Batman Returns (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)

Few things are as difficult in movie Show-biz, as launching a film that demands a sequel, and then producing a sequel feature that is as good or even better than the original, and here, with BATMAN RETURNS, Director Tim Burton pulls it off spectacularly. Here, in this review I'm recommending the two-disc Special Edition, though I have the show on a DVD tape, only because this movie is one of the very best examples of the comic book hero genre there is, and has never been surpassed. Whatever form you find it in, treasure and enjoy it. Beginning at the bottom in a list of superlatives, with overall design and set, viewers will find that this is the best expression of that historical Deco or Moderne style prevalent in the late '30s, when the Batman figure debuted. The buildings express the Neo-Nazi worker hero iconography of Rockefeller Center, as you see it even today in architectural sculpture over the doors and in the open spaces -- as well as in the famous lobby ceiling murals. Its a take-off from the Worlds Fair of '33 and the murals and illustrations of Jon Vassos. And Burton's design team nails it, for though it is in color, it feels nightmare black and white, which is the way people dreampt, back then. The vehicles of the heroes, The Batmobile as well as Penguin's Killer Rubber Ducky are like the toys of the period. The period costumes of all the characters are excellent and hotter, even, than those from older movies and strips. CHRISTOPHER WALKEN: He plays not the principal villain, but an unsavory one, with a brilliant sociopathic timing that cannot be adequately described. In fact, if one were to review all the many villains large and small that Walken has created on screen, one would have to say these freaks and misfits are his professional specialties, and maybe you'd think creating them is easy to do. Not so. Myself, I remember the first time I saw Walken play, in a revival of Tennessee Williams' SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH in New York City, at the Harkness. He played Chance Wayne against Irene Worth's Ariadne del Lago, and the effect was absolutely unconventional and sensational! Originally, the play opened with Paul Newman as the hustler-gigolo, playing against Geraldine Paige as the faded movie queen in the Mississippi Riviera hotel. Young and hugely talented as she was, Paige played it like her version of Gloria Swanson or Pola Negri, with exagerated make-up. Newman played it in white silk pyjamas, unbutoned and flashing that famous washboard belly. It was fabulous! Women went nuts! It was priceless and worth far more than your seat cost. But the flaw in the production was that anybody taking one look at Newman would realize there was no reason on god's green earth why he shouldn't be a movie star, and the play depended on his beig a failed wannabe. But in the revival, Worth played the Princess like an American actress (which she was, though expatriate) with English upper-crust manners over the soul of a gutter opportunist. Perfect! Walken played Chance Wayne like a young Elvis with a greasy pompadour and a Tupelo Mississippi accent, complete with uncouth, redneck mannerisms. It was a triumph of the actor's art. Here, the role is nothing like that, but Walken brings the same unique intelligence and sensitivity to this role, and if you watch his performance whenever hes's on screen, you'll see how extremely good he is at what he does. Always fresh. MICHAEL KEATON: He is phenomenal, not because he's super-handsome, or has a magnificent body or an arielist's agility, but because he has enough of what's required for the role -- that is, a manly persona -- and one thing extra: generosity and poise. Bruce Wane's ambivalence, sexual frustration and guilt he can and does play, but what's so good about it is that he allows his role to be the fulcrum or balance of the show, allowing his co-stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Danny DeVito to function to their advantage. Secure in his character, he never upstages them. That that's the perfect expression of Bruce's persona: He is a violent nocturnalist, but always a gentleman. MICHELLE PFEIFFER: This is one of the most beautiful women ever to appear on the screen, and she can and does out-act just about everybody in the Biz, and has for years. Here, her take on Catwoman is so rich, so rare and unusual, she puts all preceding sisters to shame, from Lee Meriwether to Eartha Kitt, to Julie Newmar; not only for sexual desirability and believability, but for pure psychotic nymphomania. And, she does it with a look that's perfect for the period, with a head topped by a cluster of blonde curls, and wearing a slinky black dress. Madonna used it in Dick Tracy. Dietrich used it in Pittsburg. But, on top of all that, it is her transformation from frowsy, cringing secretarial doormat to snarling pyromaniac in stiched black vinyl that takes the cake. It is a performance searing in its twisted, pathetic truth. And now, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present the one, the only, the superlative DANNY De VITO: This is an actor who's been around the block for a long time. He's given many performances on film, and most of them have been good to exceptional, but he's never had the opportunity to reach for the brass ring of screen monsterdom, and here, in BATMAN RETURNS, Tim Burton gives him the opportunity. And, I must warn you, whether or not you have seen De Vito play it, with PENGUIN or Oswald Cobblepot, Danny De Vito achieves a quality of work equal to that of Conrad Veidt, Charles Laughton or even Lon Cheney, Sr. The peaks and valleys of his frenzies, his manias and perverse lusts, his outbreaks of mindless violent malice, are a sight to behold, simultaneously hilarious and hideous; both pathetic and loathsome. You might think, 'overacting,' but no; its pure Method. Watching BATMAN RETURNS yet again I believe that Burton created this film for De Vito. As good as the other actors in the cast are, and they are excellent, it is impossible to imagine any actor playing this role even remotely as well as De Vito does. It makes you think, if the man could sing, what a RIGOLETTO he would be! And that brings us down to what there is about the BATMAN opera that makes them unique. More than anything else, this is a set of ensemble pieces like a Hell's Kitchen series of American comedia del'Arte morality plays. The vitality of the show derives from the rigid confines of its convention. Sure, ambitious directors, often foreigners, attempt to pull and stretch the animated figures, to stuff them with fadistic pseudo-psychological theories of their own, but they don't work. The BATMAN shows sprang into life as action fantasies for American pre-teen boys during the years of the Second World War and are thrilling not because they are psychologically plausible -- they're not -- but because they transcend reality the way the marionettes of Palermo do when they re-enact the adventures of Frankish knights struggling against the Saracens before the walls of Jerusalem. At any rate, take my advice and give yourself the opportunity to watch the great Danny De Vito play. He is as fascinating as Milton's Satan.

