Jack's Joker is gleefully unhinged and twisted. He has so many hilarious one-liners, bizarre facial expressions, and crazed laughing fits...it's truly a thing of beauty to watch him go completely off the rails. And for a four-quadrant movie, this Joker is seriously demented...he disfigures and murders people and makes artwork out of their corpses. That's dark as hell. He also made $90 million on the back-end, and got a cut of the sequels as well.
Jack knew George Lucas very well and took after him as he got a cut of the Merchandising too. Taking a pay cut for the movie was the only way Warner Brothers could afford him and they felt they needed a big name for a cheesy little comic book movie (they were all cheesy back then). Jack got top billing because he was the biggest name by a country mile.
Back in 1989, this movie was MASSIVE. Massive promotion, box office, soundtrack, merchandise, toys, VHS, cable, network TV. And then the rumors of which actors would play which villains in “Batman II.”
I grew up watching this movie, so for me it's hard to see anyone else other than Keaton as the true Bruce Wayne/Batman. I understand it though, given his lack of resemblance to the traditional comic depiction. But he's so damn good.
I still can't see it. And I grew up with this movie, Nolan with bale and the rest did such an amazing job with The dark Knight trilogy, is hard to come back to this silly, whimsical version.
@@CYB3R2K Then YOU really couldn't handle the 1960's Batman TV show. Keep in mind we had only seen that in live action, and THIS one seemed dark, grim and serious at that time.
The Joker's reaction to finding out Bruce Wayne is Batman really says it all: "Take it easy, Bat-Brain. I was a kid when I killed your parents." _He doesn't care at all who Batman is or that he's responsible for it._ To him, Bruce/Batman is just an uppity pain in the ass who needs to be put in his place. No matter how angry Bruce is with him, no matter how justified that anger is, it has no meaning to the Joker whatsoever. It's a mark of just how evil the Joker truly is, and how little Batman matters in his eyes.
No one could see Michael as Batman. He proved everyone wrong. Jack Nicholson didn't take a payment for the film. He asked for points instead and made more from the merchandise and ticket sales than he would have from a salary. Smart man.
No, Nicholson took a salary. But he ALSO had points in the merchandising, which netted him a TON of extra money for the film. From the Wikpedia page on Batman: "He reduced his standard $10 million fee to $6 million in exchange for a cut of the film's earnings (including associated merchandise), which led to remuneration in excess of $50 million-biographer Marc Eliot reports that Nicholson may have received as much as $90 million." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_(1989_film)#Casting
In all fairness, the Batman comics had been getting progressively darker since the 1970s, once DC wriggled out from the thumb of the Comics Code Authority and villains were allowed to be villains again. We had The Dark Knight Returns, we had Year One, we had The Killing Joke by this point. But comic books were still seen as a nerdy hobby in 1989. What made this movie groundbreaking was that it brought the darker, more gothic Batman to the masses - and you're right, the general public didn't keep up with comics and hadn't seen Batman since the '60s series. They're the ones whose minds were really blown by this 😁
“I can’t picture Michael Keaton as Batman” was the reason for Batman comics fans anger when he got cast. He was best known as “Mister Mom” (an earlier movie) at the time. It all changed when this movie premiered. Now he IS Batman to many of us.
I hated this movie. At the point where the joker shot down the bat wing with a long gun, my wife and I ejected the VHS. I have never seen the end of this movie. It was shot on LSD and made Batman into a joke.
That little bag that was pulled from Joker's body was an upgraded version of a cheap novelty sold as "Bag O' Laughs." It was a battery driven player that just looped through that sound of laughter you heard. I never checked but I suspect Spencer's Gifts had a run on the things after the movie hit the theaters.
This is my fave Batman. It's supposed to be dark. Batman should be stoic. Also the villains are supposed to be scary psyches. also the bat plane is awesome =D
Danny Elfman was on a plane when he got the idea for the theme. So he runs to the bathroom so he can brainstorm, humming and stuff. People outside thought he was going crazy 😂
There were plans for a third Batman film from Burton. However, following the fallout from poor merchandise sales & other factors, Burton angrily walked away from the project before a script was ever produced.
@@Beardo2517 I’ve always found it slightly ironic that parents got mad at the violence in Batman Returns, yet were quite happy to feed their offspring food (& I use that word in the loosest of terms) from McDonalds.
@@CyberBeep_kenshi interestingly, legendary Swiss surrealist, the late great HR Giger produced some concept art for Batman Forever. As someone who’s written several pieces on Giger & is a huge fan of his art, I can’t even begin to imagine just how insane a Batman film featuring his work would’ve been….especially if it hadn’t just been the Batmobile he worked on.
You are gonna to be proven wrong... this is still the best in it's genre, IMHO. 40 years later it's still world class, the music, the actors, the ambience... extraordinary.
I hope you’ll check out the Emmy award winning animated series that was directly inspired by this movie either on the channel or on your free time. Hearing Kevin Conroy’s Batman say “I am vengeance, I am the night, I am Batman” gives me chills as an adult as it did as a child when I first watched it in the 90’s. Not to mention Mark Hamill is the ultimate Joker.
1:40 yet you didn't notice that Christopher Reeve got third billing, and _after_ the title card, for "Superman: The Movie". 😂 Yes, in those days, the bigger box office draws tended to get first billing even if they weren't the actual main star of the movie. These days, they're more likely to get last billing with special notation, like "and/with (actor) as (character)".
The two pioneers who started the superhero movie movement -- Tim Burton (Batman) and Richard Donner (Superman). Everything after that just took a little while for better effects to come into play, but those two guys started it all
Batmania was running wild. And TMNT came out the very next year. Those three proved you could adapt comic book material into great movies and make bank.
