I think Jack and Heath are tied. Because the performances enhanced whatever script and director they had to work with. They both were memorable and highly quotable.
I do like Jack's Joker a bit more than Heath. Hw guves off a dark but also fun mood as Joker since that is what he should be while Heath did it has a darker scarier realistic tone which was cool but Jack was more fun. Can't wait for you guys to react to Batman Returns
Always was disappointed that Heath Ledger decided to ignore being the Joker and went off on his own tangent. His performance was great, but it wasn't close to being the Joker. In fact Ledger's performance led directly to the Three Jokers graphic novel. That split the Joker into three villains, each a different version of the Joker. Jack Nicholson on the other hand, was much closer to the insane, mass murdering CLOWN PRINCE OF CRIME in the comics.
Was a super fan and 18 yrs old when this one came out. Simply put, I think they just fleshed out the Joker's character much more in this movie. His skills, how he came about, the awesome variety of outfits. Nicholson also got to deliver some great lines, again probably more than any other Batman movie.
Easily the most comic accurate Joker ever put on the big screen, the suit, the jokes, the gangster attitude, the theatrics, Jack Nicholson was and always will be my Joker
Funny little story: this came out while my mom was pregnant with me. My dad told her that if she got him the movie when it came out on VHS, he would marry her. Well she got it for him the day it came out and they got married the next week😅
By far one of my favourite renditions of Gotham City. Tim Burton’s Gotham is an amazing mix of Art Deco, Gothic, and Industrial architecture to create a terrifying dystopian city which looks like it’s stuck between the 1930s and late 80s. This was very much inspired by the city depicted in the movie Metropolis. The 90s Animated Series would also use this same artistic naming it “Dark Deco” but the show dived more into the 1930s feel technically it took place in the 1990s but Gotham had this really weird artistic where 1930s fashion was still popular, people drove around in classic looking vehicles, and gangsters used Tommy guns and wore retro looking suits all very much something you’d see in the 1930s. But they’re was a hybrid so we also had computers and high tech equipment which looked both futuristic but retro at the same time alongside these 1930s inspired elements. The city of Metropolis on the other hand is the complete opposite of Gotham. Metropolis goes for a more 1950s retro futuristic artistic while also having a lot of Art Deco. It’s the city of the future in the eyes of the 1950s. In the movies though Metropolis doesn’t look that different to New York or Chicago unfortunately we’re still to see a solid depiction of Metropolis from the Comics.
My favorite live action Gotham is the one in Batman Returns. Looks like a city in a gothic snow globe. But my all-time favorite is the one in the animated series.
You're mostly correct about being the first serious Batman. It was influenced by the change in tone of the comic books thanks to people like Alan Moore (The Killing Joke, 1988) and Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns, 1986).
@@whitenoisereacts It's even the first serious superhero movie. The Christopher Reeve Superman movies started out *mostly* serious but were still low-key tonge-in-cheek comedies, that leaned into that further as the series went on. This incarnation of Batman also veered into campy comedy territory after Burton and Keaton left but for two glorious, highly promoted big-budget movies, comics were taken seriously by Hollywood. There would be no MCU or Deadpool or DCEU or Arrowverse or any of it without this movie.
You should have seen it in the theater. This was the first live action batman we had since the Adam West era, and the grittiness was appreciated. And when Michael Keaton says "I'm Batman" on the rooftop...the scream of the crowd lasted a good minute.
"I like how this is not from Batman's point of view at all" Tim Burton is not a superhero guy, he's a monster guy. He connected to the material because the heroes and villains of Gotham are all like classic B-sci-fi human monsters. (Bruce is a reclusive mad scientist that lives in a Frankenstein's castle with better-looking and more competent Igor, and who, like a certain Paris Opera House psycho, uses technology, theatrics, and exotic weapons and combat skills to become a terrifying phantom and assault people. Jack is an already violent criminal driven to further madness after being disfigured and exposed to toxic chemicals and becomes a scary clown, a classic psycho-killer archetype.) He essentially made this a kaiju movie, where characters like scientists or *journalists* are the main characters, and the hero and the villain are like Godzilla Vs Whichever bad-monster. The people of Gotham don't know what to make of Batman at first (understandably so, he does look kinda scary.) He's presented as a mystery for the main characters, Knox and Vicki, to figure out. They learn that the solution is "Let them fight" and to help the black one against the purple one.
Thank you @@EssEll9791! Monsters and creatures were my first geek obsession as a child. I also studied animation at CalArts like Burton did, we all absorb a lot of the same aesthetics and sensibilities.
It’s all about the villains not the hero to true comic books lovers, just like people watch horror movies to see stupid young sexed up people get slaughtered by the murderer
It's kinda crazy that the first live action Batman movie to touch on the origin story, had a subversion at the start of the movie. It wasn't even a trope yet and they toyed with the expectation.
@@Sbungo61 I didn’t care for Batman Returns. It was “too much Tim Burton” if you catch my drift. It was literally a repeat of Edward Scissorhands with the Penguin.
I loved this when it came out. Michael Keaton is one of my top favorite Batman. Billy Dee Williams signed on to be Harvey Dent under the impression he’d get to be Two-Face but when Joel Schumacher took over he changed the casting.
Yep… it was all do to the complaints from everybody about Batman Returns. McDonald’s told Warner Bros that they couldn’t sell happy meal toys with the “horror movie” persona that Batman Returns was. Which was why WB told Tim Burton to step down and Joel Schumacher took over as director. Robin Williams was set to play Riddler, but was replaced with Jim Carrey. Marlon Wayans was set to play Robin but was replaced with Chris O Donnell. Rene Russo was gonna play Dr Chase but was replaced with Nicole Kidman. And Michael Keaton was replaced with Val Kilmer
@@nsasupporter7557 I think Robin Williams was supposed to play the "Mad Hatter" but they changed the screenplay. That is why the Riddler is using a mind control device which would certainly fit more to the Mad Hatter.
@@rednasseel4113 he did direct Batman Returns. They switched to Schumacher after Returns. Schumacher did Batman Forever & Batman and Robin. The funny thing with Batman Returns is McDonalds did toys to promote it and parents thought it was going to be like the first one and was shocked how it wasn’t as much for kids as the first one was. It was a little more violent. I didn’t care cause it was Batman on the big screen and I was going to see it.
The make up effect is done by first laying down the white makeup, then applying a thin layer of oil, and then very carefully daubing on the skin toned makeup. That gives you a layer of easily removed makeup that can be wiped away to reveal the white underneath.
@@garethhughes7430 You sure? The make up artist has said specifically how they did it and that was never mentioned. He said they used silicon oil on top of the white face paint, then painstakingly used a delicate flesh-colored paint that could easily be wiped off. He said Jack had to be absolutely careful not to touch it because it'd come off so easily.
The marketing campaign for this film was genius. I was 12 when it came out but already a huge movie buff. I distinctly remember the virtual "Batmania" it caused. Instead of the traditional trailers, the studio started putting up images of this version of the Bat-logo LITERALLY everywhere, about a year before the films release. It built the curiosity and hype to a fever pitch that peaked right at the time of the premiere. It also led into one of the most successful merchandising campaigns in movie history, something no superhero movie since has been able to duplicate.
Jack Nicholson's Joker was a purely "Classic" Joker. Mark Hamill took a lot of inspiration from his performance here. Heath Ledger's Joker pushed the envelope and expanded what the character could be. Joaquin Phoenix's Joker was much more intimate and psychological focused. And Jared Leto's Joker was uh... Something?
Jared Leto was definetly on “something” more like when he played Joker in Suicide Squad era movies but was still better than Joaquin’s & Heath Ledger’s Joker (I adore Heath Ledger’s earlier acting career also being Australian he was one of our golden boys)
@@emmamcintyre6997Leto Joker being better than Joaquin and Heath? Especially when Leto Joker by nature was just Great Value Ledger Joker with the "edge" turned up? Jared wasn't the only one on "something" it seems...
