Michael Gough's Alfred

[Slash Man]

I think it's crazy how he had his last role in 2010, he never stopped giving to the art. With over six decades of films, he's no doubt gone down as a film icon.

I think the best portrayal of Alfred is in Batman, though he had the best chemistry with Keaton in both of the Burton films. Alfred knows what's best for Bruce, and always makes that known, but at the same time, he will stay by his side no matter what he goes through. Alfred really just wants Bruce to be happy and live as much as a normal life as he can.

For Forever and B&R, it was just nice to see him still in the role. I have a soft spot for his role in Batman & Robin - the expansion on Alfred and dealing with his potential passing was one of the strongest points of the film.

[riddler]

I think it's crazy how he had his last role in 2010, he never stopped giving to the art. With over six decades of films, he's no doubt gone down as a film icon.

I think the best portrayal of Alfred is in Batman, though he had the best chemistry with Keaton in both of the Burton films. Alfred knows what's best for Bruce, and always makes that known, but at the same time, he will stay by his side no matter what he goes through. Alfred really just wants Bruce to be happy and live as much as a normal life as he can.

For Forever and B&R, it was just nice to see him still in the role. I have a soft spot for his role in Batman & Robin - the expansion on Alfred and dealing with his potential passing was one of the strongest points of the film.

In my opinion Alfred was THE best character in Batman and Robin. I loved his line 'my only regret was that I wasnt out there with you'


He was pivotal to Dick Grayson becoming Robin both encouraging him to carry his families Legacy and convincing Bruce to let Dick find his own way.


I often wonder how Gough and Hingle felt about the transition of the films.

[Slash Man]

The way I see it, they played the same characters, they played it the same as they were established in the previous films.

For Gordon, we actually transition into the later Batman that works with him more, though that doesn't determine which is better. Bruce Timm actually complemented how Batman works on his own in the first movie, without much consulting with Gordon.

And I do like Dick and Alfred's friendship in Batman Forever. Once Dick figures out Batman's secret, Bruce is only cold to him, but Alfred gives him support. Also, humor is never an issue with Alfred. People criticize the drive thru line, but I could easily see that in the Burton films. Maybe just the fact that it was the first line in the film was a little off-putting.

[Grissom]

Credit to the writing and also Gough's wonderfully nuanced performance, he had some great lines and great moments in all the Bat-films (Burton/Shumacher era). I can always revisit him whenever I watch these films, especially Burton's. He was and is MY Alfred.

[riddler]

And I do like Dick and Alfred's friendship in Batman Forever. Once Dick figures out Batman's secret, Bruce is only cold to him, but Alfred gives him support. Also, humor is never an issue with Alfred. People criticize the drive thru line, but I could easily see that in the Burton films. Maybe just the fact that it was the first line in the film was a little off-putting.

I didn't mind the sandwich line, it does kind of present Alfred as a fatherly figure but I could have done without the "i'll get drive thru" line (I wonder if that was the marketing pressure with McDonalds being a big sponsor?)

I think Alfred sees what happened to Dick as history repeating itself (Bruces parents) but identifies that Dick is not Bruce and does things differently. I like to think that Alfred realizes there's no stopping Dick, he'll become a vigilante no matter what but figures he's better off with Bruce and Alfred given their resources. He also realizes that Bruce needs a figure like dick; Alfred himself is aging and wont always be around and seems to worry in the first 3 films that Bruce may end up completely alone when that happens.

[The Laughing Fish]

I think the best portrayal of Alfred is in Batman, though he had the best chemistry with Keaton in both of the Burton films. Alfred knows what's best for Bruce, and always makes that known, but at the same time, he will stay by his side no matter what he goes through. Alfred really just wants Bruce to be happy and live as much as a normal life as he can.

Perhaps I'm overthinking this, but I'm looking back at the scene in B89 where Bruce reads the police report about his parents' murders in the Batcave. Bruce notices that Alfred is thinking about something and asks him what's on his mind, and Alfred tells him he has no desire to spend his last remaining years grieving for old friends - or their sons.

What I find curious is as Alfred speaks, he closes the vault holding the Batsuit inside. It kind of symbolises to me how he secretly wants Bruce to move on with his life as best as he can, and not spend the rest of it on a never-ending battle. I do think it shows how Alfred always encouraged Bruce to give romance a chance to fill that emotional void he had suffered since losing his parents, such as giving him advice to tell Vicki the truth about his secret identity, instead of advising him to keep quiet for their own sake and put a further strain on their relationship. Perhaps Alfred's goal into convincing Bruce to trust Vicki was to help him finally let the pain go and give up being Batman for good.

If you think about it, Alfred did have a point if that were his intentions, because Bruce avenging his parents in the end doesn't really bring much closure. Yes, Jack Napier is gone and the city is safe along with him being gone. But it does come at a cost, as Bruce continues fighting the war at the expense of his relationship with Vicki.

I'm convinced more people would make this connection of what were Alfred's intentions, had BF included this scene in the final cut (minus the part where Bruce says he never fell in love before, of course).