Yes and no. Those are the two people seem to point to the most as if they were the only ones because they were the "most successful". Red Sonja, Sheena, Heavy Metal, Several The Punisher movies all achieved a level of success. While Flash Gordon was not a major success it did make its money back and then went on to sell many many copies since and has become a massive cult favorite, same with the first Swamp Thing movie and The Toxic Avenger. If you forgo the "comic" part, Tron and RoboCop had a massive impact on the hero movie genre and by the end of the 1980s, horror movies became heavily based in villain's with some type of non-human like powers. Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Lawnmower man, The Entity, The Fly, Hellraiser, Firestarter, Pumpkinhead, Phantasm, Scanners and far more than those I can remember off the top of my head. Fully bled into other genres also like Teen Wolf, the "hero" werewolf. Buckaroo Bonzai, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, Beetlejuice...Last Starfighter. The hero genre was already set in stone by the time this film came out.
@@thomasjones4570yes, but none of the movies you mentioned came from the Superhero Comic genre. (even Flash Gordon, who was only a precursor to later DC and Marvel) There were some serials on TV (including Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman) before both Superman and Batman, but nothing in comparison. But those two movie franchises (4 parts each) paved the way for Sam Raimi's Spiderman and Bryan Singer's X-Men, and the rest is movie history. (Yes, I know Blade came out just before, but many people were unaware of it being Marvel, they just saw it as a modern Vampire flick.)
@@Cau_No What? Red Sonja, Sheena, Heavy Metal, The Punisher where all comic book characters well before their films came out...The Flash Gordon comic started in 1934. The SUNDAY COMIC STRIP ran from the 1930s through the early 2000s... And I specifically then, after those said "And if you forgo the "comic" part" when listing the rest of the hero movies. Stop. Just...stop. You are trying to start an argument you are going to lose since its clear your comic knowledge is also limited. What a foolish attempt.
I was a junior in high school when this came out. The hype and anticipation for this movie was unbelievable. A second wave of Bat-mania ( first was in the late 60's). Batman was EVERYWHERE. And this movie certainly delivered! If you want to have some silly fun, watch the 1966 Batman movie.
Fun Facts: Acton Power Station in West London was used as the location for the Axis Chemicals interior shot. Acton Power Station also doubled for the atmosphere processing station in Aliens. When the crew turned up to start production on Batman, they found a lot of the sets from Aliens still in situ. Burton stipulated he wanted Gotham to look like ‘hell had vomited up a city’. The mix of Metropolis-esque art deco, brutalist architecture & urban decay is incredible. Jack Nicholson had a significant amount of input into his makeup which was created by VFX legend Nick Dudman. Nicholson’s Joker is amazing & a clear homage to Caesar Romero who portrayed Joker in the original TV series. The dad who gets attacked at the start of the film is played by Garrick Hogan; better known as as Biggs Darklighter….Lukes friend who meets a fiery end in A New Hope. Tim Burton took a huge amount of inspiration from the Alan Moore graphic novel ‘The Killing Joke’. Todd Phillips also took inspiration from the same source material for Joker. The building that doubled for Wayne Manor is Knebworth House. Alfred Pennyworth was played by Michael Gough. Burton cast him in part as a nod to Gough’s history of starring in multiple Hammer Horror films; which Burton, like myself, is a huge fan of. Gough would reunite with Burton again in Batman Returns, Sleepy Hollow, The Corpse Bride & Alice In Wonderland. There were plans for a third Batman film to be directed by Burton. But following the release of Batman Returns, this never happened. We can also only dream what Burton’s Superman adaptation with Nicholas Cage would’ve been like; a Burton Justice League could’ve been a very interesting concept. Vikki Vale is a character from 1948 & was Bruce Wayne’s love interest.
@ I was just as surprised when I found out. He also has another link to Batman; that being he provided the voice for one of the Joker clones in the 2015 game Batman: Arkham Knight.
This movie feels like a comic book in many ways. It wasn't trying to be a what if batman was real. That is why they didn't use a real city for the backdrop and everything was very stylized. Since they weren't grounding it in reality as much as some later movies, it gave Burton the opportunity to just play. The success of this movie is what started a whole new interest for many in Batman and why a few years later you got the animated series. Though it is not the first comic book super hero to get a theatrical movie, it is really what started the comic book movie craze. After the success of this movie you had studios starting to look at other comic books that could be adapted. This movie, sequel Batman Returns, Batman the Animated series, and The X-Men animated series really sparked studio interest in comic book movies. You had The Crow, Blade, Judge Dredd, Spawn, and others all got made in the 90s in part cause Hollywood figured out comic book movies could be profitable. X-Men, Spider-Man and others went through rights issues, multiple scripts, or multiple directors which is why some of them didn't start coming out until 2000 but the effort to secure the rights started cause of the success of Batman. Superman proved you could have a theatrical comic book movie but the craze for them started thanks to this movie.
Summer 1989 it was total Batmania, nice reaction here. Im a die-hard dedicated 89/92 fanboy, it was a fun reaction here. The film was a great representation of the 1980s character.
Before Batman, Keaton starred in a movie called "Pacific Heights". Very Hitchcockian. I think they saw that before that decided to cast him as Bruce Wayne.
I think of these/this movie as a Comic Book version of BATMAN. And to me, THIS is the BATMAN that really started it all, movie wise that is. Keaton does a PHENOMINAL job as BATMAN. IMO.
I saw this in the theater when it came out, it was a HUGE hit. One thing I didn't like about it was Batman killing people. He doesn't do that in the comics. He'll beat people within an inch of their lives but he doesn't kill them.
Besides Billy Dee Williams. there are two other Star Wars actors here: Garrick Hagon (the father of the tourists at the beginning) played Biggs, Luke Skywalker’s best friend in A New Hope, and William Hootkins (Eckhardt) played another pilot named Porkins. He was also one of the government agents in Raiders Of The Lost Ark. 🎭
I like to think that Bruce Wayne simply wanted to be a 'Barman' to feel normal and meet people socially but Alfred misheard, ordered all the tech and equipment and Bruce just went along with it.
It was hard for me to see Michael Keaton as Batman, and I saw this when it came out. Because he was always in a comedy role. But, he did a great job. If you've ever seen the old Batman TV show, it was sorta comedy. So this fit right in. Also, in the 70's they had the little "laugh bags" it was just like in this movie. A little bag that when you pushed a button would start laughing. They were everywhere.
