Bat-ray Disc Review |
Release Date: July 01, 2008. Rating:   / Starring: Adam West (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Burt Ward (Robin/Dick Grayson), Lee Merriwether (The Catwoman), Cesar Romero (The Joker), Burgess Meredith (The Penguin), Frank Gorshin (The Riddler) Written by: Lorenzo Semple Jr. Directed by: Leslie H. Martinson He’s Here Big As Life In A Real Bat-Epic. Commissioner Gordon: It could be any one of them... But which one? Which ones? Batman: Pretty *fishy* what happened to me on that ladder... Commissioner Gordon: You mean where there's a fish there could be a penguin? Robin: But wait! It happened at sea... Sea. C for Catwoman! Batman: Yet, an exploding shark *was* pulling my leg... Commissioner Gordon: The Joker! Chief O'Hara: All adds up to a sinister riddle... Riddle-R. Riddler! Commissioner Gordon: A thought strikes me... So dreadful I scarcely dare give it utterance... Batman: The four of them... Their forces combined... Robin: Holy nightmare! This conversation explains it all. The whole movie summed up in a conversation (with branching subplots, of course). I couldn’t help but laugh and raise an eyebrow. This conversation happens just after Batman applies Shark Repellent to the shark that was biting on to his leg, after Batman beat it silly making a sound so similar to that of taking a rubber mallet to a rubber barrel. Then the shark explodes. If I were any younger and I never knew the Batman television series I’d be saying LOL OMG WTF? But…I understand. While today’s generation knows Christopher Nolan’s Batman, I grew up with Tim Burton’s Batman after watching the ‘60’s television series as an ‘80’s child. So I was a bit shocked to see the Dark Knight not so dark once Burton got a hold of it. No more POW! punches or silly one-liners. No more colours popping off the screen. While Burton’s vision worked and was widely accepted, the post-Burton Batman and Robin and Batman Forever, which I think attempted to merge the look and campy feeling of the ‘60s series didn’t quite work. There is nothing like the original. So here we are now, in 2008, with even darker revisions of Batman in the theatres under the direction of Nolan (which work very well, by the way – no complaints here), and it’s a stark contrast to Fox’s Blu-ray edition of Batman: The Movie made in 1966. This film continues the same approach that the television series took: not serious and all fun and games even if someone gets hurt. You must love it for what it is even if you think it’s inconceivable. It popularized the superhero. It made him what he is today. Even superheroes must start with an embarrassing part of their career. But I think if you ask Batman himself, I don’t think he regrets his origins. He’d also probably say that people are “too serious” these days.  VIDEO QUALITY / Batman looks much better than I thought it was going to. When the opening credits came up, I wasn’t sure what I was in for. The edges of credits were slightly blurred and the image was alright, but immediately afterwards I knew I misinterpreted the image. In fact I believe Batman looks very good. I’m very impressed with the film’s rather high contrast. No matter the scene, the image seemed to look brightly lit without looking washed out or with clipping whites. This made the colours stand out; the campy costumes of our heroes and villains never seemed to miss a shade of accuracy. Different colour tones stood out in the image and were not drowned in a haze of murkiness or weak shadow detail. Resolution is also very fine. The distance between foreground and background is very distinct and actors seem to be finely focussed in the shot. A good consistently solid black level helps this. Textures of the costumes are nicely rendered that one could view this Blu-ray disc and replicate it detail for detail for Halloween (that’s all I’d use it for). I don’t think the Batcave has ever been displayed with such fine detail and tiny text is more legible then it will ever be in SD. Catwoman looks simply delicious and Batman is…well…Adam West in tights. The aspect ratio is preserved at 1.85:1 with most of the “black bar” at the top of the screen. I did not see evidence of compression artefacts and no edge enhancement is visible. AUDIO QUALITY / I’m pleasantly surprised with the high quality 5.1 repurposing of this soundtrack! It’s actually very good! Aside from the constant (but mild) hiss from the center speaker, there isn’t too much else that makes this soundtrack dated. Sure, sound effects don’t have the wider dynamic range and “freedom” of high-profile modern soundtracks, but the somewhat congested and restricted upper-bass effects found here can’t be distinguished from the many soundtracks of the ‘80s and very early ‘90s having similar tone. The treble is very good as well, hinting a bit on the hot side. Dialogue sounds like it was recorded yesterday. When Bruce Wayne and Kitka are speaking about dreaming in their romantic ride in the horse and carriage, the words are extremely articulate, clean, and unrestrained. Never did the center channel information feel like it was too loud or boxy. The jazzy music soundtrack is in excellent shape and is mixed nicely with all other elements. The soundstage is also very wide and deep in the front (a common sound from the era that I wish I’d hear more of today) and it also extends into the surrounds. Surrounds are also 100% discrete from each other as you can hear clicking and beeping in the Batcave behind you, or, as heard in Chapter 8 when the sub missile is fired at Batman and Robin, it explodes in the rear channels with some good bass and extra LFE rumble. TACTILE FUN!! / TRANSDUCER ON/OFF?: ON A few explosions in the film are dedicated to the LFE channel and give a good rumble. Using a bass shaker actually enhances this dated soundtrack! Who would have thunk? SPECIAL FEATURES / I’m surprised that Fox went all out delivering plenty of special features for Batman fans, some of it in high definition as well. Let’s start with the audio:
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