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Batman came out 25 years ago today and was nothing short of a Star Wars-level giant at the box office. Forget the $411 million it made in the theater, the marketing of the movie was an inescapable wave of merchandise that swept over every mall in America. (I’m fairly certain I had at no less than two Batman beach towels that summer.)
The film paved the way for the current golden age of comic book movies. It remained the most successful superhero film of all time until The Dark Knight was released in 2008, and if you’re one of those people who can only enjoy Nolan’s Batman, buddy, you’re missing out. That’s a discussion for the comments though, the purpose of this post is to go behind the bat cowl and find out how Tim Burton and Michael Keaton brought Batman back from the campy days of the 1960s TV show.
From the Joker makeup to the controversy over Keaton as Bruce Wayne, here are 15 things you may not know about Tim Burton’s Batman.
1. Michael Keaton’s claustrophobia over wearing the suit helped him understand Bruce Wayne. Keaton was not a fan of wearing the suit and found it nearly impossible to turn his head because it was so skin-tight. Wearing the suit sent him into a panic at first, but as Keaton describes actually ended up helping him realize that it functioned as a bizarre security blanket for Bruce Wayne.
“I thought ‘I don’t know how I’m going to do this, I’m feeling really scared.’ And then it hit me, ‘I went this is perfect’ this is designed for this unusual dude. The guy who has this personality that’s really dark, and really alone, and really kind of depressed.”
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2. Batman’s ears were too tall for the Batmobile. The ears on Batman’s first mask were too tall for the Batmobile’s roof to close. Since the seat couldn’t be lowered costume designers had to make a new mask with shorter ears.
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3. Jack Nicholson would fall asleep in the makeup chair. Supposedly, Jack Nicholson had it in his contract that he wouldn’t be on set for makeup any earlier than 9 am. Michael Keaton revealed to Grantland that while filming in London, Nicholson made the makeup artist’s job particularly easy and immediately fell asleep in the chair. The entire process took about two hours, giving Nicholson plenty of time to snooze.
4. Robin Williams had his feelings hurt. Tim Burton and Warner Brothers had always wanted Jack Nicholson as their top choice, but when he hesitated to take the part they began seriously talking to Robin Williams about the Joker role. When Nicholson caught word of this he accepted the part and Williams was left by the curb. Williams was so offended that he refused to play the role of the Riddler in Batman Forever or even do a Warner Brothers production until the studio apologized.
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5. Tim Burton filmed Bruce Wayne going into a “bat trance” that never made the final cut. Keaton expressed to Tim Burton that he felt there should be some sort of visual transition from Bruce Wayne to Batman. The scene was left on the cutting room floor, but Keaton said he felt it helped him to better understand the character.
“So there was a thing we did early on that showed him going into a sort of trance and it justified this shift in him. So we did that scene and it never made it into the film but I think helped me in a way. It was part of the way he became this other thing and even if you didn’t see it, it was part of the character and the way we created him. Tim was always open to that.”
6. The Batman movie started at Indiana University. Obviously, there had been a Batman movie before 1989, but the dark Hollywood Batman that we know and love actually started with comic fan Michael Uslan teaching the first college-accredited course on comic books at Indiana University in 1971. Uslan taught the course for several more semesters before leaving for a job at DC Comics and eventually acquiring the film rights to Batman in 1979. Uslan joined forces with producer Benjamin Melniker and helped shift the darker version of a Batman film project over to Warner Brothers.
7. The Joker’s cathedral transportation happens in real-time. The Joker requests transportation for he and Vicki before entering Gotham City Cathedral to arrive in 10 minutes over the walkie-talkie. From the moment they enter the cathedral to when his helicopter arrives is exactly 10 minutes.
8. Tim Burton wrote the gas mask note. When Vicki Vale is given a note with her gas mask at the museum, the handwriting on the note is that of Tim Burton.
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Still the best Batman movie. Yeah i said it! Come at me, bros!
Im with ya.
Not the best. But it’s arguably the most important.
I’ve got your back, Tong Po. Yours too, NobodyLikesMilhouse.
My favorite, followed closely by Batman Begins (The Dark Knight is an excellent movie, but not because of anything Batman does. Also don’t drink all that gasoline Harvey!)
Bat dance bitches
Keaton was somehow the best Bruce yet only an OK Batman. I absolutely love glimmer of insanity he showed. I mean, we are clearly dealing with an insane person here. Also, this movie taught us to never rub another man’s rhubarb and for that it will always be one of the best.
“Let’s get nuts!”, indeed.
@MakingFlowers Yes! Bruce Wayne is a nutjob, and the only real difference between him and his villains is which side of the law he chooses to be on (most of the time).
I *slightly* prefer Keaton’s Wayne because Bale’s Wayne came off as a bit too much like Tony Stark.
Had WB not forced Joel to make the films campier and Schumaker were able to continue the Burton universe (as he always intended to), I think Val Kilmer would’ve been the best Bruce AND Batman, bar none.
Nicholson was wise… I have since never attempted to rub another man’s rhubarb
Agreed Vice4Life. Val Kilmer had the chops but you could tell he didn’t give it his all after he saw what WB did to the movie. I’d also add George Clooney into that conversation (ducks thrown brick). Hey! The movie sucked ass, but you gotta admit to be curious if Clooney didn’t phone it in.
Back to the original topic. Bale was the best Bruce Wayne. His public persona was perfect, and his take on the real Bruce Wayne (between Brucie the Playboy and Batman) really brought depth to the character. Most superheroes have a secret identity. Bale played Bruce Wayne as having two secret identities. Bale wins Best Bruce.
Batman is a tossup. Bale has it for is gadgets, fighting and realism. You can see somebody doing that in real life (which would be awesome). But that voice just ruins the character for me. I loved his Batman voice in Batman Begins, but when I first heard it in Dark Knight, it pulled me from the story. Its like someone trying too hard to sound scary.
Keaton was more believable as Batman. He wasn’t trying to be scary; he was scary. The way he moved and acted seemed natural. When Batman talked to Vicky Vale in the Batcave, he wasn’t trying to hide his voice or act like Batman. He was acting normal.
Keaton wins Best Batman.
@Redshirt , bra-fucking-VO!
All of you are wrong. Kevin Conroy was the best Bruce AND Batman.
*drops mic*
Keaton was the best Batman (in suit), I think Val Kilmer might have been the perfect Bruce Wayne (Cold, classy, handsome, kind of a dick to everyone.)
After reading all of this, I have to give @Mutant Turd the win. I’m ashamed for not thinking of that. I also never expected to be referencing someone called Mutant Turd.
Holy cow, Mutant Turd is exactly right. #1 Batman of all time: Kevin Conroy.
This one is still good. Batman Begins is as good as it is because these movies exist. Nolan was able to take a look at what had been done before, take the best pieces, cut the stuff that isn’t great and add his own je ne sais quoi to make the movie great.
Long before Begins was even greenlit, I knew Saarecrow would be the villain (probably made this guess around 1999 or so). This series had used up every other villain by then, lol.
Jack was the only thing that made this movie even REMOTELY watchable.
Kevin Smith said it best when he was talking about the time he got quoted making a joke that Tim Burton stole the ending from Planet of The Apes from his comic and Tim said “anyone who knows me knows I would never read a comic” and to echo Kevin, “that explains Batman”
@Thanksgiving Chimp Funny, I worked in EMS and Fire Service for 9 years, and never heard of this happening–never happened to me or any guy I worked with.
I think the uproar over “Batman pissed himself” is that… Batman pissed himself. I’m sure Batman would have episodes of explosive diarrhea, too. Yet that doesn’t get into the comics, does it?
No good things ever came from the phrase “Kevin Smith said it best.”
Batman may not be the greatest movie but it’s better than anything Kevin Smith has made. Or will make.
Kevin Smith also wrote that garbage where Bruce…in full Batman gear….cries like a baby while asking his girlfriend “what’s wrong with me? Will I ever be normal?” That’s a writer who does NOT understand batman.
I’m glad Batman pissed himself. Dude is human and people like Morrison try hard to ignore this fact. Which of these two fake and unrealistic scenarios is more realistic: Guy who is just starting out as a vigilante messes up an explosion and it’s so scary he pees a little, or Guy defeats white martians and Darkseid, both of which are on par with Superman?
Guys. Batman killed the Joker in this. On purpose. That’s Batman? For all the things this movie did right, that little thing just ruin it.
I still enjoy this Tim Burton’s Batman. But I give the edge to Nolan’s The Dark Knight as the best Batman movie ever made.
I’m the exact opposite. Maybe it’s because I was 18 when Batman came out and 34 when Begins came out, but I didn’t like any of Nolan’s Batmans as much as Burton’s. I thought The Dark Knight was a who can Method harder contest between Heath Ledger and Christian Bale.
@Kungjitsu: No need to be subtle about it. Burton’s films will always be better than Nolans’ cuz these films didn’t need pretentious and/or expository dialogue and “intelligent” quotes to make people both enjoy the films and understand the characters.
It seems like the art of movie trailers didn’t really come into it’s own until the mid-90s.
I think what makes this movie work (and Batman films in general) is the slightly supernatural element to it… like other commenters mentioned below the fantasy-like setting works for it. I think the Animated Series did it best when it comes to tone.
Nothing gives me a bigger Bat-boner than secondary characters and henchmen expressing how they’re not sure Batman if is actually human and not a monster.
I think the lack of music was done purposely so that viewers could concentrate solely on both the dialogue and the visuals. Seems like something Burton would do.
I don’t think Nolan’s trilogy is going to hold up. Heath Ledger’s Joker is going to start to look silly once The Dark Knight starts showing up three times a week on TNT.
Batman Returns is still my favorite Batman movie.
@Kungjitsu
Guess that mean’s Heath Ledger’s Joker has bee on the decline for like 2 years.
I got nothing but love for this movie and its batshit insane sequel.
As much as I love the first 2 Nolan movies, they’re just not as rewatchable or fun as these. He always seemed a ashamed that his movies were based on comics, these just embraced the silly/fanastical nature of them without going full Schumacher. Plus I love the fantasy version of Gotham. Seeing Batman run around Chicago just looks silly, seeing him run around a make-believe universe somehow just doesn’t look as ridiculous.
The weird tone just works. Seeing Penguin drive a giant rubber ducky somehow works in the universe they made yet all the cops buried under Gotham is eyerolling in the more serious Nolanverse.
You said it.
I’m happy to see penguins with rocket packs in the Burtonverse yet couldn’t have been more frustrated when cops with batons are charging after thugs with heavy artillery.
As much as I love the first 2 thirds of Dark Knight Rises, I hate the last third about as equally. The cops charging was preposterous, and Batman beating Bane just because he decided he could punch harder is like…insulting to the character they created up to that point. And don’t even get me started on the Nuke. ugh.
I agree. Though I admit a LARGE part of my love of Burton’s Batmans is nostalgia. But, goddamnit, those movies are so unique for the world of Gotham and soo fun to rewatch. Even the inconsistencies in Burton’s make sense because the world is so crazy. Whereas the inconsistencies in TDK and TDKR because of the “realism” aspect make me hate parts of those films and makes rewatching them nearly impossible.
I love when someone labels a YouTube video as being “rare.” Yes, the video is so rare that it’s available on YouTube for absolutely everybody to see.
Ditto.
I was more afraid of the Joker’s henchman who had that crazy grin on his face than I was of the Joker.
Bob?
No the the tall guy standing right behind him when they first come in. He’s got that creepy grin on his face. Scared the crap out of me as a kid.
Poor Bob, all he wanted to do was be a good henchman. He didn’t deserve to die like that. I mean he wasn’t really such a bumbling idiot was he?
I like Batman and Batman Returns because of the dark gothic atmosphere and the fact that you can tell they wanted to make a comic book movie. Nolan’s trilogy was just conservative rhetoric wrapped in a Batman shell.
I love this movie so much I can’t begin to describe. I think i prefer it slightly over the Nolans because it has SUCH a visual style, even if it’s a whacked one, whereas Nolan’s movies, while technically impressive, play it pretty straight visually.