Leto was definitely a Joker of all time. It's a shame, I think his version really had potential. I'd like to see the "Ayer Cut" if it really does exist. Until then though we're kinda stuck with the uhhh...colorful performance we got.
The production design was done by the brilliant Anton Furst. He had also done work on Full Metal Jacket and The Company of Wolves. Sadly in 1991 he took his life. But his art will live on forever.
If it wasn’t for Jack Nicholson playing Joker you wouldn’t have modern superhero movies. I am very grateful to such a great actor for taking a comic character seriously. He was in my town filming the Two Jakes another great movie and sequel to China Town. He had Joker socks he sported on the set while directing. He walked back behind our courthouse to the parking lot to look at the old cars for the movie and I and my brother were parked on the hill above. I yelled as loud as I could “Batman!!” He looked up at us 😄
Great reaction. This is my 2nd favourite batman movie. Love Tim Burton's work, which is why Batman Returns is my favourite. Keaton will to me always be the best batman (he was warm, charming, funny and showed there was a man behind the mask). Jack Nicholson was awesome and I loved his line " have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"
Fun fact: When Keaton was announced as Bruce Wayne. Nobody wanted him to play Batman. There was even a petition to try and convince Warner Brothers to go with someone else. Before this movie came out, Keaton was mostly known for more comedic roles. For instance, Beetlejuice and Mr. Mom.
For a comedic actor he did a pretty great job at playing thee Batman. He nailed it he’s literally the inspiration behind the animated series that’s amazing
The whole trend of fans getting triggered when they announce casting for Batman movies started with this. Michael Keaton, Heath Ledger, Ben Affleck and Robert Pattinson all got heat from fans when their involvement in Batman movies announced. But, almost all of them won over those angry fans after their Batman movies released.
@@SathishKumar-sk8fe I think, all of them, not almost. Everybody loved Michael Keaton, when the movie came out, everybody loves Heath's take on Joker, some people don't like BvS, but everybody loves Batfleck, and even though I haven't watched The Batman yet, from what I heard, Robert Pattinson did great job, too.
It seems like EVERYONE who gets casted as Batman ALWAYS gets some kind of flak for it. Hell, I'm willing to bet a bunch of people complained when Kevin Conroy got casted. And each time, almost without fail (okay, maybe one or two fails...), they knock it out of the park and become iconic for it. Same happens for Joker (again, with a couple exceptions...)
Prince did the music in this movie and if you listen to his song, "Batdance", you can hear many lines from this movie in it. It was said Prince was a big Batman fan and his first song he learned to play was suppose to be the classic Batman Theme.
Great reaction guys. Just wanted to add a couple things. Batman started out killing people, or didn't try to save them, and he used guns in the comics. So this just brought him back to his roots. And even in the Nolan one's, the no guns or killing rule is a running joke through out them. If you pay attention, he either kills people or doesn't save them, or he used guns in every one of them. He lets "Ras" die in "Begins". He throws "Harvey" off the roof in"TDK". And he straight up shoots and kills "Talia" with guns in "TDKR". I feel like the no killing rule is a sort of running joke in those. And yes, this was the first serious Batman after the 60's campy version so there was so much hype that it was insane and well worth it. And, at least to me, Nolan's "TDK" seems more of like a remake of this than just an homage. There are so many similarities with some of the aspects of the story including some of the dialogue. Just some of the examples. The Joker having a meeting with the gangs and then taking them over. A gangster calling Joker "crazy". The Joker killing a gangster with a "trick". The Joker killing a gangster with a "writing instrument". Harvey Dent trying desperately to get crime under control. Joker on TV telling Batman to "unmask". The Joker and Batman having a "showdown" in the middle of the street but Batman doesn't kill Joker. The Joker and Batman having a "fight" on top of a tall building. Batman and his "love interest" falling off of a "tall building". And so much more.
When this was in theaters,it was finally a dark & gritty Batman. Now I think it was a dark take on the 60's -Adam West Batman. I see a lot of parallels to the TV show I couldn't see until I'd watched Nolan's take or Reeves's .
Hey White Noise fam, glad you finally got a chance to review the Batman 1989. Loved this film as a kid. I'm huge fan of the 1930's noir feel to the movie. Jack Nicholson for me is the best Joker to date because plays him in two personas, Jack Napier (ambitious Gangster) and the Joker (pale faced disfigured psychopath). He's also preoccupied with art which I think Tim Burton put in to show or point out Joker's narcissism.
There are 3 types of jokers that most fall under based on theories. You have the Golden Age (gangster), Silver Age (straight-up psychopath), and Bronze Age (more of a prankster).
Before I saw this as a kid, I only was familiar with watching lots of reruns of the 1960s camp version, which was total Comic Book Style. This was a 180 turn and into Tim Burtons' dark universe. And it was epic. You will enjoy the sequel. And I will absolutely love you if you do Batman The Animated series
21:10 - so, this was a technical challenge they talk about in the BTS clips - most people see the bits with him wiping the flesh makeup off and assume he's rubbing white makeup onto his face, but that wouldn't work onset. What they do was pretty close to how he's doing it in the scene but with added steps: the white Joker makeup has a layer of acrylic paint/adhesive in it, which they then put a layer of a particular type of oil on so nothing would stick to it, then a base layer of flesh makeup, and the rest is all airbrushing and detailing. Very finicky and easy to screw up, but the finished movie makes it look terrific. Nicholson had final approval on the design of his makeup and had a lot of input, partly because, to quote the man himself, “One of the ironies of my life is I am allergic to spirit gum, the basic unit to movie makeup.” So the entire makeup process had to be specifically tailored to that.
I was 8 years old when this came out and my mom sent me to watch it with my teenage cousins. I wore my Batman pyjamas to the theatre. It was one of my greatest childhood memories.
Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, Richard Donner, James Cameron, Alex Cox, Ivan Reitman, David Cronenberg, Guy Hamilton, George Miller, Brian De Palma, Oliver Stone, Tony Scott, Martin Scorsese, Sam Raimi, Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, John Landis, Ridley Scott, John McTiernan, Terry Gilliam, Walter Hill, and Robert Zemeckis were almost picked to direct the film.
Seeing this in the theater was awesome. The scenes of Gotham with the mammoth statues and buildings that seemed to stretch into the sky were so cool on the big screen.
For a film that was released in 1989 (filmed in 1988), this certainly holds up. The film was revolutionary for its time. This is the first representation of Batman on film that coincided to how he appeared in the contemporaneous comics; a darker tone with motive of vengeance.
i feel so old when people say they never seen this film! Batman was a massive hit when it came out for the time it changed everything (It’s ground zero for HQ comic book adaptions) The merchandising alone was nuts (Almost everyone was wearing Batman t-shirt’s for years after this film 👍👍
Saw this in theater as a very young kid and had the VHS for YEARS. This movie was *everything* in the early 90's, as was the sequel. It was a massive time for comic book movies when this movie hit, because it was one of the biggest movies ever and bridged a lot of gaps. Nicholson's Joker will always be legendary. It's not "perfect", but there was some things it just gets so right that everything else just doesn't really matter. The suit, the laugh, the playful gangster attitude... it was and always will be great. I think Ledger's Joker just felt so much deeper emotionally and cinematically that it couldn't be outdone in the same vain afterward. It was unique but still very much "Joker", which I think is the same as Jack's but just in a different kind of way. Both performances pretty much made it nearly impossible to do a live-action Joker in any real meaningful way again, because they both nailed it so well in their respective styles.
David Bowie, Tim Curry, Willem Dafoe, Brad Dourif, Christopher Lloyd, Ray Liotta, Gabriel Byrne, John Lithgow, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Robin Williams, Jeff Goldblum James Woods Donald Sutherland and Dennis Hopper were almost cast as The Joker
No Batman compares to this Batman with Michael Keaton, from 89’ ( I was 21).All the Wannabes after this just didn’t compare in my eyes. This was way too cool at the time to even try to duplicate. Love the feel love the cast love the overall concept . ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️I also love you Guys. Great reactions always.
@@emmamcintyre6997 when I was a kid, I thought Val Kilmer was the best Batman. But when I got older I changed my opinion… no one beats Michael Keaton as Batman
Keaton's my favorite but Patterson is a close 2nd everything about his batman is straight from the comics the batman is more comic accurate that burton ever was i meaning coming from a director that never read comics i mean there still some people who say did burton ever understand batman at all!
You are correct. This was the first really serious take on Batman in film. Also, as best I remember, this was Michael Keaton's first non-comic role. Here's a question - do you think it would be possible for a person in reality to do what Batman does, or is it more than a human could actually do?
@@whitenoisereacts I’ve heard that Bruce Wayne had trained himself to only need 3 or 4 hours of sleep. In reality I don’t think someone could maintain that for long before it would break you down physically and mentally.
God I remember when this came out . I was about 14 and it was such a big deal. Everything was so cool - Tim Burton was the coolest newest director, Michael Keaton was a huge star as was Kim Basinger and Jack Nicholson. The soundtrack by Prince was insane and everyone owned a copy of it. It was one of those films that created a massive buzz and everyone went to the cinema to see it.
This was the first more serious take on Batman despite the still remaining elements of camp, whereas the previous 1960’s Batman was pure camp all the way through. The difference, at the time, was like night and day compared to what came before. Before that was the truly silly 1940’s live-action seriels.
Great review!This is the first movie of the dark knight I watched when I was a little kid, I remember in the cinema the joker was so menacing that it scared me. Now this movie is my favourite, can´t count how many times I watched it. For the music, the actors, sceneries, batsuit, batmobile, and personal reasons in my case,this is the top Batman of all. I became a suscriptor of your channel.Greetings from Argentina. I´ll keep watching your reactions to so many amazing classics. Greetings from Argentina.
You want to talk about foreshadowing, look back at the scene when Bruce gets Jacks file, before he flips Nicholsons photo over, in the other side is the young jack who shot the parents. They got the same actor to shoot a mugshot for a bit of foreshadowing.
Ya know, you guys never fail to make thorough reactions that let us really see the movie. So much fun coming here. I don't like Burton's surrealism in any of his movies, but I am at odds about the feeling Michael Keaton was miscast. I LOVE Keaton as Batman. He has a calm, stern, seriousness, that lends gravitas to Batman and Bruce. Thumbs up. :)
So glad that y'all finally watched it! I hope y'all react to All of these old Batman movies...like batman Forever and Batman & robin too...they are also great!
THIS is the Joker. Heath Ledger played basically a different character who was sort of....adjacent to the Joker. Phoenix played a totally unrelated character - just a sad clown who spontaneously kills a couple people. If you took EVERYTHING about this Joker, except killing Bruce's parents, and you gave him the pure diabolical genius and vicious malice of Ledger's Joker, THEN you'd have a basically perfect Joker. The ONLY Joker to get closer to a perfect Joker is Mark Hamill's Batman TAS/Arkham video games version. Hamill's Joker is truly insane and even more unhinged than Nicholson's DESPITE being a Saturday morning cartoon character. The Arkham games are sort of designed as the "grown-up" version of Batman TAS, where they're freed from the limitations of being a kids cartoon. Hamill's Arkham Joker is the absolute peak of the character. Imagine Nicholson's Joker, but 10x as unhinged and malicious. Almost like he's an entity that transcends being a guy in clown makeup. Almost like he's borderline demonic. Some sort of being of gleeful chaos and mayhem. And THAT is what the Joker is. He's a top-tier ultra-malicious gangster and absolute criminal mastermind, and terrifying genius, but he's totally unhinged, and almost possessed by this impossible love for havoc and terror and chaos and comedy and cruelty and battling Batman. He's not just some weirdo with a anarchic master plan like Ledger's Joker. He's not just some sad loser clown who accidentally kills some people. Joker is a cold, calculating, laser-guided demonic of pure malicious criminal genius. He has plans upon plans upon plans IN ADDITION to his flippant chaos. Comedy and gags are his tools or style of inflicting that on the world.
When i was a kid i watched this movie on Betamax every day, i have 5 years old when this came out on cinemas. And now, i watched The Batman with my little girl and it like it.
Your discussion about the Joker after reminds me of another video I watched just earlier today on Cinecringe called M. Bison and the Art of Ham. "Twisted glee" really hit the nail on the head.
I will honestly say that Jack Nicholson is one of the best Jokers on the screen. It’s a shame that Batman and Robin didn’t do well at the box office because they had a fifth film planned for this franchise. It was to feature Scarecrow as well as Harley Quinn. Only this time Harley Quinn was going to be the daughter of the Joker who wanted revenge for her father’s death. 🃏
I think the credit for the first serious Batman movie should go ultimately go to Michael E. Uslan. When he graduated high school he had over 30,000 comic books in his garage. He later was the first college professor to teach a course on Comic Books and Society (utilizing his encyclopedic knowledge of comics history), and in the late 70's he bought the movie rights to Batman from DC for not a large sum of money. DC didn't see any big future for a big screen Batman, especially after the Campy TV series (which Uslan hated). He was determined to bring to the big screen a serious, dark version of Batman. After several false starts throughout the 80's, things finally started coming together after Alan Moore and Frank Miller put out their great comics (sparking studio interest) and Tim Burton came into the picture. Ever since, Uslan has only green-lighted the use of Batman in serious movies. I had the chance to hear him speak and talk to him, and thanks to his love of the character and the original, darker comic book Batman, the character has been in very good hands and will continue to be for the foreseeable future...
IO: I've always oerfered the continuity where Bruce Wayne never discovered who actually killed his parents...and many times in his crime fighting career, he fixated on someone as the one who he thought must have been the person who did it, but he never found conclusive evidence. So one of his deep personal motivations he doesn't like to admit to himself, if he beats up ALL the criminals in Gotham he will probably come across the guy even if he doesnt know it.
Sean Young, Michelle Pfeiffer, Meg Ryan, Kelly McGillis, Julia Roberts, Linda Hamilton, Bridget Fonda, Jodie Foster, Nicole Kidman, Melanie Griffith, Brooke Shields, Geena Davis, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Frances McDormand, Sharon Stone, Daryl Hannah, and Jennifer Beals were almost cast as Vicki Vale
I would really recommend watching the TV series Gotham. It's more of an origin story for Gordon, but you get a good young Bruce Wayne too. The villains are great and we learn why Alfred is as amazing as he is.
I was 14 years old when this came out. It was amazing. It blew our minds. It was marketed so well. It was everywhere from trading cards to breakfast cereal. This movie ruled. I wish you could have experienced the hype. Best wishes. I love your reactions.
best bruce wayne portrayal in this movie: eccentric yet aloof ------- jack: had to restrain who he really was, had to be "professional", meet the standards of being a corrupt business criminal boss... he wasn't having fun... he had a job to do and a person to be at that job.... joker: now as the joker, jack was free to be himself, his true self... not restrained by anything anymore... he could finally go back to just having fun, like he as did when he was younger, "enjoying" taking bruce's parents' lives...
This movie is still awesome! However my one complaint that always stains it for me, is the slipshod love plot. Aside from the fact that he's loaded, and she's the first woman he slept with since becoming Batman, there is no justification why they would be this deeply in love after one date.
So the trick to the dual makeup the bottom layer is white water based. But the flesh color is oil. When Vicki dumps water on Joker, it’s not water but rubbing alcohol. It left the white alone. Same trick with the execution scene. Joker’s handkerchief has alcohol on it.
This was the first BIG movie to be released on VHS the same year it was in theaters. This came out in June I think and it was released on video in October. That used to never happen. It was normal to have to wait sometimes years for big films to be released to the home video market. 1989 was a good year for movies.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford, Kevin Costner, Michael Douglas, Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, Bill Murray, Michael Biehn, Sylvester Stallone, Matthew Broderick, Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey, William Hurt, Mickey Rourke, Daniel Day Lewis, Tom Selleck, Jeff Bridges, Pierce Brosnan, Kiefer Sutherland, Nick Nolte, Kurt Russell, Dennis Quaid, Alec Baldwin, Ray Liotta, Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Tom Hanks John Travolta, Kyle McLachlan Chevy Chase Kevin Kline, Jean Claude van Damme and Robert Downey Jr were almost cast as The Dark Knight.
