BATMAN (1989) & sequels (STREET DATE: Oct. 18, 2005) (1 Viewer)

[Nick Martin]

To me, the music never quite achieves the same "discrete" (for lack of a better word) quality as other composers like John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Danny Elfman, or James Horner (I'm not referring to self-plagiarism here - that's another thread).

Horner's always going to be my favorite, (and I almost took that 'self plagiarism' mention the wrong way, but I realize, hopefully, that you weren't referring to him specifically) but I agree about the whole 'high school marching band' style of Goldenthal's Batman scores...that was what I didn't like about 'Batman & Robin' -he took his 'Forever' theme, which was bold, flamboyant, yet was elegantly performed, and turned it into a 'saturday morning cartoon' version for that last movie...terrible performance...full-on high school band at work there.

 

[Vader]

Horner's always going to be my favorite

He is one of my faves as well. Although he does borrow from his own work, I can't think of a composer who does not. In any case, I did not mean that as a slight against Mr. Horner at all. His work on Krull, and on Zorro are two particular standouts for me....

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Hey guys,

A little discussion about the film
is fine, but we have gotten too far
away from the DVD itself and more
into the film, its characters and score.

Let's move thsi over to the MOVIES area.

I also ask that you be respectful of
other member opinions when it comes to
comparing these films including their
directors.

Thank You.

 

[TonyD]

there is no batman topic that i could find, unless the batman begins discussion topic is meant.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...39#post2844339


i guess i'l ask about batman killing someone in the first burton, over there.

 

[Vader]

My apologies, Ron .... No offence was meant. And, I am in the absolute last position to be disrespectful of another's cinematic opionions (I loved both Van Helsing and Godzilla...)

 

[Ray H]

Getting back on topic, I actually finished watching all four films and their extras on Friday. Nice set. I'm a bit disappointed they couldn't get more actors to do interviews for the DVD. I guess it's the curse of having all star casts. Maybe Michael Keaton doesn't like publicity, but they got Jack to do interviews! I guess George Clooney's too busy, but he seems to have a good sense of humor when it comes to Batman and Robin. The only Batman they got was Val Kilmer and it was nice to hear his comments.

 

[Larry Sutliff]

I tried to watch BATMAN & ROBIN last night, but I couldn't get past the surfing through the sky scene. I watched the documentaries, and lots of talent and money was poured into the film. Too bad they couldn't come up with a good script, or the right tone. Chris O'Donnell said that he felt like he was making a giant toy commercial, and that's exactly what the finished film looks like.

 

[TheBat]

keaton did a commentary track on the movie white noise.. he might have been busy making a movie or so when they needed to do the interviews or something.

JACOB

 

[Jim Barg]

The Shadows of the Bat docs were uniformly excellent, and I found the Forever/B&R sections interesting.

I got a kick out of both Schumacher and Goldsman almost trying to pass the buck on B&R towards the studio. I got the sense that Schumacher was ready to scream out "IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" during his B&R interviews, but he pulled back and took the blame like he should. (Goldsman, on the other hand, seemed pretty defiant. Then again, an Oscar will do that to you.)

As for the movies, haven't watched either Returns or Forever yet. Batman is still pretty good, but the 20 minutes or so of B&R that I watched made me very thankful that I didn't spend money on it in 1997, as I probably would have walked out. (This is from someone who absolutely loved Forever, mind you.)

 

[Sam Davatchi]

So I got all the 4 movies and been watching one movie per night and tonight finished “Batman Forever”. I remember that when I saw “Batman Forever” initially, I liked it. Now I’m 10 years older “and wiser!” and was wondering how I would react to it. Anyway surprisingly I didn’t even need a warm-up, from the first minute I started to hate the movie, to the end. I can’t believe I actually liked this movie 10 years ago! It’s just a big giant candy and I got sick eating it! I dread tomorrow night when I’m going to watch Batman and Robin!

It’s funny because in the documentaries they bash so much how bad the television series were and how they hurt the Batman franchise and yet Batman 3 – 4 turned out like them. They just feel like a comedy, like a parody of Batman!

Now let’s get to the Burton’s movies. Of course of the 4, I only like these 2 now. Comparing them, they actually feel like 2 different movies. The first one feels and looks more realistic, the second one looks more fantasy and is maybe closer to Burton’s bizarre universe.

I kind of understand why people like the second one less because I think it’s a more difficult movie. It’s easier to like the first one. It’s easier to hate the Joker. The Penguin is not a villain, he is a victim and you feel his pain and anger. I felt empathy for him. In terms of character development, I feel Batman Returns is better and more complex. I’m just amazed by what he has done with the Penguin character.

Anyway, in short what I love the most in the first one is the realistic look and in the second, the character development and everything about Penguin.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

I just watched Batman Returns... is it just my setup or is the transfer excessively dark?

I literally had to turn the brightness level up to max. on my projector remote just to be able to watch it. I stopped the film at least three times to adjust the levels because I couldn't see anything happening on screen. Everything was lost in blacks with the detail hidden in the shadows.

I had my pj calibrated this past August. The levels might have been a little off, but nothing to this effect...

Am O the only one who experienced this was the transfer on Batman Retunrs?

 

[Mark Lucas]

I didn't find the transfer excessively dark. In fact, the black level is a little hot most of the time.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

I realized that it was my setup, I spent 4 hours fiddling with it last night and it's a complete mess.

I don't understand how it happened, I never touched any of the levels, my hardware was calibrated only a couple of months ago and just two weeks ago everything looked great.

Now no matter what I do, I can't get the brightness to an accurate setting. I can't see any detail in the blacks at all, it looks like I'm watching movies through dark sunglasses. The only thing I can do is boost the levels so high until they look blownout and hazy.

Is it possible that my lamp needs to be replaced, I've only been using the pj since August?

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

I know this is pretty off-topic, but is there any way to fix this accurately without DVE or should I go pick that up this afternoon?

 

[Dharmesh C]

Don't know about you guys but the Shadow of the Bat documentary was underwhelming.
They skim over Tom Mankiewicz's involvement, they don't even talk about the special effects, or the other technical stuff.
I wanted more details on Mankiewicz's script etcetc

One of the more disappointing NWE documentaries.

 

[Sam Davatchi]

they don't even talk about the special effects, or the other technical stuff.

Maybe I don't understand but have you checked the Beyond Batman on each movie? It's exactly what you want. Technical stuff for around an hour on each disc.

 

[Dave Simkiss]

Actually I gotta agree with Dharmesh, the DVD's didn't go as indepth as say... the Alien quadrilogy suppliments. Maybe we are just spoilt these days, but I was expecting more. The Batman docu's were good, but not even close to bar raising.

Is this the company that will be producing the extra's on the potential Superman DVD's? If so - I hope they wont be as 'fluffy' as the Batman suppliments.

 

[TheBat]

batman returns will be in HD next month.
on cinemax.
HBO Schedule: BATMAN RETURNS

I thought some fans might be interested.

Jacob

 

[Fabien Renelli]

Hi folks,
It seems nearly impossible to order the Batman and Batman Returns Special Editions on line as every retailer indicates the items are discontinued.
How can I order them?... Do you know a place on line where I can still find them?
Thanks.

 

[FranklinC]

Hmmm... you're right, and used sets are going for $189.00.

I'm wondering if I should sell my set, which I bought for $40.00, and make a nice little profit. Couldn't be a better time for it, what with the current Bat-mania.