Batman

1989 Action/Adventure

Behind the black cowl, Gotham City superhero Batman is really millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton), who turned to crimefighting after his parents were brutally murdered before his eyes. The only person to share Wayne's secret is faithful butler Alfred (Michael Gough). The principal villain in Batman is The Joker (Jack Nicholson) who'd been mob torpedo Jack Napier before he was horribly disfigured in a vat of acid. The Joker's plan to destroy Batman and gain control of Gotham City is manifold. First he distributes a line of booby-trapped cosmetics, then he goes on a destruction spree in the Gotham Art Museum while the music of Prince blasts away in the background, and finally he orchestrates an all-out campaign to win the hearts and minds of the Gothamites, hoping to turn them against the Cowled One. Meanwhile, reporter Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) becomes the love of Batman's life-which of course plays right into the Joker's hands. Photographed by Roger Pratt, designed by Anton Furst, and scored by Tim Burton's favorite composer Danny Elfman, Batman was a monstrous box-office hit, making $100 million in the first ten days of release--$82,800,000 in North America alone. Incidentally, Billy Dee Williams' comparatively small role as DA Harvey Dent was originally designed to set up the sequel, wherein Dent was to convert into master criminal Two-Face; but by the time the producers got around to that character in 1995's Batman Forever, Two-Face was played by Tommy Lee Jones. more..

Director: Tim Burton

Starring: Michael Keaton,Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger,Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle

Reviews

  • It's a rare, beautifully made movie that offers you another world.

    Mick LaSalle - The San Francisco Chronicle

    29 November 2012

  • The movie fixes you in its gravitational pull. It's an enveloping, walk-in vision... As rich and satisfying a movie as you're likely to see all year.

    - The Washington Post

    29 November 2012

  • The Batblast of the summer.

    Desson Thomson - The Washington Post

    29 November 2012

  • There's a cold intelligence at work here. Though its pleasures are plentiful enough to reward a second viewing, only Nicholson has saved Warners from a wing-clip.

    Mike Clark - USA Today

    29 November 2012

  • Burton's Gotham City-constructed on a massive sound stage in London- is a striking blend of spindly gothic, decaying art deco and broodingly bland institutional architecture that seems to lie just a couple of subway stops down from Ridley Scott's ''Blade Runner'' and Terry Gilliam's ''Brazil.'' It's great to look at, but we seem to have been here before.

    Dave Kehr - The Chicago Tribune

    29 November 2012

Awards

  • Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures

    ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards (1990)

  • Best Art Direction-Set Decoration

    Academy Awards (1990)

  • Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (1991)

  • Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)

    American Comedy Awards (1990)

     
  • Best Actor in a Supporting Role

    BAFTA Awards (1990)