If you haven’t checked out the animated DC movies, I highly recommend them. I love DC movies in general, but the animation is really where it shines. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is the definitive Batman movie and features the best Batman/Bruce Wayne ever put to screen. For Superman, Superman vs. The Elite and All-Star Superman are peak Superman. And for a team-up film. Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is a Batman and Superman team-up done right. I’d also recommend diving into the whole DC Animated Universe, which includes shows like Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Justice League. It’s a lot to get through, but it's the definitive take on the DC Universe, with some of the best versions of these characters. It’s totally worth it if you’re into these characters. Plus it's all connected like the MCU, crossovers and everything. But moving onto this film. Batman (1989) is the perfect blend of 1940s crime drama and Tim Burton’s unique vision. The mobsters in suits with tommy guns, the dark, moody atmosphere, it’s straight out of a classic gangster film and looks amazing in B&W. But what really stands out is Gotham’s design. It’s this wild mix of Gothic Revival and Art Deco, giving the city a timeless, almost surreal feel. The fashion pulls from the '40s with a touch of '80s boldness, creating a vibe that’s both vintage and futuristic at the same time. It’s a masterclass in blending eras while making Gotham feel like its own unique world. For me, this is something the more modern Batman films lack. Nolan turned Gotham into a generic American city that had no real personality or identity and lost a lot of the mystery and character that the comics' Gotham had. I still love The Dark Knight, of course, but it didn’t capture that distinct Gotham vibe. The Batman (2022) is probably the best take on Gotham in the modern Batman films, it actually looks Gothic, capturing the darker, more atmospheric feel that makes Gotham so unique. Yet more importantly coming across as it's own distinct city with a history and personality.
Seconded. Do not make the mistake of thinking that animated == kid's stuff. The modern attempt at the DC live action universe really should have just dug into their animation library for material.
Michael Keaton (and David Letterman) were unknown comics appearing with Mary Tyler Moore on her variety TV specials in the late 70s, early 80s. She did her own SNL type specials, and that's where Keaton and Letterman got big breaks.
Jack Nicholson said in order to get into the mind frame of the joker he messed with his own sleep schedule, kept a fairy where he wrote down every negative thought that came into his head and convinced himself it was funny. Tim burton created the “dark knight legacy” and made the joker as dark and evil as he’s been portrayed more modernly. The joker we know today. Health ledge asked Jack himself how he made his joker so iconic and did the exact same things he did to prep for the role. Jack warned him though. The role is almost like a curse. If you aren’t careful it can pull you in and drown you. Which happened to ledger. I think it was about what 8 months later he did the shining? And he said that he got nightmares from the role. But they were nothing compared to the nightmares he got when he was playing the joker. He also said that the role had forever changed his psychology. For years he went back and forth on whether or not it was worth it but overall said it was a role of a lifetime.
The Shining was made in 1980. This was in 1989. So The Shining was first: the psychology of acting in that film in that role, under THAT director (Kubrick) must have been pretty dark. Then nine years later he was cast in this film under director Tim Burton (also an auteur, but not *quite* as intense as Kubrick was). Ledger's version of the character, directed by Chris Nolan: a very dark villain, seemingly chaotic but with a master chess player's ability to plan ahead, is indeed a most formidable foe. But he didn't seem to take almost any actual enjoyment in his work. He didn't seem to find the world as funny as The Joker should. He barely even laughed! Any crazy villain is going to have a good laugh now and then, and Ledger's Joker had a few. But THE Joker finds the whole world to be one big joke, with torture and death the best punchline. Nicholson's Joker (directed by Burton, written by several screenwriters) was the absolute perfect balance of manic and depressive; death and laughter. Ledger's villain was too much depressive, not enough manic. -My 2¢
Batman was originally a dark comic. It got campier in the 60s. The Dark Knight Returns graphic novel returned Batman to his darker origins. This movie was partially inspired by that story. Batman has been darker ever since.
One thing that I think is kind of funny about this movie, is that you never see him put on or take off the suit until late in the film. So if you don’t know Bruce Wayne is Batman, they could be two different characters until halfway through the movie.
fun fact about Joker's gun that took down the Batwing, it was using high explosive armour piercing bullets. That is why he was able to destroy the Batwing so easily.
One of my favorite Joker is Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker who voiced the same Joker character in the Batman animated series 92-94, 1993 Batman: Mask of the Phantasm animated movie, in 3ep of 96- 00 Superman series & 97 The Batman Superman movie: World's Finest TV animated movie, 97-99 The New Batman Adventures, in a episode of 2000s Batman Beyond animated series & the Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker movie a series that takes place 40yrs after the 97-99 series with Bruce Wayne around 80yrs old having retired as Batman in his 50s due to a heart attack returns as The Guy in the chair for high school teenager ( voiced by Will Friedel of Boy Meets World) who stumbles on Bruce's last Batman suit he wore equipped with built-in tech. Hamill would also reprise his Joker for a couple episodes of the 01-04 Justice League animated series & 02 Static Shock animated series. All the series & animated movies Hamill voiced the Joker are all tied in to the same Joker character throughout all the series; the same person through the years but he has also voiced Joker in other series & games as well as other DC characters. In 2002 a live action series was made called Birds of Prey about the daughter of Batman & Catwoman becoming a hero with Mark Hamill voicing the Joker for 2 episodes. In 2016 Mark Hamill would reprise his Joker for the animated movie Batman: the Killing Joke based on the graphic novel that delves in to the Jokers origin story, and in 2024 Hamill has returned to voice Joker in part three of the Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths animated films.
Just noticed a continuity error 22:36 - "You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?" 24:31 - "You ever dance with the devil by the pale moonlight?" Never rub another man's rhubarb was just a silly way of saying, don't mess with my woman. Batman Returns is really good too
One thing this movie captures that newer ones don't focus on as much is the theatricality and the drama of Batman's shenanigans. The simple detail of opening the cape and ascending inside a cloud of smoke looks so epic.
The cool thing about this movie, is that it was filmed as though it was an old comic book... the colors, the lighting, the angles... if you pause the movie, pretty much anywhere, it looks like a scene from a comic book. Great reaction.
