A new big screen version of Batman was first rumoured following the success of Superman: The Movie. Burton's take on The Dark Knight finally came to the screen in 1989 with a level of anticipation and hype that was totally unprecedented at the time. It created a new model for superhero adaptations that is still seen today with movies such as Spider-Man.

While Jack Nicholson was as entertaining in his performance as the Joker as everyone predicted, the controversial casting choice of Michael Keaton turned out to be one of the movie's greatest strengths. He managed to successfully capture Batman's darkness and duality better than any other actor. Danny Elfman's much imitated score also raised the film above the level of most comic book movies.

While it could be argued that this is the least "Burtonesque" movie the director has made, its huge box office success gave Burton the clout to get more personal projects made. Without it, his career might have been very different.

The new 2-disc special edition DVD of the film is perhaps the best produced Burton DVD to date. Disc 1 offers a stunning new widescreen digital transfer of the movie, with both Dolby Digital and DTS sound. Also included on this disc are the memorable trailer for the film, and an audio commentary by Burton. While the commentary has his usual periods of silence and fumbling over words, it is both interesting and amusing. It's just a shame he couldn't share the commentary with one of cast members, since Burton seems to offer more insight when he's chatting to someone else on commentaries. The film itself, while having dated perhaps more than any other Burton film (particularly with the cheesy model work and Prince music), remains an enjoyable blockbuster, that paved the way for comic book movies to be taken seriously.

Disc 2 is where the real meat of the bonus material lies, and any Batman or Burton fan will be entertained for hours. First up is Legend of the Dark Knight: The History of Batman. This is a fun little documentary that traces Batman's 60+ year history, from comics to TV to the big screen. It has interviews with such comic book luminaries as Frank Miller (author of the seminal The Dark Knight Returns) and, surprisingly, Kevin Smith! While it's disappointing that no footage or interviews from the Adam West show are included, this is a pretty comprehensive chronicle of Batman.

Next up is a short but interesting interview with the late creator of Batman, Bob Kane, on the set of the film. After that you'll find the Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight, an incredible three-part documentary that runs over an hour in total. This covers every single aspect of the production you could wish for, from the ten year struggle to get the film made, through to casting and filming in England, right up to the film's advertising hype and incredible success. It's great to hear nearly all the cast and crew reminisce about the film (although it's a shame there are no new interviews with Michael Keaton). The real coup is getting the notoriously publicity-shy Jack Nicholson to talk about the film, and his comments add real entertainment value.

If you're not exhausted after that, you'll also find The Heroes and Villains Profile Galleries, offering some more history and interviews on the major characters in the film, as well as the Beyond Batman documentaries, which take a look at various aspects of the production, including the production design and music, in more depth. Rounding out the disc are three hilarious Prince music videos and an animated storyboard sequence featuring an intriguing look at how Robin was initially conceived to be introduced in the film. This sequence even has Mark Hamill as the voice of the Joker! It's slightly disappointing that there's no actual deleted scenes, although you do catch a glimpse of one in the documentaries, where Batman encounters a little girl during one of his fights.

Overall, this is an outstanding DVD for a flawed, but important, film that belongs in every film fan's collection.

Arran McDermott 2005

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Links:
Batman on Film
Batman 1989 review
Internet Movie Database page for Batman
Yahoo Movies page