digitalfreaknyc

TMC? The Movie Channel? Why wouldn't it be uncut?

canaryfarmer

Whoops--meant TCM (Turner Classic Movies). Sorry. I wasn't saying I expected it to be cut in any way, just that having just seen the movie again, I'm not in such a rush to buy the dvd right away as I probably won't watch it for awhile.

jmj713

I find it weird that people are avoiding the 1989-1997 box due to Batman Begins. I enjoyed Begins as much as anyone, but the preceding films still hold a very special place in my heart, which I can't say for Begins - though it is a great film in its own right.

digitalfreaknyc

Ditto. I liked BB a lot more the second time I saw it but the first time was just as hard to accept as the first time I saw Batman Forever. i wanted michael keaton back.

VERY happy that these are coming. I sold my original editions MONTHS ago in anticipation.

Rogue588

Actually, I find it quite funny. That said, i'll be avoiding the recent reissue of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory since Charlie & the Chocolate Factory was much better.

Depp IS Wonka.

LivingINClip

Agree'd to an extent, but I think you also have to look back and realize that the '89 version is goin' to hold a special place for one reason, it was the first serious Batman film. Doesn't mean it was a better film, as much as I love it, I think Begins was a far superior film.

PopcornTreeCt

Well, in my opinion Batman Begins doesn't hold a candle to Burton's Batman. The original Batman films were all staples of my childhood growing up. I saw Batman Forever twice in the theatre, 2 days in a row. They all hold a special place even Batman & Robin. Batman Begins was good but it's a distant 2nd to Burton's masterpiece.

Cellar Door

Man, I can remember standing in a long, long line to get tickets to see Batman on opening night in 1989. Batman t-shirts and merchandise were EVERYWHERE you looked. The hype was tremendous.

I've been holding off for a looong time waiting for these SE's. I'll be getting Batman, Batman Returns, and Batman Begins.

Batman Forever was terribly disappointing to me when it came out. It has moments, but ultimately is a failure. When I went to see Batman and Robin at the theater, I fell asleep and missed the entire second half. When it came out on video, I tried to watch it and fell asleep again. On the third try I was able to stay awake, and was astounded at how awful it was.

No box set for me!

Josh Z

You obviously haven't seen The Thomas Crown Affair.

Cameron

to bad they didn't let aintitcool harry to do a commentary for the final film...They let the critics lash out at the matrix movies for the box set....i think this would have gotten some people back in for a listen

DVDOtaku13

The extra features sound excellente! I'll get the Anthology box set not only for the Burton films but I gotta listen to that B&R commentary track and hear Schumacher discuss his "masterpiece".

Here's where I think the B89 and BR SEs come up a little short...

I'm disappointed that the only commentary will be Burton himself and not a dual-commentary with some of the cast, at least Keaton. How great would it have been to hear Keaton and Burton together(don't tell me he passed this up to do Herbie)? Sure hope there are at least some good retrospective interviews. Or maybe a Burton w/Danny Elfman track, or better yet an isolated commentary track with Elfman alone! The music scores are such a big part of the films it's unimaginable that they couldn't get a commentary track, aw well at least there will be the music featurette on the first extra disc. The Pee-Wee SE DVD scores on both accounts, so why not Batman?

Other than that, only the lack of deleted scenes and more than one trailer keep them back from being just about perfect SE releases. Perhaps when they're re-released later on HD-DVD or Blu-ray, one can hope...

Fincher Fan

I can barely get through a paragraph of his "reviews" so I don't need him stinking up Batman.

CertifiedTHX

Same here. Loved Batman Begins, but it didn't take away my appetite for the others. Still love Burton's take. Quite nostalgic about the first. Looking forward very much to the anthology set.

--THX

Nick Martin

It's almost as though they are falling short of their true potential- because in all these years those few extra goodies you mentioned (isolated score, Keaton/Elfman commentary tracks, deleted scenes we all know exist, if for no other reason than those Topps movie cards) could have been found, restored, and included....but chose not to.

Cameron

wondering about this still. I remember reading that Tim burton originally recorded a commentary, but found it boring...so he re-recorded with a special guest...many assumed would be Keaton, I have not heard anything else.

Nick Martin

apparently, some of the extras are missing from the press release. The BBFC lists some additional extras, such as "Inside the Elfman Studio: The Music Of Batman Returns", as well as the list of "Forever" deleted scenes.

This is thanks to an HTF member who revealed these.

Ojam

wouldn't it be awesome if it was Kevin Smith?!

Cellar Door

Oh God, NO!

The Valeyard

Ewwww!

DVDOtaku13

Someone posted this in the Batman forum at Superherohype, the official runtimes for most of the extra featurettes and some new info, including the titles of the BF deleted scenes(all 7 of them).