Really good film

BATMAN RETURNS (1992) is a personal favorite of mine. It's so quirky and EXTREMELY dark, almost to the point of being nightmarish! Tim Burton's sequel to his exciting, groundbreaking 1989 BATMAN film is a rarity in that it is a sequel that is actually at the very least GOOD! And I think it's much better than good. I like the fact that BATMAN RETURNS is almost completely different from BATMAN. While BATMAN was more grandiose, stylish and epic, BATMAN RETURNS is much more deep, dark, and scary. They really are two different films at their core. BATMAN boasted two great performances in Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. BATMAN RETURNS ups the ante and gives us FOUR great performances! Michael Keaton returns as the Caped Crusader and this time he is joined by Danny Devito (as The Penguin), Michelle Pfeiffer (as Catwoman), and Christopher Walken (as Max Schreck). This was at a time when you could populate a film with major actors/stars and it actually turn out good! Burton's casting choices in his early films are inspired and worked to perfection. BATMAN RETURNS opens with what I think is one of the greatest openings in all of film history! We hear an ominous, downbeat score as we are drawn in to a silhouetted figure standing in a window of a mansion from a distance. Then zoom in and it is the distinguished lord of the manor, pipe in mouth, monocles on (played by none other than Paul Reubens!). Then we hear a woman (his wife) in the bedroom screaming in both agony and horror as she has just given birth to an incredibly deformed baby (we are never shown the baby, just the parents and servants horrific reactions). Months later, the parents decide to abandon the baby and during Christmastime, throw him over a bridge at the local zoo and the carriage floats into the sewers as the parents look with confusion and sadness...Then the ominous music shifts to a more recognizable score: The Batman theme, but with some slight and intricate variations from the first film and then the opening credits as we watch the baby carriage go through the sewers and ends up in a penguin lair. I think that Danny Elfmann's score from this sequel surpasses his original! Should have won an Oscar! I just love this opening. Then cut to present day Gotham City 33 years later. It is the Christmas season in Gotham City and magnate Max Schreck (played with sly, cool, wicked confidence by Christopher Walken) is angling to build a new power plant and enlists the mayor's support. During the meeting, we also meet Schreck's extremely shy and underconfident secretary Selina Kyle (excellently played by the sultry Michelle Pfeiffer). Meanwhile, there are reports of a mysterious "Penguin" figure roaming the sewers of Gotham. During a tree-lighting ceremony where Schreck is giving a speech in Gotham Square, the Red Triangle Gang crashes the ceremony and terrorizing the Gothamite attendees. Commissioner Gordon (reprised by Pat Hingle) sends out the Bat signal as Bruce Wayne (again played by the great Michael Keaton) is sitting in his study alone in the dark. He sees the signal and goes to work! Batman arrives in the city and thwarts the gang for the moment, but in the melee, Schreck is kidnapped as we learn this was all planned by The Penguin (brilliant characterization by Danny Devito), as he wants Schreck to be his conduit back into normal society. He blackmails Schreck by showing proof of his dirty business dealings. Later, Selina stumbles upon papers that prove that Schreck wants to build the power plant to suck all the power from Gotham rather than supply it. Schreck pushes her out of his high-rise office and while she is motionless on the ground, she is revived by a bunch of cats and assumes the persona Catwoman. The Penguin ends up working with both Schreck and Catwoman in different capacities as each has his/her own agenda. The chemistry among the stars is great in this. Keaton and Pfeiffer are hot together as Batman and Catwoman and simultaneously sweet when they are their alter egos Bruce and Selina. DeVito and Walken are hilarious in their scenes as they scheme to bring down Gotham City and Batman. Also, Keaton and DeVito's scenes, although few, are very emotional and powerful. The tragic irony is that both men were born rich and lost their upbringing in a normal family and that is what made them into the "freaks" that they've become. But it's like watching 2 sides of a coin as Penguin hates the world and wants it to suffer as he has, while Batman channels his anger to do good and prevent incidents that happened to him as a child from ever happening again...Fascinating! The great thing about BATMAN RETURNS is that Burton skillfully juggles the stories of 4 main characters and forms a memorable ensemble. Each characterization is unique and singular and well performed. This is a much more introspective film that it's predecessor as there are times when you really get into the characters' psyches and see what makes them tick. But, make no mistake, there is still a good amount of action (not as much as original), but the action here all feels more natural and necessary. Burton expertly places the action sequences in healthy doses throughout the film and they are all very well executed. He was underrated as a director of action. The dark, wintry setting also gives this sequel a more dire, apocalyptic tone and feel to it. The ending scenes are very tragic and sad almost to the extent of being hopeless, rather than hopeful. The film invested a lot into the actual characters, so even though they are all villains (except Batman), you actually felt bad when they got theirs in the end because they all had viable reasons for becoming evil. Well done, Mr. Burton!

