Batman

Plot synopsis:
In a back alley of Gotham, a tourist family is mugged, and the mother and son threatened. Shortly thereafter, the crooks who swiped the husband's wallet are accosted by a costumed vigilante, that resembles a giant bat. The vigilante tells one of the crooks to tell his friends about him. When the crook pleads to know 'what' this creature is, the costumed man replies, "I'm Batman."When the two crooks are found by the Police, Lt. Eckhardt shows up at the scene, dismissing their description of a man dressed up like a bat. However, the crime scene is soon found by Alexander Knox, a reported for Gotham City's newspaper, who has been following the 'bat attacks.' Knox has so far counted 8 sightings in under a month, and asks Eckhardt if it's true that Police Commissioner Gordon has opened a file. Eckhardt just dismisses the 'oddball' reporter.Meanwhile, the Mayor of Gotham City has held a press conference, introducing the city's new District Attorney, Harvey Dent. Harvey promises to clean up Gotham, and make it a place for respectable people once again. This press conference comes just weeks before the 200th Anniversary Gala celebrating the birth of Gotham City.Back at the Gotham newspaper, Knox meets one of the paper's new photographers, Vicki Vale. Knox is mildly interested in her, but then grows even moreso when she tells of her interest in trying to find out who Batman is. Knowing that Commissioner Gordon has a file on this vigilante, Knox intends to get into a charity benefit at Millionaire Bruce Wayne's mansion, where Gordon will be attending. Vale also decides to accompany him.Meanwhile, Crime Boss Carl Grissom is angered at the persistence of Harvey Dent, figuring that the new District Attorney could find out about their connection to the Axis Chemicals plant. One of Carl's men, Jack Napier, nonchalantly suggests they break in and steal the files that could incriminate them. Carl takes to this idea, and recommends that Jack is the man for the job. Jack is reluctant, but Carl insists, calling him his "number one guy."Meanwhile, at the charity benefit, Knox attempts to get information from Gordon, but fails, with the Commissioner denying that there is a Batman on the streets. Vicki, meanwhile, meets up with Bruce Wayne, who seems a little shy. Bruce eventually excuses himself when his butler Alfred requests his presence. In a secret command center, Bruce reviews video footage of the party, and catches Gordon talking to an associate, who has received a tip that Jack Napier is going to Axis Chemicals to 'clean it out.' Lt Eckhardt is handling taking care of him, but Gordon goes there to take charge.At Axis Chemicals, Napier's men find the plant's safe...only to find the documents they came for are gone. Suspecting a setup, Jack cautions his men to watch out. Shortly thereafter, they are ambushed by Eckhardt and his officers. Gordon shows up shortly after the gunfire, and demands that Jack Napier be taken alive. During the chase, Batman eventually corners Napier, and catches him just before he falls into a vat of chemicals. However, Batman lets go, and Jack falls in. Gordon sees Batman, and orders him to halt, but the Caped Crusader gets away. Gordon then instructs his men not to mention what they saw.The next day, Napier's death is ruled as a suicide, but Knox suspects that Batman ended up taking care of Grissom's man. Knox asks Vicki to help him further investigate the case, but she blows him off, saying she has a date with Bruce Wayne.Meanwhile, Jack Napier has managed to survive, and makes his way to a seedy doctor to have his face repaired. However, the chemicals he fell into have permanently bleached his skin white, and turned his hair green. As well, his face seems frozen in a permanent grin. Jack then returns to Grissom's penthouse, having concluded that he had Eckhardt tip off the Police, and that Carl set him up to die. Revealing his newly-changed face, Jack claims to now be The Joker, and kills Grissom.Meanwhile, Vicki and Bruce share a rather quiet evening in Wayne Manor. While Vicki is rather intrigued by Bruce, she finds that the large Manor does not seem to reflect much on him. When she invites him to an outing, he declines, saying he has to leave town for certain reasons.Back in the criminal underworld, the Joker claims that Grissom has gone away for awhile, and has left him in charge, Claiming to oversee all of Grissom's affairs, the other crime bosses are not convinced, and still fail to acknowledge this, even when the Joker electrocutes one of their own.Meanwhile, Vicki grows curious about Bruce, and follows him as he leaves his mansion. Though he said he was leaving town, she finds him staying close to Gotham. Following from a distance, Vicki sees him walk into an alley, and lay two roses on the pavement. She soon after calls Knox, asking to find any information regarding the street location.Eventually, one of the crime lords attempts