Batman: The Long Halloween - Part One Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Batman: The Long Halloween - Part One Blu-ray Movie Review

A Holiday affair.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III June 17, 2021

First appearing as a 13-issue limited comic series by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale, Batman: The Long Halloween is a slowly-unfolding murder mystery that, in many ways, is a spiritual successor to Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli's Year One (a personal favorite of yours truly which was also made into an animated movie in 2011). Taking place during Batman's early days in Gotham City, the story also features up-and- coming D.A. Harvey Dent and police Captain James Gordon, who work with Batman to figure out the identity of a serial killer that's been murdering victims once per month on major holidays. Also appearing are Catwoman and other established members of the Rogues Gallery (The Joker, Mad Hatter, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, and The Riddler) and even a few lesser-known villains (Calendar Man, Solomon Grundy), creating a well-rounded and perfectly woven tale that, for many Batman fans, is at or near the level of all- time classics including The Dark Knight Returns, A Death in the Family and, of course, Year One itself.

The aptly-named The Long Halloween - Part One is the first of two successive films in DC's ever-expanding animated universe, and the sixteenth (!) to prominently feature Batman. It's a stylish 85-minute production that admirably attempts to condense the first portion of this fan-favorite limited series into a sleek, screen-ready thriller.

It's difficult to summarize The Long Halloween: Part One without too many spoilers, but here goes: when Johnny Viti, the nephew of mob boss Carmine "The Roman" Falcone (Titus Welliver), is brutally murdered on Halloween night, the resulting investigation by James Gordon (Billy Burke), Harvey Dent (Josh Duhamel), and Batman (Jensen Ackles) leads to the discovery of a literal warehouse full of laundered money with the help of Catwoman (Naya Rivera, in her final film role). While our heroes struggle to balance the investigation with their personal lives -- Gordon with his young children, Dent with his unhappy wife Gilda (Julie Nathanson), and Bruce Wayne with his sorta-girlfriend Selina Kyle -- the single murder turns into a series of killings, next on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Their search eventually leads them to Arkham Asylum and one of its residents, Calendar Man (David Dastmalchian), who offers hints about the killer's identity -- who, for now, is nicknamed "Holiday" -- that establish a list of suspects including The Joker (Troy Baker), Carmine Falcone, rival crime boss Sal Maroni (Jim Pirri), and a few others... including Harvey Dent himself, whose behavior has become increasingly erratic after being attacked by gang members. Part One wraps up on a snowy New Year's Eve when two parties are interrupted: Joker attempts to gas innocent partygoers on Gotham City streets, while a charity dinner aboard Carmine Falcone's yacht is crashed by a mystery person carrying a familiar-looking gun.

It's a well-seasoned production overall and a fine adaptation of the source material thus far, with mostly introductory elements trimmed as well as a few light side-plots and exchanges either removed or glossed over. The spirit and mood of the original books is largely intact, while the visual style partially evokes Batman: The Animated Series rather than aping the style of Tim Sale, although a few panels from the books can be seen during the opening credits. It's paced very well and, while this obviously doesn't feel like a stand-alone feature, neither does it play like something that's been thoughtlessly chopped off at the end. I've got a feeling that die- hard fans will really enjoy it.

But of course, Part One of this animated adaptation -- which was directed by relative newcomer Chris Palmer, who also helmed the surprisingly great Superman: Man of Tomorrow -- is only half the story. (Structure-wise, it's actually closer to one-third, as it encompasses the original 13-part series' first four issues.) Part Two is slated for digital release on 7/26 and Blu-ray on 8/10; a deluxe edition containing both parts, similar to The Dark Knight Returns, is set to be announced for 4K UHD later this year. Unavoidably, this film will be seen as "the lesser half": The Long Halloween is, by design, a slow-burn story with a big payoff, which makes Part One feel more like a dress rehearsal for the main event. But it's still an enjoyable and well-made film on its own terms with solid technical merits including attractive animation, great voice acting, and of course a number of excellent twists, turns, familiar faces, and a pretty damn good cliffhanger. For now, we can at least have it on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Bros., but I've got some bad news: this is a somewhat underwhelming disc with a so-so A/V presentation and only a few lightweight bonus features.

