HAVE YOU EVER DANCED WITH THE DEVIL IN THE PALE MOONLIGHT?
It’s hard to overstate just how big Tim Burton’s Batman was when it premiered in 1989. I was 11 years-old that summer and I had already been a full-on comic book freak for years. To say I was anticipating it is to put it lightly. Of course, I fell in love with the quirky director’s art deco nightmare noir fairytale as soon as I saw it. I had already read Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and that was my Batman, not the campy TV show version. So, the darker, edgier aesthetic immediately registered as authentic to my discerning taste. That Christmas, I received the VHS as a gift and I proudly added it to my burgeoning collection, which at that time only included the original Star Wars trilogy. With Michael Keaton being rumored to take up the role again for DC's gestating Flashpoint film, I decided to take a look back.
Despite multiple interpretations having cropped up over the last thirty-one years, this one still holds up for the most part. The production design is timeless, lavish, and off-kilter fantastical. The dingy dank streets of Gotham City contrast with the immaculate penthouses and mansions of the city’s moneyed elite, making the grim metropolis a character unto itself. Burton and DP Roger Pratt exploit this to conjure an atmosphere so thick, you'd need a batarang to cut it. Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren's script effortlessly brings a comic strip sensibility to life, balancing playful dark humor and heightened but believable dialog. Keaton, a controversial pick when initially announced, owns as the driven Bruce Wayne, injecting a humanizing slight sense of humor into the role. Of course, the over the top Jack Nicholson is captivating as the Joker, portraying the iconic figure as a kind of workingman’s maniac. Only Robert Wuhl’s pushy horn-dog reporter strikes me as an unnecessary element. Kim Basinger does a fine job, though she’ll forever be eclipsed by Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman in the loved-by-everyone-but-me sequel. The strong cast is rounded out by a coterie of fan favorites in Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Tracey Walter, William Hootkins, Billy Dee Williams and the legendary Jack Palance. Danny Elfman’s score is perfect, conjuring larger than life heroic grandeur and creeping dread. Prince’s soundtrack is an odd creative choice, to be sure, but it adds a bit of toe-tapping kookiness.
Visually astounding, sonically pleasing, endlessly thrilling, and mostly true to the comics (what’s with all of Batman’s guns?), Tim Burton’s Batman stands the test of time. It also works very well as a more comic book-y counterpoint to the realism of Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. I love this film, even if it’s probably not my favorite Batman picture at this point. I saw it at just the right time for it to become embedded in my DNA. I have a feeling it resonates like that for a lot of folks around my age.
Michael Cavender