to go public, holding a press conference saying that Grissom has left him and his associates (not including the Joker) control of Grissom's Empire. It is then that the Joker appears, and stabs the crime lord in the throat, before driving off.During the press conference, the joker dispatched one of his men known as Bob, to snap pictures of people there. One of them is of Vicki Vale, whom the Joker soon grows infatuated with.Also of interest to the Joker is the Axis Chemicals plant. Using an unknown(to the viewer) combination of chemicals, the Joker creates a chemical known as 'Smilex.' Combined with any normal household product, it causes a person to die of laughter, leaving a permanent grin on the victim's face. Because of this, the public stops using any form of beauty and hygiene products, as so far, noone knows what is causing this.Shortly after this, Vicki Vale receives a request from Bruce Wayne to meet him at the Gotham Museum of Art. When she gets there, she finds a table reserved, and receives a gift box containing a gas mask. Within seconds, the museum begins filling with sleeping gas. Vicki puts on the mask, only to see the Joker (flesh-tone makeup covering his white complexion) enter, and vandalize the art pieces before sitting at her table. It soon becomes apparent that the invitation was sent by him, for a rather twisted romantic evening for two for them.Suddenly, Batman swoops in through the skylight, and makes off with Vale. The Joker's goons give chase, following the Batmobile through Gotham. When traffic blocks their way, Batman and Vicki get out and run away on foot. Batman eventually distracts the goons, while Vicki finds a hiding place. During his confrontation, a couple bullets hit Batman's chest and he goes down.As the goons examine the body, one begins to remove the Batman's mask. Vicki attempts to snap a picture of his identity, but her flash catches the goon's attention. This gives Batman time to take them out, before summoning the Batmobile, and both he and Vicki head to the Batcave.Once there, Batman reveals that he has found the source of the 'smilex' drug, and gives Vicki the information to take to the press. However, before she can ask more questions, she blacks out, and finds herself in her apartment...minus the film in her camera from the previous night. Noting the time and the file that Batman gave her, Vicki calls Knox, and the 'smilex' information makes the front page, and puts Batman at the forefront of the people's minds, including the Joker.Bruce soon after pays Vicki a visit, and she angrily reprimands him for lying to her about leaving town. Bruce tries to explain more about who he is, but their conversation is interrupted when the Joker appears. Bruce attempts to threaten the madman, to which the Joker asks him a question: "Ever dance with the devil in the pale moon light?" Bruce is offput by this, but has almost no time to react as the Joker shoots him. Vicki watches as he and his men leave, but when she returns to Bruce's body in the next room, she finds it gone, with a silver serving tray with a bullet in it (Bruce was wearing this under his shirt as protection when the Joker shot him).After this ordeal, Vicki returns to the newspaper, where Knox reveals the information he found regarding the street where Bruce was. According to the newspaper, this was the area where Bruce's parents were gunned down by an unknown gunman. Vicki soon begins to realize a bit more about Bruce through this.Meanwhile, the Mayor and his aides hold a press conference to cancel the 200th anniversary gala for Gotham. However, their broadcast is interrupted by the Joker, who declares that Carl Grissom is dead, and that he is in charge of the crime syndicate in the city. Much to the delight of the common people, the Joker announces that a party will be held that night, with $20million in cash given out to the crowd, and promising that Batman will also appear.Bruce has been watching the entire event unfold, and thinks back to the words that the Joker had said. The night his parents were murdered, the man who gunned them down also used the 'dance with the devil' line, and Bruce is certain that the Joker killed his parents. It is then that Vicki appears in the Batcave, having been let in by Alfred. Bruce tries to admit his feelings for her, but knows that there's little time for words, given what the Joker is planning.Batman first sends the Batmobile to Axis Chemicals, in hopes of blowing up all of the Joker's activities. While he destroys the facility, the Joker was not in the building at the time.Shortly thereafter, several giant balloons and floats make their way down the streets of Gotham, with the Joker playing music and giving away free money. Batman appears soon after, flying his Batwing plane. When the Joker sees this, he and his men put on gas masks, and let loose smilex gas in canisters attached to the balloons.Batman shortly thereafter swoops in, and