Continuity between Gothams

[galenj01]

i was watching some stuff on BF and i noticed that the Gotham City flyby scene before bruce meets Nygma. i noticed how some buildings looked gothic (top right of image) - much like Burtons Gotham.

maybe this is to show that it is the same place - but obviously Gotham has "evolved" since Returns.



What do you guys think?

[The Laughing Fish]

Would you believe that I had never noticed those Gothic looking cathedrals before?

I think our fellow poster The Dark Knight made a pretty astute observation about the transition between Burton's gothic-inspired Gotham City and Schumacher's neon Gotham:

I guess someone could argue the case that Max [Shreck]'s power surplus thingy was a reason for the neon appearance of BF's Gotham. Not sure how one could spin that at the moment, but I'm sure it's possible.

[Slash Man]

It's believable. The sets of Batman and Batman Returns weren't exactly identical. I don't think we've seen any major reoccurring landmarks to connect the films, aside from Wayne Manor, which managed to look completely different each time.

When trying to connect these films, if a change isn't too minor, you can just accept it without any kind of forced explanation. And other times, you just have to accept that continuity was deliberately ignored.

[thecolorsblend]

I live in Houston, TX, which is bigger than the entire f**king state of Connecticut. If you go to some parts of Houston, you'd think it's a small town. If you go to other parts, it looks basically the same as Manhattan. The palm trees in other parts of town could trick an ignorant observer that he missed the left turn at Albuquerque and ended up in Beverly Hills.

My point is that all the features we've seen of Gotham City could plausibly be contained all in the same city, just scattered in different parts. That's especially easy to believe since B89 and BR were shot on backlots or else shot on stages, and it looks like the action is confined to a few city blocks in each movie whereas it gets more spread out in BF and B&R.

If Gotham City is half the size of Houston, it's no stretch at all to think all those disparate styles could coexist. Hell, urban sprawl easily explains how so many different influences exist under one "roof". I totally buy it.

[galenj01]

My point is that all the features we've seen of Gotham City could plausibly be contained all in the same city, just scattered in different parts. That's especially easy to believe since B89 and BR were shot on backlots or else shot on stages, and it looks like the action is confined to a few city blocks in each movie whereas it gets more spread out in BF and B&R.

If Gotham City is half the size of Houston, it's no stretch at all to think all those disparate styles could coexist. Hell, urban sprawl easily explains how so many different influences exist under one "roof". I totally buy it.

ive often thought this.

[JokerMeThis]

I always assumed we were seeing different parts of the city in the different movies.

Another idea I like though is that we're dealing with alternate realities. That these movies take place in different worlds but are still loosely connected to each other in regards to past events. I think the best argument for this is the change in Harvey Dent's race. I can overlook different actors playing the same role because that happens sometimes but to change a character's race is something else all together. To me that suggests an alternate reality.

Another thing that catches my attention is how radically Gothamites' clothing styles changed in between the Burton and Schumacher eras. I suppose it could be a natural evolution but it is striking to me nonetheless. I like to think that in the world, or worlds, of Batman '89 and Batman Returns the whole western world is stuck in a kind of 1940's time warp in many ways and not just Gotham. The newspapers in Batman '89 suggest an alternate reality.

[Dagenspear]

I always assumed we were seeing different parts of the city in the different movies.

Another idea I like though is that we're dealing with alternate realities. That these movies take place in different worlds but are still loosely connected to each other in regards to past events. I think the best argument for this is the change in Harvey Dent's race. I can overlook different actors playing the same role because that happens sometimes but to change a character's race is something else all together. To me that suggests an alternate reality.

Another thing that catches my attention is how radically Gothamites' clothing styles changed in between the Burton and Schumacher eras. I suppose it could be a natural evolution but it is striking to me nonetheless. I like to think that in the world, or worlds, of Batman '89 and Batman Returns the whole western world is stuck in a kind of 1940's time warp in many ways and not just Gotham. The newspapers in Batman '89 suggest an alternate reality.

It's the same universe. Clothing styles change. Harvey Dent had to deal with a lot going through getting his skin bleached and then getting acid thrown on his face. Have a very great day!

God bless you! God bless everyone!

[johnnygobbs]

It's the same universe. Clothing styles change. Harvey Dent had to deal with a lot going through getting his skin bleached and then getting acid thrown on his face. Have a very great day!

God bless you! God bless everyone!

I reckon Dent had just had surgery to make him white (probably the same cosmetic surgeon visited by Jack Napier), in order to appeal to Gotham's racist population (bear in mind this is set in a 1940/50s style Gotham in which the population act like a bunch of small-minded fools).  And his first job immediately following his amazing surgery happened to be cross-examining Boss Maroni in court. 

[OutRiddled]

None of the Burton/Schumacher are direct sequels.  They are just set in the same universe.  Unlike Nolan's movies which obviously followed directly on from the previous (and yet they changed actors too).

[JokerMeThis]

I think Batman Returns has the best Gotham. It's how I always imagine it to be. Dark, scary, gothic, creepy statues and stone faces everywhere. And don't forget the German Expressionism. It's like a fantasy city that only exists in my nightmares. There are some elements in the other Gothams of the Burton/Schumacher Batman movie series that remind me of it but this movie has the best Gotham as far as I'm concerned.