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Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin (Warner Bros) will be available as a 4K Ultra HD Four Film Collection on September 17.
Batman – 1989
The Joker (Nicholson) emerges from a horrible accident to become the nemesis of Batman (Keaton). Bruce Wayne has some emotional baggage to deal with since he witnessed his parents murder years ago by the man who would become the Joker. Directed by Tim Burton with music composed by Prince and Danny Elfman, this film is a visual feast for the eyes and ears, winning an Academy Award for Art Direction and Set Decoration.
Batman Returns – 1992
Gotham City faces two monstrous criminals: the sinister Penguin (DeVito) and the slinky Catwoman (Pfeiffer). Can Batman (Keaton) fight two foes at one time? Especially when one wants to become the mayor while the other has a strange love interest in the Dark Knight.
Batman Forever – 1995
Batman must battle former district attorney Harvey Dent, who is now Two-Face and Edward Nygma, The Riddler with help from an amorous psychologist and a young circus acrobat who becomes his sidekick, Robin.
Batman & Robin – 1997
Batman and Robin try to keep their relationship together even as they must stop Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy from freezing Gotham City.
Directed by: Tim Burton
Rating
Violence: Yes
Sex: No
Language: Mild
A unique and still entertaining vision of the Batman and Gotham City genre, Burton paints a flawed hero in a fight for his life in a crumbling noire cityscape. Nicholson’s Joker is in a class by itself. The backing actors all do an outstanding job and add to the depth of the storytelling. Visually, Burton makes everything a bit dark and brooding, but the set pieces are colorful and a bit bizarrely off kilter. The Batmobile and Batwing are pretty cool to see as well. My only complaint is the back story of Batman is a bit thin. You learn more about the Joker and his motivations than you do about what makes Bruce Wayne tick. Still, after all these years it was good to see this movie again and it looks better than it did in the theaters.
Re-struck from the originals into UHD, the picture looks sharp and vibrant. The primary colors are solid and eye fetching. The sound is rock solid and all around the viewer. Contrast is what really makes the picture pop out at you. Burton uses a lot of shadows and the depth and details blow away the BD version. The HDR and WCG really make this film look like it was just shot last year. Just an outstanding looking film.
Commentary with Burton and Bob Kane, History of Batman, Shadows of the Bat, Batman Beyond Documentary Gallery, 3 Prince music videos, Profiles Gallery of Heroes and Villains, The Complete Storyboard of Robin and a theatrical trailer. A BD version is included as well.
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Directed by: Tim Burton
Rating
Violence: Yes
Sex: Sensuality
Language: Mild
Tim Burton builds on his vision of the Dark Knight legend and some of the scenes around Gotham reminded me of backdrops for Edward Scissorhands and Corpse Bride…which are perfect for the storyline. DeVito’s Penguin is every bit as good as Nicholson’s Joker. Oswald Cobblepot is a creepy, monstrous villain who is the perfect foil for Pfeiffer’s sensuous and dangerous Catwoman. Keaton’s Bruce Wayne is understated and almost relegated to the background when these two are on the screen but manages to play the brooding millionaire with panache. Besides the Batmobile, the audience is treated to the Batboat in the closing half of the film. This is a film that almost bests the first Batman film and makes a great bookend to Burton’s eccentric vision.
Like Batman, this movie had a newly re-minted UHD treatment that expands on the color gamut and pumps up the contrasts with HDR. The whites dazzle and the shadow details are exquisite. Details are razor sharp except in a few longshots. The CGI does hold up as well and looked poorly when the penguins jump into the water and start swimming, but these are minor quibbles to an otherwise fantastic looking movie. The sound is reworked for this release in Dolby Atmos and is dynamic and sumptuous with lots of action in the surrounds and sub.
Commentary by Burton, The Bat, the Cat and the Penguin, Shadows of the Bat featurette, Beyond Batman, Siouxsie and the Banshees “Face to Face” music video, The Hero’s and Villain profile galleries and the theatrical trailer. A BD is also included.
Directed by: Joel Schumacher
Rating
Violence: Yes
Sex: No
Language: No
When Director Schumacher took over the films, they took on a tone closer to the original comic books, which pleased some fans, and displeased others. It seems more squarely aimed at a younger audience and received a PG rating.
The Batman series has been anything but consistent over the years, with a variety of stars playing Batman, a variety of directors and a much varied theory of what each film is trying to do.
Batman Forever is sort of an enjoyable romp, but not the weakest of the modern Batman films and certainly not the strongest, which is where I would rank the Christopher Nolan versions, (including Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and the Dark Knight Returns).
Val Kilmer is fine in the titular role and Tommy Lee Jones pulls Two-Face off with aplomb. I find Jim Carrey unwatchable however and while I know he’s basically a cartoon character, he mugs too much and is too over the top even for this role. Where is Frank Gorshin when you need him?
Batman Forever has an excellent 4K scan and viewers of this disc will be massively pleased at the strong colors and shadow detail. It’s demo quality, just like I felt the old Blu ray was when it came out. But this version blows the Blu-ray away.
The Audio is also excellent, and I listened to the Dolby True HD 7.1 tracks in my home theater. It has a very solid low end, with very directional surrounds.
The commentary and extras were also present on the earlier Blu-ray release of the film.
Audio Commentary: Director Joel Schumacher
Riddle Me This? Why is Batman Forever?
Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Pt. 5 – Reinventing a Hero
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Batman Forever: The Heroes
Batman Forever: The Villains
Beyond Batman
Deleted Scenes
Music Video: “Kiss From a Rose” by Seal.
Theatrical Trailer
Directed by: Joel Schumacher
Rating
Violence: Yes
Sex: No
Language: No
Another Joel Schumacher Batman as the franchise falls to a low ebb after some average and some terrific outings.
Batman and Robin can be purchased in 4K stand alone, or as part of a 4-movie box set including this film, Batman Forever, Batman and Batman Returns.
Casting Batman must have been a challenge for the producers as this is a one shot effort for George Clooney. He’s got a great square jaw, but the script is weak, and I felt myself examining the state of the universe instead of following the dialog, which is mainly one liners for Clooney and bad guy Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze.
There are some good set pieces in Batman and Robin. All the Batman films require them. Director Schumacher is clearly a talent. Phone Booth is one of my favorite movies. Here, Schumacher seems overwhelmed by the effort to put this together. It’s not awful by any means, but it lacks the spark of some of the other Batman films, particularly the ones directed by Christopher Nolan.
Visually, the film is a triumph. Looking much better than the original 2009 Blu-ray, the colors really glow, there is good shadow detail, and the re-scan and HDR-10 pass make all the difference in the world.
The audio is also excellent with wide separations when the action calls for it and ample deep bass. I love the sound of Mr. Freeze’s ice cannon. I don’t think it is quite the demo disc that Batman Forever in 4K is, but it’s close. Real close.
Not too much new here… the commentary and most extras are ports from older versions of the movie on Blu-ray.
Audio Commentary: Director Joel Schumacher.
Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight pt. 6 – Batman Unbound
Batman & Robin: The Heroes
Batman & Robin: The Villains
Beyond Batman
Deleted Scene: Alfred’s Lost Love
Music Videos: “The End is the Beginning is the End” by The Smashing Pumpkins, “Look Into My Eyes” by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and “Foolish Games” by Jewel.
Theatrical Trailer