flies off with the balloons, saving most of the citizens. Once he has let them go, he returns in an attempt to take out the Joker. The Joker has other plans, and takes out the Batwing with one shot of a comically long pistol. The Batwing crashes, and Vicki (who was nearby covering the parade for the newspaper), rushes to the cockpit, only to find noone there.It is then that she is accosted by the Joker, and taken up to the top of a nearby cathedral. Batman follows shortly afterward, just as the Gotham Police arrive and lock down the building. However, they are unable to ascend the stairs when the Joker uses an acid flower to cause one of the cathedral's bells to drop down and destroy the wooden stairway.At the top of the tower, Batman confronts the Joker, blaming him for the death of his parents. However, before Batman can properly take care of the Joker, the clown ends up two-timing both Batman and Vicki, and soon the two are dangling from the top of the cathedral.Shortly thereafter, the Joker's helicopter appears, and the Joker attempts to get away. However, Batman uses a grappling hook that gets entangled on the Joker's leg, and on a stone gargoyle. The weight of the gargoyle ends up causing the Joker to fall to his death.In the aftermath of the ordeal, The Joker's men are captured, and it appears that Gotham is now safe. Batman has also sent a signal to the Gotham Police, to use if they ever need to call on him.Meanwhile, Knox is surprised that Vicki isn't covering the event, and that she seems to have given up on trying to find out more about the Batman. As she walks away, she is greeted by Alfred, who is there to escort her to Wayne Manor, with the caveat that Mr Wayne will be 'a little late.'

Tags: comedy, dark, gothic, murder, suspenseful, realism, bleak, mystery, cult, violence, atmospheric, flashback, good versus evil, insanity, action, satire, tragedy, revenge

Review:
A gangster named Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson) was dropped into a vat of chemicals which leaves him disfigures with paint-like white bleached skin and ruby-red lips plus green hair which makes him clown-like as he now calls himself Joker, he begins to terrorize the city of Gotham and stalk a sexy photographer named Vickie Vale (Kim Bassinger).
Bruce Wayne who is Gotham's richest man falls in love with Vickie yet she doesn't know his true secret that he's Batman, but can Bruce deal with romance and battling with Joker at the same time?Batman is a 1989 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton and produced by Jon Peters, based on the DC Comics character of the same name.
The film stars Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton in the title role, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough, and Jack Palance.The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being the clownishly homicidal Joker.This is definitely my favorite classic Action film from the 80's it was always my favorite childhood movie and it will always be.
Gotham City is created in incredibly detailed comic-book style, which adds to the overall quality of the movie.Director Tim Burton does an amazing job bringing this unreal world to reality, and Kim Basinger is excellent as Vicky Vale, the film's main female presence.
Batman would be a serious film (well, as serious as a comic book movie can be) and Keaton was perfect in the Bruce Wayne/Batman role.
His eagerness to find Batman and win his Pulitzer prize is well done and is a very down to earth performance, which I guess is what the movie needed.As for Tim Burton's direction, he handles the actors very well and as for the technical work, I have mixed feelings about that.
In 1989, Tim Burton created the very first Batman movie with great stars like Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson.
Kim Basinger is kind of annoying at times, but she's not the worst damsel in distress ever seen on screen.Tim Burton has a unique way of doing Batman, and I think most people can agree that it fits the characters and the story.
Tim Burton corrected all that by giving us a dark, sinister and Gothic world with rich production design and a great score by Danny Elfman (who has made a career out of recycling the same old generic cues in nearly every movie he has scored).
Jack Nicholson was born to play that role, he lives and breathes that part in his daily life, so all they had to do was add some makeup and a facial prosthetic to increase the size of that already huge grin and he was ready to go.To start with thats where the Burton films have an edge, beyond that there's Batman himself.
Michael Keaton (besides Adam West) is the real Batman to me, his Bruce Wayne character was excellent and he played the Dark Knight beautifully.
Tim Burton did an excellent job in portraying a dark, gloomy, Gotham City and he made the characters come to life and almost jump off the screen at you, great stuff by a great director.
