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Batman. If you're a completest, get this set. If you're not, well my advice is this. With Batman Begins on DVD, which is arguably the best Batman film to date, all you really need is Batman Begins, Batman, & Batman Returns. Nobody ever needs to see Batman Forever or Batman & Robin again. They're horrible & not worth watching unless you're related to Jim Carrey or George Clooney & need to tell them you saw it. If you really want the best Batman experience, get the newest film, the 2 Tim Burton films, & the 4 volumes of The Animated Series. You won't get better than that. I'd have given this set 20 stars if it included what I just described, minus the 2 Schumacher wastes. But instead, just 3 stars. Good special features, though.
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While those of discriminating tastes may want to purchase their favorite Batman films separately instead of getting them all, it is kinda nice to have all of them in one set. It is a fascinating arc of how the franchise started off strong and then got progressively worse until Batman and Robin effectively killed it for eight years until Batman Begins came along. Each movie gets a souped up, special edition makeover.
Each movie features a wealth of supplemental material including a theatrical trailer, Heroes and Villains mini-profiles (that mix clips from the movie with interview soundbites from cast, crew and pundits) and a multi-part retrospective documentary entitled, "Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight."
Batman features an excellent audio commentary by Tim Burton who kicks things off by addressing the criticism fans had back in the day that given his background he would make a movie closer to the goofy `60s T.V. show. He loved the show but wanted to go back to the original comic book and place an emphasis on the scary psychology of Batman. The filmmaker covers all the bases including the challenges of dealing with the studio, problems with the script and replacing an injured Sean Young with Kim Basinger on short notice.
"Legends of the Dark Knight: The History of Batman" is an excellent look at the legacy of this enduring icon with the likes of Harlan Ellison, Frank Miller and Kevin Smith talking about what makes this character work so well.
"On the Set with Bob Kane" features a brief interview with the man who created Batman. He talks about how he came up with the concept and gives the Burton version his approval.
"Shadows of the Bat" is broken up into three parts and traces the development of Burton's film in great detail. Many of the major players in front of and behind the camera contributed new interviews, including Keaton, Nicholson (who is in fine form), Basinger and even Sean Young! Coupled with Burton's insightful commentary track, this is an excellent look at how the movie came together and the challenges it faced.
"Beyond Batman" is comprised of six featurettes that explore all the technical stuff: production design, props, the Batmobile, the Batsuit and the music.
"Batman: The Complete Robin Storyboard Sequence." Originally, Robin was to make an appearance in a chase sequence between Batman and the Joker but it only made it to the storyboard stage.
Finally, there are three music videos by Prince that are dated but interesting to watch nonetheless.
Batman Returns features another relaxed commentary by Tim Burton who praises the cast and goes into detail about his intentions with this movie. "The Bat, The Cat and The Penguin" is a making of featurette done back in the day and hosted by Robert Urich. There is a definite emphasis on the three lead actors with some good on-the-set footage.
The fourth installment of the "Shadows of the Bat" takes a fresh look at this movie. In a refreshingly candid moment, Burton addresses the criticism of too many villains in this movie.
"Beyond Batman" features a collection of featurettes that explore various aspects of the movie, taking us through the incredible scale and scope of a production this size.
Finally, there is a video for "Face to Face" by Sixousie and the Banshees. These veteran Goth rockers were the perfect match for Burton's sensibilities.
Batman Forever features an audio commentary by Joel Schumacher. He still can't believe all the uproar caused by the nipples on the Batsuit. Amazingly, he claims that some Warner Brothers executives did not want him to cast Kidman because she wasn't sexy enough!
"Riddle Me This: Why is Batman Forever?" is a promotional featurette hosted by Chris O'Donnell and done at the time of the film's release. There are the usual cast and crew soundbites that feature everyone gushing about the movie and their characters.
Part Five of the Shadows of the Bat documentary features Schumacher, Kilmer and O'Donnell back for new interviews as they try and defend the choices they made for this movie. One producer describes it as "Saturday Night Fever on acid."
