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Click above to purchase "Batman: The Movie Special Edition"
at amazon.com
Batman: The Movie
Special Edition
review by Zach B. and Anthony D.
Rated PG
Studio: Fox
Running Time: 105 minutes
Starring Adam West, Burt Ward, Lee Meriwether, Ceaser
Romero, Burgess Meredith, Frank Gorshin
Written by Lorenzo Semple, Jr.
Directed by Lelie H. Martinson
Retail Price: $19.98
Features: Audio Commentary with Adam West and Burt
Ward, Batman Featurette, The Batmobile Revealed, From The
Vaults Of Adam West, Behind The Scenes Still Gallery,
Theatrical Trailer, Theatrical Teaser, Spanish Theatrical
Trailer, "Planet Of The Apes" Cross Trailer
Specs: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English Stereo,
English Mono, French Mono, English Closed Captions, English
Subtitles, Spanish Subtitles, Bat Scenes (32 Bat Scenes)
Released: August 21st, 2001
Ridiculous. Silly. Super Heroes. Super Villains. Neil
Hefti music. Crayola© Crayon Colors. This ain't Tim
Burton territory. It isn't even Joel Schumacher territory.
No Dark Knight visions here. 1966's "Batman: The Movie"
revels in its sillieness as much as Burton's "Batman
Returns" revelled in its own mean-spiritedness, and the mere
matter of an hour and three-quarters, gives the Dynamic Duo
four fractious villains to contend with. In the hands, or
the ill-fitting batsuit of Adam West, Gotham City is sure to
be safe once more.
Released at the height of its television popularity,
"Batman: The Movie" struck a chord with audiences accustomed
to viewing ABC television's bi-weekly broadcast ("...same
bat-time, same bat-channel.") with its audacious approach to
superherodom. Animated "POW's" and "WHACK's" slyly enforced
the comic book aspect of the production. Glittering guest
stars garnered from the world of "stage, screen and
television" brought talent such as Otto Preminger, David
Wayne, Eartha (purrrrrr-fect) Kitt, Julie Newmar, Burgess
Meredith, Shelley Winters, Frank Gorshin, Vincent Price and
Ethel Merman into Gotham City to wreak unlikely havoc as way
over-the-top histrionics only added to their villainy.
Growing up with "Batman," baby-boomers were introduced to a
brightly lit, highly stylized (and ever-so-obviously fake)
scenario of GOOD vs EVIL, in which EVIL never stood a
chance. Of course, this being the 1960's, evil was mostly
megalomaniacs whose plans to take over the world were far
more humorous than deadly threats. One could not possibly
imagine James Bond's nemeses Auric Goldfinger, Doctor No or
Stavro Blofeld, in all their worldly reality, posing a
lethal threat to Batman and Robin; whereas Egghead, The
Riddler, Mr. Freeze, The Penguin, The Riddler, The Joker and
the never-to-be forgetton Catwoman were right at home.
The movie, though quickly made to cash in on the show's
popularity, reinforces its comic book roots constantly, and
quite honestly, is as close to viewing an actual comic book
on screen as one is likely to get (Please, somebody, release
Warren Beatty's "Dick Tracy" to dvd). Sure, it's goofy.
Certainly it's self-mocking. And, lest we forget: it's
C-A-M-P. But, holy cinema, Batman, it's a fun ride while it
lasts. Most of that fun comes from the dead-on serious
performances of Burt Ward and Adam West as Robin, The Boy
Wonder and Batman/Bruce Wayne contrasted with the
off-the-wall behavioral antics of the fabulous four villains
Joker, Riddler, Penguin and Catwoman personified by 40's
matinee idol Cesar Romero, 60's impressionist extraordinaire
Frank Gorshin, 30's character actor Burgess Meredith and
50's beauty pageant stunner Lee Meriweather who were all
obviously given the direction that "nothing is TOO big."
Of course the plot is disposable. The four villains team
up quite suddenly to rid themselves of Batman for the simple
reason that he will no longer interfere with their
treachery. What starts with a simple kidnaping plot of a
naval commodore, escalates into a series of traps and a
mission to take over the world's most important political
figures with a villainous new toy called a "dehydrator." But
Batman has gadgets. Batman has toys, too. Batman has The
Bat-Mobile. Batman has The Bat-Claw....you name it, Batman's
got it. All that, and Robin, too.