One of the Best Batman Movies I have ever seen. Michelle Pfeiffer is incredibly beautiful and portrays the best Catwoman.

This movie is great! I really loved it! The villains were great and just seeing Michael Keaton as Batman makes everything awesome to watch! Okay, before I get ahead of myself I will admit that this movie was indeed "not for children". It was really dark and it had a lot of scenes that would scare children. Heck, this movie makes the first movie seem like a piece of cake when it comes to being dark and scary. But....... I actually like this movie being really dark. I just love dark movies and it fits this movie very well. Besides, "Batman Forever" is the movie that kids should be watching. So in the end, "Batman Returns" is for grown-ups and "Batman Forever" is for kids, everyone wins. The storyline for the movie may not have been a great one to tell. I was hoping for something really evil and bad to happen. Okay, sure, having the Penguin trying to kill first born kids is evil, but what I wanted was something really clever and smart. The storyline was okay, it just didn't meet what I was expecting. The characters are great! I love Michael Keaton as Batman! I loved having Catwoman in this movie! Heck, I even loved Alfred as well! If there was one character I didn't like it would the Penguin. I'm very sorry to those who created him but I can't take him very seriously and I thought that he was a bad example for a villain. If they were going to have a villain that involved snow and cold then they should have gone with Mr. Freeze (and no, I don't mean the one from "Batman & Robin"). But despite how bad Penguin was I did love the rest of the characters. For a sequel to the first Batman movie I thought this one was pretty good. It was dark and it had a good feeling to it. The ending was a little unsatisfying but I don't mind. The atmosphere of the movie was a little too dark but I love it. I can see why people don't like this movie, I just love it because of the great actors and how dark it is. All I have to say is that if you love Batman then you just might like how this movie does. If you think you can handle the Penguin and how dark this movie is then I say buy it.

