Batman Forever Schumacher's Cut

[BatmanFanatic93]

Hey guys lately i been looking into subjects about batman forever on different sites and i came across a forum on another site about a very interesting talk about batman forever and from what i read before the theatrical release of batman forever there was a special screening for news paper writers and the person who started the forum on the site is one of the writers along with others who were lucky enough to view the uncut version of batman forever back in 95 and what he said was "batman forever was fairly good in depth with it's characters and was almost as good as batman returns"but after the reviews came back wb was fearing that soccer moms would whine,,complain,and boycott about another batman movie being too dark I.E Batman returns so they edit the film down by deleting anything that's too dark for kids and made lighter for kids which is the one we ended up with not only that but i also found out the opening in the uncut version wasn't suppose to be the main stars name flying around infact after the original opening with two-face escaping it was originally gonna be a exploration of the human brain after the"The bat must die"writing of course (possibily a homage to batman returns opening?)then everything else along with the deleted scenes plays out in the original timeline in the script.So what do you guys think?If we had gotten the uncut version of batman forever would it have been a worthy sequel to the burton's batman?Or would it have been same thing just slightly better?Tell me what you guys think

[thecolorsblend]

My view is that the cuts were only partly made for content. As much as anything, there were pacing issues Schumacher wanted to get ironed out. For example, after Chase gets kidnapped and Two Face and the Riddler are on the verge of winning everything... Bruce has amnesia and hangs out in the Batcave for a day or two?? Sure, that sequence explains the movie's title but the theatrical cut keeps the energy and the plot going at a crucial point.

I'd be interested to see Schumacher's original cut, of course, but I think WB made the right choice if their goal was to move toward a more action-oriented take on the franchise.

[The Dark Knight]

I don't think he chilled out in the cave per se, or for that long. I gather he did have a rest, ala how the movie shows us. But as soon as he gets up he goes into the cave, sees the bat, has his flashback and then gets back to business – solving the riddles and suiting up. I think these scenes would have been good additions, and bring on the director's cut. But yeah, solid argument about removing it all. Pacing wise, Riddler and Two-Face have made their move. They've violated his lair – which Riddler did to Two-Face as well, have tons of brain energy and Chase. The viewer wants some swift fight back. We do get the whole 'because I choose to be' speech at the end, if that makes up for anything.

[BatmanFanatic93]

My view is that the cuts were only partly made for content. As much as anything, there were pacing issues Schumacher wanted to get ironed out. For example, after Chase gets kidnapped and Two Face and the Riddler are on the verge of winning everything... Bruce has amnesia and hangs out in the Batcave for a day or two?? Sure, that sequence explains the movie's title but the theatrical cut keeps the energy and the plot going at a crucial point.

I'd be interested to see Schumacher's original cut, of course, but I think WB made the right choice if their goal was to move toward a more action-oriented take on the franchise.

I also read that the original cut ran about one hour and sixty mins with alot of alternate scenes,Short?Yes but it's probably alot of homages to burton's batman i believe.

[Azrael]

[...]i also found out the opening in the uncut version wasn't suppose to be the main stars name flying around infact after the original opening with two-face escaping it was originally gonna be a exploration of the human brain after the"The bat must die"writing of course (possibily a homage to batman returns opening?)

Interesting, first time I hear about this.

[Silver Nemesis]

I gather he did have a rest, ala how the movie shows us. But as soon as he gets up he goes into the cave, sees the bat, has his flashback and then gets back to business – solving the riddles and suiting up.

I think that deleted sequence was based on a scene from The Dark Knight Returns. It's the scene where Bruce, having been injured by the Mutant Leader, has his wounds patched up by Alfred and then goes down into the cave. There he confronts a bat in the darkness, just like he did when he fell into the cave as a child. It symbolises his spiritual refortification after suffering defeat at the hands of Two-Face/the Mutant Leader.

I'd love to see an official reedit of Batman Forever. Some of the film's best scenes, including most of the Red Book subplot, ended up on the cutting room floor. If these were restored it would improve the film greatly. I take colors' point about the pacing issue, but I think that could be solved by excising some of the sillier, more superfluous scenes with Two-Face and Riddler.

[BatmAngelus]

[...]i also found out the opening in the uncut version wasn't suppose to be the main stars name flying around infact after the original opening with two-face escaping it was originally gonna be a exploration of the human brain after the"The bat must die"writing of course (possibily a homage to batman returns opening?)

Interesting, first time I hear about this.

I hadn't heard anything about this either but it sounded familiar.

Then I came across this re-edit and remembered I saw it here: