Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Batman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 8, 2009

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

The evil Joker (Jack Nicholson) and his goons are roaming the streets of Gotham City. With the police unable to control crime, and people growing increasingly frustrated with a streak of chemical poisonings, it is a matter of time before he takes over.

A beautiful young reporter (Kim Basinger) arrives in town hoping to deliver the story of her career. While looking for Batman, a mysterious character clad in a black bulletproof costume seen fighting the Joker’s goons, she encounters an eccentric billionaire (Michael Keaton) who takes a liking to her. Making little progress in her search to locate Batman, the reporter turns to her new friend for help. In the meantime, something very, very unusual happens.

Tim Burton’s vision of Gotham City is dark and at times notably depressing. It is also incredibly futuristic. Gotham City's massive skyscrapers, large industrial buildings, and streets covered with garbage are quite similar to what Alex Proyas introduced in his Gothic thriller Dark City (1998). Yet, the two films could not be any more different. Or, are they?

When Batman premiered back in 1989 the critics did not like what they saw. A wild and perversely entertaining Jack Nicholson, a beautiful and fittingly naïve Kim Basinger, and a surprisingly cocky Michael Keaton rubbed many of them the wrong way. Some, including Chicago-based Roger Ebert, concluded that even though Batman was classified as PG-13, it was not for kids.

Now, let’s fast-forward to 1998. Dark City arrived, Roger Ebert loved it, and when New Line Cinema released it on DVD he delivered what is arguably one of the best commentaries ever recorded for a Hollywood film. So, what did Roger Ebert like about Dark City? Aside from the script, the famous critic was impressed with the film’s atmosphere, the heavy dark overtones that Alex Proyas managed to infuse the narrative with.

There are a couple of reasons why I decided to mention Roger Ebert’s fascination with Dark City. First, I believe that Burton’s visualization of Gotham City set a standard for other directors to imitate in their films. Alex Proyas’ Gothic overtones in Dark City are precisely that – an enhanced version of Tim Burton’s concept of Gotham City.

Second, with the exception of the Joker, the main characters in Batman are so flawed, they actually feel surprisingly real (indeed, quite an achievement for a comic-hero motion picture). As a result, the farther we get into Batman, the darker and more depressing the film becomes.

Third, Batman is a stylishly violent film. Yes, there are a few scenes that go slightly overboard, but they aren’t grotesque or comical. In fact, if you happen to be a fan of the Batman franchise, you would notice that just about everything that makes Christopher Nolan’s recent hit The Dark Knight (2008) worth watching – the nasty Joker, the dark and gloomy atmosphere, and the rated-R violence – is what Tim Burton focused on in his film. Surprised? Don’t be. Batman is that good.

Batman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

Batman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

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).

Batman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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!