Favorite time movie

So, before anyone flogs me for the title, while giving reasons for why Nolan's Batman is superior, allow me to explain: Is Batman Returns true to the comics? Well, yes and no, but mostly no. *possible spoilers* Catwoman is not a thief, a blonde, and a little deranged; Christopher Walken's character Max is made up; Penguin's story is not cannon either. Not to mention that Tim Burton takes a really dark approach in this one--I would argue that this is perhaps the darkest Batman of any Batman, regardless of the franchise. So, why would I claim that this Batman is "the Best"? Well, for multiple reasons, a few of which I will outline below: (1) Batman is not really in this movie. I think one of the best aspects of the Burton Batman films is that Batman is almost a secondary character. As such, he remains mysterious as the Dark Knight should be. Also, the less Batman talks, the less we as an audience get annoyed with his self-righteousness and, in Bale's case, horrific voice acting. Micheal Keaton played the perfect Bruce Wayne, in my opinion. (2) Micheal Pfeiffer. Okay, yes, Anne Hathaway did a decent job portraying the old comic book style Catwoman. That being said, Micheal Pfeiffer blew Catwoman out of the park and immortalized her in our (at least the children of the 90's) minds. Hathaway portrayed Catwoman--Pfeiffer IS Catwoman. Which leads to (3): Pfeiffer and Keaton's chemistry BLOWS Bale's and Hathaway's chemistry out of the water. Seriously. That dance scene at the costume party was just pure genius on so many levels. (4) The story was extremely dark and sexual. Most people knock this one because of these aforementioned characteristics, but you know what: I think that's what makes this one the most interesting. It is coy and seductive and I love it all the more for those reasons. Most of all, what is Batman if not entertaining? I would characterize Batman Returns as highly entertaining without being overly serious (Nolan) or overly absurd (Schumacher). Burton, in my opinion, created the best Batman franchise, this one being my personal favorite of the two. (That being said, I would like to give a brief nod to Nolan who saved Batman from the caricatured hades that Schumacher put him in and for creating the best villain of the franchise, in my opinion, with his Joker.) I highly recommend this movie.

With this Batman movie, Tim Burton put even more of himself creatively into things. His idea for the Penguin to be a deformed creature living in the sewers and for Catwoman to be mentally unstable are very edgy and work. The Penguin is usually a jewel thief with a pet bird so the new concept was kind of refreshing. Batman and Bruce Wayne are more open this time around, not much more open but you learn more about the characters themselves. In the first movie, Batman was very stoic and mysterious so you could never really read Bruce Wayne or Batman. Danny DeVito plays the role of the Penguin very well and Michelle Pffiefer is above and beyond with her portrayal as Catwoman. The crooked businessman Max Shreck (Christoper Walken) is a nice addition to the villain line-up and Christoper Walken gives a knock-out performance. Some people criticize this for having too many villains but I think that they needed that many for the story plot to work (which it does very well). The story is a lot darker this time around and it's a lot more grotesque at times; like a graphic novel translated to the big screen. Even though this is a more adult Batman movie, nothing changes the fact that it's well written and well acted. Tim Burton sets this story in the winter so Gotham City is a snow-covered, creepy, dangerous place that makes this movie have an even stronger gothic feel to it. Without a doubt this is the most "dark and adult" Batman movie. Some people say that this sequel eclipses the original but I disagree. Yes, this movie has a great story with strong performances and a very affective atmosphere (not to mention a new brilliant score by Danny Elfman). People need to understand that the two movies are equal to each other in their own right because one was a visual work of art masterpiece while the other was a brilliant, darker and more for mature audiences type of film that focused more on exploring the characters. If you haven't seen this, I'm very surprised and see it immediately haha If you have, I'm sure you know what I mean. Buy this

Super content j'ai enfin le Blu Ray Super film les méchants sont plutôt drôles j'adore Catwoman surtout. Mon film préféré de toute la série des Batmans. Merci

L’image est bonne le reste les années on rattraper c’est excellent film

Fajne wydanie, jakość zdjęć bardzo dobra, ładny steelbook

ダークナイトシリーズを観て 久々に前シリーズを観たくなって購入！ 新シリーズもカッコイイのだが、 この作品のティムバートンが作り出す 独特の世界観がすごく楽しい！ 映像も綺麗で ブルーレイで買って正解でした！

主人公のバットマンはもちろん、キャット・ウーマン、ヴィランのペンギン、はたまた端役のひとりまで、人物造形が行き届いた作品です。 うまく言えませんが、画面がどこをとっても美しい！