Director: Tim Burton
Producer: Peter Guber, Jon Peters, Michael Uslan, Benjamin Melniker
Editing: Ray Lovejoy
Composer:
- Score:Danny Elfman
- Songs: Prince
Starring:
- Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman
- Jack Nicholson as Jack Napier/The Joker
- Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale
- Robert Wuhl as Alexander Knox
Plot and Critical Review: As soon as Warner Bros. announced their intention to produce a film based on the popular DC Comic character Batman the motion picture world began to tremble with excitement. Actors from all walks of cinematic life began to lobby for the coveted roles of Batman and The Joker. Among others some of the men competing for the lead were Kevin Costner, Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, and Pierce Brosnan. Impressive names, yes? But director Tim Burton and lead producer Peter Gruber favored a lesser-known actor. Enter Michael Keaton, the man who would set the standard for every actor who would play Batman henceforth. Actors such as Tim Curry, David Bowie, Willem Dafoe, and Robin Williams were considered for the role of the Joker but it had been in Gruber's mind for nearly a decade to cast Jack Nicholson. So it was that long before Christian Bale and Heath Ledger offered us their interpretation of two of the most renowned comic book characters Keaton and Nicholson took the screen by storm in an epic telling of good against evil in a city where "good" looked an awful lot like evil itself.
You're no doubt familiar with Burton's impressive record of motion pictures. Indeed, the list of his cinematic achievements far outnumber and outrank the accomplishments of the majority of directors. But here we find a young Burton, one who hadn't yet made a name for himself as being a director primarily concerned with making "unique" films. His most recent film to "Batman" was "Beetlejuice" which also starred Keaton and was a powerful foreshadow of things to come in Burton's career. Long before he fell in love with the likes of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Lisa Marie, Keaton was one of Burton's most recurring cast members. Keaton would only appear in one more of Burton's films, however; the second film in the Batman anthology; "Batman Returns."
Simply put, "Batman" is a motion picture that takes on the enormous challenge of explaining to a world-wide audience who Batman is, why he fights for the cause of justice, and how a man lives between two identities, that of "The Dark Knight" and billionaire Bruce Wayne. In this particular telling of the story Gotham City is under the control of a crime lord, Carl Grissom (Jack Palance). Seeking to further his reign of crime and fear Grissom sends of his chief associates, Jack Napier, into a trap. The police arrive to stop Napier, and so does Batman. After a good amount of shooting (which was easy to stomach in '89) an accident occurs and Napier tumbles into a vat of an unknown chemical substance. After a shoddy surgery he is left with a permanent grin and takes on the identity of The Joker. He immediately assumes control of Grissom's crime network and declares his own intention, to "run this city into the ground...".
The Joker took good notes when he was a henchman and begins his reign of terror with a plan for wide-scale madness. He abandons small-time crime and poisons everyday hygienic products so that if used, they will kill the user. This gets Batman's attention at once and The Dark Knight begins to track down The Joker. Meanwhile The Joker becomes romantically interested in Vicky Vale, a reporter who had previously developed a romantic relationship with Bruce Wayne. What a magnificent love triangle we have here. Joker's affections for Vale result in the unforgettable scene in which The Joker and his men dance through the Gotham art museum doing artistic damage to famous paintings and sculpture. All of this lunacy is set to the smooth soundings of Prince who was, of course, at the top of the musical world in the late 80s. Batman rescues Vale at the very last moment and the stage is set for a final confrontation between Batman and The Joker. That final confrontation takes place at the top of Gotham Cathedral.
In the original cut of the film the ending was written with The Joker killing Vale which sends Batman into a rage of unmatched fury in which he kills The Joker. That sequence was changed at the last moment and the ending was changed to the intense and memorable roof-top sequence we have today.
It is difficult to watch this telling of the Batman story and not think of the obvious differences between this film and "The Dark Knight." Although one could spend much time evaluating and scrutinizing the two films it is best to look at this film on its own and give praise where it is due, for being a film which launched a series of films that, in spite of some mid-anthology disappointments, has defined much of the comic book cinematic industry.
In closing we must also give thanks to Tim Burton who very well may be one of the greatest yet most unrecognized directors of them all. Although his films have received nominations and won awards from almost all of the major motion picture academies, Burton has never received an Oscar for any one his films. How can this be?! We hope that his future projects (including a highly anticipated production of "Alice in Wonderland" slated to release in 2010) will produce Oscars alongside world-wide acclaim.
My Rating: 7/10
The "Reel Revelation: "Behind The Mask"
In my "Reel Revelation" for "21" I gave due consideration to how a person can live two identities with reasonable comfort until the time comes when they must choose to follow one path or the other, when living a split life is no longer possible. Batman is one of the few people who prove to us that it is possible, indeed, for a person to live with a truly dual identity. 'Come on Eric, he's fictional!' Ah, so he is! There are also many people in the world who believe that Jesus is fictional. I'm not going to try and compare the Wayne/Batman duality to Jesus' God/Man dual nature...there's simply no way to draw a solid line of theological comparison and remain on orthodox soil. But there is something there, something for you and me as we make our way to Jerusalem, the cross, and the resurrection of Jesus which we will celebrate on Easter Sunday.
Jesus said that we would be in the world, but that we must not be of the world (John 17: 14-15). In other words we might live here, but this can never be our home. Remember all that "home" talk from yesterday? Here that very same admonition is reinforced. We live in a temporal realm but our souls are bound for immortal existence. Indeed, there is only a tiny amount of physical matter (the flesh) that keeps us bound here...we belong in another place altogether. But here we are. This is what it means to live a life of dual identity, to wrestle with discovering who we are to God, and who we are to this world.
How are we to achieve balance between such a powerful spiritual calling and equally (or they seem that way) powerful earthly forces that demand we choose one of two completely differing identities. The world suggests that we become rich and secure in our belongings. Jesus tells us that we must forsake everything and follow after him.
When the people of Gotham City were in danger they activated a signal which summoned Batman to help them. Batman came and scattered the forces of villainy and crime. The next morning Bruce Wayne would wake up and continued his life of service to Gotham. Within the Gospels we also find people who were in need and in need of a much deeper sense of security and rescue than Batman could ever offer. But the folks in the Gospel didn't have a fancy light to shine into the sky to inform God of their need. What did they do? They cried out for Jesus. Jesus didn't fly in on a cool plane or blast through a concrete wall in an unnecessarily awesome tank-like vehicle. He appeared, spoke words of compassion, laid his hands on the sick, forgave sins, and departed. The next day when Jesus woke up he served the world through his acts of kindness, service, mercy, and righteousness. Do you see how both men fulfilled miraculous (or fantastic, in Batman's case) and commonplace purposes? So can we, for we are given the same Holy Spirit which enabled Jesus to perform miracles of every kind. We are also given the strength and capability to serve the world in commonplace ways. We might not be able to rid cities of crime with nifty gadgets but we are empowered to do good works for the glory of God. While those good works cannot attain salvation they are an indication that the balance between our two identities is intact, that although we remain grounded in this temporary life our souls are already hastening to the open skies of the life to come where there is no dual identity for we shall altogether be Children of God and remain in everlasting communion with Jesus, our Lord.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
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