While Batman The Animated Series was greenlit as a companion to the movie series (specifically when Batman Returns was out), the style of the cartoon was more influenced by the 1940s Fleischer Superman cartoons. They definitely made use of Elfman's theme, though.
Story time. This came out the summer between third and fourth grade for me. My birthday is also in the summer time. That year, I asked for two things: to get a perm and to see the new Batman movie. Prince did the sound track. With that came music videos (MTV was still legit then) and lots of radio play. The hype was real! Anyways, I got both things and it was amazing! Well, I also spent the whole summer at the community pool. If you know anything about perms and chorine, they don't mix. To my devastation, my hair turned green. That fall, I went to a new school. I was known as "The Joker" until my hair grew out enough to cut it off. I was really embarrassed at the time, but I would rock green hair now. Still a great movie though! Jack Nicholson steals the show!
This movie was mindblowing in 89 when it came out. I remember going into the theater, sure that Keaton couldn't do both Batman and Bruce Wayne, and wow, he was amazing. I do wish we'd gotten Billy Dee Williams' Two-face. He would have been incredible.
yeah it sucks so bad because I think burton was actually going to use him in later movies but we at least still get to see his two face in the Batman 89 comics
If I remember correctly, Tim Burton fashioned his characterizations on the original '40's Batman and Joker. The big change being instead of a comedian, he made Jack a petty thug who rose through the ranks to become the Button-man for a mob boss. The clothing was, of course, '50's "Film Noir" style. The premise for placing chemicals in everyday products was featured in Detective Comics #475 and #476 ("The Laughing Fish"). Finally, the bat-mobile was adapted from the '40's comics and '60's tv series. Batman used atomic/nuclear fuel to power it's engine.
Before this, there was the old camp TV show with Adam West. Compared to that, this was super dark and gritty, even if it seems a bit comical today. Like you said, it had a lot in common with The Dark Knight. But here Joker is more of a homicidal madman compared to Ledger's chaotic nutcase. And Batman for sure would have killed Joker if his plane hadn't been hit. In the Nolan movie Batman avoided killing him. Otherwise that standoff with Joker standing in the street with Batman coming at him in plane/on bike is very similar. I think Nicholson was a big source for Ledger.
A man that lives locally, actually bought one of the running Batmobiles made for this movie. It was built on a custom chassis with a Corvette drive drivetrain. Occasionally, you'll see him driving it, although last time I saw it out, it didn't look like it was running too good. I actually have a picture of it on my Facebook profile, driving past me, on I-64 East just past the Hurricane exit, in WV. And the Bat "plane" in this version of Batman, was called the Batwing.
This batman and Batman Returns are my 2 favorite movies ever. Michael Keaton,Jack Nicholson ,Michelle Pfeiffer ,will always be the best batman,Joker and catwoman .🙂 great reaction guys. Always love your reactions this one is my favorite so far. I hope all is well. 🙂
That Joker one shot took down batman shows that Joker is not some nobody or a common villain that can be taken down easily, that also with a thing like the batplane. He is an equally matched rival, with both sides being equally powerful and abilitied in their own unique way.
The set design by Anton Furst won an Oscar, and is still one of my favorite achievements in set design of all time. After Furst's suicides, later movies in the series tried to copy his style, but in my opinion were never as successful. At the time of the movie's release, I read somewhere that the costumes were deliberately meant to represent every decade from the thirties (if not earlier) through the seventies, so the movie could not be pinned down as taking place in any single identifiable period.
When I was 19, I saw it in the theater on opening night, after all the months of marketing hype and almost no shots of Joker or Batman. When that logo resolved at the beginning It have me chills... It may look dated, but there was no CG back then, that Batmobile design was THE sh*t...
The Jokers before Joachim represent the different eras of the comic books - Ledger represents the bronze age that took place roughly in the late-70s to the end of the 80s, Cesar Romero represents the Silver Age of the 50s and 60s, and Jack Nicholson represents the Golden Age of the original comics. MatPat actually covered this before Joachim's movie came out on Film Theory.
Hi, thank you for your reaction, I have adored the film since the age of ten. Tim Burton's work is unique . His stylization of darkness and emotions in music seems very interesting to me like in Edward Scissorhands and sand it sets him apart from other directors. And Jack Nicholson....what to say. I look forward to other further reaction and opinion on his other movies.
The Gotham sets reminded me a little of The Crow - the dark and grittiness of it. Keaton as Batman was such a shock when he was announced as he was mostly in comedies. Turned out to be a great choice as he played opposite his previous characters. I remember the marketing for this movie was huge, including a glossy Batman picture book. I wish I would've kept mine. Anton Furst did the concept art for Gotham and his influence on the style of the buildings (esp. the cathedral) was huge. Even though Tim Burton was making a huge blockbuster he still was able to put in his dark film style. The movie was a huge hit.
Is this the best version of Joker? From a film perspective, not from a persepctive of comic accuracy.
I think Jack and Heath are tied. Because the performances enhanced whatever script and director they had to work with. They both were memorable and highly quotable.
I'm not sure if the best but Nicholson was very loved, and still is, as Joker
I do like Jack's Joker a bit more than Heath. Hw guves off a dark but also fun mood as Joker since that is what he should be while Heath did it has a darker scarier realistic tone which was cool but Jack was more fun. Can't wait for you guys to react to Batman Returns
Always was disappointed that Heath Ledger decided to ignore being the Joker and went off on his own tangent. His performance was great, but it wasn't close to being the Joker.
In fact Ledger's performance led directly to the Three Jokers graphic novel. That split the Joker into three villains, each a different version of the Joker.
Jack Nicholson on the other hand, was much closer to the insane, mass murdering CLOWN PRINCE OF CRIME in the comics.
Was a super fan and 18 yrs old when this one came out. Simply put, I think they just fleshed out the Joker's character much more in this movie. His skills, how he came about, the awesome variety of outfits. Nicholson also got to deliver some great lines, again probably more than any other Batman movie.
Easily the most comic accurate Joker ever put on the big screen, the suit, the jokes, the gangster attitude, the theatrics, Jack Nicholson was and always will be my Joker
Really?? I never thought of that
Heath Ledger concentrated on being a crime lord and controlling Gotham, Jack was closer to the insanity that is the Joker.
speaking truths!
@@whitenoisereacts Aside from the origin, Nicholson's Joker is very reminiscent of how the Joker was in the early golden age comics.
Straight facts no printer my friend
Funny little story: this came out while my mom was pregnant with me. My dad told her that if she got him the movie when it came out on VHS, he would marry her. Well she got it for him the day it came out and they got married the next week😅
Lol that’s so cute😂😂
@@whitenoisereacts please react to a childhood movie of mine Small Soldiers (1998). You'll enjoy this movie when you see it.
Wooow
Cute story n priceless
What can I say, the 80s were a wild time 🤷🏻♀️😅
By far one of my favourite renditions of Gotham City. Tim Burton’s Gotham is an amazing mix of Art Deco, Gothic, and Industrial architecture to create a terrifying dystopian city which looks like it’s stuck between the 1930s and late 80s. This was very much inspired by the city depicted in the movie Metropolis. The 90s Animated Series would also use this same artistic naming it “Dark Deco” but the show dived more into the 1930s feel technically it took place in the 1990s but Gotham had this really weird artistic where 1930s fashion was still popular, people drove around in classic looking vehicles, and gangsters used Tommy guns and wore retro looking suits all very much something you’d see in the 1930s. But they’re was a hybrid so we also had computers and high tech equipment which looked both futuristic but retro at the same time alongside these 1930s inspired elements.
The city of Metropolis on the other hand is the complete opposite of Gotham. Metropolis goes for a more 1950s retro futuristic artistic while also having a lot of Art Deco. It’s the city of the future in the eyes of the 1950s. In the movies though Metropolis doesn’t look that different to New York or Chicago unfortunately we’re still to see a solid depiction of Metropolis from the Comics.
