Happy 25th Anniversary

[thecolorsblend]

Mmm. Never noticed that before.

This next is maybe me reading too much into things. But Selina's apartment is cramped and confined. There are exposed girders in some parts of the ceiling. It's almost like the city itself is abusing Selina as much as Max does.

But another layer there is that maybe The City has Selina's number and her apartment is part of what's keeping her inner beast shackled. And the pseudo-gargoyle outsider her window could be less keeping hell out of Selina's home and maybe more restricting it to her home.

If so, the smashed out Hello There sign and Selina's transformation indicate the gargoyle and the city can't keep Selina at bay anymore.

But maybe we're bending spoons a bit too much here.

[Catwoman]

I am LOVING all the analysis and stuff in this thread. Even if I don't agree I love how everyone interprets certain things.

Ral this one may deserve a pin. Just a thought

[The Dark Knight]

This next is maybe me reading too much into things. But Selina's apartment is cramped and confined. There are exposed girders in some parts of the ceiling. It's almost like the city itself is abusing Selina as much as Max does.

I think Selina's apartment is a dollhouse, just as Selina has a miniature dollhouse in one of her other rooms which she also destroyed. I think Selina's house WAS a sanctuary from the oppressive city. One of the biggest contrasts to black and blue is pink, and that's what Selina's interior walls were. Pink represents femininity and innocence. Selina smashing the house up was her trashing the sanctuary. Hell (the city outside) invaded her house and took over. Trashing the house was giving in to the city, just as the jungle will reclaim areas of abandoned land with the passing of time. Selina and her house became possessed.

I am LOVING all the analysis and stuff in this thread. Even if I don't agree I love how everyone interprets certain things.

I'm not sucking up to anybody when I say this forum has the best comic/film analysis team on the internet.

[thecolorsblend]

I think Selina's apartment is a dollhouse, just as Selina has a miniature dollhouse in one of her other rooms which she also destroyed. I think Selina's house WAS a sanctuary from the oppressive city. One of the biggest contrasts to black and blue is pink, and that's what Selina's interior walls were. Pink represents femininity and innocence. Selina smashing the house up was her trashing the sanctuary. Hell (the city outside) invaded her house and took over. Trashing the house was giving in to the city, just as the jungle will reclaim areas of abandoned land with the passing of time. Selina and her house became possessed.

Mmm, I like that.

[Azrael]

The end product is an off-beat, kind of neurotic, Hammer-tinged gothic nightmare.

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It's a Caligaristic psychodrama wrapped in an operatic Hammer Horror nightmare with some Felliniesque visuals and black comedy thrown in for good measure. There's literally no other CBM quite like it. The Batman 89 Gotham looks more realistic, and perhaps more like the Gotham from the comics. But the Batman Returns Gotham is just so haunting, Gothic and unique. It's like something out of a fantasy/horror film. Even if you don't like the other aspects of the movie, you can't fault it on its ambience.

The stagey look of the architecture also evokes the oppressive and claustrophobic cities portrayed in many classic German Expressionist films. A few examples include F W Murnau's The Last Laugh (1924).

Robert Wiene's The Hands of Orlac (1924):

And of course Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927).

None of those cities looked particularly real either, but that only enhanced their dreamlike atmospheres.


A couple of other spooky details struck me when I watched Batman Returns a few nights ago. One of them was sound, and in particular the use of wind. There are a number of scenes in the movie where you can faintly hear the wind sighing in the background. One example is the scene where Shreck pauses to catch his breath in an alleyway just before Penguin kidnaps him. Another is when Penguin reveals his true name to the reporters at the cemetery. And it's very noticeable in the model shot of Wayne Manor just before the scene of Bruce and Selina's date. This use of sound compliments the visuals by adding to the chilling wintery atmosphere.

Another spooky detail can be found in all the carved faces hidden throughout the set design. There are relief sculptures of faces lining Gotham Plaza.

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The various giant sculptures across Gotham's architecture left me a strong impression as a kid, especially the Plaza statues. My school notebooks were full of Batman sketches (who hasn't sketched during boring classes in grade school?) and these statues were always a favourite "subject".

There are reliefs similar to these statues in Shreck's ballroom.

[The Dark Knight]

How good is this? I found an artwork that was made for the 25th anniversary.

[The Joker]

[thecolorsblend]

Burton's surrounded himself with yes-men who kowtow to his version of the caped crusader and Gotham City. Whether this more Burton-ized Batman will click with the fans will be seen in June.

This is an interesting reminder that Burton was not necessarily universally lauded in his time. Yes, he had plenty of admirers to be sure.

But he also had a fair number of detractors as well. Not necessarily everyone was onboard with what he was trying to do.

Modern history makes it sound like Burton never faced a moment of criticism after the first B89 teaser came out. But articles like this one show us that plenty of people still looked askance at him. And for nothing. Anton Furst was unavailable and passed away shortly after BR started shooting. Meanwhile, Burton already had a working relationship with Bo Welch. What was Burton supposed to do?

It's a little ridiculous. But that's showbiz, I guess.

[The Joker]

True.

Never let facts get in the way of the narrative the writer wants to set.

[The Laughing Fish]

So Warners were nervous at the idea of having a black Robin, even though they didn't seem to mind having a black Harvey Dent. Perhaps Robin is more well-known to mass audiences than Dent/Two-Face was at the time? I don't think that many people would've cared if Marlon Wayans played Robin back in 1992.

At least we got to see Wayans' likeness in comic book form, even if he was the only bright spot in those recent Sam Hamm Batman comics.