Yeah, the Prince soundtrack is one of the strangest but coolest artifacts of the 80s. The idea of a single modern pop artist doing an entire soundtrack, and writing new songs specifically for the movie, was weird enough, but Prince played all the instruments himself (and did all the vocals, aside from a duet with Sheena Easton).
For a guy that went to the theater and seen this Batman trailer. And then went to the theater to watch this, Michael Keaton is Batman This was the biggest thing from Boston to Budapest.
31:28 The "Bag o' Laughs" was a popular novelty toy in the 1970s. A lot of Batman fans (including me) were skeptical when it was announced that Michael Keaton would be playing Batman. I remember telling a friend about it: "I don't know who Michael Keaton is." "Did you ever see Mr. Mom?" "No." "Night Shift?" "No." "Johnny Dangerously?" "No." "Gung Ho?" "Yeah. Oh, that guy? I can see him as Batman." "Really? Wait, did you see Gung Ho the movie, or Gung Ho the TV series?" "The TV series." "That was Scott Bakula. Michael Keaton was in the movie." "Oh. Then no."
Casting Michael Keaton here was still talked about after the movie had its run. I remember a scene from Tiny Toons, where one of the characters was in charge of valet parking at a film premiere and Batman arrives, gets out of the car and pulls down a zipper to reveal (a much shorter) Bruce Wayne. Next was Kirk, Spock and McCoy beaming in with Captain Kirk handing over the keys saying "Don't scratch it" before a camera pan up showing the Enterprise looming right above the skyscrapers...
Batman 89 was filmed in England. The "Gotham" city set cost approx £1.5 million to build on the backlot of Pinewood studios covering almost the entirety of it's 95 acre site
The one shot that got the bat plane was heavily under estimated because it wasn't represented really well but it was implied that the gun joker used was supposed to be like a cannon and batman didn't hit the joker because it was implied that no matter how much he wants to he can't kill him yet
Interesting fact, the surgical instruments used on the Joker were also in “Little Shop of Horros”. Jack Nicholson played Bill Murray in the original Roger Corman film “The Little Shop of Horrors”made in 1960.
Coincidentally, Joker dancing with Vicki Vaile, @Addie mentioned 'dancing with her corpse'. Kim Basinger actually starred in Tom Petty's video as a corpse that Tom danced with. 'Last Dance with Mary Jane' by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
You hit the proverbial nail on the head when you said you couldn’t picture Keaton as Batman. This was the sentiment at first but after seeing this I think he’s the best one.
My wife and I entered our wedding reception to the Partyman song Joker uses when he comes into the art gallery. "Gentlemen, let's broaden our minds.... Lawrence!!!!!".
The best Batmobile to date imo.
100%. The ones on Bale were nice, of course...but this one...!
That homemade batmobile from The Batman was stellar.
@@JasonON Agree. That one was my favorite.
Keaton “I’m Batman” chills every time
But it doesn't Joe Chill.
Sorry, that was a bad one. 😁
@ lol nah it was clever
Jack's Joker is gleefully unhinged and twisted. He has so many hilarious one-liners, bizarre facial expressions, and crazed laughing fits...it's truly a thing of beauty to watch him go completely off the rails. And for a four-quadrant movie, this Joker is seriously demented...he disfigures and murders people and makes artwork out of their corpses. That's dark as hell.
He also made $90 million on the back-end, and got a cut of the sequels as well.
Jack knew George Lucas very well and took after him as he got a cut of the Merchandising too. Taking a pay cut for the movie was the only way Warner Brothers could afford him and they felt they needed a big name for a cheesy little comic book movie (they were all cheesy back then). Jack got top billing because he was the biggest name by a country mile.
Back in 1989, this movie was MASSIVE. Massive promotion, box office, soundtrack, merchandise, toys, VHS, cable, network TV. And then the rumors of which actors would play which villains in “Batman II.”
This was also a popular music piece for school bands to play.
I remember all of that marking. I was in 2nd grade. A 7 year old. It was crazy merchandise everywhere
Most people couldn't picture Michael Keaton in 1989. We were very pleasantly surprised.
I grew up watching this movie, so for me it's hard to see anyone else other than Keaton as the true Bruce Wayne/Batman. I understand it though, given his lack of resemblance to the traditional comic depiction. But he's so damn good.
I still can't see it. And I grew up with this movie, Nolan with bale and the rest did such an amazing job with The dark Knight trilogy, is hard to come back to this silly, whimsical version.
@@CYB3R2K Then YOU really couldn't handle the 1960's Batman TV show. Keep in mind we had only seen that in live action, and THIS one seemed dark, grim and serious at that time.
Mr Mom as Batman?
@@CYB3R2K bale was an awful Batman. The voice is awful and ruins everything about the whole trilogy for me
I remember seeing this in the cinema and we all cheered when the Batwing suspended itself in front of the moon.
Batman: "You killed my parents."
Joker: "Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?!"
The Joker's reaction to finding out Bruce Wayne is Batman really says it all: "Take it easy, Bat-Brain. I was a kid when I killed your parents." _He doesn't care at all who Batman is or that he's responsible for it._ To him, Bruce/Batman is just an uppity pain in the ass who needs to be put in his place. No matter how angry Bruce is with him, no matter how justified that anger is, it has no meaning to the Joker whatsoever. It's a mark of just how evil the Joker truly is, and how little Batman matters in his eyes.
"I can't picture Michael Keaton as Batman".
Oh, Addie. You were one of many.
Not only Beetlejuice, but also Mr. Mom! No, many of us couldn't picture him as Batman. 😂
my favourite henchman of all time, the guy who's only task is to carry the boombox all day long, with shades 😎
No one could see Michael as Batman. He proved everyone wrong. Jack Nicholson didn't take a payment for the film. He asked for points instead and made more from the merchandise and ticket sales than he would have from a salary. Smart man.
After Tom Hanks' first 10yrs, who saw the next 30?
