#401: Batman Returns (1992)

Director: Tim Burton
Cast: Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer & Christopher Walken



Batman has got his handful in the second film of the franchise. Selina Kyle, the executive assistant to the corrupt businessman Max Shreck, discovers confidential files in the office. Shreck attempts to kill her, but instead transforms her into the sexy and dangerous Catwoman. At the same time, a mysterious disfigured man is discovered to be living in the sewers of Gotham City among a flock of penguins. This man, only known as The Penguin, threatens to expose Shreck of his crimes unless he assists in transforming the deranged man into a local hero.

Today, the Batman films are more gritty and nearly realistic gangs. In comparison, the Penguin has two gangs: one looks like a celebration of Día de los Muertos, while the other is a flock of penguins. If a flock of birds were to be used in any action movie today, the audience would not know what to make of it. This film isn’t even twenty years old, and that’s how much the industry has changed. What makes it heartbreaking is that this film has stood remarkably to the test of time, but audiences have moved on anyway.

The visuals on this movie are classic Burton. The dark colors of Batman, Catwoman and The Penguin juxtaposed with the bright colors of the Día de los Muertos gang, his duck vehicle and Shreck’s smiley cat logo is shocking. This blends perfectly with Danny Elfman’s genius score. The music of this film is one of Elfman’s finest, and it is not surprising in the least that he has provided scores not only to Tim Burton’s films, but also to many superhero films (the Spiderman, Hulk, Hellboy, Terminator and Men in Black franchises).

Of all the performances in the film, two stood out quite clearly: Michelle Pfeiffer and Danny DeVito. Pfeiffer’s transformation scene from lonely secretary to leather-clad sex vixen is disturbing – and awesome. Meanwhile, DeVito has never fit a character so flawlessly. Aside from his hideous makeup, his character is just so filthy that you have to hate him. When the two have scenes together, it is clear why they were chosen to be the villains together: they are perfectly opposite. While one attracts everyone, the other repulses; what other animals could better be represented to be opposites than a cat and a bird?

I have to also note that this film brings together pieces of Burton’s repertoire, more so than any of his other films. Actors who appear in this film as well as others by Burton include Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice), Danny DeVito (Big Fish), Christopher Walken (Sleepy Hollow) and Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure). Another familiar appearance is the Penguin’s duck vehicle (which is very similar to a toy duck being built in The Nightmare Before Christmas). The Día de los Muertos gang is also very similar to a dream sequence from Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.

Burton’s most remarkable ability in his films is to be able to turn a story into something representative of a dream – a technique that has been lost since this film was released, lost both by the industry as well as by Burton himself. I will be a happy man the day Burton returns to his former glory.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• Christopher Walken's character is named Maximillian Shreck. In addition to the fact that "schreck" is the German word meaning "terror," the actor Max Schreck played the first-ever vampire depicted on film in the silent-era classic Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922).
• Sean Young very much wanted the role of The Catwoman. During preproduction she arrived at the studio in a Catwoman costume to confront the makers of the movie. She used other people scouting the studio grounds, using walkie-talkies to communicate, to track down the producers. Tim Burton hid behind his desk so as to avoid seeing her. Young had been cast as Vicki Vale in Batman (1989) but was replaced after she broke her collarbone during filming.
• The first film made in Dolby Digital.
• The crew had a hard time getting the shot where the monkey delivers the letter from Batman to the Penguin. Evidently, Danny DeVito's make-up terrified the animal.

#458: Batman (1989)

Director: Tim Burton

Cast: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson & Kim Basinger

(NOTE: From now on, I'm going to include a trailer for the film. I hope you like this idea!)

In the first of the Warner Bros. Batman series, Bruce Wayne is fighting crime in Gotham City, terrorizing the city's criminals as "The Bat". Batman's first nemesis is born when he drops Jack Napier into a vat of chemicals, discoloring his skin and hair. Henceforth known as The Joker, he poisons the city's hygiene products, all while trying to convince the public that it isn't he, but Batman that they shouldn't trust. Photojournalist Vicki Vale is trying to uncover the truth.While researching, she falls in love with Bruce... and in turn, The Joker falls in love with her.

The film is very outdated, but only 20 years after its release, it can be considered historically significant. It was a complete turn-around from its predecessors in the superhero film genre, which can more simply by summarized as the Superman film series. Aside from Superman, there were very few notable films in the genre (though one made it onto The List - Danger: Diabolik). Burton made Batman a much darker style than Superman, with its artistic achievements much more prominent than its script.

The art direction for this film certainly has that Burton-esque quality to it, with exaggerated lines in the architecture, but the subject matter is much less in the fantasy realm than many of his other films (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow... even Pee-Wee's Big Adventure). This new blend of fantasy with a New York-like Gotham City allows us to be drawn in to an almost familiar world.