"Batman: The Movie," watched in the right mood, is a
pleasing little trifle, not a cinematic masterpiece. But,
hey, with the exception of the two "Wayne's World" movies,
it's probably the best of the small screen to big screen
incarnations of tv favorites. A family-friendly comedy, with
some hysterical hijinks, not to mention a rubber shark that
wouldn't be a fish out of water in a vaudeville sketch,
"Batman: The Movie"delights in spite of itself. It captures
everything that the tv series had going for it, including
silent film star Neil Hamilton as Police Commissioner Gordon
and the brilliance of character actress Madge Blake, just
made bigger and bolder for the big screen. As directed by
Leslie Martinson, the movie plays like an elongated
television show, which in this case, is a good thing. For
those weaned on the darker, somber films based on the Dark
Knight graphic novels, this particular Batman will more than
likely infuriate. For those of us that grew up with Adam
& Burt and those silly costumes however, there is only
one Joker - - and it isn't Jack Nicholson, one Penguin - -
as much as we admit to loving Danny DeVito's, one Riddler -
- NOT Jim Carrey but FOUR Catwomen: Eartha Kitt, Julie
Newmar (both on the series, I'm sure that $$$s kept them
from being cast within the film's limited budget) Lee
Meriweather and Michelle Pfeiffer....but she's another story
altogether. Enjoy "Batman: The Movie" for what it is, a
time-capsuled culmination of television history transported
(via Bat-DVD?) back to the bat-viewing room.
"Batman: The Movie" is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic
widescreen, and for a film that's thirty-five years old, it
looks pretty amazing. The first chapter has some
windowboxing, but at the start of the second chapter is
clearns right up (I found that a bit odd). As far as the
actual transfer, I was really impressed. There are some
scratches, pieces of dirth and blemishes on the print, but
they're never distracting and give off a good feel to the
movie actually. The movie looks pretty sharp but still
retains the 1960s look. Colors and fleshtones are really
well saturated and look well. There is some grain on the
transfer too, but it's not major or distracting for that
matter. There is some slight edge enhancment too, but it's
barely noticeable. Overall, it's truly a feat what Fox has
done with this transfer. Some transfers for recent movies
don't look this good!
Fox has provided a English Stereo track for the film,
which is merely decent (no 5.1 remix? maybe for the
forty-year anniversary). Dialogue is clear and pretty damn
crisp, it doesn't sound a day old. There's no distortion or
scratchiness in the track. The music and sound effects are
also sound very clear, and don't interfere with the
dialogue. Fidelity is surprisingly good, but in the end, the
sound range is fairly limited. It's not bad, but it doesn't
pack that needed Bat-punch. An English mono track is also
included, and sounds a bit lower in sound and fidelity when
compared to the stereo track. A French mono track is also
here, but English closed captions, English subtitles and
Spanish subtitles.
The Audio Commentary with Adam West and Burt Ward
is a real treat that "Batman" fans will surely love. Yes
there are some silence and sparse comments at time, and yes,
a lot is not specific to the screen, but this is one
entertaining track that has a very good flow to it. The two
poke fun, mock, laugh and share a load of information and
joy on so much. They clearly have fun reminscing, and the
chemistry between the two is apparant off-screen as well.
The tid-bits here are never really technical, but rather are
a lot of fun and pretty interesting. Incredibly enjoyable,
this is one track that's not to be missed and one of the
best I've heard in a very long time. A lot, and I mean, a
lot of fun. Perhaps more entertaining the movie.
The Batman Featurette lasts about seventeen
minutes, and has clips from the movie, still photos and
features new interviews with Adam West and Burt Ward. They
talk a little bit about the production, but they basically
focus on the movie itself. The history, the TV following the
series and quite a few stories that do pack variety. Very
entertaining, just like the commentary. It's a good
compliment to that, so do check this out.
The Batmobile Revealed is a featurette hosted by
George Barris, the man who designed the actual car for the
show. This nearly six minute featurette has clips from the
movie and still photos (that include blueprints), but
basically the focus is on the actual car with Barris talking
the whole way through. It's pretty informative, with Barris
revealing design aspects, production stories and Batman
creator Bob Kane's thoughts of the Batmobile, as well as
other stuff. Of course, you get to see the actual car
itself. Neat.
From The Vaults Of Adam West is a collection of
stills, well, from Adam West's collection. Nearly all of
them have him, not to mention how humorous some are. There's
also a Behind The Scenes Still Gallery with shots of
the cast and pictures of the film being made.
Rounding the disc out is the Theatrical Trailer in
full frame, the pretty similar Theatrical Teaser, the
Spanish Theatrical Trailer and a Planet Of The
Apes DVD Trailer.
Holy DVD Batman! A fun, campy delight, Fox has put
together one amazing package for the fan favorite. A decent
soundtrack, a stunning transfer and a good array of
supplements, Batfans, this is a must own. Fans of the
series, Batfans in general or those who like some fun, check
it out. Not to mention the really sweet retail price!
 (3/5 - NOT included in
final score)
 (4/5)
(3/5)
(3/5)
(4/5,
NOT an average)
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