I remember how excited I felt when my dad picked me up and said we were goin to see Batman in 1989. I was almost 6 years old and I remember it so vividly. I even remember the giant bat posters that were in the bus stops
I find it utterly amazing (even if his movies in recent years suck) that Tim Burton was only 29 years old when he directed a project of this magnitude with only Pee Wee and Beetlejuice under his belt.
I just watched this movie last night and God, was Michael Keaton good in the role. IMO, no one beats him. That guy WAS Bruce Wayne/Batman, and he understood that those were two different characters.
i love tim burton. and michael keaton, and the burton batman movies. they hit it it right on the head with the style, darkness, and cool suave batman had (Keaton)
I see where the nostalgia critic was coming from in his opinions of the respective Nicholson vs Ledger interpretations of the joker. Nicholsons Joker is more creepy than scary...however he does have certain scenes but they are early on before you fully see Jack in his new alter ego. When he is at the plastic surgeons the manic echoing laugh he does as the scene ends has stayed with me since as quite a scary scene. I would still rate this Batman higher than dark night because it is so epic!
Batman has been around for around 80 years now, and there's no way the character will ever die. Of course there have been gigantic blunders here and there, but it's all to do with creating a Batman suitable for the era it's in. It takes a huge blockbuster movie to really cement a character in a lot of ways and this film made it's mark
I was just a little baby when i saw Batman. I remember chowdering so much popcorn and raisinets to my little fat face. This film was as influential as the OG StarWars!! Boom!!.
I have this doc on vhs someplace from when it first appeared. I must have watched it 10 or more times leading up to seeing the film a couple of weeks later.
A great documentary of Batman, I wonder what Bob Kane would of thought of Batman Begins or The Dark Knight? He would probly of liked it better then Batman Forever and definately Batman and Robin.
It's funny seeing them speculate as to whether it not this was gonna be a hit. Same thing happened with Star Wars though there wasn't near the amount of hype, it looked like most people even the cast thought SW would bomb. I wasn't born yet though so I can only look back at interviews and articles from the time
@samprastherabbit Bob Kane came up with the Batman Concept and the rough sketches, Bill Finger helped him perfect the idea. Part of the reason Finger went uncreditied for so long was that he wrote many of his Batman stories as a ghost writer.
Bob Kane co-created Batman. I cringe that Bill Finger isn't mentioned. You can say a lot of horrible things about Kane, and most of them would probably be true. But let's not pretend Bob Kane had absolutely nothing to do with Batman. He came up with the name. He actually drew Detective Comics #27 and was pretty much the editor of Batman from there on out.
I think it was pretty much the name of the character and the premise of a rich guy who becomes a masked avenger at night that are the only contributions to the character. And a lot of early art of course. But almost everything else is Bill Finger and to a slightly lesser extent Jerry Robinson. There's slight disputes over who created the Joker but I think it's safe to say it was Robinson. I'm not telling you anything you don't know I'm just kind of commiserating with you like,sucks doesn't it? I find it weird that with Batman it's the writer who is often forgotten but with Spider-Man it's the artist. It kind of shows what the strong points of each company were at the time,Marvel(timely?) always emphasized writing over art. Though they had Kirby so what do I know?
Adam, you are right that he drew, but his idea was originally called birdman and he had a red costume, then finger changed it to batman, came up with all the names, bruce's origin, and most of the early versions were him as well. kane was a great sales man but when he pitched it he got the credit. at the time that was common and not thought of as bad. but as time went on and the other early creators were telling people about there teams kane just passively mentioned fingers name and said "Im the creator of batman". there is a great pod cast kevin smith does called fatman on batman. there is a ton of great interviews and they did a whole episode on finger and why things went the way they did. he wasn't totally innocent either. he never spoke up for him self
Batman was created by Bob Kane AND Bill Finger. Finger made him the dark detective, while Kane handled Batman's design, although Finger did make suggestions as to the character's iconic cowl- Kane initially had him in a domino mask. Finger signed away his claims to the character in return for exclusive writing rights in the comics. Don't get me wrong- Bob Kane deserves his credit, but Bill Finger deserves the credit for pushing the detective side of Batman.
the whole reason Forever and that movie which must never be named went light and campy was because of Parents complaining about Returns being dark, depressing and unfit for their kids
Batman Serials: Terrible, they're even worse then Batman and Robin Batman 66: A straight up spoof/paradoy, and is possibly the funniest spoof of Batman you'll find. Batman 89. Batman Returns, Batman The Animated Series, Batman Arkham Asylum Batman Begins and Dark Knight: The Definitive Portrayals of Batman Batman Forever and Batman and Robin: THEY DON'T EXIST
The Popeye movie was okay, it was Robin Williams debut, featured songs by Harry Nillson, and produced by Robert Evans, but didn't really look or feel like the classic animations.
I find it ironic how in 89 they said keaton was a horible choice for batman , but Jack Nicholson was the perfect choice for Joker. in 2011 looking back everyone likes Keatons Batman and many complain about Jack Nicholson's joker not being good enough.