No, Nicholson took a salary. But he ALSO had points in the merchandising, which netted him a TON of extra money for the film. From the Wikpedia page on Batman: "He reduced his standard $10 million fee to $6 million in exchange for a cut of the film's earnings (including associated merchandise), which led to remuneration in excess of $50 million-biographer Marc Eliot reports that Nicholson may have received as much as $90 million."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_(1989_film)#Casting
Still think this has been the best Batman movie so far. The sets, the characters, the atmosphere - all perfect 👌
This was considered dark and gritty when it was released, we only had the 60s version to compare it to.
In all fairness, the Batman comics had been getting progressively darker since the 1970s, once DC wriggled out from the thumb of the Comics Code Authority and villains were allowed to be villains again. We had The Dark Knight Returns, we had Year One, we had The Killing Joke by this point.
But comic books were still seen as a nerdy hobby in 1989. What made this movie groundbreaking was that it brought the darker, more gothic Batman to the masses - and you're right, the general public didn't keep up with comics and hadn't seen Batman since the '60s series. They're the ones whose minds were really blown by this 😁
“I can’t picture Michael Keaton as Batman” was the reason for Batman comics fans anger when he got cast. He was best known as “Mister Mom” (an earlier movie) at the time. It all changed when this movie premiered. Now he IS Batman to many of us.
Bruh, I literally said this 😅. I was like, "MR MOM" 🙄 Wow, was I proven wrong
And Johnny Dangerously
@@SpidermanandhisAmazingFriends you, and everyone else (me too).
I hated this movie. At the point where the joker shot down the bat wing with a long gun, my wife and I ejected the VHS. I have never seen the end of this movie. It was shot on LSD and made Batman into a joke.
It's kinda like Bruce Willis in Die Hard. He was known for campy sitcoms during that time too.
Ok, seriously to understand how big of a change of tone this was, you all need to see the Adam West Batman... and maybe a few episodes of the series.
She should definitely at least watch the Adam West movie. Hilarious. Bat shark repellent 😂
That little bag that was pulled from Joker's body was an upgraded version of a cheap novelty sold as "Bag O' Laughs." It was a battery driven player that just looped through that sound of laughter you heard. I never checked but I suspect Spencer's Gifts had a run on the things after the movie hit the theaters.
27:08 "Oh, that is absurdly long". That's, quite literally, what she said. 😂😂😂
Hello Addie!😊 Congratulations on 100K subscribers!!!!🥳 Great reactions to Tim Burtons original Batman film, Addie!!!🎬👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
This is my fave Batman. It's supposed to be dark. Batman should be stoic. Also the villains are supposed to be scary psyches. also the bat plane is awesome =D
2nd one was darker
Danny Elfman was on a plane when he got the idea for the theme. So he runs to the bathroom so he can brainstorm, humming and stuff. People outside thought he was going crazy 😂
People outside ⁉️ they weren’t outside the plane, were they, screaming for dear life ⁉️😂😂😂
@ I gotta work on my wording
Batman Returns is even more bonkers. Tim Burton was on his best behavior in this one. He was off the leash in the sequel.
There were plans for a third Batman film from Burton. However, following the fallout from poor merchandise sales & other factors, Burton angrily walked away from the project before a script was ever produced.
after that, best to not view lol
@@davidanderson1639 It was also angry parents that took their kids to see Returns and it was too violent to be having in McDonald's
@@Beardo2517 I’ve always found it slightly ironic that parents got mad at the violence in Batman Returns, yet were quite happy to feed their offspring food (& I use that word in the loosest of terms) from McDonalds.
@@CyberBeep_kenshi interestingly, legendary Swiss surrealist, the late great HR Giger produced some concept art for Batman Forever.
As someone who’s written several pieces on Giger & is a huge fan of his art, I can’t even begin to imagine just how insane a Batman film featuring his work would’ve been….especially if it hadn’t just been the Batmobile he worked on.
My affection for this film just continues to grow.
I can't see him as Batman was a lot of peoples opinion back then. Then they saw the movie and were blown away! Great film, and Reaction, Maddie!
You are gonna to be proven wrong... this is still the best in it's genre, IMHO. 40 years later it's still world class, the music, the actors, the ambience... extraordinary.
Michael Keaton was also Batman on the recent Flash Gordon movie.
"You want to get nuts?? Let's get nuts!!!" 😁
I think "Never rub another man's rhubarb." should have been the "Why so serious?" of the early 90s.
Fun Fact, Addie: The actor who played Bruce Wayne’s father also played the jewel thief climbing the building in Superman in 1978!
Vicki: you’re insane.
Joker: and I thought I was a Pisces
😄
I hope you’ll check out the Emmy award winning animated series that was directly inspired by this movie either on the channel or on your free time. Hearing Kevin Conroy’s Batman say “I am vengeance, I am the night, I am Batman” gives me chills as an adult as it did as a child when I first watched it in the 90’s. Not to mention Mark Hamill is the ultimate Joker.
1:40 yet you didn't notice that Christopher Reeve got third billing, and _after_ the title card, for "Superman: The Movie". 😂
Yes, in those days, the bigger box office draws tended to get first billing even if they weren't the actual main star of the movie. These days, they're more likely to get last billing with special notation, like "and/with (actor) as (character)".
The two pioneers who started the superhero movie movement -- Tim Burton (Batman) and Richard Donner (Superman). Everything after that just took a little while for better effects to come into play, but those two guys started it all
Batmania was running wild. And TMNT came out the very next year. Those three proved you could adapt comic book material into great movies and make bank.
@@StCerberusEngel The 90 Tmnt still hasn't been topped
Yes and no. Those are the two people seem to point to the most as if they were the only ones because they were the "most successful". Red Sonja, Sheena, Heavy Metal, Several The Punisher movies all achieved a level of success.
While Flash Gordon was not a major success it did make its money back and then went on to sell many many copies since and has become a massive cult favorite, same with the first Swamp Thing movie and The Toxic Avenger.
If you forgo the "comic" part, Tron and RoboCop had a massive impact on the hero movie genre and by the end of the 1980s, horror movies became heavily based in villain's with some type of non-human like powers. Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Lawnmower man, The Entity, The Fly, Hellraiser, Firestarter, Pumpkinhead, Phantasm, Scanners and far more than those I can remember off the top of my head.