That being said, I think this movie, Returns, and the Nolan movies all work equally well because of what makes Batman the greatest fictional character ever: He is infinitely adaptable. You can tell any kind of story in any genre you want with Batman, and it still works.
And as a lover of Batman 89, gritty movies, and silent-era horror movies, that last shot of Batman in that trailer, with the scratches all over the film, is so boner inducing it’s not even funny.
Also, I unapologetically love Prince’s Batman album. Bat Dance forever.
::Raises Hand::
80’s child here who wore out the soundtrack cassette tape from listening to it so many times.
Bat dance video, featuring scantily clad Batgirls writhing around, did wonders for 10 year old me discovering girls actually DON’T have cooties!
Yes to all of this!
Vicky Vale, bee-otches.
Vicky Vale > Rachel Wusserface/all the other bat movie gals.
…except for the pokies scene with Katie Holmes…
Kim Basinger > Katie Holmes > Huckleberry Hound who replaced her in the third one
TDK is starting to look a bit silly in some aspects. Ledger’s Joker still holds up.
Prince> Michael Jackson. Yeah. I said it.
And I second it!
Missed Opportunity: Not calling this the Batmanniversary.
Anyway, Batman and Robin is the only one I re-watch, because it’s the funniest movie ever if you take a drink every time someone makes a pun.
Holy BAC Batman!!
Cool PAHTY…game.
Wow, they really dodged a bullet with not getting Robin Williams. That might have set comic movies back a few more years.
Schumaker had every intention of continuing Burton’s universe. Warner Brothers axed Burton and made Joel give the films that tone. WB made the push after all the parents at the time complained about the violence and “gothic” overtones of the first 2 films.
Joel gets all the blame. When really it was all our parents’ fault. Same goes for Ninja Turtles 2 losing the dark gritty tone of the 1st film, Robocop 3 being PG-13, and of course, James Cameron purposely making the T-1000 out of liquid metal so that there’s wouldn’t be so much blood on screen.
Actually, not all our parents were to blame. My parents were cool as fuck with me watching Robocop at 3 years old when it was released in 1987. They knew that this stuff wouldn’t make me a violent child. Now sex in r-rated action movies, on the other hand….
Anyone notice how after some years to digest, Raimi’s Spider-Man movies (the good ones) are already starting to get flack, despite how much everyone praised them during the first half of the 200’s? For the past few years now I’ve been wondering if the same thing will eventually happen to TDK trilogy. You guys are providing me with some ammunition now lol.
One of the first movies I remember seeing in theaters as a kid. One of the few Batman movies I still re-watch (Nolan’s pretentious politics opera, or “over-rated trilogy” as my brother and I call it), doesn’t do it for me, even though everything else he does is genius). One thing Burton understood that Nolan clearly doesn’t, is that even something generally “realistic” like Batman, still DOES NOT work when you set it in the real world. By creating a universe that still has an element of fiction in it (despite it mostly looking non-fiction), subconsciously helps audiences digest the idea of a guy wearing a rubber suit to fight crime. As well as not needing pretentious dialogue to help audiences understand the duality of Wayne’s character.
Going out on a limb here, but I think, as sacrilegious as this sounds, if someone were to fan edit this movie and remove the Prince soundtrack, as well as a few other small things here or there, this movie wouldn’t be NEARLY as dated as everyone says.
Batman 1966…now there was a Batman movie. Lee Meriweather….MEEEOOOWWWW….
Adam West = Batman
So everyone hates Nolan’s batman now? Wtf?!? I Nolan’s were fucking awesome and this movie was fucking awesome. No need to hate one and love the other.
Concur….love them all (batman and robin and TDKR a little less), but 89 and Begins are 1 and 1A, for me.
After Rises came out there was a sharp backlash that’s sort of infected the rest of the trilogy. I sort of get it, Rises was a disappointment on a number of levels, but after TDK how was it going to be anything but? But I agree with the notion that you don’t have to pick one or the other.
I agree as well. I loved Batman Begins, even with the silly ending (you can chalk it up to Hollywood set piece endings, a dime a dozen). For me TDK was a really shitty movie wrapped around probably one of the top 5 performances of the aughts (Ledger’s obviously). TDKR was just laughable. If it had nipples or glo-sticks it would be as shat upon as Schumacher’s two films. Seriously, that is the only difference in the shittiness.