When Barbara Walters said, Batman goes Zonk or Zolly, and guess what, a week later after this 20/20 episode it went Zolly when it released in theaters.
Bob kane even said batman could be you me tom dick or harry, it doesnt matter who batman is, that why tim didnt care about what people said when he chose michael keaton as batman. well all i have to say is great chose on tims part and thank god for the casting.
Best Batman movie, Keaton is the best Batman ever. Ledger and Nicholson's Joker's are entirely different, but I think Nicholson's is best. Christian Bale is a choad.
There will says be arguments about who was better at what but I'd have to say Vicky Vale was clearly the sexiest of the Batman love interests. I'm not counting Catwoman since she's much more than just that. Yes Nicole Kidman was really hot in Forever but I still think she falls to second. Basinger is probably a better actress too and that helps
@TheHappynot haha your right man. i relly honestly didnt think jack nicholson was that good.... i dont get why everyone went nuts for him as joker. hes acted like himself, not funny enough not goofy and not laughing enough, liek the joker should, he didnt have alot of the joker qualities to me.
I remember how excited I felt when my dad picked me up and said we were goin to see Batman in 1989. I was almost 6 years old and I remember it so vividly. I even remember the giant bat posters that were in the bus stops
Wow. Lucky
Shirley Walker!!! Crank up the Batman: TAS theme!!!
I find it utterly amazing (even if his movies in recent years suck) that Tim Burton was only 29 years old when he directed a project of this magnitude with only Pee Wee and Beetlejuice under his belt.
I saw it on opening night in 89. There was a line round the block at the local cinema.
I just watched this movie last night and God, was Michael Keaton good in the role. IMO, no one beats him. That guy WAS Bruce Wayne/Batman, and he understood that those were two different characters.
i love tim burton. and michael keaton, and the burton batman movies. they hit it it right on the head with the style, darkness, and cool suave batman had (Keaton)
I see where the nostalgia critic was coming from in his opinions of the respective Nicholson vs Ledger interpretations of the joker. Nicholsons Joker is more creepy than scary...however he does have certain scenes but they are early on before you fully see Jack in his new alter ego. When he is at the plastic surgeons the manic echoing laugh he does as the scene ends has stayed with me since as quite a scary scene. I would still rate this Batman higher than dark night because it is so epic!
1:18-2:45 that is and always will be the greatest and perfect Batman music
It is scary, heroic, mysterious, and sad.
What better way to describe Batman.
Danny Elfman and Prince who are rock stars did the music and the directors' 29 years old...What kind of a crazy movie IS this?
Batman (1989). Perhaps you've heard of it?
Smh HCShannon.
We need to find a way to convince Burton and Keaton to do one more!
Your wish is half granted.
"I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!!!"
Batman has been around for around 80 years now, and there's no way the character will ever die. Of course there have been gigantic blunders here and there, but it's all to do with creating a Batman suitable for the era it's in. It takes a huge blockbuster movie to really cement a character in a lot of ways and this film made it's mark
I was 10 when this came out, unbelievable movie for a kid!!
I was just a little baby when i saw Batman. I remember chowdering so much popcorn and raisinets to my little fat face. This film was as influential as the OG StarWars!! Boom!!.
I have this doc on vhs someplace from when it first appeared. I must have watched it 10 or more times leading up to seeing the film a couple of weeks later.
love the music starting at 1:18 when Bob Kane is drawing! hes a fuckin GENIUS!
I love keaton as batman. such a great performance
That boy-actor in the cancelled Frankenstein-film about a dog is the same actor playing Bastian in "The Never Ending Story".
Looking back at this from the overcrowded, overhyped summer of 2016...ah, the good old days. :)
Great Doc 'I've never seen before!
they crammed in a lot of Batman history in there i never knew
A great documentary of Batman, I wonder what Bob Kane would of thought of Batman Begins or The Dark Knight? He would probly of liked it better then Batman Forever and definately Batman and Robin.
It's funny seeing them speculate as to whether it not this was gonna be a hit. Same thing happened with Star Wars though there wasn't near the amount of hype, it looked like most people even the cast thought SW would bomb. I wasn't born yet though so I can only look back at interviews and articles from the time
I think Batman went Zowie, but it could very easily have gone Zonk.
@samprastherabbit
Bob Kane came up with the Batman Concept and the rough sketches, Bill Finger helped him perfect the idea. Part of the reason Finger went uncreditied for so long was that he wrote many of his Batman stories as a ghost writer.
I think what Gordon said at the end of The Dark Knight perfectly defined who Batman is:
"He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight."
I kringe everytime i hear bob kane talk about creating batman...since we now know he did not
Bob Kane co-created Batman. I cringe that Bill Finger isn't mentioned. You can say a lot of horrible things about Kane, and most of them would probably be true. But let's not pretend Bob Kane had absolutely nothing to do with Batman. He came up with the name. He actually drew Detective Comics #27 and was pretty much the editor of Batman from there on out.
