View Poll Results: Which is the better movie?
Batman (1989)
67
60.91%
Batman Returns
43
39.09%
Voters: 110. You may not vote on this poll
Batman (1989) vs Batman Returns
08-18-12 | 06:28 PM
#51
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: Batman (1989) vs Batman Returns
Batman holds a special place in my heart so I had to go with that one. I've always liked both films but thought that Returns lacked something.
I need to revisit both films back to back.
I need to revisit both films back to back.
08-18-12 | 06:38 PM
#52
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Batman (1989) vs Batman Returns
This.
While Schumacher gets all the blame heaped on him for Batman's Cinematic Shame Spiral of the 90s, lets not forget that Returns embraced the loony preposterousness whole hog too--and ultimately set that spiral in motion. You want two bad guys teaming up for full campy effect? You got it. You want to bend the laws of physics or reality in general as blatantly as you please? Look no further. You want terrible one-liners like: "Eat floor, more fiber" and god-awful puns being tossed around like a dinghy in a hurricane? You found your movie.
I was 14 years old when this movie came out and I my jaw dropped at different it was from Batman '89. I remember thinking: "The penguins becoming pall bearers for the newly deceased Penguin? Puh-leez."
While Bats 89 had a modicum of silliness, it had decent grounding in its half-way believable settings and characters. It was a clear progenitor of the Nolan-Batman movies.
And lastly: I don't care if the ghost of Fritz Lang gave his ethereal blessing for Batman Returns supposed homage to German Expressionism--its not worth turning the Batman mythos into a silverscreen shit sandwich throughout the 90s.
While Schumacher gets all the blame heaped on him for Batman's Cinematic Shame Spiral of the 90s, lets not forget that Returns embraced the loony preposterousness whole hog too--and ultimately set that spiral in motion. You want two bad guys teaming up for full campy effect? You got it. You want to bend the laws of physics or reality in general as blatantly as you please? Look no further. You want terrible one-liners like: "Eat floor, more fiber" and god-awful puns being tossed around like a dinghy in a hurricane? You found your movie.
I was 14 years old when this movie came out and I my jaw dropped at different it was from Batman '89. I remember thinking: "The penguins becoming pall bearers for the newly deceased Penguin? Puh-leez."
While Bats 89 had a modicum of silliness, it had decent grounding in its half-way believable settings and characters. It was a clear progenitor of the Nolan-Batman movies.
And lastly: I don't care if the ghost of Fritz Lang gave his ethereal blessing for Batman Returns supposed homage to German Expressionism--its not worth turning the Batman mythos into a silverscreen shit sandwich throughout the 90s.
There are some cool things in Returns I will admit but as a whole the movie is a pile of shit. Schumacher did more damage overall to Batman on film but Burton definitely started it with Batman Returns and it's campiness. The best Batman to come out in the 90s is Batman: The Animated Series and the movies that came out with it.
08-18-12 | 06:44 PM
#53
Banned by request
Re: Batman (1989) vs Batman Returns
This.
While Schumacher gets all the blame heaped on him for Batman's Cinematic Shame Spiral of the 90s, lets not forget that Returns embraced the loony preposterousness whole hog too--and ultimately set that spiral in motion. You want two bad guys teaming up for full campy effect? You got it. You want to bend the laws of physics or reality in general as blatantly as you please? Look no further. You want terrible one-liners like: "Eat floor, more fiber" and god-awful puns being tossed around like a dinghy in a hurricane? You found your movie.
I was 14 years old when this movie came out and I my jaw dropped at different it was from Batman '89. I remember thinking: "The penguins becoming pall bearers for the newly deceased Penguin? Puh-leez."
While Bats 89 had a modicum of silliness, it had decent grounding in its half-way believable settings and characters. It was a clear progenitor of the Nolan-Batman movies.
And lastly: I don't care if the ghost of Fritz Lang gave his ethereal blessing for Batman Returns supposed homage to German Expressionism--its not worth turning the Batman mythos into a silverscreen shit sandwich throughout the 90s.
While Schumacher gets all the blame heaped on him for Batman's Cinematic Shame Spiral of the 90s, lets not forget that Returns embraced the loony preposterousness whole hog too--and ultimately set that spiral in motion. You want two bad guys teaming up for full campy effect? You got it. You want to bend the laws of physics or reality in general as blatantly as you please? Look no further. You want terrible one-liners like: "Eat floor, more fiber" and god-awful puns being tossed around like a dinghy in a hurricane? You found your movie.
I was 14 years old when this movie came out and I my jaw dropped at different it was from Batman '89. I remember thinking: "The penguins becoming pall bearers for the newly deceased Penguin? Puh-leez."
While Bats 89 had a modicum of silliness, it had decent grounding in its half-way believable settings and characters. It was a clear progenitor of the Nolan-Batman movies.
And lastly: I don't care if the ghost of Fritz Lang gave his ethereal blessing for Batman Returns supposed homage to German Expressionism--its not worth turning the Batman mythos into a silverscreen shit sandwich throughout the 90s.
08-18-12 | 07:06 PM
#54
Re: Batman (1989) vs Batman Returns
True. Stylistically, I still like both. I have to give the nod to 89, though. Both have unbelievable plot elements to them, but, to this day, I can't watch Returns without asking myself "Where did the Penguin get the blueprints to the Batmobile?"
