Who else saw it when it first came out?

[HarryCanyon]

I remembered back in late 88 after seeing Scrooged for the 3rd time in theaters when i was 8 the teaser to this movie appeared and i was like "Whoa, Batman the movie? cool" as i read about a Batman movie coming summer 1989 from Warner on Starlog magazine and i couldn't wait for it as i even saw the trailer to it when i saw Pet Sematary in theaters i was thrilled by it as i couldn't wait. I just turned 9 in June when it came out and i saw it 7 times and i had nearly all the merchandise plus i had the Taco Bell cups and ate the cereal to watching/taping reruns of the 60's show and i even got the movie for Christmas including the NES game as well.

[thecolorsblend]

Saw it opening day. It was a first for me. Never had seen a movie on opening day before. But it was a big deal for me, my brothers and our friends so we saw it at a mall. Once was never going to be enough though so I saw it two more times for sure (although maybe a few more than that) in theaters.

[johnnygobbs]

I remembered back in late 88 after seeing Scrooged for the 3rd time in theaters when i was 8 the teaser to this movie appeared and i was like "Whoa, Batman the movie? cool" as i read about a Batman movie coming summer 1989 from Warner on Starlog magazine and i couldn't wait for it as i even saw the trailer to it when i saw Pet Sematary in theaters i was thrilled by it as i couldn't wait. I just turned 9 in June when it came out and i saw it 7 times and i had nearly all the merchandise plus i had the Taco Bell cups and ate the cereal to watching/taping reruns of the 60's show and i even got the movie for Christmas including the NES game as well.

You saw Pet Semetary in the theater when you were eight?

[Bobthegoon89]

My big regret is I was too young to appreciate the hype of the original movie. I was around in 89 but at the age of one I hadn't yet learned how to say Batmobile lol

[Paul (ral)]

Saw it opening night in the UK. I was 11. I remember almost every detail of the night. Life changing.

[HarryCanyon]

I remembered back in late 88 after seeing Scrooged for the 3rd time in theaters when i was 8 the teaser to this movie appeared and i was like "Whoa, Batman the movie? cool" as i read about a Batman movie coming summer 1989 from Warner on Starlog magazine and i couldn't wait for it as i even saw the trailer to it when i saw Pet Sematary in theaters i was thrilled by it as i couldn't wait. I just turned 9 in June when it came out and i saw it 7 times and i had nearly all the merchandise plus i had the Taco Bell cups and ate the cereal to watching/taping reruns of the 60's show and i even got the movie for Christmas including the NES game as well.

You saw Pet Semetary in the theater when you were eight?

Yes Johnny, i've been seeing R-rated movies in theaters since i was 4 with Fright Night and been a horror fan since as i even saw r-rated comedies, action and sci-fi/fantasy movies as well especially Predator as my parents had no problem of me seeing R-rated movies on video, TV and theaters especially reading mature readers comics like Swamp Thing and Watchmen.

[Bobthegoon89]

Saw it opening night in the UK. I was 11. I remember almost every detail of the night. Life changing.

Anything particularly special about that night Paul? Was the cinema foyer decorated up as they did with Graumann's Chinese for Batman Returns? Anyone talk back to the screen or anything?

[Paul (ral)]

I was 11 years old when Batman 89 was released, but I remember Friday 11th August 1989 like it was yesterday.
The hype build up for the movie was unlike anything I had ever seen. The newspapers were full of articles about the movie in the upcoming weeks to the release. The one I remember the most was about how the movie had been declined a PG rating in the UK because it contained scenes of people with "acid-burnt" faces. Instead it would be the first movie to be given a 12 rating. I was excited and nervous in equal measure: Would I be allowed to see it? Would I be scared by the "acid-burnt" faces? Although the latter question was overshadowed by my excitmentment at seeing Michael Keaton on the front of a Batman comic I had just bought. That day, I met up with my friend who was going to the cinema with me that night and we talked for ages about how cool the movie would be and how gross the "acid-burnt" faces would be.

We went to the cinema that night (it is long gone now). It was an old fashioned cinema - one screen, balcony, showed one movie for a month, stopped for intervals - you know the sort. We, along with my father, sat up in the balcony - right hand side, second row from the front. During the title sequence I was in AWE. Where were we? In the batcave? No, it was revealed to be the bat sign. I, like many others, was hooked. After the showing my father took me to the projection room (I'm not sure if he knew the guys, he possibly did) and I was shown how the projectors worked, how they switched over, etc. I was amazed at the mess of it all. There were reels lying everywhere!
Superman 2 had been my first cinema experience, followed by Superman 3, Ghostbusters, Crocodile Dundee and others but Batman 89 had been my best.

[Bobthegoon89]

I was 11 years old when Batman 89 was released, but I remember Friday 11th August 1989 like it was yesterday.
The hype build up for the movie was unlike anything I had ever seen. The newspapers were full of articles about the movie in the upcoming weeks to the release. The one I remember the most was about how the movie had been declined a PG rating in the UK because it contained scenes of people with "acid-burnt" faces. Instead it would be the first movie to be given a 12 rating. I was excited and nervous in equal measure: Would I be allowed to see it? Would I be scared by the "acid-burnt" faces? Although the latter question was overshadowed by my excitmentment at seeing Michael Keaton on the front of a Batman comic I had just bought. That day, I met up with my friend who was going to the cinema with me that night and we talked for ages about how cool the movie would be and how gross the "acid-burnt" faces would be.

We went to the cinema that night (it is long gone now). It was an old fashioned cinema - one screen, balcony, showed one movie for a month, stopped for intervals - you know the sort. We, along with my father, sat up in the balcony - right hand side, second row from the front. During the title sequence I was in AWE. Where were we? In the batcave? No, it was revealed to be the bat sign. I, like many others, was hooked. After the showing my father took me to the projection room (I'm not sure if he knew the guys, he possibly did) and I was shown how the projectors worked, how they switched over, etc. I was amazed at the mess of it all. There were reels lying everywhere!
Superman 2 had been my first cinema experience, followed by Superman 3, Ghostbusters, Crocodile Dundee and others but Batman 89 had been my best.

The Batman magazine with Michael Keaton on the cover you bought wouldn't have been a yellow UK magazine by any chance? I just this month bought a copy off ebay.

Sounds like they must have altered the rating for it's VHS release. Batman has always been classified here as a 15 on VHS and DVD. The Christian Bale films are all regarded as 12 movies however.

[Paul (ral)]

Yeah, it was Batman #13 (UK reissues) which I still have. It had a great poster in the middle.

The 12 rating only existed for cinema screenings until 1994 (if I remember correct). Philidelphia and Robocop 3 received the first VHS 12 ratings....the start of the BBFC's pandering to the studios.