batman and Michelle Pfieffer at Catwoman were great but I didn't like the fishy nature of Danny DeVito's Penguin character and it spoiled the enjoyment for me. One day I'll spot the disc going cheap and give it a look. Never saw Batman Forever after its theatrical outing but I recall it wasn't that bad. Best film is the 1989 Batman and then I think it's the Christopher Nolan trilogy.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 There has been talk online that 3 hour version of Batman Forever exist but it has never been released. It was darker so studio didn't like it at the time. I hope it gets released some day.
@@Ankka939 I hardly remember anything about it although I did have a tee-shirt with Val Kilmer as Batman on it that I wore to death. I might actually enjoy it when I do finally get to see it again. John.
Please review the Christian Bale version of Batman.
It's on the radar Colin. Stay tuned! John.
The 8 people that downvoted this are this guy's competitors.. can't get enough of these reviews.
Ho ho, that would really be something. I think some of them will be people who simply don't like the film Batman and they think giving a video about it the thumbs down means just that. I have to admit that I didn't even notice there were eight and not had I noticed that over a thousand like it. That's rather amazing so thank you for drawing my attention to it. John.
@@moviecollector5920 I'm not so sure there's 8 people out there that don't like Micheal Keaton as Batman! But continue the great work fine sir!
Just found your channel the other day and so glad that I have now that I am starting a 4K film collection. Your videos are very informative and you have helped me selecting a few titles. Thank you for all you do.
Well I hope you enjoy all the discs I've recommended as much as I have. And I wouldn't like them if they weren't up to film standards but I think I probably give that impression successfully in the videos. It's wonderful to be able to watch video in such unbelievable quality in our homes. We're all just going to need bigger houses to install bigger screens!
John.
@@moviecollector5920 I am looking forward to watching "The Ten Commandments" especially after watching your review! Have you done a review of the 4K of "Glory" ? Would love to hear your thoughts.
Cheers!
@@maccaphotos I haven't purchased Glory yet as I have the laser disc and know the film so well as a result. But HMV do keep putting it on sale in the 3 for £10 so I keep getting tempted.
You would of made a good replacement for Barry Norman
He was great. Just like me though, there were plenty of outtakes! One day I may actually assemble a few of them because my wife keeps making me laugh from behind the camera.
For anyone curious, here is that teaser trailer. 😀
ruclips.net/video/EyozzozRsCk/видео.html
The shots of the film in the review are actually that 35mm teaser trailer running so you can all get two bites of the cherry.
John.
Great reviewer! I dont profess to ever be as good! ;)
Thank you Film Dirt. I'm just watching a review on Valkyrie so I wonder who uploaded that one?!? John.
Even though I don’t have a 4K player as digital via iTunes is good enough for me I do like watching your videos.
Anyhow I’d just like to say thanks as watching this one spurred me on to watch the Batman trailer via the extras on my Apple TV4K and found a new 39 minute Catwoman doc had been added as a featured extra.
Well, I'll haveto see if I can get you back into collecting movies again. Ever fancied having a go with Super 8?!? John.
@@moviecollector5920 don’t get me wrong as I do love collecting movies which is why my shelves are full of DVDs and Blu-rays, it’s just more of a lifestyle choice that I’m happy enough to stick with what iTunes 4K offers.
I just don’t have the room for loads of discs these days.
@@RezapBluelion1 I have a similar space issue. I removed a lot of DVDs from their plastic cases, put the discs on 50 disc spindles and filed all the inlays togehter. That made some room but I quickly seemed to fill up again. Streaming is good - it's now up to Blu-ray quality at times which is incredible. Apparently new codecs are coming which will compress better image information into a similar sized file so 4K might be possible sooner than we think. I know it's claimed at 4K, but it's so compressed that it surely can't be really. From a disc there's up to 100Gb streaming off it and even my fibre optic connection couldn't do that with a two hour film. John.
I was thoroughly upset with the replacement sound effects on Batman 89 4K. And I thought the 4K color filter was terrible. It has all gone Turquoise!
Many people have said the same. It looks remarkably similar to the 35mm trailer though so perhaps it was graded to match a 35mm print and not the previous video releases everyone came to know. One day I hope to find out. But whatever the truth, it looks better on my system than any previous video of it I've seen. John.
@@moviecollector5920 that is a very interesting response I had not considered. Was the filter intended from the beginning but lost in later home video releases. Food for thought. Thank you for the reply John.
@@TroyUlysses It seems possible. Whatever the truth though, this 4K was a genuine surprise because my recollection fro the VHS was of a dark, colourless film. It's still a dark film of course, but dark in a good sense as you can see everything but the overall impression is of the night and that's what you want with a Batman film. To see such wonderful colour on the 1989 Time Burton Batman though - brilliant! I really wasn't expecting it to be so good. John.