Fully bled into other genres also like Teen Wolf, the "hero" werewolf. Buckaroo Bonzai, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, Beetlejuice...Last Starfighter.
The hero genre was already set in stone by the time this film came out.
@@thomasjones4570yes, but none of the movies you mentioned came from the Superhero Comic genre. (even Flash Gordon, who was only a precursor to later DC and Marvel)
There were some serials on TV (including Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman) before both Superman and Batman, but nothing in comparison.
But those two movie franchises (4 parts each) paved the way for Sam Raimi's Spiderman and Bryan Singer's X-Men, and the rest is movie history.
(Yes, I know Blade came out just before, but many people were unaware of it being Marvel, they just saw it as a modern Vampire flick.)
@@Cau_No What? Red Sonja, Sheena, Heavy Metal, The Punisher where all comic book characters well before their films came out...The Flash Gordon comic started in 1934. The SUNDAY COMIC STRIP ran from the 1930s through the early 2000s...
And I specifically then, after those said "And if you forgo the "comic" part" when listing the rest of the hero movies.
Stop. Just...stop. You are trying to start an argument you are going to lose since its clear your comic knowledge is also limited.
What a foolish attempt.
Can't wait for her to react to the next Batman movie 😁
I was a junior in high school when this came out. The hype and anticipation for this movie was unbelievable. A second wave of Bat-mania ( first was in the late 60's). Batman was EVERYWHERE. And this movie certainly delivered!
If you want to have some silly fun, watch the 1966 Batman movie.
Fun Facts: Acton Power Station in West London was used as the location for the Axis Chemicals interior shot. Acton Power Station also doubled for the atmosphere processing station in Aliens. When the crew turned up to start production on Batman, they found a lot of the sets from Aliens still in situ.
Burton stipulated he wanted Gotham to look like ‘hell had vomited up a city’. The mix of Metropolis-esque art deco, brutalist architecture & urban decay is incredible.
Jack Nicholson had a significant amount of input into his makeup which was created by VFX legend Nick Dudman. Nicholson’s Joker is amazing & a clear homage to Caesar Romero who portrayed Joker in the original TV series.
The dad who gets attacked at the start of the film is played by Garrick Hogan; better known as as Biggs Darklighter….Lukes friend who meets a fiery end in A New Hope.
Tim Burton took a huge amount of inspiration from the Alan Moore graphic novel ‘The Killing Joke’. Todd Phillips also took inspiration from the same source material for Joker.
The building that doubled for Wayne Manor is Knebworth House.
Alfred Pennyworth was played by Michael Gough. Burton cast him in part as a nod to Gough’s history of starring in multiple Hammer Horror films; which Burton, like myself, is a huge fan of. Gough would reunite with Burton again in Batman Returns, Sleepy Hollow, The Corpse Bride & Alice In Wonderland.
There were plans for a third Batman film to be directed by Burton. But following the release of Batman Returns, this never happened. We can also only dream what Burton’s Superman adaptation with Nicholas Cage would’ve been like; a Burton Justice League could’ve been a very interesting concept.
Vikki Vale is a character from 1948 & was Bruce Wayne’s love interest.
I had no idea that was Biggs!
@ I was just as surprised when I found out. He also has another link to Batman; that being he provided the voice for one of the Joker clones in the 2015 game Batman: Arkham Knight.
Fun fact: Jack Nicholson wasn't acting in this movie. A camera crew merely followed him out and about going through his normal routine.
Believable. In every role Jack's just being himself really.
This movie feels like a comic book in many ways. It wasn't trying to be a what if batman was real. That is why they didn't use a real city for the backdrop and everything was very stylized. Since they weren't grounding it in reality as much as some later movies, it gave Burton the opportunity to just play. The success of this movie is what started a whole new interest for many in Batman and why a few years later you got the animated series.
Though it is not the first comic book super hero to get a theatrical movie, it is really what started the comic book movie craze. After the success of this movie you had studios starting to look at other comic books that could be adapted. This movie, sequel Batman Returns, Batman the Animated series, and The X-Men animated series really sparked studio interest in comic book movies. You had The Crow, Blade, Judge Dredd, Spawn, and others all got made in the 90s in part cause Hollywood figured out comic book movies could be profitable. X-Men, Spider-Man and others went through rights issues, multiple scripts, or multiple directors which is why some of them didn't start coming out until 2000 but the effort to secure the rights started cause of the success of Batman. Superman proved you could have a theatrical comic book movie but the craze for them started thanks to this movie.
Summer 1989 it was total Batmania, nice reaction here.
Im a die-hard dedicated 89/92 fanboy, it was a fun reaction here.
The film was a great representation of the 1980s character.
Before Batman, Keaton starred in a movie called "Pacific Heights". Very Hitchcockian. I think they saw that before that decided to cast him as Bruce Wayne.
I think of these/this movie as a Comic Book version of BATMAN. And to me, THIS is the BATMAN that really started it all, movie wise that is. Keaton does a PHENOMINAL job as BATMAN. IMO.
Got to see this and the next two in theater with my grandfather. RIP grandpa.
"Witches of Eastwick" is another great unhinged mid-80s performance by Nicholson.
Let's get nuts, Addie.
I saw this in the theater when it came out, it was a HUGE hit. One thing I didn't like about it was Batman killing people. He doesn't do that in the comics. He'll beat people within an inch of their lives but he doesn't kill them.
"I can't picture Michael Keaton as Batman" was the most spoken sentence of 1989. "Woa, Michael Keaton was actually great as Batman" was the second.
If you couldn't see his has Batman, imagine it's 1989 and most people only know him as Mr. Mom.
not seeing Michael Keaton as Batman!? no one ever thought that in the 80's lol
Basically the 80’s version of how people laughed/hated Ledger being casted as the Joker
I was just five years old when this film came out in 1989, and I remember watching it at the drive-in theater near my home.
YES! Finally reacting to this masterpiece! :D 🦇🦇🦇
I still quote this movie,so many good ones
Never rub another man's rhubarb
Addie: Oh... that is absurdly long. 😳
Michael Scott: That's what she said! 😂😂😂
Everyone take this out of context immediately! 🤩
😂😂😂
Haven’t you ever heard of the healing power of laughter - Jack
Ledger gave us a realistic performance as the Joker and Nicholson did a funny performance.