I really enjoyed reading this. And yes, the city is amazing.
Yes! This!
@@badcitizen9824 that's so cute
@@rubiginosaa What is cute?
My favorite live action Gotham is the one in Batman Returns. Looks like a city in a gothic snow globe. But my all-time favorite is the one in the animated series.
You're mostly correct about being the first serious Batman. It was influenced by the change in tone of the comic books thanks to people like Alan Moore (The Killing Joke, 1988) and Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns, 1986).
Ok cool! I was unsure about it!!
@@whitenoisereacts It's even the first serious superhero movie. The Christopher Reeve Superman movies started out *mostly* serious but were still low-key tonge-in-cheek comedies, that leaned into that further as the series went on. This incarnation of Batman also veered into campy comedy territory after Burton and Keaton left but for two glorious, highly promoted big-budget movies, comics were taken seriously by Hollywood. There would be no MCU or Deadpool or DCEU or Arrowverse or any of it without this movie.
Miller is an amazing artist. His Daredevil comics are my favorites.
@@shampoovta Maybe then. Now... Let's just say he's not what he used to be.
In the early 70s, we must consider the Dennis O'Neill / Neal Adams revitalization of the character as a big step in the right direction.
You should have seen it in the theater. This was the first live action batman we had since the Adam West era, and the grittiness was appreciated. And when Michael Keaton says "I'm Batman" on the rooftop...the scream of the crowd lasted a good minute.
I can only imagine
I saw this in the theater when I was 16 and the crowd did not "scream" for a good minute. Quit being so dramatic smdh.
@@BamaMatters11 Sorry your opening day experience was different than mine. Have a good one!
THIS. Just cuz he had a underwhelming experience doesnt mean everyone else did.@@jt8881
"I like how this is not from Batman's point of view at all"
Tim Burton is not a superhero guy, he's a monster guy. He connected to the material because the heroes and villains of Gotham are all like classic B-sci-fi human monsters. (Bruce is a reclusive mad scientist that lives in a Frankenstein's castle with better-looking and more competent Igor, and who, like a certain Paris Opera House psycho, uses technology, theatrics, and exotic weapons and combat skills to become a terrifying phantom and assault people. Jack is an already violent criminal driven to further madness after being disfigured and exposed to toxic chemicals and becomes a scary clown, a classic psycho-killer archetype.) He essentially made this a kaiju movie, where characters like scientists or *journalists* are the main characters, and the hero and the villain are like Godzilla Vs Whichever bad-monster. The people of Gotham don't know what to make of Batman at first (understandably so, he does look kinda scary.) He's presented as a mystery for the main characters, Knox and Vicki, to figure out. They learn that the solution is "Let them fight" and to help the black one against the purple one.
Man, I think you are amazingly astute in your assessment of Tim Burton's connection with monsters!
Thank you @@EssEll9791! Monsters and creatures were my first geek obsession as a child. I also studied animation at CalArts like Burton did, we all absorb a lot of the same aesthetics and sensibilities.
man.....you're stretchin a bit
It’s all about the villains not the hero to true comic books lovers, just like people watch horror movies to see stupid young sexed up people get slaughtered by the murderer
It's kinda crazy that the first live action Batman movie to touch on the origin story, had a subversion at the start of the movie. It wasn't even a trope yet and they toyed with the expectation.
Billly Dee Williams as Two Face would have been an absolute game changer. Wish we could have gotten it.
Well, we did get him briefly in the LEGO Batman Movie.
Well, if you want to see him, there's still the 89 sequel comic of the Batman Returns. A very nice read
@@Sbungo61 That's pretty cool, I'll look for those.
@@Sbungo61 I didn’t care for Batman Returns. It was “too much Tim Burton” if you catch my drift. It was literally a repeat of Edward Scissorhands with the Penguin.
@@nsasupporter7557 cool
I loved this when it came out. Michael Keaton is one of my top favorite Batman. Billy Dee Williams signed on to be Harvey Dent under the impression he’d get to be Two-Face but when Joel Schumacher took over he changed the casting.
Yep… it was all do to the complaints from everybody about Batman Returns. McDonald’s told Warner Bros that they couldn’t sell happy meal toys with the “horror movie” persona that Batman Returns was. Which was why WB told Tim Burton to step down and Joel Schumacher took over as director.
Robin Williams was set to play Riddler, but was replaced with Jim Carrey. Marlon Wayans was set to play Robin but was replaced with Chris O Donnell. Rene Russo was gonna play Dr Chase but was replaced with Nicole Kidman. And Michael Keaton was replaced with Val Kilmer
@@nsasupporter7557 I think Robin Williams was supposed to play the "Mad Hatter" but they changed the screenplay. That is why the Riddler is using a mind control device which would certainly fit more to the Mad Hatter.
BATMAN RETURNS COULD HAVE BEEN GREAT, IF ONLY TIM BURTON CAME BACK TO DIRECT IT! Such a shame…
@@rednasseel4113 he did direct Batman Returns. They switched to Schumacher after Returns. Schumacher did Batman Forever & Batman and Robin. The funny thing with Batman Returns is McDonalds did toys to promote it and parents thought it was going to be like the first one and was shocked how it wasn’t as much for kids as the first one was. It was a little more violent. I didn’t care cause it was Batman on the big screen and I was going to see it.
The make up effect is done by first laying down the white makeup, then applying a thin layer of oil, and then very carefully daubing on the skin toned makeup. That gives you a layer of easily removed makeup that can be wiped away to reveal the white underneath.
That really cool!!!
sometimes it was that, sometimes he had a rag with white makeup on, to smear onto his face
@@garethhughes7430 You sure? The make up artist has said specifically how they did it and that was never mentioned. He said they used silicon oil on top of the white face paint, then painstakingly used a delicate flesh-colored paint that could easily be wiped off. He said Jack had to be absolutely careful not to touch it because it'd come off so easily.
Classic movie and I still love the one shot with the batplane and the moon.
That’s the coolest shot honestly
Its called the Batwing.
@@JSSTyger thank you! could not think of the name!
There were 2 albums released for this movie. Score by Danny Elfman, Soundtrack by Prince
The marketing campaign for this film was genius. I was 12 when it came out but already a huge movie buff. I distinctly remember the virtual "Batmania" it caused. Instead of the traditional trailers, the studio started putting up images of this version of the Bat-logo LITERALLY everywhere, about a year before the films release. It built the curiosity and hype to a fever pitch that peaked right at the time of the premiere. It also led into one of the most successful merchandising campaigns in movie history, something no superhero movie since has been able to duplicate.
Jack Nicholson's Joker was a purely "Classic" Joker. Mark Hamill took a lot of inspiration from his performance here.
Heath Ledger's Joker pushed the envelope and expanded what the character could be.
Joaquin Phoenix's Joker was much more intimate and psychological focused.
And Jared Leto's Joker was uh... Something?
Jared Leto's Joker or Marilyn Manson? I've never seen it only have a slight clue what they look like.
Jared Leto was definetly on “something” more like when he played Joker in Suicide Squad era movies but was still better than Joaquin’s & Heath Ledger’s Joker (I adore Heath Ledger’s earlier acting career also being Australian he was one of our golden boys)
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@emmamcintyre6997Leto Joker being better than Joaquin and Heath? Especially when Leto Joker by nature was just Great Value Ledger Joker with the "edge" turned up?
Jared wasn't the only one on "something" it seems...
Leto was definitely a Joker of all time. It's a shame, I think his version really had potential. I'd like to see the "Ayer Cut" if it really does exist. Until then though we're kinda stuck with the uhhh...colorful performance we got.
The production design was done by the brilliant Anton Furst. He had also done work on Full Metal Jacket and The Company of Wolves. Sadly in 1991 he took his life. But his art will live on forever.