Batman: The Long Halloween - Part One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As evidenced by these screenshots, The Long Halloween employs DC's line-heavy visual design that debuted with Superman: Man of Tomorrow and continued with Justice Society: World War II. I'm a big fan of this style: it's bold and pleasing to the eye, often using well-defined close ups and dynamic compositions that stand in great contrast with the painterly backgrounds, even if the frame-rate occasionally leaves something to be desired. Of course, Gotham City is bathed in many more shadows than the locales of both previously-mentioned movies, and that's where the best and worst of Warner Bros.' 1080p transfer can been seen. The good news is that color reproduction and fine detail are uniformly excellent, especially where textured backgrounds and busier compositions are concerned. Weather effects, including a rainstorm during Batman's rooftop pursuit of Catwoman and the final act's snowfall, are well-rendered and almost hypnotic at times. Saturation looks great with only the boldest of reds prone to slight bleeding.

Unfortunately, harsh banding and artifacts all but ruin a number of scenes, and they seem to get worse as the film progresses. This byproduct of bad compression -- which probably would have been slightly alleviated with a dual-layered disc -- absolutely plagues flat greys and deep shadows, creating very noticeable striping that almost gives certain scenes a cel-shaded appearance that sticks out like a sore thumb. Depending on your setup, of course, this problem may not be as evident. But it sure looked noticeable to me and, though it doesn't dominate the film's running time, it's a serious enough flaw to warrant at a hefty deduction in the video rating. I'd imagine these problems will be solved on the eventual 4K release, but I hope Part Two's Blu-ray transfer is at least handled more carefully.

Batman: The Long Halloween - Part One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Inarguably more impressive is the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix, which serves up an equally heavy atmosphere but with none of the compression-related drawbacks of the 1080p transfer. This is a nicely defined track with excellent placement, crisp dialogue, good use of the surround channels, and an overall attention to detail that better reflects the care put into this animated adaptation. Although action scenes are few and far between, fist-fights and other scuffles pack a wallop, as do stray moments like the rooftop thunderstorm, the New Year's Eve fireworks display, the sunken depths of the sewer tunnels where Batman encounters Solomon Grundy, a handful of chaotic shootouts, Joker's aerial assault, a bomb explosion, and of course the echoing halls of Arkham Asylum. It's just an enjoyable and immersive track overall, and one that doesn't suffer from any perceivable distortion, drop-outs, or sync issues.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are offered during the main feature and most of the extras.

Batman: The Long Halloween - Part One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in an eco-friendly keepcase with attractive cover art, a matching slipcover, and a Digital Copy slip. The on-board extras are thin but enjoyable, with presumably more to come on the follow-up discs.

• DC Showcase Animated Short: "The Losers" (16:04) - This all-new animated short -- based on the comic series created by Robert Kanigher in 1969 that was later re-launched as a Vertigo title in 2004 -- follows a diverse group of WWII outcasts (Captain Storm, Henry "Mile-a-Minute" Jones, Gunner, Sarge, Pooch, Johnny Cloud, and Chinese Special Agent Fan Long) as they explore an uncharted South Pacific island inhabited by prehistoric beasts in search of a few missing scientists... and maybe something else. It's fun enough on its own terms, but the animation is very stiff and jerky -- it looks like 8 frames per second at the very most.

• Sneak Peek of "Batman: The Long Halloween - Part Two" (9:10) - This preview of the story's second half (again, slated for digital release on 7/26 and Blu-ray on 8/10, with a combined 4K release to follow later in the year) includes a handful of finished clips but is mostly comprised of still images, concept artwork, and interviews with a few key members of the voice cast and crew. I'll obviously keep it spoiler-free, but this animated follow-up -- which will be rated R, unlike the PG-13 first half -- should be pretty intense.

• A Preview of "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Part One" (12:36) - This 2017 featurette was originally included on Batman and Harley Quinn and is pretty much only here to pad out the extras.

• A Preview of "Batman: Gotham by Gaslight" (8:30) - Ditto. It's even recycled from the same disc!

• From the Vault - Two vintage episodes of the seminal Batman: The Animated Series, which are always worth a spin. Both look and sound more or less identical to their counterparts on the complete series set.

• Christmas With The Joker (22:22)
• It's Never Too Late (22:24)

Batman: The Long Halloween - Part One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In many ways, Warner Bros.' release strategy for Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One feels like the film itself: a warm-up for bigger and better things. The main feature itself is very enjoyable with a number of solid narrative setups, attractive animation, and great voice acting that should please fans of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's original limited series. But this Blu-ray's 1080p transfer shows room for improvement and the extras are thin for the asking price, which hampers a strong recommendation. Since the full two-part show will be announced as a UHD release later this year (which was a very thoughtful heads-up by the studio), I wouldn't blame anyone with a 4K setup for waiting.