"Beyond Batman" features a collection of featurettes that explore various aspects of the movie, including production design, stunts, visual effects and the soundtrack. This was the biggest Batman film yet and the massive sets, state-of-the-art SFX and make-up reflect that.
There are seven deleted scenes including Two-Face's escape from Arkham Asylum that was cut from the beginning of the movie.
Finally, there is a music video for "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal, but where is the fantastic video for "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" by U2?
Schumacher contributes another audio commentary for Batman and Robin. He talks about how the studio wanted a more kid-friendly, family-oriented Batman even though he wanted to adapt Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. One can sense the disappointment in Schumacher's voice at this missed opportunity.
The final part of "Shadows of the Bat" doesn't quite maintain the upbeat, everything-was-fine-on-this-movie vibe that is prevalent on the other parts. O'Donnell admits that he felt like he was making a toy commercial. Because the previous film was a success there was a lot of pressure to repeat it. Schumacher admits that the biggest mistake was getting the toy company involved and they influenced the look of the movie.
"Beyond Batman" covers the usual aspects of the movie: production design, the vehicles, costumes, make-up and visual effects.
There is a deleted scene that attempts to give Alfred a backstory but it is pretty brief.
Finally there is a diverse collection of music videos from the likes of The Smashing Pumpkins, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, R. Kelly and Jewel. Most of them feature clips from the movie mixed with performance footage except for Jewel and R. Kelly who is too busy self-mythologizing to worry about things like a movie.
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Hi guys, can any one tell me if the new 4 disc box set has any special features ie audio comentries etc, any help please!!
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This box set is a must for Batman fans. It includes the four films (in widescreen) produced between 1989-1997. The two disc editions include commentaries on each film by the directors, and excellent documentaries covering the production of each film in detail. There are surprisingly candid comments from both Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher about the films, and the direction the studio wanted each of them to take with their respective projects.
Here's a brief recap of the four films:
Batman (1989) - Batman vs. the Joker (wildly played by Jack Nicholson), excellent production design, great atmosphere.
Batman Returns (1992) - Batman vs. Penguin (Danny Devito) and Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer) in a a dark, moody sequel. Seen as a disappointment upon release, it improves with age. Great score by Danny Elfman, excellent performances all around.
Batman Forver (1995) Exit Burton and Michael Keaton, enter Joel Schumacher and Val Kilmer for a lighter, more action-oriented installment with Jim Carrey as The Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face. Lighter in tone, but great fun.
Batman & Robin (1997) - what many consider the nadir of the series, as George Clooney takes over as Batman, and Schumacher takes things much closer to the camp spirit of the tv show. Messy plot, overwhelming at times, but still fun if youre more in the mood for something in the style of the 60s tv series. Not as strong as "Forever" though Uma Thurman is fun as Poison Ivy and Arnold Shwarzenegger is ok as Mr. Freeze. Definitely the least of the series, with interesting comments from some of the participants on the extras on where it went wrong.
All in all, an essential set, even if you only want two or three of the films. Try a Bat-marathon, including the 1966 tv spinoff "Batman: The Movie" and Chris Nolans excellent "Batman Begins" from this past summer, which are not included in the set.
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The first four Batman movies have been rereleased in this new box set that is worth the money if your a fan of them. For those who complained that Warner Bros. released these two disc specail editions to make more money, you must be unaware that when DVDs first came out in 1997 the idea of specail features hadn't really caught on yet. The first four Batman films were among those first released.
These new versions not only include new making-of documentaries, but some vintage trailers and music videos as well. They also have DTS tracks and commentary tracks by Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher that go well with the new transfers of the films. And they have subtitles in English, French, and Spanish for the movies only.
My favorites are Tim Burton's "Batman" and "Batman Returns", though I also really like Schumacher's "Batman Forever" Only his "Batman and Robin" seem to be a weak link in the series, though it's maybe not quite as bad as a lot of people make it out to be.
But hey, three out of fours not bad.
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