If it wasn’t for Jack Nicholson playing Joker you wouldn’t have modern superhero movies. I am very grateful to such a great actor for taking a comic character seriously. He was in my town filming the Two Jakes another great movie and sequel to China Town. He had Joker socks he sported on the set while directing. He walked back behind our courthouse to the parking lot to look at the old cars for the movie and I and my brother were parked on the hill above. I yelled as loud as I could “Batman!!” He looked up at us 😄
Well, Superman (1978) had Marlon Brando & Gene Hackman.
After watching his turn in the jail scene in season 2 of Twin Peaks, I really wish Ray Wise played the Joker in SOMETHING in the 90's.
Saw it in the theater, the hype was insane, the line was out the door. Good times
The toy they pulled out of joker's coat at the end is a Laughing Bag. They were big in the 70's.
I was wondering that for years since I was a kid. I only found out it was a laughing bag until later. I even own one of my own!
@@fynnthefox9078 I only found out it was a laughing bag just now after reading the OP's comment. Thanks, OP.
Great reaction. This is my 2nd favourite batman movie. Love Tim Burton's work, which is why Batman Returns is my favourite. Keaton will to me always be the best batman (he was warm, charming, funny and showed there was a man behind the mask).
Jack Nicholson was awesome and I loved his line " have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"
Fun fact: When Keaton was announced as Bruce Wayne. Nobody wanted him to play Batman. There was even a petition to try and convince Warner Brothers to go with someone else. Before this movie came out, Keaton was mostly known for more comedic roles. For instance, Beetlejuice and Mr. Mom.
He did it very well!!
For a comedic actor he did a pretty great job at playing thee Batman. He nailed it he’s literally the inspiration behind the animated series that’s amazing
The whole trend of fans getting triggered when they announce casting for Batman movies started with this. Michael Keaton, Heath Ledger, Ben Affleck and Robert Pattinson all got heat from fans when their involvement in Batman movies announced. But, almost all of them won over those angry fans after their Batman movies released.
@@SathishKumar-sk8fe I think, all of them, not almost. Everybody loved Michael Keaton, when the movie came out, everybody loves Heath's take on Joker, some people don't like BvS, but everybody loves Batfleck, and even though I haven't watched The Batman yet, from what I heard, Robert Pattinson did great job, too.
It seems like EVERYONE who gets casted as Batman ALWAYS gets some kind of flak for it. Hell, I'm willing to bet a bunch of people complained when Kevin Conroy got casted. And each time, almost without fail (okay, maybe one or two fails...), they knock it out of the park and become iconic for it. Same happens for Joker (again, with a couple exceptions...)
Prince did the music in this movie and if you listen to his song, "Batdance", you can hear many lines from this movie in it. It was said Prince was a big Batman fan and his first song he learned to play was suppose to be the classic Batman Theme.
This was my intro into Batman altogether...Jack is still my favorite Joker by far.
Great reaction guys. Just wanted to add a couple things. Batman started out killing people, or didn't try to save them, and he used guns in the comics. So this just brought him back to his roots. And even in the Nolan one's, the no guns or killing rule is a running joke through out them. If you pay attention, he either kills people or doesn't save them, or he used guns in every one of them. He lets "Ras" die in "Begins". He throws "Harvey" off the roof in"TDK". And he straight up shoots and kills "Talia" with guns in "TDKR". I feel like the no killing rule is a sort of running joke in those. And yes, this was the first serious Batman after the 60's campy version so there was so much hype that it was insane and well worth it. And, at least to me, Nolan's "TDK" seems more of like a remake of this than just an homage. There are so many similarities with some of the aspects of the story including some of the dialogue. Just some of the examples. The Joker having a meeting with the gangs and then taking them over. A gangster calling Joker "crazy". The Joker killing a gangster with a "trick". The Joker killing a gangster with a "writing instrument". Harvey Dent trying desperately to get crime under control. Joker on TV telling Batman to "unmask". The Joker and Batman having a "showdown" in the middle of the street but Batman doesn't kill Joker. The Joker and Batman having a "fight" on top of a tall building. Batman and his "love interest" falling off of a "tall building". And so much more.
When this was in theaters,it was finally a dark & gritty Batman. Now I think it was a dark take on the 60's -Adam West Batman. I see a lot of parallels to the TV show I couldn't see until I'd watched Nolan's take or Reeves's .
You guys do an awesome job...a great team...you both complement each others strengths...
Thanks so much!!
I agree!
Hey White Noise fam, glad you finally got a chance to review the Batman 1989. Loved this film as a kid. I'm huge fan of the 1930's noir feel to the movie. Jack Nicholson for me is the best Joker to date because plays him in two personas, Jack Napier (ambitious Gangster) and the Joker (pale faced disfigured psychopath). He's also preoccupied with art which I think Tim Burton put in to show or point out Joker's narcissism.
There are 3 types of jokers that most fall under based on theories. You have the Golden Age (gangster), Silver Age (straight-up psychopath), and Bronze Age (more of a prankster).
Before I saw this as a kid, I only was familiar with watching lots of reruns of the 1960s camp version, which was total Comic Book Style. This was a 180 turn and into Tim Burtons' dark universe. And it was epic. You will enjoy the sequel.
And I will absolutely love you if you do Batman The Animated series
21:10 - so, this was a technical challenge they talk about in the BTS clips - most people see the bits with him wiping the flesh makeup off and assume he's rubbing white makeup onto his face, but that wouldn't work onset. What they do was pretty close to how he's doing it in the scene but with added steps: the white Joker makeup has a layer of acrylic paint/adhesive in it, which they then put a layer of a particular type of oil on so nothing would stick to it, then a base layer of flesh makeup, and the rest is all airbrushing and detailing. Very finicky and easy to screw up, but the finished movie makes it look terrific.
Nicholson had final approval on the design of his makeup and had a lot of input, partly because, to quote the man himself, “One of the ironies of my life is I am allergic to spirit gum, the basic unit to movie makeup.” So the entire makeup process had to be specifically tailored to that.
I was 8 years old when this came out and my mom sent me to watch it with my teenage cousins. I wore my Batman pyjamas to the theatre. It was one of my greatest childhood memories.
Party man was by Prince he and His crew music video from the Batman 89 movie
Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, Richard Donner, James Cameron, Alex Cox, Ivan Reitman, David Cronenberg, Guy Hamilton, George Miller, Brian De Palma, Oliver Stone, Tony Scott, Martin Scorsese, Sam Raimi, Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, John Landis, Ridley Scott, John McTiernan, Terry Gilliam, Walter Hill, and Robert Zemeckis were almost picked to direct the film.
Seeing this in the theater was awesome. The scenes of Gotham with the mammoth statues and buildings that seemed to stretch into the sky were so cool on the big screen.
For a film that was released in 1989 (filmed in 1988), this certainly holds up. The film was revolutionary for its time. This is the first representation of Batman on film that coincided to how he appeared in the contemporaneous comics; a darker tone with motive of vengeance.
11:08 that reaction from you guys was brilliant! Like being back in 1989 lol
Jack Nicholson will always be my favorite Joker. He is a hard one to follow.
i feel so old when people say they never seen this film! Batman was a massive hit when it came out for the time it changed everything (It’s ground zero for HQ comic book adaptions) The merchandising alone was nuts (Almost everyone was wearing Batman t-shirt’s for years after this film 👍👍
This town needs an enema!
🎉🎉
Saw this in theater as a very young kid and had the VHS for YEARS. This movie was *everything* in the early 90's, as was the sequel. It was a massive time for comic book movies when this movie hit, because it was one of the biggest movies ever and bridged a lot of gaps.
Nicholson's Joker will always be legendary. It's not "perfect", but there was some things it just gets so right that everything else just doesn't really matter. The suit, the laugh, the playful gangster attitude... it was and always will be great. I think Ledger's Joker just felt so much deeper emotionally and cinematically that it couldn't be outdone in the same vain afterward. It was unique but still very much "Joker", which I think is the same as Jack's but just in a different kind of way. Both performances pretty much made it nearly impossible to do a live-action Joker in any real meaningful way again, because they both nailed it so well in their respective styles.
I like the intelligence that you bring to movie reaction channels.
Thank you dude!
