SYNOPSIS
Having witnessed his parents' brutal murder as a child, millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) fights crime in Gotham City disguised as Batman, a costumed hero who strikes fear into the hearts of villains. But when a deformed madman who calls himself "The Joker" (Jack Nicholson) sei… Morezes control of Gotham's criminal underworld, Batman must face his most ruthless nemesis ever while protecting both his identity and his love interest, reporter Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger).
TRIVIA
Robin Williams was offered the role of The Joker when Jack Nicholson hesitated. He had even accepted the role, when producers approached Nicholson again and told him Williams would take the part if he didn't. Nicholson took the role and Williams was released. Williams resented being used as bait, and not only refused to play The Riddler in Batman Forever (1995) but also not to be involved in any Warner Bros. productions until the studio apologized.
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.
Jack Nicholson said of his role, "The thing I like about The Joker is that his sense of humor is completely tasteless." He later said The Joker was one of his favorite roles he played.
Before the Joker enters the Gotham City Cathedral with Vicki, he requests over the walkie-talkie for "transportation for two" to arrive in ten minutes. Between entering the cathedral and the arrival of the Joker's helicopter, the action inside the cathedral unfolds in real time.
This movie was released the year of Batman's 50th birthday.
The highest-grossing movie of 1989.
While actress Kim Basinger has blond hair, Vicki Vale was red headed in the comics. According to Batman creator Bob Kane, Vale was supposed to be blond in the comics, and her hair came out red due to a coloring error in her first appearance.
Michael Keaton was unable to hear while wearing the Batsuit. He said that his claustrophobia helped get him in the proper mood to play Batman. "It made me go inward and that's how I wanted the character to be anyway, to be withdrawn," he said.
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 Peters suggested Kim Basinger and she was cast.
In order to combat negative rumors about the production, a theatrical trailer was hastily assembled to be distributed to theaters. To test its effectiveness, Warner Bros. executives showed it at a theater in Westwood, California to an unsuspecting audience. The ninety-second trailer received a standing ovation. Later, it would become a popular bootleg at comic book conventions, and theater owners would report patrons paying full price for movie tickets just to have an opportunity to see the trailer, and leaving before the feature began.
Michael Keaton casting as Bruce Wayne/Batman caused a controversy amongst comic book fans, with 50,000 protest letters sent to Warner Bros. offices. Bob Kane, Sam Hamm and Michael Uslan also heavily questioned the casting.
The first Batman movie to win an Academy Award. It was followed by The Dark Knight (2008) with two wins.
At the beginning of the film, Knox enters the press room and is handed a cartoon sketch of a "batman", which is a bat in pin stripe suit. It is signed by Bob Kane, who is the original creator of the Batman comic book.
According to Michael Keaton, his background in comedy proved useful in playing Batman because it gave him instincts in how to shape scenes and build dimension into his character. For example, in the scene when Vicki and Bruce are having dinner, Keaton suggested that they be seated far apart at a very long table and his line of dialogue, "I don't think I've been in this room before." In another example, he contributed the idea of Bruce hanging like a bat after sleeping with Vicki. "It makes all the other stuff even weirder and darker because you're thinking, 'This guy's off,'" Keaton said.
Neither Tim Burton nor Michael Keaton had any previous exposure to the Batman comic books. Executive producer Michael Uslan provided them with reference material for the film. Burton was given every issue of Batman's first year in comics before Robin was introduced - Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) through #37 (March 1940) - while Keaton was given the graphic novel "The Dark Knight Returns."
During filming, a young Tim Burton was having trouble shooting a scene with Jack Palance. When filming a scene with Palance, Burton called out "Action!" and a few minutes later, Palance didn't show up in his shot. 'Tim Burton' later cut the take and walked on the set, only to find out that Jack had a hearing problem. The deaf, but irritated Palance asked Burton, "I've made more than a hundred films, how many have you made?" Burton said, years later, that it was a "whiteout" experience he would never forget. Despite this incident, Burton was happy to have him involved with the film.
Don Johnson and Dale Midkiff were considered for Harvey Dent. Billy Dee Williams took the role with the expectation that he would be brought back to play Two-Face and reportedly had a contract clause added reserving the role for him. During casting for Batman Forever (1995) Warner Bros. decided they would prefer Tommy Lee Jones and bought out Williams' contract.