But I don’t need to chose one over the other.
Michael Keaton was my favorite Bruce/Batman. There were a number of small reasons, but the big reason was because, imo, he was simply the most believable. Keaton’s an incredible actor.
Aside from Bane, this was the first and only time Batman had a real challenging fight on film. The fight with Faux Wesley Snipes in the bell tower, Bats got his ass kicked.
Two things.
1) #15 – they chose the first name Jack because combined with the last name it sounds like Jackanape.
2) Keaton was the best Batman. Bale was the best Wayne. Hamill is the best Joker.
I prefer The Dark Knight series (well, maybe not so much “Rises”), but will acknowledge that the best line in all the Batman movies (Burton and Nolan) was Jack Nicholson’s Joker asking: “Where does he get those wonderful toys?”
The blame really rests on the studio, I’d say. They THOUGHT kids wanted the crappy toys, proving once again that studio suits are absolute idiots.
I don’t think Burton’s career took quite the plummet you make it out to be. There are a handful of genuinely good Burton movies, but for every Big Fish there’s three Dark Shadows.
Way more polite than what I was gonna say.
If you don’t like Nicholson’s Joker you are an enemy of fun. He’s not the best by any stretch (that’d be Hamill, easily), but he was fun to watch.
Worst Joker was Romero. There, I said it.
the entire cathedral sequence, from the time Batman exits his busted Batmobile, to the last laugh out of the laugh box is all-around AMAZING.
Well unlike the Raimi Spider-man flicks the TDK trilogy wasn’t filled with A large amount if CGI that is already super dated and silly looking. The bat swarm in Begins is the only exception since they used a mix of real bats and cgi ones that looked weird
No Batman and Robin and Forever are still the worst movies.
Still my favorite Batman movie. While I love Nolan’s movies, I think those movies could still exist if you simply replaced Batman with just a “guy”. Meaning the movies work with or without Batman. This is kind of the point of the movies I guess. But the Burton movies have a world that supports the idea of a guy dressed up in a costume fighting crime and works better for me.
Even though I LOVE this movie, I was always disappointed that they used makeup appliances for Nicholson’s Joker. I assume it had to do with at that time it may have been hard to get “regular” (non comic book readers) to accept a villain that looked like the joker that was just a white face and without a forced smile like that (I realize they got that idea of the bullet-pinched nerve thing in the cheeks that caused the smile from a version of Joker in the comics). But looking at that photo of Nicholson in the makeup chair… man that pre-Joker make up face is SO PERFECT for Joker. No one has better shit eating/evil grin than Jack and the fact that they didn’t use it still bothers me.
Why is it No. 26? You suck at trolling.
If you watch Batman Returns they talk about a building a power plant so Gotham is “lit up like a blanket of stars”. I think we might have seen a fluorescent Gotham even without Shumaker.
My friends and I already love drinking and making fun of The Dark Knight whenever it’s on TV. Harvey, don’t drink that gasoline!
As Cracked posted today, Rises is essentially a shot for shot remake of Tomorrow Never Dies. Just without the humor.
[www.cracked.com]
Everything about this scene puts this version above all the other Batman films: [youtu.be]
It’s not terrible. I like it better than Returns. But you can see it starting to go off the rails towards the holy hell that was Batman and Robin
The inside story about Tim Burton’s Batman [www.youtube.com]
i absolutely loved tim burton’s batman films and joel schumacher’s batman films they were absolutely the best films i’ve ever watched as much as christopher nolan’s dark knight trilogy i give them five stars tim burton joel schumacher and christopher nolan i salute you all
Every director has their own vision for Batman. Every actor brings their own spin to a part. Burton’s & Nolan’s films are 2 different views of The Caped Crusader. Schumacher brought an interesting view with FOREVER, but just lost it with what a guy I used to know referred to as “Bat-Spam & Rogaine”. You know that old adage about opinions? Here’s a FULL-ON demonstration of it. Love Burton’s AND Nolan’s films. Schumacher, I’m split on…..’nuff said.