Happy 25th Anniversary

[johnnygobbs]

To Batman Returns.

Boy I feel old.

[Azrael]

It always felt weird that the anniversary was in the middle of June. December is maybe more appropriate. It's a winter fairy tale, a Christmas yarn.

I don't think there will ever be a mainstream superhero film like it. Not just nostalgia and rose-tinted glasses, there's many things I loved as a kid which I can't put myself to see ever again.

Batman Returns was the first so-called "genre transcending" (if such a thing exists) comic movie; it's a Batman movie but sits more comfortably next to Edward Scissorhands, or Sleepy Hollow. Still among the best comic book films, or at least the most interesting.

[Catwoman]

It always felt weird that the anniversary was in the middle of June. December is maybe more appropriate. It's a winter fairy tale, a Christmas yarn.

Same. Most of my viewings are from October to December for that reason.

25 years. My god. A quarter of a damn century since I bugged my mom to take me to McDonalds every freaking day so I could get a toy or a cup or to Kmart so I could get some toy or knick knack. Those were the days. I'd give anything to just wake up and be 6 years old again and start over.

[Azrael]

Those were the days. I'd give anything to just wake up and be 6 years old again and start over.

Same. But, better make it 10.

[GoNerdYourself]

I remember seeing this in theaters. I was so excited, having seen all the TV spots, trailers (including the one on the Curly Sue VHS), toy commercials, McDonald's promotions, and, of course, from watching the first film over and over again. I recollect going to a Showcase that was thirty to forty minutes away. There was the cardboard standee with the trio on it, Penguin's umbrella in constant motion. I recall smiling when Alfred spins the CD and feeling pretty excited when I saw Batman's new aquatic vehicle in the third act.

One thing I don't remember, kids crying. Not how Kevin Smith depicted the controversy in his "commentary" on Fatman on Batman. I was around 7 and I didn't cry. But I knew the film was a "kids movie." The first one wasn't either. At that time, a lot of kids my age were watching movies like Die Hard and Friday the 13th.

History doesn't seem to be looking as fondly on Burton's two films as I'd hope  -- and I'm not sure why -- but Batman Returns is perhaps the best looking Batman movie with, in my opinion, the best Batman score, topping the first film's score and believe me, I love the first film's score.

[The Laughing Fish]

History doesn't seem to be looking as fondly on Burton's two films as I'd hope  -- and I'm not sure why --

Only if you believe revisionist rubbish from some websites. I'd pay no attention to them if I were you.

I didn't get to see BR until a year or two after it was released. I guess I was too young to see it in theatres. The one thing that has always struck me about it was how melancholic and tragic it is, with Catwoman's decent to madness because of her unfocused interest in Bruce Wayne and hatred of Max Schreck, the deviant Penguin's rise and bizarrely tragic fall, and how Batman finds himself all alone in the end. In comparison, the ending of B89 did have this ostensibly "feel good" ending where Batman avenges his parents, Gotham City embraces him by lighting the Batsignal, and Alfred takes Vicki home. But BR's finale is bittersweet. Maybe that's why Burton prefers making Returns over 89, given he always relishes dark, Gothic material.

The strangest thing is, although I thought BR is the darkest between the two Burton films, I grew up more frightened by Nicholson's Joker. Man, what a time it was to be alive. Here's to 25 years.

[The Dark Knight]

I think Affleck is the best Batman overall, but nostalgia will always point to Michael Keaton and his two films. They'll always be my favorites. Batman Returns is like an episode of the 66 television show but filtered through a dark and twisted lens. Penguin runs for Mayor, but he's a sewer dwelling freak who wants to kill Gotham's children. The film looks great, sounds great, has mature themes but still has a sense of fun.

I admire how Burton gave Batman a sense of mystery by respecting his privacy. When I say I think Returns had more atmosphere than B89, this is part of what I mean. Giving Catwoman and Penguin (beauty and the beast) time to shine achieved this, and they were great characters to watch as well. Honestly, no other set of villains since Batman Returns have been as memorable or interesting to me.

It's a film that has held up remarkably well 25 years later. It doesn't feel dated. It feels timeless.

[GBglide]

To Batman Returns.

Boy I feel old.

You feel old? It always reminds me that it was my 22nd birthday.

[Catwoman]

To Batman Returns.

Boy I feel old.

You feel old? It always reminds me that it was my 22nd birthday.

Wowsers.

Hiya Batgramps. 

[Azrael]

Batman Returns is like an episode of the 66 television show but filtered through a dark and twisted lens.

Yes, the costumed villains interacting (esp. in Penguin's HQ) feel almost like a visually updated version of the 60s series. The Penguin as a mayor, killer penguins.. When the film wants to be funny (like the Batmobile hijacking), it borders on slapstick. Overstating this influence, however, and saying the entire film is like an episode of the 60s show (now the moodier side of the film comes to mind), is maybe a disservice to both.