Jack Nicholson revealed in an interview that the strange dance the Joker does when he exits Vicki Vale's apartment (when he raises his arms, blows a raspberry, and runs off) was something called the "bird dance" which he improvised during the take. He took it from a friend of his, the actor Clegg Hoyt.
Adam West, who played Batman in the TV show Batman (1966), admitted that he was disappointed that he was not asked to reprise the role in the movie. Also, in his 1994 autobiography, he stated that, despite belief to the contrary, he was never asked to make a cameo appearance as Thomas Wayne, adding that he would have declined the role if it were offered to him.
The Batmobile was built on the chassis of a Chevy Impala.
First Batman adaptation to depict the Joker's origin story.
In the Italian version, Jack Nicholson was dubbed by actor Giancarlo Giannini. Nineteen years later, his son Adriano Giannini was chosen for dub Heath Ledger playing another interpretation of The Joker character in The Dark Knight (2008).
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.
On The Joker's desk in his lair is a rare Rubik Diamond puzzle in an unsolved state being used as a paperweight.
A scene was written but never filmed in which the Joker took over a public ceremony, held Mayor Borg hostage (causing Borg to experience a breakdown), unveiled a statue of himself, and laced the Gotham City Police Department's coffee with a non-lethal poison, which would have explained why there are no police in the parade scene.
Batman creator Bob Kane was to make a cameo in the film, but became ill, and shooting of his scene was not rescheduled. Kane had drawn and signed the "Batman" sketch used by reporters to tease Knox, and Kane was to be the cartoonist who presented it. Kane would later cameo in the movie's second sequel Batman Forever (1995).
Mel Gibson was the first choice for the role of Bruce Wayne/ Batman, but had to turn it down, because he was already committed to Lethal Weapon 2 (1989).
The only live action Batman film to feature only one supervillain from the comics.
Willem Dafoe, David Bowie, John Lithgow, Tim Curry, and James Woods, were considered for The Joker.
In the original script with Robin included, the Flying Graysons (John, Mary, and Dick) are introduced at the parade scene. The Joker shoots the trapeze artists sending John and Mary to their deaths and leaving Dick to survive. Dick later becomes Robin in full costume at the end. The special edition version of the DVD release of Batman (1989) features an animated storyboard sequence of The Complete Robin Storyboard Sequence (2005), where Dick Grayson was voiced by Jason Hillhouse, and Batman and the Joker were voiced by Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill respectively.
Kiefer Sutherland was offered the role of Dick Grayson and turned it down before the character was subsequently written out of the script.
The name of the Joker's Alter-Ego, Jack Napier, was created by the filmmakers. In the comics, The Joker was never given a real name (and his anonymous status is often crucial to the plot), and whatever real name he has is yet to be definitively revealed. The name Jack Napier is intended to be a play on the word "jackanapes" (a medieval English term for a foolish fellow who resembles an ape) as well as a reference to actor Alan Napier, who played Alfred in the TV show Batman (1966).
In an interview with About.com, Christopher Nolan (director of Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008)) described this film as "...a brilliant film, visionary and extraordinarily idiosyncratic...".
In the original script, Bruce Wayne was described as a man with "muscles on top of muscles and scarred from nightly combat".
The handwriting on the note that accompanies the gas mask in the museum is that of director Tim Burton.
It took two hours for the makeup team to change Jack Nicholson into the Joker. 355 silicone adhesive had to be used due to Nicholson's allergy against spirit gum. Prosthetic makeup designer Nick Dudman used acrylic-based makeup paint called PAX for Nicholson's chalk-white face. It was tricky finding the right shade of white in contrast to the dark sets and Batman's black suit since a pure white would blur out Nicholson's face.
Upon release, became both the highest grossing Batman movie, and highest grossing film adaptation of any DC Comics character. Both records were eventually surpassed only by The Dark Knight (2008).
Michael Jackson was asked to write and perform the songs for the movie, but he had to turn it down due to his concert commitments.