Nicholson has some of the best lines of his career so far as The Joker, and Keaton turns in a performance as Bats/Bruce Wayne that other Batman actors should envy to this day.
Plus the story telling (as said for example, the tone of the movie is very similar with the animation series or comic book) Jack Nicholson deserves all the titles as Joker.
After seeing it, I enjoyed it.I thought Michael Keaton did an excellent job portraying Batman/Bruce Wayne and Jack Nicholson portraying the Joker.
It was announced that they were going to film a "Batman" movie.The last time I remembered seeing "Batman" was from the 70s-the early 80s.The show was campy and really dumb to watch and the comics seemed to be more darker than the television series.At that time,the "Superman" films were dying,thanks to "Superman III" and "Superman IV:The Quest for Peace".It was hard for me to accept that a film like "Batman" was coming to the big screen.My only thought was how corny it was going to be.Almost a year later,I realized that I was wrong."Batman" works on all forms.It is a wonderful film which captures the darkness and the imagination of what I did not expect from the film.Tim Burton directs the film with such glee that I was having a good time just by looking at the film.The casting for "Batman" is appropriately well made for the screen.The art direction and costume design are given a 1940s noir style and the cinematography gives "Batman" a comic book look to the film.Michael Keaton is fierce as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Jack Nicholson is gruesomely hilarious as The Joker."Batman" is a dark film with fantastic special effects with a totally different look that had me feeling that I was being part of the movie."Batman" is a film that is fun to watch..
Filled with Amazing Action,Excellent performances,great direction and a brilliant score,Batman is one of my favorite movies of all time,a true classic and is Tim Burton at his best.Set in the fictional town of Gotham City,Batman tells the story of Bruce Wayne(Michael Keaton),who is a Billionaire by day,but,at night he is Batman,a masked avenger who stalks criminals and bad guys in the night gives them his own brand of justice.
Jerry Hall(Alicia),Tracey Walter(Bob The Goon),Lee Wallace(The Mayor)and William Hootkins(Lt.Eckhardt)give good performances as well.The direction by Tim Burton is amazing with Burton constantly moving the camera and giving the film a dark,Gothic and brooding feel to it and giving the film a lot of energy and also does a great job with the Action and fight scenes.
This dark and brooding film stands for me as what Batman is and should be: the most complex and intriguing of all superheros.The story concerns Batman as he faces his immortal arch enemy...The Joker (played superbly by the one and only Jack Nicholson).
This is by far the best Batman movie ever made (better than Batman Begins if you ask me), Jack Nicholson was the perfect choice for the Joker was he ever amazing portraying the character perfectly as the sadistic short fused man garbed as a clown, right out of the pages of the comic book he was sensational.Michael Keaton was the best actor to done the cape, he was so suttle, as Batman rarely would he speak making him very mysterious and un-revealing, never exposing himself, brilliant he was the best Batman far none.
Dark and Gothic, the way Gotham was designed making it so bleak and almost ugly yet, this was the way it was almost meant to be.The best Batman Movie ever made and Burton's best in my sight I loved it never gets old..
The film is brilliantly acted by its perfectly-chosen cast, which includes Jack Nicholson (the Joker), Michael Keaton (the Batman), Kim Basinger (Vicki Vale), Micheal Gough (Alfred Pennyworth), and Robert Wuhl (Alexander Knox).
Tim Burton makes perfect use of his wonderful directorial talents, Anton Furst designs a Gothic, beautiful Gotham City, and Danny Elfman's classic musical score further help make this a unique, thought-provoking, and very powerful modern classic, a masterpiece of film noir and grand opera.Michael Keaton's Batman is dark, brooding, and tormented.
From the flashy, campy nature of the 60s movie, to the cornball, over the top manner of the Joel Schumacher films, to the dark, brilliantly animated atmosphere of the "Timmverse" films, Batman has had his share of makeovers throughout the years, but none can come close to the thrilling, Gothic quality of Tim Burton's 1989 masterpiece.
Despite the sequels and the fanfare of the reboot, this remains my favorite Batman movie.I admittedly had initial concerns over Michael Keaton in the role, but I quickly warmed up to the actor as Bruce Wayne, and once the suit went on, his performance was spot on.