Props to:

• Art director Les Tomkins for a style that has been the inspiration for the following five Batman films
• Music composer Danny Elfman for an exciting and immediately recognizable theme
• Jack Nicholson for being The Man

One-and-a-half thumbs up for a great time, despite a mediocre script.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• Sean Young was originally cast as Vicki Vale, but broke her collarbone while filming a horse-riding scene with Michael Keaton. The scene was subsequently written out of the script. Tim Burton suggested replacing Young with Michelle Pfeiffer but Keaton, who was in a relationship with Pfeiffer, believed it would be too awkward. She went on to portray Catwoman in Batman Returns (1992). Jon Peterssuggested Kim Basinger and she was cast.
• Alec Baldwin, Jeff Bridges, Emilio Estevez, Matthew Broderick, Kevin Costner, Tom Cruise, Michael J. Fox, Harrison Ford, Robert Downey Jr., Kevin Spacey, Patrick Swayze, Dennis Quaid, Kurt Russell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Charlie Sheen, Bill Murray, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Selleck, Daniel Day-Lewis, Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis were considered for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.
• Rosanna Arquette, Ellen Barkin, Robin Duke, Kate Capshaw, Glenn Close, Joan Cusack, Geena Davis, Judy Davis, Denny Dillon,Christine Ebersole, Mia Farrow, Carrie Fisher, Bridget Fonda, Jodie Foster, Teri Garr, Melanie Griffith, Linda Hamilton, Daryl Hannah,Goldie Hawn, Mariel Hemingway Barbara Hershey, Holly Hunter, Anjelica Huston, Amy Irving, Diane Keaton, Diane Lane, Kay Lenz,Jessica Lange, Lori Loughlin, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Virginia Madsen, Kelly McGillis, Bette Midler, Catherine O'Hara, Tatum O'Neal, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Molly Ringwald, Meg Ryan, Susan Sarandon, Jane Seymour, Cybill Shepherd, Brooke Shields, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen, Sharon Stone, Meryl Streep, Lea Thompson, Kathleen Turner, Sela Ward, Sigourney Weaver and Debra Winger were all considered for the role of Vicki Vale after Sean Young, the original choice, departed.
• Jack Nicholson received a percentage of the gross on the film, and due to its massive box-office took home around $60 million. As of 2003 it is still the single-movie record for actor's salary.
• The Batmobile was built on the chassis of a Chevy Impala.
• For its first video release, the film was graded slightly lighter as cinema audiences had complained that it was filmed so darkly that they could hardly see what was going on.

#490: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Director: Tim Burton

Cast: Johnny Depp & Helena Bonham-Carter

The legend of Sweeney Todd has uncertain origins. It's been claimed that Sweeney Todd is an historical character, though that allegation has been disputed. His first appearance was in a serial publication in the 1840's, though similar characters had been written of before this time.

Sondheim's version of the tale has two relationships: that of Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett, and Todd's daughter Joanna and his shipmate Anthony. While Todd had been overseas serving his sentence for a false accusation, Joanna and his wife Lucy were taken under the charge of Judge Turpin. Soon after, Lucy commits suicide, and Joanna is locked up in her room at the Judge's house in what appears to be Mayfair. When Todd returns to his old flat, his downstairs neighbor, Mrs. Lovett relays the history of Joanna and Lucy. Todd seeks vengeance, rekindling his old barber shop, where he slits his client's throats and sends their corpses downstairs to use their meet in Mrs. Lovett's pie shop.

Under the art direction of Gary Freeman (Children of Men, Aeon Flux, and About a Boy), the film is a true spectacle. Sondheim's music is incredible, as well, though the choice of cast is dubious. None of the cast has much of a history in singing. The only singer that stands out is the young Ed Sanders, who plays Mrs. Lovett's newfound assistant in the pie shop. I certainly give Bonham-Carter credit for an enjoyable performance.

I maintain my position that Johnny Depp has lost credibility in recent years. He is certainly talented, as he's shown in his older films such as Benny & Joon, Ed Wood and Edward Scissorhands. Since he's hit it big with Pirates of the Caribbean, I've found him to be lacking the effort he used to put in to his films, and it's come across as arrogance.

Sweeney Todd is just another example of using big names in a film which could be a fantastic opportunity for fresh faces, but Burton has a habit of constantly using the same actors. I also believe that today's audience has given Burton too much credit for this film, though the real praise should be given to Stephen Sondheim. I would much rather have seen Big Fish in this film's place, though it hasn't made the list at all.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• Sam Mendes was originally attached to direct with Russell Crowe in the title role.
• This is the sixth Johnny Depp-Tim Burton collaboration. They previously madeEdward Scissorhands (1990), Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and Corpse Bride (2005) together.
• For his audition, Sacha Baron Cohen sang the entire score of Fiddler on the Roof (1971) for director Tim Burton.
• Sweeney Todd and Ed Wood (1994) are the only two films in Tim Burton's directing career with music not composed by Danny Elfman.