March 08, 2022
'Batman' (1989)
The Ringer's Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey dance with the devil in the pale moonlight after rewatching Tim Burton's 1989 hit 'Batman,' starring Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, and Kim Basinger.
Cast
Michael Keaton as Batman / Bruce Wayne
Jack Nicholson as The Joker / Jack Napier
Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale
Robert Wuhl as Alexander Knox
Jack Palance as Carl Grissom
Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent
Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon
Michael Gough as Alfred
Directed by: Tim Burton
Music by: Danny Elfman
Notes
- $48 million budget, made $411.6 million worldwide. Fastest film to $100 million at the time.
- ~$750 million in merchandise sold.
- Nicholson reduced his upfront fee from $11M to $6M but his biographer estimates he made approximately $90 million total from the film.
- Nicholson's contract: top billing over Keaton, percentage of earnings including merchandise, off-the-clock shooting schedule, and would NOT work any Laker home playoff game.
- 50,000 protest letters were written about the Michael Keaton casting.
- Jon Peters rushed a trailer into theaters Christmas 1988 to counter fan outrage over Keaton – it got standing ovations.
- Shot at Pinewood Studios in England for secrecy about Nicholson as the Joker.
- Nicholson's makeup took 2 hours to apply; they taped VHS basketball games for him to watch during makeup.
- 56 dead bodies in the movie.
- The Batsuit cost $250,000. The 38-foot cathedral set cost $100,000 (Peters built it without Burton knowing).
- Anton Furst won the Academy Award for Art Direction.
- Tim Burton admitted the Vicki Vale/Batcave reveal was a mistake: 'My impulse was I said to myself, fuck this bullshit. This is comic book material. But it was a mistake. It went too far.'
- Jack Palance had a hearing problem and told Burton: 'I've made more than 100 films. How many have you made?'
- Bill's theory: The 1980s officially die during the Prince museum montage scene.
- Sylvester Stallone on 'Batman': 'It was the beginning of a new era. The visuals took over. The special effects became more important than the single person.'
Categories
Roger Ebert's review
Quote from Rog's review:
“The Gotham City created in Batman is one of the most distinctive and atmospheric places I've seen in the movies. It's a shame something more memorable doesn't happen there.”
- Also: 'This is a hostile, mean-spirited movie about ugly, evil people and it doesn't generate the liberating euphoria of the Superman and Indiana Jones pictures.'
- The hosts consider this a 'rare L' for Ebert.
Most re-watchable scene
- Driving into the Batcave – Vicki Vale thinks she's being taken to be murdered (Bill's pick).
- The 'Party Man' museum scene – Joker dancing and defacing art to Prince music (Sean's pick).
- 'I'm Batman' introduction (Keaton reportedly wrote that line).
- 'You wanna get nuts? Come on, let's get nuts!' showdown.
- The Smilex newscast ads.
- The parade/gas scene.
What aged the best?
- Keaton's decision to use a lower voice as 'Batman' vs. Bruce Wayne – everyone stole from this.
- Kim Basinger.
- Jack Nicholson's performance – the exclamation point of his pop culture career.
- The marketing strategy – rushed trailer got standing ovations.
- Making a movie about 'Batman' in general (spawned countless since).
- Tim Burton taking a chance on this project at that stage of his career.
- The relative lack of angst compared to later 'Batman' films.
What aged the worst?
- Some special effects (particularly the Batplane scenes).
- The movie being literally too dark – hard to see in certain spots.
- Robert Wuhl as Knox – in way too many scenes.
- Billy Dee Williams wasted as Harvey Dent.
- The Prince soundtrack – Tim Burton himself was traumatized by having Prince songs crammed in.
- Newspapers being central to the plot.
Best "that guy"
Winner: Tracy Walter as 'Bob the Goon' – Nicholson negotiated for his buddy to be in the cast. Also had an iconic role in Repo Man.
Over-acting award
- Michael Keaton's 'You wanna get nuts? Come on, let's get nuts!' scene.
- Jack Palance's death scene – the 'platonic ideal' of dramatic rolling-around dying.
Casting what-ifs
- 'Batman' candidates: Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, Charlie Sheen, Tom Selleck, Bill Murray (Jon Peters' top choice), Harrison Ford, Pierce Brosnan (refused to play a comic book character).
- Robin Williams was offered the Joker as leverage to get Nicholson to commit – it worked. Williams was furious and refused to do Warner Bros. movies until he got an apology.
- Sean Young was originally cast as Vicki Vale but was replaced (officially a horse riding accident). She later showed up in a Catwoman costume trying to audition for 'Batman' Returns.
- Keaton blocked Michelle Pfeiffer as Vicki Vale because they had previously dated.
- Martin Landau turned down Carl Grissom – did Crimes and Misdemeanors instead.
Apex Mountain
- Michael Keaton – yes, this was the biggest movie of all time when it came out.
- Kim Basinger – debated; hosts lean toward L.A. Confidential.
- Jack Nicholson – not this (his apex is earlier).
- Peters and Guber (as a combo) – yes, gave them enough juice to take over Sony.
- Robert Wuhl – absolutely yes.
- Tim Burton – debated between this and 'Batman' Returns.
Who won the movie?
Jack Nicholson (or Tim Burton, but Burton was unhappy with how things played out).
Picking nits
- Vicki Vale discovers Bruce is 'Batman' with zero payoff – Alfred just brings her into the Batcave.
- The cathedral ending comes out of nowhere (Peters and Nicholson saw Phantom of the Opera and rewrote it).
- Vicki Vale claims she weighs 108 pounds but Kim Basinger is 5'10".
- Comic fans upset the Joker murdered Bruce Wayne's parents (in comics it was Joe Chill).
- The Joker's gang is completely non-intimidating – 'looked like bouncers at Planet Hollywood.'
Half-assed (internet) research
- The Batsuit cost $250,000.
- Nicholson's makeup took 2 hours; they played VHS basketball games during application.
- 56 dead bodies in the movie.
- Peters and Guber took Burton horseback riding with Nicholson in Aspen to convince Nicholson Burton was the right director. Burton said 'I don't ride horses.' Guber said 'You do today.'
Re-casting couch
- Robert Wuhl as Knox should have been Phil Hartman.
- Morgan Freeman as Harvey Dent instead of Billy Dee Williams.
What memorabilia would you want (or not want!) from the movie?
- Bill: The Batmobile.
- Chris: The palm buzzer/electrocution device Nicholson uses to kill people.
(Probably) unanswerable questions
- Was this secretly Nicholson's most important movie from a pop culture standpoint?
- The 'Dr. J Theory' of Batmen: Keaton is Dr. J (the originator), Bale is Michael Jordan, Pattinson is LeBron/Curry era, Clooney is 'saddled with the worst Bat movie,' Val Kilmer is Kareem, Ben Affleck is Karl Malone.
Producer review
- Craig found it 'tough' – Nicholson is charismatic but 'it feels like he did every scene in one take.'
- Said the movie 'almost feels like a scary movie parody of 'Batman' because of how serious 'Batman' has gotten.'