7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.6 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.6 |
Adventures of the caped crusader, stressing the relationship between the Batman and his adversary The Joker.
Starring: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat HingleAction | 100% |
Comic book | 75% |
Fantasy | 63% |
Thriller | 45% |
Crime | 31% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 2.0 (192 kbps)
German: Dolby Digital 2.0 (192 kbps)
Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 (192 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
Portuguese: Dolby Digital Mono
Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish 2.0 dub for Spain Mono for América
English, English SDH, French, German, German SDH, Italian, Italian SDH, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Swedish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Inspired by the original comics by Bob Kane, Tim Burton’s “Batman” (1989) offers a spectacular look at the mythical Gotham City, the evil Joker and, of course, Batman. Based on a screenplay by Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren, the film is stylishly-lensed, terrifically executed and complimented by the music of Prince. Courtesy of Warner Brothers-UK.
Watching over Gotham City
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with VC-1, and granted a 1080p transfer Tim Burton's Batman arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Brothers-UK.
Warner's transfer for Batman should make a lot of people very happy. The film looks surprisingly fresh, detailed, and free of artificial enhancements. The color-scheme in particular is lovely – blacks, greens, blues, and reds are rich and well saturated. Furthermore, the transfer provided by Warner reveals a pleasing film-like look which those of you with larger screens will certainly appreciate (I certainly did not detect any disturbing DNR-alterations to report here). This being said, Batman does not suffer from heavy edge-enhancement either. On the other hand, the actual transfer is very healthy – I did not spot any debris, dirt, or specks. Really, the only thing that I thought could have been addressed with this presentation of Tim Burton's film, is the minor dose of video noise that pops up here and there. Still, this is one incredibly solid transfer that isn't even close to what past DVD releases of Batman have looked like. Impressive! (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc which you will be able to play on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).
Batman arrives on Blu-ray as a Pan-European release. What this means is that on this disc you will find a multitude of audio options that make it easy to sell in a number of different countries. These are the audio tracks Warner have supplied: English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Castellan: Dolby Digital 2.0, French: Dolby Digital 2.0, Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0, Portuguese: Dolby Digital 1.0, and Spanish: Dolby Digital 1.0.
I opted for the English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track and did a few random comparisons with the English Dolby Digital 5.1 track. To make a long story short, the gap in quality between the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track and the Dolby Digital 5.1 track is substantial. To be honest, I am quite surprised to hear such an improvement since both bass and rear channel activity are far more impressive on the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 than they are on the Dolby Digital 5.1 track. This being said, the dialog is crystal clear and very easy to follow. I am unsure whether or not Warner spent time restoring the audio elements they had in possession, but it is fairly clear to me that with this new Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track a lot of people will be experiencing Batman in a whole new way. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report here. For the record, Warner have also provided the following optional subtitle-options for the main feature: English, English HOH, French, German, German HOH, Italian, Italian HOH, Castellan, Dutch, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Traditional Chinese, and Korean.
This Blu-ray disc offers an overwhelming amount of supplemental materials. The first extra is the old commentary with director Tim Burton where he talks about how Warner approached Batman, how he wanted to change people's perception about the cartoon hero, and precisely how he wanted his film to look like. Unlike other commentaries that we often hear on Blu-ray and DVD, Tim Burton's analysis of Batman is really as fascinating as the actual film is (the commentary comes with optional Chinese and Korean subtitles). On the Set With Bob Kane tells us more about the creator of Batman and his contribution to Tim Burton's film. Next is Legends of the Dark Knight: The History of Batman. As the title suggests, this featurette focuses on the history of the comic character as well as its impact on a number of different generations. Next is Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight, parts 1-3 (the three parts are The Road to Gotham City, The Gathering Story, and The Legend Reborn), a large documentary on the creation of the film and Tim Burton's desire to capture the true spirit of Bob Kane's comics. Batman: The Heroes and Batman: The Villain are two short character analyses where the filmmakers, cast and fans are given an opportunity to comment on the key players in the film. Batman: The Complete ROBIN Storyboard Sequence is an animated visualization of a scene taken from an early draft of the script that includes Robin, using the film's original pre-production storyboards. Finally, there are three Music Videos by Prince (Batdance, Partyman, and Scandalous). The original theatrical trailer is also included. (Note: All of the extras discussed above are perfectly playable on Region-A Blu-ray hardware. Where appropriate, all of the extras are also subtitled in English, French, German, Italian, Castellan, Dutch, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Chinese Traditional, and Korean).
Tim Burton's Batman arrives on Blu-ray with an exceptionally pleasing transfer. On top of everything else, the UK disc herein reviewed is also Region-Free. Frankly, if you are a fan of the comic hero, this disc is a must-own. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
1989
1989
Ultimate Collector's Edition
1989
Titans of Cult
1989
1989
DC Line Look / Collectible Sleeve
1989
25th Anniversary | Diamond Luxe Edition
1989
Limited Edition
1989
25th Anniversary
1989
1992
1995
1997
Director's Cut
2003
The Punisher 2: War Zone
2008
2014
Two-Disc Director's Cut
2009
2005
2014
2004
2009
2008
The Adventures of Batman & Robin
1992-1995
Drive Angry in 2D and 3D
2011
Will Eisner's The Spirit
2008
1998
2020
Extended Cut
2007
2020
2012