Not my favorite Batman. Great costume. But I still have not gotten over Michael Keaton as the character. He is a fine actor but at 5 feet 8 inches he was way to small to play a believable Batman. They made no effort to make him seem larger. This was a Tim Burton notion that Batman is a regular guy. Wrong. Bruce Wayne and or Batman of course has no super powers. But is far from a average regular guy. The character was always a tall broad handsome athletic man. The film itself had some nice visuals but a week script and no location filming make it seem like a low budget television show.
My opinion is that he made a great Batman. Hard to imagine anyone else in the role and that is always a problem when someone makes a role their own. Having said that, I haven't seen the sequel since it was released because I thought it was awful!
John.
@@moviecollector5920 Again. Good actor but a person of such diminutive stature is simply like I stated not believable. Even Adam West was about six feet two inches. Anyway, and very useful review of the disc. Cheers!
It took me awhile to get into this movie never got into it until someone at a old job recommend to give it another go then I watched the Japanese Laserdisc I just fell in love with it. Looking forward to picking up the 4K.
@@moviecollector5920 I am same with Star Wars I own it across VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray and Laserdisc of multiple versions plus a digital of the 16mm print of Star Wars, Empire and Return of the Jedi. Though I am starting my 4K journey when I start my new job so I am preparing myself of a handful of titles.
@@moviecollector5920 the prints from the Definitive Edition Laserdiscs was officially release on DVD in 2006 and reissued in 2008. Lucas did approve one showing of the original movie in the US as a double feature with Rouge One.
These comments have all reappeared too so I'm not sure what's going on but my apologies if my replies all disappeared. One day I'm sure the original version of Star Wars will reappear for good and then hopefully all the re-hashes will be consigned to history. Although I have to say, I did enjoy the re-working of the death star battle in 1997 which I think would have worked well as a 400ft reel release on Super 8 to give us the option of running the featue with the original death star battle or the re-hash. John.
Thanks for the review. Super jealous you have the trailer on film! I've got mixed feelings on this release. The teal filter has changed the look of the film from it's original release. It's not necessarily bad but it is a big change and I preferred it how it was colour wise. Not only that, certain sounds effects (gun shots etc) have been altered to sound more realistic, again not a huge deal but an interesting decision that does change the feel of the film. Overall a nice release with one or two caveats. Cheers, Andy
Quite a few people have mentioned the blue hue but it's beginning to look like modern televisions are partly to blame. Many people know this film well and they've spotted the blue cast that the backlights of many televisions give out. Or at least, that seems to be what is happening. I wouldn't say it's blue on my television but because I was looking for it given what people were saying on here, I went looking for it. Even so, it took a while before anything looked like it could be more blue than it should be so it seems my Panasonic telly isn't too bad in that regard. On my Optoma video projector it seems to look very similar to the 35mm trailer.
Having said all this, Cliffhanger on 4K had a tendency towards green on my video projector but I do believe that is a white light output without any tendency towards blue unlike arc lamps which do tend towards blue (and I have a Super 8 projector that does just that with an HTI lamp conversion). So Cliffhanger does appear to have had a mild colour change but it's not a problem, it still looks better than any previous release. I got to know that film so well via the laser disc and Super 8 trailer so I was probably one of very few people to spot it.
So despite Batman possibly having a couple of minor issues (and I don't agree with making changes to films either) it is still a darned good release and compares favourably to that 35mm trailer you see running on the screen and in through the projector gate in the video.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 that's really interesting John. I wonder how much displays are involved. What I would say is my old standard Blu Ray looks very different to the 4k colour wise, as does my DVD. I had a similar issue with Terminator 2. It reminds me of what they did way back with The Matrix with the green filter to match the sequels. This was fixed for the 4k and it looks so much better. Either way, keep up the great work, only just found your channel and it's nice to see a fellow Brit doing such content.
Back in Poland, where I grew up, the film was released in cinemas a year later, in the summer of 1990. It was the first movie I went to see on my own, as a 12-yr old kid. The top of my head blew off all the way up to the cinema ceiling. It was dark, it was moody and I was completely sucked into that world! Over the next few years I have completely worn out my VHS copy with repeat viewings and could possibly recite the lines delivered in Polish voice-over from memory. It was around that time that, thanks to my mom, I laid hands on one of the early Sony camcorders and I just knew I had to make my own spoof of it. An old dark blue bathrobe became my cape, the opening credits were gloriously hand-written and moved by hand in front of the lens and I created my own mix of Danny Elfman’s score by hooking up my VHS to a double cassette deck and messing about with tapes. The result is long lost but it goes to show just how powerful a cinematic experience can be. I still keep coming back to Tim Burton’s movie quite often, the worn out VHS of yore has since then been replaced by a DVD, then Blu-Ray and now the incredibly beautiful looking 4k disc. And it still gets me every time.