Batman: Two-Disc Special Edition
Digitally Remastered Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer- Approx. 126m
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Track- Approx. 126m
English DTS 5.1 Surround Track- Approx. 126m
Audio Commentary with Director Tim Burton- Approx. 126m
Legends of the Dark Knight: The History of Batman Documentary- ?
Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Parts 1, 2 & 3
- The Road to Gotham City- 17m 44s
- The Gathering Storm- 22m 57s
- The Legend Reborn- ?
Beyond Batman Documentary Gallery Including:
- Visualizing Gotham: The Production Design of Batman- 10m 23s
- Building the Batmobile- 9m 23s
- Those Wonderful Toys: The Props and Gadgets of Batman- 6m 1s
- Designing the Batsuit- ?
- From Jack to Joker- 10m 37s
- Nocturnal Overtures: The Music of Batman- 7m 3s
Batdance-6m 57s (Long Version), Partyman-3m 59s (Short Version) and Scandalous-4m 15s Music Videos by Prince
The Heroes and The Villains Profile Galleries
- Heroes: Batman- 4m 53s, Vicky Vale- 1m 55s[/B], Alexander Knox- 1m 34s, Commisioner Gordon- 1m 53s
- Villians: The Joker- 4m 58s
Batman: The Complete Robin Storyboard Sequence- 4m 22s
On the Set with Bob Kane Featurette- 2m 30s
Batman Theatrical Trailer- ?

^^Approx. 122 minutes (2 hours and 2 minutes!) of special features! This does NOT include commentary.

Batman Returns: Two-Disc Special Edition
Digitally Remastered Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer- Approx. 126m
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Track- Approx. 126m
English DTS 5.1 Surround Track- Approx. 126m
Audio Commentary with Director Tim Burton- Approx. 126m
The Bat, The Cat and The Penguin Cast Recollections- 22m 37s
Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Part 4
- The Dark Side of the Dark Knight- ?
Beyond Batman Documentary Gallery featuring:
- Gotham City Revisited: The Production Design of Batman Returns- 11m 23s
- Sleek, Sexy and Sinister: The Costumes of Batman Returns- [B]13m 27s
- Making Up the Penguin- 8m 12s
- Assembling the Arctic Army- 9m 30s
- Bats, Mattes and Dark Nights: The Visual Effects of Batman Returns- 11m 34s
(NEW!) -Inside the Danny Elfman Studio: The Music of Batman Returns- 11m 22s
Face to Face Music Video by Siouxsie and the Banshees- 4m 18s
The Heroes and The Villains Profile Galleries
- Heroes: Batman- 3m 3s, Alfred- 3m 58s
-Villians: The Penguin- 4m 26s, Catwoman- 4m 29s, Max Shreck- 2m 16s
Batman Returns Theatrical Trailer- ?

^^Approx. 109 minutes (1 hour and 49 minutes) of special features! This does NOT include commentary.

Batman Forever: Two-Disc Special Edition
Digitally Remastered Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer- Approx. 122m
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Track- Approx. 122m
English DTS 5.1 Surround TrackAudio Commentary with Director Joel Schumacher- Approx. 122m
Riddle Me This: Why is Batman Forever?-23m 23s
Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Part 5
- Reinventing a Hero- 28m 28s
Beyond Batman Documentary Gallery featuring:
- Out of the Shadows: The Production Design of Batman Forever-12m 38s
- The Many Faces of Gotham City- 13m 42s
- Knight Moves: The Stunts of Batman Forever- 5m 41s
- Imaging Forever: The Visual Effects of Batman Forever- 7m 5s
- Scoring Forever: The Music of Batman Forever- 6m 25s
Kiss From a Rose Music Video by Seal- 3m 54s
Selection of Additional Scenes- 13m 45s

BATMAN FOREVER - DVD - (7) X DELETED SCENES

00:O1:48:O5 ESCAPE FROM ARKHAM
00:O1:41:O8 DELETED SCENE - TWO FACE'S HATE
00:O0:45:12 BEAUTY AND THE BATMAN
00:O1:24:24 DICK'S PAIN
00:O3:18:16 BRUCE'S DELIMMA
00:O4:23:O6 THE SECRET OF THE BATCAVE
00:O0:23:O7 DOES IT EVER END?

The Heroes and The Villains Profile Galleries
- Heroes: Robin- 2m 51s, Dr. Chase Meridian- 2m 6s
- Villians: Two-Face- 2m 30s, The Riddler- 4m 13s
Batman: Forever Theatrical Trailer- ?

^^Approx. 127 minutes (2 hours and 7 minutes) of special features! This does NOT include commentary.

Most of the runtime info for the fourth film wasn't available(does anyone really care?). I'm glad there's a music featurette for Returns, which I guess kinda makes up for the lack of an isolated music commentary track.

Nick Martin

yeah, kinda...It is strange though, with several of Burton's films with WB (and Fox for "Edward Scissorhands") having them.

yellowbedwetter

:O .

Rogue588

wtf? "short" version??

Nick Martin

If anyone has that Prince Batman album, checking the length of the song on it might give an idea as to how much shorter this video will be.

Rogue588

The "Album Version" is 3:11.

The "Video Version" is 6:11.

And the "Extended Video" I have on my...."unofficial" Prince DVD collection is 5.54.