I think it was pretty much the name of the character and the premise of a rich guy who becomes a masked avenger at night that are the only contributions to the character. And a lot of early art of course. But almost everything else is Bill Finger and to a slightly lesser extent Jerry Robinson. There's slight disputes over who created the Joker but I think it's safe to say it was Robinson. I'm not telling you anything you don't know I'm just kind of commiserating with you like,sucks doesn't it? I find it weird that with Batman it's the writer who is often forgotten but with Spider-Man it's the artist. It kind of shows what the strong points of each company were at the time,Marvel(timely?) always emphasized writing over art. Though they had Kirby so what do I know?
I find it even stranger that he's taking credit for creating the Joker in this interview, considering he didn't come up with that character.
yeah that was finger and jack... something or other lol the name escapes me and im to lazy to google lol
Adam, you are right that he drew, but his idea was originally called birdman and he had a red costume, then finger changed it to batman, came up with all the names, bruce's origin, and most of the early versions were him as well. kane was a great sales man but when he pitched it he got the credit. at the time that was common and not thought of as bad. but as time went on and the other early creators were telling people about there teams kane just passively mentioned fingers name and said "Im the creator of batman". there is a great pod cast kevin smith does called fatman on batman. there is a ton of great interviews and they did a whole episode on finger and why things went the way they did. he wasn't totally innocent either. he never spoke up for him self
Batman was created by Bob Kane AND Bill Finger. Finger made him the dark detective, while Kane handled Batman's design, although Finger did make suggestions as to the character's iconic cowl- Kane initially had him in a domino mask.
Finger signed away his claims to the character in return for exclusive writing rights in the comics.
Don't get me wrong- Bob Kane deserves his credit, but Bill Finger deserves the credit for pushing the detective side of Batman.
To me the best Batman films are the Burton-Nolan Films
the whole reason Forever and that movie which must never be named went light and campy was because of Parents complaining about Returns being dark, depressing and unfit for their kids
Batman Serials: Terrible, they're even worse then Batman and Robin
Batman 66: A straight up spoof/paradoy, and is possibly the funniest spoof of Batman you'll find.
Batman 89. Batman Returns, Batman The Animated Series, Batman Arkham Asylum Batman Begins and Dark Knight: The Definitive Portrayals of Batman
Batman Forever and Batman and Robin: THEY DON'T EXIST
Memories!
Can't beat 80's batman
Did anybody notice Shirley Walker?
Yes at the scoring session, conducting the orchestra for the film.
The Popeye movie was okay, it was Robin Williams debut, featured songs by Harry Nillson, and produced by Robert Evans, but didn't really look or feel like the classic animations.
this was so long ago. kinda depressing.
I find it ironic how in 89 they said keaton was a horible choice for batman , but Jack Nicholson was the perfect choice for Joker. in 2011 looking back everyone likes Keatons Batman and many complain about Jack Nicholson's joker not being good enough.
When Barbara Walters said, Batman goes Zonk or Zolly, and guess what, a week later after this 20/20 episode it went Zolly when it released in theaters.
Those Chuck Taylor like sneakers at 0:40 seconds in. I want those.
Funny how Bob takes the credit for everything, even though Finger created the design of Batman that we know.
You couldn't have had Nolan's take if you hadn't had Burton's first.
@Two27Face and think about it the batman that was before this one was adam wests batman.
Did Bob Kane make the Joker? All those people who hate him say he didn't but he told us his inspiration in the video.
I just always liked the image of the joker talking to a corpse 🤔 that part was cool.
@cpufightclub yeah man. it really is. look at this show it just looks so old
Bob kane even said batman could be you me tom dick or harry, it doesnt matter who batman is, that why tim didnt care about what people said when he chose michael keaton as batman. well all i have to say is great chose on tims part and thank god for the casting.
Great
Always* not says
@Two27Face isn't it though? I was a boy... I am 33 now.
Best Batman movie, Keaton is the best Batman ever. Ledger and Nicholson's Joker's are entirely different, but I think Nicholson's is best. Christian Bale is a choad.
There will says be arguments about who was better at what but I'd have to say Vicky Vale was clearly the sexiest of the Batman love interests. I'm not counting Catwoman since she's much more than just that. Yes Nicole Kidman was really hot in Forever but I still think she falls to second. Basinger is probably a better actress too and that helps
A movie that made zillions of bucks at the box office!
@TheHappynot haha your right man. i relly honestly didnt think jack nicholson was that good.... i dont get why everyone went nuts for him as joker. hes acted like himself, not funny enough not goofy and not laughing enough, liek the joker should, he didnt have alot of the joker qualities to me.
Christopher Nolan made the best Batman movies
You would not have Batman with out adam west doing the t.v. show they were thinking of stop doing the comic books before the t.v. show got started
i love you
WOW. People in 1989 REALLY needed to see Christopher Nolan's Batman. They would've had their freakin' minds blown.