Some time ago I managed to get a copy of the early teaser trailer on Super 8 - a little gem in my collection and a reminder of just how special that film is to me. “I don’t know if it’s art, but I like it!”
Wonderful memories. Thank you for sharing them. That Super 8 trailer is quite likely taken from my 35mm trailer as I spotted it at Derann Films one day for the princely sum of £2. They were selling quite a few trailers off and as they'd put the Batman trailer out on Super 8 it makes sense that it's the master. I have the Super 8 copy too. The upshot is, the trailer you see running in this review video could be the master for your Super 8 print. It's a small world.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 Yes, I was quite delighted to see a bit of the 35mm one projected in your video! What a steal at £2! You’d be probably hard pressed to find anything on 35mm for that kind of money nowadays (one of the reasons I’d probably never venture into the world of 35mm home projecting as much as it is tempting!). Just as for yourself the first Alien was the movie to have spurred you on to become a serious cinephile, so was Tim Burton’s take on the dark knight that did it for me.
@@michal.florczak Well, that 1989 film (or 1990 as far as Poland is concerned!) does seem to get better and better as the years pass. I will actually see the new Flash film because Michael Keaton plays Batman again. Otherwise it would have been another one for the scrap heap before I'd ever even give it a chance. Naughty I know but they've overdone all the comic superhero films now.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 I was briefly toying with the idea of seeing it at the Waterloo IMAX, however, judging from the trailer, I am not entirely sure I’d be able to look past the contrived premise and the sensory overload! There is a relative realism about Batman which I always enjoyed so the jury is still out on whether or not I’ll give Flash a chance :)
Another great overview of an iconic superhero movie . I have a great nostalgia for the way superhero films were made pre CGI , and think they stand the test of time much better than modern efforts. Great work once again, John . Looking forward to your next video !
Agree completely about the pre-computer cartooning days. There are occasional obvious model shots though so I suppose some things have improved. One thing that certainly hasn't improved is the general look of films now most of them are shot with video. There are exceptions though but I wonder how much better some of them would be if the film makers were still given the best tools of the trade to work with. John.
Great review.must get this.I was watching some documentary about this film a few weeks and apparently this was Danny elfmans first film score and before that he was in a rock band.crazy if true
I don't know if that is true but I think it's so perfect that he scored 'Spider-Man' with another top-notch set of compositions and orchestrations. Two of the three greatest comic superheroes brought to life and he did the music for both. If it wasn't for that John Williams bloke he might have had the hat trick... although he was probably still at school when Superman The Movie was made. John.
@@moviecollector5920 he did a great job with the spiderman films
Oingo Boingo was the name of his band. They appeared on the Gong Show.
He was 30 years old when he made that? Man!
Sometimes it takes someone who simply thinks differently to come along and set a new standard. Tim Burton did just that with this film. If he'd have been a decade or so older I doubt we'd have got anything like how it turned out.
John.
I like your videos people like me are inspired to create my own channel
I'll be watching if you do Melvin. I think you need a unique angle or approach before starting which is why I finally got on with it because I thought there was no one with real [reel] film. John.
I think ur correct about being different i I still haven't decided if i want to be in front of the camera or just narrate the videos I've been cinema fan for over 30 yrs. Thank god my wife does too
“Batman” is one of those movies that just belongs on the big screen. It deserves that honor. The movie’s true strength was that it’s a film noir first and a superhero movie second. It has the look and style of an old 1940’s movie that I always adored. It’s very character driven and relies very less on action and special effects. Based on my research speaking of effects, I learned that the effects were a “rushed job” to get to that summer 1989 release. I feel like those “rushed” effects were very old fashioned in a good way and they truly added to the movie’s visual style. I know people regard “The Dark Knight” as the absolute best Batman film, but for me, this is the *real* best Batman film and altogether one of the greatest superhero movies ever made.
I think it's probably the best comic book superhero film with the possible exception of Spider-Man 1 and Spider-Man 2 but it's close. I too was given the impression THE DARK KNIGHT was considered the most liked of the Christopher Nolan Batman films but surprisingly that wasn't the case in the comments on my review video of his three films. I felt it was the least successful of the three and although there were plenty of people who felt it was the best there were more who preferred THE DARK KNIGHT RISES and BATMAN BEGINS. I expect trying to include a new Joker after Jack Nicholson had already played the part didn't help the second film because no one could ever match up to that.
John.
Do you have batman vhs?
An NTSC version Rabia. It's terrible and always was. John.
have you seen the movie The Hateful Eight? How do you like the picture quality Super Panavision 70mm?
Only seen it on Blu-ray and it wasn't as exceptional as I was expecting on my system. Great that they used the best format available barring genuine IMAX perhaps. Not sure what I thought of the film really so probably needs a second viewing sometime soon.