Nicholson as the Joker was solid casting, and he gave a brilliant performance.This movie was just fun, and a completely different feel from "The Dark Knight".
Burton makes an interesting decision by combining the original Bob Kane/Bill Finger comics from 1939 and the early '40s, Frank Miller's work on Batman from the '80s, and his own take on the character.The film's plot is about Batman battling his first major villain, the Joker.
Although the 80s did NOT require directors to push things beyond atrocious nor gratuitous for the sake of acquiring young adult's attention, this film was well balanced in coolness, ground breaking, dark, mainstream and humorous all wrapped up into one.Many many thanks to Tim Burton or else you kids would never have gotten your Batman Begins, today.And I personally still believe that the 89 primal looking bat suit, is still the best looking bat suit around.
Christopher Nolan's Gotham city was dark and modern, Tim Burton's one was probably more fantasy but there was still something eerie and lonely about it which I like.Comparing Christian Bale and Michael Keaton as Batman.
The simplicity of the story of having just Joker as the bad guy, batman and the simple love story between Vicki Vale and Bruce Wayne was an added bonus as compared to Dark Knight which has too many plot lines and characters which could lead to confusion and diversion from the main plot line.Don't get me wrong though, The Dark Knight is still a wonderful film but this one is irreplaceable for me..
Sometimes it's hard to imagine the Batman franchise without Christopher Bale and co, let alone with someone other than Heath Ledger as 'the Joker.' However, many years before Bale donned the famous black cowl, Michael Keaton was the 'Dark Knight.' And, believe it or not, he didn't do a bad job (at the time).Although, despite Keaton being reasonably well-known, top billing – naturally – went to Jack Nicholson as the Joker.
recently i voted this movie an 8/10*.however,it had been some years since i had seen it.well,after just watching it,i have to change my vote.this movie is better than i remembered it being.it's a much more stylistic movie than the recent"Batman Begins" and certainly much darker in tone,i think.i mean no disrespect at all to the latest movie.this is just a different movie.there is less backs story,in fact that aspect this minimal,but it works here.i think we are given enough to get immersed in the story.the character of Batman retains more of a mysterious air.i also really liked Batman's costume in this version.it seemed to have a bit more realism to it.and the fighting scenes were well done,also fairly realistic.of course,Jack as the Joker was an inspired choice.he really had fun with the character.he does go over the top at times,but it doesn't seem to matter.the film doesn't suffer from it.Michael Keaton was very credible as both Bruce Wayne and the bat.he was very understated,but you could tell there was a lot more going on than first appeared.as for the music,i loved Danny Elfman's score.it was pure genius.i didn't mind the songs by Prince,but i didn't love them either.many people have probably said that the character of Batman is two dimensional in this movie.i don't know if that's the case.i think he has many dimensions,but they are not blatantly obvious.you have to look beneath the surface a bit.i may be out to lunch with that statement,but that is just what i think.i said at the beginning that i would have to change my vote of 8/10.and i am.i think it's as good in its own way,(maybe even a bit better in some aspects)as "Batman Begins".this is not something i ever thought i would say.nevertheless,i give "Batman" 10/10.
This movie had a lot of dark comedy that was lacked in the Dark Knight, which brought it to life I think.Michael Keaton really impressed me as Batman/Bruce Wayne.
By far 1989's original "Batman" from director Tim Burton is without a doubt the best film made of the franchise even though it's very dark and moody.
One of the things I find especially good about this film is how Burton makes separate the two characters of Bruce Wayne and Batman.
The villains are good in it i think jack Nicholson does a great joker he does it awesome in this batman movie.
This and batman returns and the first couple of Superman's are the finest super hero movies i have scene, Michael Keaton had the same impact as Christopher reeve had with the superman series,when i was a little kid i use to think that batman returns was the best batman,but until a year ago i watched the first batman, and jack Nicholson was a sensational joker, the way he portrayed him was brilliant,Michael Keaton was a great Batman,(i coined't believe he was controversially Joice for the role)the music is great especially in the finally finale,i know heaps of people who hate Batman because he dosen't have superpowers, well this movie shows why Batman is the greatest hero.Why Keaton left the Batman franchise i will never know..