David Bowie, Tim Curry, Willem Dafoe, Brad Dourif, Christopher Lloyd, Ray Liotta, Gabriel Byrne, John Lithgow, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Robin Williams, Jeff Goldblum James Woods Donald Sutherland and Dennis Hopper were almost cast as The Joker
Ooh tim curry and Christopher Lloyd would have been very interesting to have seen!
@@3StarLogo Willem Dafoe already has a creepy smile but Tim Curry can do anything!
Dafoe was made to play the Green Goblin tho
No Batman compares to this Batman with Michael Keaton, from 89’ ( I was 21).All the Wannabes after this just didn’t compare in my eyes. This was way too cool at the time to even try to duplicate. Love the feel love the cast love the overall concept . ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️I also love you Guys. Great reactions always.
True, Keaton will always be my one & only Batman
AGREED
@@emmamcintyre6997 when I was a kid, I thought Val Kilmer was the best Batman. But when I got older I changed my opinion… no one beats Michael Keaton as Batman
Keaton's my favorite but Patterson is a close 2nd everything about his batman is straight from the comics the batman is more comic accurate that burton ever was i meaning coming from a director that never read comics i mean there still some people who say did burton ever understand batman at all!
You are correct. This was the first really serious take on Batman in film. Also, as best I remember, this was Michael Keaton's first non-comic role.
Here's a question - do you think it would be possible for a person in reality to do what Batman does, or is it more than a human could actually do?
I think it’s too much. Just the amount of sleep needed would fail for him to be a functioning human
@@whitenoisereacts One would probably spend a lot of time in hospitals.
@@whitenoisereacts I’ve heard that Bruce Wayne had trained himself to only need 3 or 4 hours of sleep. In reality I don’t think someone could maintain that for long before it would break you down physically and mentally.
God I remember when this came out . I was about 14 and it was such a big deal. Everything was so cool - Tim Burton was the coolest newest director, Michael Keaton was a huge star as was Kim Basinger and Jack Nicholson. The soundtrack by Prince was insane and everyone owned a copy of it. It was one of those films that created a massive buzz and everyone went to the cinema to see it.
And you know what was missed sometimes, Joker dropped money for a massive killing. They were all going to get gassed. Money is scary powerful
This was the first more serious take on Batman despite the still remaining elements of camp, whereas the previous 1960’s Batman was pure camp all the way through. The difference, at the time, was like night and day compared to what came before.
Before that was the truly silly 1940’s live-action seriels.
I saw this movie when I was a kid. My introduction to Batman
Great review!This is the first movie of the dark knight I watched when I was a little kid, I remember in the cinema the joker was so menacing that it scared me. Now this movie is my favourite, can´t count how many times I watched it. For the music, the actors, sceneries, batsuit, batmobile, and personal reasons in my case,this is the top Batman of all. I became a suscriptor of your channel.Greetings from Argentina. I´ll keep watching your reactions to so many amazing classics. Greetings from Argentina.
You want to talk about foreshadowing, look back at the scene when Bruce gets Jacks file, before he flips Nicholsons photo over, in the other side is the young jack who shot the parents. They got the same actor to shoot a mugshot for a bit of foreshadowing.
11 year old me was OBSESSED with this movie and soundtrack.
Ya know, you guys never fail to make thorough reactions that let us really see the movie. So much fun coming here. I don't like Burton's surrealism in any of his movies, but I am at odds about the feeling Michael Keaton was miscast. I LOVE Keaton as Batman. He has a calm, stern, seriousness, that lends gravitas to Batman and Bruce. Thumbs up. :)
So glad that y'all finally watched it! I hope y'all react to All of these old Batman movies...like batman Forever and Batman & robin too...they are also great!
I said this comment on other reviews but this Joker truly is just a dog chasing cars...
THIS is the Joker.
Heath Ledger played basically a different character who was sort of....adjacent to the Joker.
Phoenix played a totally unrelated character - just a sad clown who spontaneously kills a couple people.
If you took EVERYTHING about this Joker, except killing Bruce's parents, and you gave him the pure diabolical genius and vicious malice of Ledger's Joker, THEN you'd have a basically perfect Joker.
The ONLY Joker to get closer to a perfect Joker is Mark Hamill's Batman TAS/Arkham video games version.
Hamill's Joker is truly insane and even more unhinged than Nicholson's DESPITE being a Saturday morning cartoon character.
The Arkham games are sort of designed as the "grown-up" version of Batman TAS, where they're freed from the limitations of being a kids cartoon.
Hamill's Arkham Joker is the absolute peak of the character.
Imagine Nicholson's Joker, but 10x as unhinged and malicious.
Almost like he's an entity that transcends being a guy in clown makeup.
Almost like he's borderline demonic.
Some sort of being of gleeful chaos and mayhem.
And THAT is what the Joker is.
He's a top-tier ultra-malicious gangster and absolute criminal mastermind, and terrifying genius, but he's totally unhinged, and almost possessed by this impossible love for havoc and terror and chaos and comedy and cruelty and battling Batman.
He's not just some weirdo with a anarchic master plan like Ledger's Joker.
He's not just some sad loser clown who accidentally kills some people.
Joker is a cold, calculating, laser-guided demonic of pure malicious criminal genius.
He has plans upon plans upon plans IN ADDITION to his flippant chaos.
Comedy and gags are his tools or style of inflicting that on the world.
When i was a kid i watched this movie on Betamax every day, i have 5 years old when this came out on cinemas. And now, i watched The Batman with my little girl and it like it.
Your discussion about the Joker after reminds me of another video I watched just earlier today on Cinecringe called M. Bison and the Art of Ham. "Twisted glee" really hit the nail on the head.
I will honestly say that Jack Nicholson is one of the best Jokers on the screen. It’s a shame that Batman and Robin didn’t do well at the box office because they had a fifth film planned for this franchise. It was to feature Scarecrow as well as Harley Quinn. Only this time Harley Quinn was going to be the daughter of the Joker who wanted revenge for her father’s death. 🃏
I think the credit for the first serious Batman movie should go ultimately go to Michael E. Uslan. When he graduated high school he had over 30,000 comic books in his garage. He later was the first college professor to teach a course on Comic Books and Society (utilizing his encyclopedic knowledge of comics history), and in the late 70's he bought the movie rights to Batman from DC for not a large sum of money. DC didn't see any big future for a big screen Batman, especially after the Campy TV series (which Uslan hated). He was determined to bring to the big screen a serious, dark version of Batman. After several false starts throughout the 80's, things finally started coming together after Alan Moore and Frank Miller put out their great comics (sparking studio interest) and Tim Burton came into the picture. Ever since, Uslan has only green-lighted the use of Batman in serious movies. I had the chance to hear him speak and talk to him, and thanks to his love of the character and the original, darker comic book Batman, the character has been in very good hands and will continue to be for the foreseeable future...
IO: I've always oerfered the continuity where Bruce Wayne never discovered who actually killed his parents...and many times in his crime fighting career, he fixated on someone as the one who he thought must have been the person who did it, but he never found conclusive evidence. So one of his deep personal motivations he doesn't like to admit to himself, if he beats up ALL the criminals in Gotham he will probably come across the guy even if he doesnt know it.
Sean Young, Michelle Pfeiffer, Meg Ryan, Kelly McGillis, Julia Roberts, Linda Hamilton, Bridget Fonda, Jodie Foster, Nicole Kidman, Melanie Griffith, Brooke Shields, Geena Davis, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Frances McDormand, Sharon Stone, Daryl Hannah, and Jennifer Beals were almost cast as Vicki Vale
Nicholson's Joker laugh is so iconic
this movie was like the bar how dark Batman can be
I would really recommend watching the TV series Gotham. It's more of an origin story for Gordon, but you get a good young Bruce Wayne too. The villains are great and we learn why Alfred is as amazing as he is.
I was 14 years old when this came out. It was amazing. It blew our minds. It was marketed so well. It was everywhere from trading cards to breakfast cereal. This movie ruled. I wish you could have experienced the hype. Best wishes. I love your reactions.