Great talents for a great character 😁
Ledger was nothing like the original Joker, Jack was much closer and actually had jokes
Besides Billy Dee Williams. there are two other Star Wars actors here: Garrick Hagon (the father of the tourists at the beginning) played Biggs, Luke Skywalker’s best friend in A New Hope, and William Hootkins (Eckhardt) played another pilot named Porkins. He was also one of the government agents in Raiders Of The Lost Ark. 🎭
I like to think that Bruce Wayne simply wanted to be a 'Barman' to feel normal and meet people socially but Alfred misheard, ordered all the tech and equipment and Bruce just went along with it.
Batman perfected the Voice of Batman in the sequel, much more intimidating.
From Beetlejuice to Batman in back to back years, This is why Keaton is the GOAT
It was hard for me to see Michael Keaton as Batman, and I saw this when it came out. Because he was always in a comedy role. But, he did a great job. If you've ever seen the old Batman TV show, it was sorta comedy. So this fit right in.
Also, in the 70's they had the little "laugh bags" it was just like in this movie. A little bag that when you pushed a button would start laughing. They were everywhere.
Keaton (and Adam West) was the Batman I grew up with. So he'll always be my favorite. Honorable mention to Bale and Pattinson.
Billy D Williams finally got to be Two Face in the LEGO Batman movie.
If you haven’t checked out the animated DC movies, I highly recommend them. I love DC movies in general, but the animation is really where it shines. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is the definitive Batman movie and features the best Batman/Bruce Wayne ever put to screen. For Superman, Superman vs. The Elite and All-Star Superman are peak Superman. And for a team-up film. Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is a Batman and Superman team-up done right.
I’d also recommend diving into the whole DC Animated Universe, which includes shows like Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Justice League. It’s a lot to get through, but it's the definitive take on the DC Universe, with some of the best versions of these characters. It’s totally worth it if you’re into these characters. Plus it's all connected like the MCU, crossovers and everything.
But moving onto this film. Batman (1989) is the perfect blend of 1940s crime drama and Tim Burton’s unique vision. The mobsters in suits with tommy guns, the dark, moody atmosphere, it’s straight out of a classic gangster film and looks amazing in B&W. But what really stands out is Gotham’s design. It’s this wild mix of Gothic Revival and Art Deco, giving the city a timeless, almost surreal feel. The fashion pulls from the '40s with a touch of '80s boldness, creating a vibe that’s both vintage and futuristic at the same time. It’s a masterclass in blending eras while making Gotham feel like its own unique world.
For me, this is something the more modern Batman films lack. Nolan turned Gotham into a generic American city that had no real personality or identity and lost a lot of the mystery and character that the comics' Gotham had. I still love The Dark Knight, of course, but it didn’t capture that distinct Gotham vibe. The Batman (2022) is probably the best take on Gotham in the modern Batman films, it actually looks Gothic, capturing the darker, more atmospheric feel that makes Gotham so unique. Yet more importantly coming across as it's own distinct city with a history and personality.
Seconded. Do not make the mistake of thinking that animated == kid's stuff. The modern attempt at the DC live action universe really should have just dug into their animation library for material.
Michael Keaton (and David Letterman) were unknown comics appearing with Mary Tyler Moore on her variety TV specials in the late 70s, early 80s. She did her own SNL type specials, and that's where Keaton and Letterman got big breaks.
Keaton is Batman. He has the eyebrows. They are officially the Batman’s. And this movie focused more on their gadgets than anything else
Jack Nicholson said in order to get into the mind frame of the joker he messed with his own sleep schedule, kept a fairy where he wrote down every negative thought that came into his head and convinced himself it was funny.
Tim burton created the “dark knight legacy” and made the joker as dark and evil as he’s been portrayed more modernly. The joker we know today.
Health ledge asked Jack himself how he made his joker so iconic and did the exact same things he did to prep for the role. Jack warned him though. The role is almost like a curse. If you aren’t careful it can pull you in and drown you. Which happened to ledger. I think it was about what 8 months later he did the shining? And he said that he got nightmares from the role. But they were nothing compared to the nightmares he got when he was playing the joker. He also said that the role had forever changed his psychology. For years he went back and forth on whether or not it was worth it but overall said it was a role of a lifetime.
The Shining was made in 1980. This was in 1989. So The Shining was first: the psychology of acting in that film in that role, under THAT director (Kubrick) must have been pretty dark. Then nine years later he was cast in this film under director Tim Burton (also an auteur, but not *quite* as intense as Kubrick was).
Ledger's version of the character, directed by Chris Nolan: a very dark villain, seemingly chaotic but with a master chess player's ability to plan ahead, is indeed a most formidable foe. But he didn't seem to take almost any actual enjoyment in his work. He didn't seem to find the world as funny as The Joker should. He barely even laughed! Any crazy villain is going to have a good laugh now and then, and Ledger's Joker had a few. But THE Joker finds the whole world to be one big joke, with torture and death the best punchline. Nicholson's Joker (directed by Burton, written by several screenwriters) was the absolute perfect balance of manic and depressive; death and laughter. Ledger's villain was too much depressive, not enough manic.
-My 2¢
Thanks man! Much appreciated and very interesting take. Gotta think about that.
Batman was originally a dark comic. It got campier in the 60s. The Dark Knight Returns graphic novel returned Batman to his darker origins. This movie was partially inspired by that story. Batman has been darker ever since.
One of the best Jokers, beaten only by Mark Hamill himself
I'll put Mark Hamill on top, and Heath Ledger in second, then Jack Nicholson
Happy 35Th Anniversary Of Tim Burton’s Batman
One thing that I think is kind of funny about this movie, is that you never see him put on or take off the suit until late in the film. So if you don’t know Bruce Wayne is Batman, they could be two different characters until halfway through the movie.
My favorite on screen Batman movie, Dark Knight is a super close second though.