The late 80s were a dark time for comic book movies, after Superman IV killed the Superman series, There wasn't any hope when Tim Burton, who had directed the hit 'Beetlejuice' had announced that he was going to bring Batman to the big screen, even more lukewarm, was the casting of Michael Keaton as the Dark Knight himself, many angry fans wrote letters to Warner Bros, fearing that Keaton would just be a repeat of the campy 60s TV show with Adam West, but when the lights went down in 1989, boy were they wrong.Batman is a dark, psychotic adventure that sees Batman (Keaton)going head to head with the Joker (played non other than Jack Nicholson)whilst his alter ego Bruce Wayne is in an romantic relationship with Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) The plot is good and the actors brilliant performances are the main pros of the film, but the cons are a few of Princes songs that were used in the film such as 'Partyman' which plays when the Joker and his goons are demolishing the museum, 'Trust' which plays during the Jokers parade and 'Scandalous!' which plays over the end credits, although the songs are good to listen on their own, as part of the movie, they feel out of place, but Danny Elfmans score makes up for that.Batman revolutionized the comic book genre and was followed by three sequels, 1992s BATMAN RETURNS, which was darker and more bleaker than its predecessor, 1995's BATMAN FOREVER, which went for a more lighter, kid friendly approach, and 1997's BATMAN AND ROBIN, which killed the series until 2005..
Of course, Jack Nickholson steals the show as the psychotic, cackling Joker in a role he seemed born to play.Overall, this film really brings the character of Batman back to its dark, brooding roots.
Batman is a great movie with a very well developed storyline and a terrific cast.Its a fun and enjoyable action with some very dark elements,but it dosen't take itself too seriously,there is a Tim Burton atmosphere throughout,but he certainly tones down his usually creepy directing style.It is quite different from the Batman films that would follow (particularly Christopher Nolan's trilogy),we are actually given shockingly little detail about Bruce Wayne's personal life and what possessed him to become Batman,he can be scene fighting crime and wearing the suit within the first five minutes of the movie,which I don't think was a clever decision,it didn't to give the audience more build up and excitement that I think is very necessary for superhero movies.It is very clear throughout that Burton was more interested in the Joker than Batman, admittedly he is a great character and Jack Nicholson shines in the role,a lot more than Michael Keaton does,but the film is called Batman and the fact that Jokers origins are told, and he definitely has more dialogue than the title character,is unusual,although it definitely makes for a different experience in the Batman universe.Action packed with very interesting characters and entertaining performances,I would recommend Batman to all fans of the franchise and to anyone looking for a good action or adventure film.
In the modern cinema lacks myths and imaginations, they are always real and gloomy.Although the new Batman movies are good, but they have not the Charm from Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne or Jack Nicholsons Joker's madness,Heath Ledger played it very well, but Jack Nicholsons "Joker" is for me the perfect opponent to Bruce Wayne.Christopher Nolan's version for me is not really a Batman movie, it's a James Bond with wings.Everything is great here, the Gothic-style from the City, costumes, settings, actors, the play of light and shadow, and last but not least make the music that all of the best Batman movie of all Time for me.10/10.
Michael Keaton is my all time favorite Batman and Jack Nicholson makes a fantastic Joker as well.Tim Burton is one of my favorite directors and this film shows of his style.
I recently came across this movie and thought, "I need to but this." I hadnt seen it in a few years but i remembered liking it, though i think it swept me away even more so this time, Jack Nicholson was outstanding, Michael Keaton was possibly the best Batman ever, Kim Basinger was fantastic, and Michael Gough was flatout great as Alfred, the only thing i didn't necessarly get swept away by was questionable choice of having so many Prince songs in there, though this is a Tim Burton film and he is quite an eccentric filmmaker.
He had to fit into Burton's vision of my favorite superhero .Jack Nicholson as Joker was the best part of this movie and he was so good .
Michael Keaton is terrific as Batman/Bruce Wayne; Kim Basinger shines as the beautifully seductive reporter Vicki Vale; and Jack Nicholson gives arguably the craziest performance of his career as the Joker.
Directed by Tim Burton, "Batman" is one of the best looking movies that I've ever seen.