I’ve been watching these old 90s Batman films myself and I actually enjoyed them no matter how cheesy they are I still like them
best bruce wayne portrayal in this movie: eccentric yet aloof
-------
jack: had to restrain who he really was, had to be "professional", meet the standards of being a corrupt business criminal boss... he wasn't having fun... he had a job to do and a person to be at that job....
joker: now as the joker, jack was free to be himself, his true self... not restrained by anything anymore... he could finally go back to just having fun, like he as did when he was younger, "enjoying" taking bruce's parents' lives...
This movie is still awesome! However my one complaint that always stains it for me, is the slipshod love plot. Aside from the fact that he's loaded, and she's the first woman he slept with since becoming Batman, there is no justification why they would be this deeply in love after one date.
Well…I mean movies gotta movie! That happens a lot lol
Cant wait to see your reactions to the next movie with Danny DeVito and Michelle Pfifer.
I always thought that Jack Nicholas version of joker were a lot like the tv show Batman .. but he was an amazing joker
So the trick to the dual makeup the bottom layer is white water based. But the flesh color is oil. When Vicki dumps water on Joker, it’s not water but rubbing alcohol. It left the white alone. Same trick with the execution scene. Joker’s handkerchief has alcohol on it.
Batman 66 and Batman 43 came out before this
Billy's Two Face was cut out of future movies but does appear in the Lego film
This was the first BIG movie to be released on VHS the same year it was in theaters. This came out in June I think and it was released on video in October. That used to never happen. It was normal to have to wait sometimes years for big films to be released to the home video market. 1989 was a good year for movies.
The dark noir look of the movie mirrors The Dark Knight graphic novel pretty well
To this day one of my favorite Batman movies
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford, Kevin Costner, Michael Douglas, Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, Bill Murray, Michael Biehn, Sylvester Stallone, Matthew Broderick, Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey, William Hurt, Mickey Rourke, Daniel Day Lewis, Tom Selleck, Jeff Bridges, Pierce Brosnan, Kiefer Sutherland, Nick Nolte, Kurt Russell, Dennis Quaid, Alec Baldwin, Ray Liotta, Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Tom Hanks John Travolta, Kyle McLachlan Chevy Chase Kevin Kline, Jean Claude van Damme and Robert Downey Jr were almost cast as The Dark Knight.
I love you guys 💚🖤 I loved this movie when I was 6 years old & I was born in the 90s
While Batman The Animated Series was greenlit as a companion to the movie series (specifically when Batman Returns was out), the style of the cartoon was more influenced by the 1940s Fleischer Superman cartoons. They definitely made use of Elfman's theme, though.
i like how they foreshadowed covid with that long table.
Man. I was in 6th grade when this movie came out. 89 was the summer of Batman. Batmania was everywhere !
Story time. This came out the summer between third and fourth grade for me. My birthday is also in the summer time. That year, I asked for two things: to get a perm and to see the new Batman movie. Prince did the sound track. With that came music videos (MTV was still legit then) and lots of radio play. The hype was real!
Anyways, I got both things and it was amazing! Well, I also spent the whole summer at the community pool. If you know anything about perms and chorine, they don't mix. To my devastation, my hair turned green.
That fall, I went to a new school. I was known as "The Joker" until my hair grew out enough to cut it off. I was really embarrassed at the time, but I would rock green hair now. Still a great movie though! Jack Nicholson steals the show!
The bag Gordon pulled from the Joker's cost was an old gag called A Bag of Laughs. Joker literally had the last laugh.
I also liked BATMAN’s kill count in this movie, he straight up murdered like at least 5 people.
The dirty cop, played porkins in Star Wars New hope
This movie was mindblowing in 89 when it came out. I remember going into the theater, sure that Keaton couldn't do both Batman and Bruce Wayne, and wow, he was amazing. I do wish we'd gotten Billy Dee Williams' Two-face. He would have been incredible.
The fact we didn't get more of Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent is criminal. He's in so little of this movie, but he's great in every second he's in.
yeah it sucks so bad because I think burton was actually going to use him in later movies but we at least still get to see his two face in the Batman 89 comics
If I remember correctly, Tim Burton fashioned his characterizations on the original '40's Batman and Joker. The big change being instead of a comedian, he made Jack a petty thug who rose through the ranks to become the Button-man for a mob boss. The clothing was, of course, '50's "Film Noir" style. The premise for placing chemicals in everyday products was featured in Detective Comics #475 and #476 ("The Laughing Fish"). Finally, the bat-mobile was adapted from the '40's comics and '60's tv series. Batman used atomic/nuclear fuel to power it's engine.
Before this, there was the old camp TV show with Adam West. Compared to that, this was super dark and gritty, even if it seems a bit comical today.
Like you said, it had a lot in common with The Dark Knight. But here Joker is more of a homicidal madman compared to Ledger's chaotic nutcase. And Batman for sure would have killed Joker if his plane hadn't been hit. In the Nolan movie Batman avoided killing him.
Otherwise that standoff with Joker standing in the street with Batman coming at him in plane/on bike is very similar. I think Nicholson was a big source for Ledger.
A man that lives locally, actually bought one of the running Batmobiles made for this movie. It was built on a custom chassis with a Corvette drive drivetrain. Occasionally, you'll see him driving it, although last time I saw it out, it didn't look like it was running too good. I actually have a picture of it on my Facebook profile, driving past me, on I-64 East just past the Hurricane exit, in WV.
And the Bat "plane" in this version of Batman, was called the Batwing.
This batman and Batman Returns are my 2 favorite movies ever. Michael Keaton,Jack Nicholson ,Michelle Pfeiffer ,will always be the best batman,Joker and catwoman .🙂 great reaction guys. Always love your reactions this one is my favorite so far. I hope all is well. 🙂
I recommend reading the Batman 89 comic books it's essentially a continuation of the original Burton movies before the horrible sequels came along.
That Joker one shot took down batman shows that Joker is not some nobody or a common villain that can be taken down easily, that also with a thing like the batplane. He is an equally matched rival, with both sides being equally powerful and abilitied in their own unique way.
The set design by Anton Furst won an Oscar, and is still one of my favorite achievements in set design of all time. After Furst's suicides, later movies in the series tried to copy his style, but in my opinion were never as successful. At the time of the movie's release, I read somewhere that the costumes were deliberately meant to represent every decade from the thirties (if not earlier) through the seventies, so the movie could not be pinned down as taking place in any single identifiable period.
fun fact, this Joker has the highest kill count of anyone to play the character in live action with 50 kills.
When I was 19, I saw it in the theater on opening night, after all the months of marketing hype and almost no shots of Joker or Batman. When that logo resolved at the beginning It have me chills...
It may look dated, but there was no CG back then, that Batmobile design was THE sh*t...
I'm really glad you guys enjoyed this. This is my second favourite Batman after Batman Returns. I've not seen the new one yet.
Thanks for the video!! See you later!! Stay safe 😊
I remember the hand buzzer thing used to terrify me as a kid and now I’m like AAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAAHA
The Jokers before Joachim represent the different eras of the comic books - Ledger represents the bronze age that took place roughly in the late-70s to the end of the 80s, Cesar Romero represents the Silver Age of the 50s and 60s, and Jack Nicholson represents the Golden Age of the original comics. MatPat actually covered this before Joachim's movie came out on Film Theory.
Hi, thank you for your reaction, I have adored the film since the age of ten. Tim Burton's work is unique . His stylization of darkness and emotions in music seems very interesting to me like in Edward Scissorhands and sand it sets him apart from other directors. And Jack Nicholson....what to say. I look forward to other further reaction and opinion on his other movies.
The Gotham sets reminded me a little of The Crow - the dark and grittiness of it. Keaton as Batman was such a shock when he was announced as he was mostly in comedies. Turned out to be a great choice as he played opposite his previous characters. I remember the marketing for this movie was huge, including a glossy Batman picture book. I wish I would've kept mine. Anton Furst did the concept art for Gotham and his influence on the style of the buildings (esp. the cathedral) was huge. Even though Tim Burton was making a huge blockbuster he still was able to put in his dark film style. The movie was a huge hit.