08-18-12 | 07:18 PM
#55
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Batman (1989) vs Batman Returns
Penguin was just ridiculous in pretty much every respect I really hate everything about the way that character was done. It pretty much seemed like Burton wanted to bring the character as far over the top as he could and make him as grotesque looking as possible. Also so many of his schemes were just stupid. The mayor thing especially bothers me with how ridiculous it is. It would have been better if Shreck was the one running for mayor and Penguin was pulling the strings instead of the opposite. The penguin army and the plot to kidnap the infants was pretty lame as well.
08-18-12 | 07:19 PM
#56
Re: Batman (1989) vs Batman Returns
I respectfully disagree. Saying that is the equivalent of saying the silly factor of Superman The Movie and Superman III are of equal measure.
Last edited by PatD; 08-18-12 at 07:35 PM.
08-18-12 | 07:32 PM
#57
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Joined: Feb 2001
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From: So Cal
Re: Batman (1989) vs Batman Returns
I like Batman '89 better.
I mean, someone like Batman is really going to be a little... unhinged. I think this movie really characterizes him the best.
I mean, someone like Batman is really going to be a little... unhinged. I think this movie really characterizes him the best.
08-18-12 | 07:40 PM
#58
Suspended
Re: Batman (1989) vs Batman Returns
Last year the LACMA in LA did a Tim Burton exhibition and had a lot of stuff from Batman and Batman Returns like the Catwoman costume, the Batman costumes, some of those little model penguins with the rockets on their backs, a bunch of cool sketches.
08-18-12 | 07:59 PM
#59
Banned by request
08-18-12 | 10:10 PM
#61
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Batman (1989) vs Batman Returns
In what world is Batman Returns more campy or silly than Batman '89? The Joker dancing around to Prince, that crazy pistol? Returns is a lot darker and creepier.
I like them both, but Returns wins for me because it's just so much more visually interesting. The scene when Michelle Pfeiffer becomes catwoman, rampaging around her apartment and smashing up her little girl things is worth the price of admission.
I like them both, but Returns wins for me because it's just so much more visually interesting. The scene when Michelle Pfeiffer becomes catwoman, rampaging around her apartment and smashing up her little girl things is worth the price of admission.
08-19-12 | 12:32 AM
#62
Re: Batman (1989) vs Batman Returns
In a world where penguins aren't sentient and can't pick up a dead mutant penguin man/thing and drag them into the water like pallbearers. In a world where a woman is thrown off a multi-story building and can be resurrected by cats licking her and be imbued with nine lives--like a cat. You know, stuff like that.
Batman '89 had some absurd stuff (as you mentioned), but nothing that so blatantly flew in the face of basic reality. BR wouldn't have bothered me as much as it did (I loved the old Adam West show), but the fact that it was so f---ing incongruent to the first film that it just ruined it for me.
It's the same principle why I despise Superman III, not so much because of the off the wall reality bending camp, but because it belongs the to the same Salkind-based Superman movie series as the classic '78 original. It's like the Original film is tainted in a way.
Batman '89 had some absurd stuff (as you mentioned), but nothing that so blatantly flew in the face of basic reality. BR wouldn't have bothered me as much as it did (I loved the old Adam West show), but the fact that it was so f---ing incongruent to the first film that it just ruined it for me.
It's the same principle why I despise Superman III, not so much because of the off the wall reality bending camp, but because it belongs the to the same Salkind-based Superman movie series as the classic '78 original. It's like the Original film is tainted in a way.
Last edited by PatD; 08-19-12 at 12:57 AM.
08-19-12 | 01:05 AM
#63
Re: Batman (1989) vs Batman Returns
Batman Returns wasn't darker or creepier to me, because the tone from the start was silly and campy despite the dark subject matter. Thinking about it right now, it reminds me A LOT of The Addams Family.
But when Batman '89 starts, it's serious. The opening scene is almost the same as Wayne's tragic last night, except Batman stops it from happening to another family.
If you want to see a good German Expressionist film interpretation of Batman, youtube "Silent Shadow of the Batman." It's just a mix of clips from other silent films but it's far creepier than Batman Returns.
08-19-12 | 03:38 AM
#64
Banned by request
Re: Batman (1989) vs Batman Returns
And the score for that sequence is absolutely chilling. To this day Returns' score is my favorite Elfman score. The man matured into a real composer with that film.
08-19-12 | 04:31 AM
#65
Banned
Re: Batman (1989) vs Batman Returns
For the visual style of the movie, I have to go with the first movie. It's just dark and gritty. At least to the 9 year old me's mind, it was. On the story side of things, I have to go with Returns. It's just a more complex and intricate story.
08-19-12 | 06:04 AM
#66
DVD Talk Legend
Joined: Jul 2000
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From: Sesame Street (the apt. next to Bob's)
Re: Batman (1989) vs Batman Returns
Although I loved it when it first came out, Batman doesn't hold up that well. Still, it's worlds better than Returns, which I hated from first viewing.
08-19-12 | 12:16 PM
#67
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Batman (1989) vs Batman Returns
Yep, Returns is a real mess and a harbinger of the worse things to come from Shumacher. Batman was a real event picture when it came out and I can still remember being pissed off that I was too young to go to the cinema to see it without my parents. It's far from perfect of course, but it's still reasonably good. Returns, otoh, is an unwatchable lurch into panto from Burton. He's rarely made it back to sanity ever since.