Never Rub Another Man’s Rhubarb from Joker best line ever big thumbs up addie
This theme music send chills all over my body and makes my hair stand up.
fun fact about Joker's gun that took down the Batwing, it was using high explosive armour piercing bullets. That is why he was able to destroy the Batwing so easily.
We were blown away when this came out.
One of my favorite Joker is Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker who voiced the same Joker character in the Batman animated series 92-94, 1993 Batman: Mask of the Phantasm animated movie, in 3ep of 96- 00 Superman series & 97 The Batman Superman movie: World's Finest TV animated movie, 97-99 The New Batman Adventures, in a episode of 2000s Batman Beyond animated series & the Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker movie a series that takes place 40yrs after the 97-99 series with Bruce Wayne around 80yrs old having retired as Batman in his 50s due to a heart attack returns as The Guy in the chair for high school teenager ( voiced by Will Friedel of Boy Meets World) who stumbles on Bruce's last Batman suit he wore equipped with built-in tech. Hamill would also reprise his Joker for a couple episodes of the 01-04 Justice League animated series & 02 Static Shock animated series. All the series & animated movies Hamill voiced the Joker are all tied in to the same Joker character throughout all the series; the same person through the years but he has also voiced Joker in other series & games as well as other DC characters. In 2002 a live action series was made called Birds of Prey about the daughter of Batman & Catwoman becoming a hero with Mark Hamill voicing the Joker for 2 episodes. In 2016 Mark Hamill would reprise his Joker for the animated movie Batman: the Killing Joke based on the graphic novel that delves in to the Jokers origin story, and in 2024 Hamill has returned to voice Joker in part three of the Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths animated films.
Just noticed a continuity error
22:36 - "You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?"
24:31 - "You ever dance with the devil by the pale moonlight?"
Never rub another man's rhubarb was just a silly way of saying, don't mess with my woman.
Batman Returns is really good too
You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?
I just rewatched this movie a few months back, and I forgot how good it was. It's either my second or third favorite Batman movie. I haven't decided.
Amusing, i just finished watching the Superman reaction! Minutes ago! Now here is Batman!
One thing this movie captures that newer ones don't focus on as much is the theatricality and the drama of Batman's shenanigans. The simple detail of opening the cape and ascending inside a cloud of smoke looks so epic.
The cool thing about this movie, is that it was filmed as though it was an old comic book... the colors, the lighting, the angles... if you pause the movie, pretty much anywhere, it looks like a scene from a comic book. Great reaction.
Yeah, the Prince soundtrack is one of the strangest but coolest artifacts of the 80s. The idea of a single modern pop artist doing an entire soundtrack, and writing new songs specifically for the movie, was weird enough, but Prince played all the instruments himself (and did all the vocals, aside from a duet with Sheena Easton).
For a guy that went to the theater and seen this Batman trailer. And then went to the theater to watch this, Michael Keaton is Batman
This was the biggest thing from Boston to Budapest.
I'd just like to point out that Nicholson owes some debt to Cesar Romero for his performance as the Joker.
Still my favorite Batman. There were only 2 Batmen when I was a kid, Adam West and Michael Keaton. And Keaton was definitely the cooler one.
The line literally went around the block on premiere night; I still get chills reminiscing about it.
31:28 The "Bag o' Laughs" was a popular novelty toy in the 1970s.
A lot of Batman fans (including me) were skeptical when it was announced that Michael Keaton would be playing Batman. I remember telling a friend about it:
"I don't know who Michael Keaton is."
"Did you ever see Mr. Mom?"
"No."
"Night Shift?"
"No."
"Johnny Dangerously?"
"No."
"Gung Ho?"
"Yeah. Oh, that guy? I can see him as Batman."
"Really? Wait, did you see Gung Ho the movie, or Gung Ho the TV series?"
"The TV series."
"That was Scott Bakula. Michael Keaton was in the movie."
"Oh. Then no."
Casting Michael Keaton here was still talked about after the movie had its run.
I remember a scene from Tiny Toons, where one of the characters was in charge of valet parking at a film premiere and Batman arrives, gets out of the car and pulls down a zipper to reveal (a much shorter) Bruce Wayne.
Next was Kirk, Spock and McCoy beaming in with Captain Kirk handing over the keys saying "Don't scratch it" before a camera pan up showing the Enterprise looming right above the skyscrapers...
This is my Batman...Jack just chews up the screen.
Batman 89 was filmed in England. The "Gotham" city set cost approx £1.5 million to build on the backlot of Pinewood studios covering almost the entirety of it's 95 acre site
The one shot that got the bat plane was heavily under estimated because it wasn't represented really well but it was implied that the gun joker used was supposed to be like a cannon and batman didn't hit the joker because it was implied that no matter how much he wants to he can't kill him yet
I'm glad she mentioned "tone" before she watched it. Many reactors don't understand that this movie was made to be the comic book on screen.
Interesting fact, the surgical instruments used on the Joker were also in “Little Shop of Horros”. Jack Nicholson played Bill Murray in the original Roger Corman film “The Little Shop of Horrors”made in 1960.
ADDIE BRINGS THE CONTROVERSY
Michael Keaton was my Batman.
Coincidentally, Joker dancing with Vicki Vaile, @Addie mentioned 'dancing with her corpse'. Kim Basinger actually starred in Tom Petty's video as a corpse that Tom danced with. 'Last Dance with Mary Jane' by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
You hit the proverbial nail on the head when you said you couldn’t picture Keaton as Batman. This was the sentiment at first but after seeing this I think he’s the best one.
I couldn’t picture it either, until I saw the movie
Between Nicholson as Joker and Keaton as Beetlejuice, I swear Tim Burton should have made a movie with the two of them playing a pair of wild cousins.
First the Superman 78 movie and now the Batman 89 movie. What two great reactions!
Still my favourite Batman and "Batman Returns" is my favourite Batman movie! ♥
My wife and I entered our wedding reception to the Partyman song Joker uses when he comes into the art gallery. "Gentlemen, let's broaden our minds.... Lawrence!!!!!".
Don’t forget the brilliant Batman Returns. PLUS it’s a Christmas movie.