Lt. Eckhardt's surname was not new to the Batman universe; in the original Detective Comics, the name of Harvey Dent/Two-Face's (failed) plastic surgeon was Dr. Eckhart. Coincidentally, the actor who plays Harvey Dent/Two-Face in The Dark Knight (2008) is named Aaron Eckhart.
Jack Nicholson convinced the filmmakers to cast his close friend Tracey Walter as Bob the Goon.
Jack Nicholson had a strict schedule stipulated into his contract that his casting call was to be later than most actors on the set. Jack was known for having late evenings up to 3:00 am before he would get home as he dined out every night or attended small parties. As per Michael Keaton himself, who would arrive early in the mornings, Jack would come in and around 10:00 am at the earliest and greet Michael and then sit on his chair. He would then tilt his head back and fall asleep immediately as the makeup artists worked on his prosthetics.
The lines "What a dick" (muttered after the newspaper artist shows Knox his rendering of Batman) and "He must've been King of the Wicker People" were ad-libbed by Robert Wuhl.
Custome designer Bob Ringwood found it difficult designing the Batsuit because "the image of Batman in the comics is this huge, big six-foot-four hunk with a dimpled chin. Michael Keaton is a guy with average build", he stated.
A scene was cut from the parade sequence (but made it in the comic book version of the script) where the crowd discovered that all the money that the Joker was handing out was counterfeit. In a follow-up to the Joker's earlier line that he wanted "My face on the one-dollar bill," all the dollar bills that were thrown to the crowd had the Joker's picture in place of George Washington's.
Tim Burton hired Danny Elfman to compose the music score. Initially, Jon Peters was skeptical of hiring Elfman, but was later convinced when he heard the opening number.
Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) screams approximately 23 times when in danger (or just when she thinks she's in danger) and gasps 6 times.
Michael Keaton, who called himself a "logic freak", was concerned that Batman's secret identity would in reality be fairly easy to uncover, and discussed ideas with Tim Burton to better disguise the character, including the use of contact lenses. Ultimately, Keaton decided to perform Batman's voice at a lower register than when he was portraying Bruce Wayne.
The surgical tools used to "reconstruct" the Joker's face are the same props as the dental tools used by Steve Martin on Bill Murray in Little Shop of Horrors (1986). Coincidentally, Jack Nicholson appeared in Murry's role in the original The Little Shop of Horrors (1960).
Tim Burton wanted to cast Brad Dourif as The Joker, but he was overruled by Warner Bros.
Pierce Brosnan turned down the role of Bruce Wayne/ Batman. He went and met with director Tim Burton for the role but he couldn't take the character seriously.
Michael Keaton came up with the famous "I'm Batman" line - in the script it was "I am the (K)night".
The Joker's line "Take thy beak from out my heart" (said at Vale's apartment) is from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven". The full line is 'Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!' (the "beak" being of the raven).
The painting that the Joker spares during his vandalism spree is Francis Bacon's 1954 "Figure with Meat." The real painting is in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Steven Spielberg admitted he was really interested in doing a Batman movie, he wanted Dennis Quaid as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Harrison Ford as the Joker, Geena Davis as Silver St. Cloud (the interchangeable love interest represented here by Vicki Vale), Dustin Hoffman as The Penguin, Burt Reynolds as Commissioner James Gordon, Jon Pertwee as Alfred, Richard Dreyfuss as Rupert Thorne and Martin Sheen as Harvey Dent. Oddly enough, Jon Pertwee's son Sean Pertwee, played Alfred 25 years later in _"Gotham" (2014)_(gv).
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, Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, Bill Murray, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Selleck, Daniel Day-Lewis, Tom Hanks, Kevin Kline and Bruce Willis were considered for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Schwarzenegger eventually went on to play Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin (1997).
The only two actors to appear in all four Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher films are Pat Hingle (Commissioner Gordon) and Michael Gough (Alfred).
When the production design team arrived at Pinewood Studios in England to build the sets, they discovered the atmosphere processor set from Aliens (1986) in one of the sound stages, with most of the Aliens' nest and eggs still intact.
Jon Peters was responsible for casting Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne and Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale.
The Batmobile was 20 ft long, had an 8 ft wheelbase and weighed 1 and 1/2 tons.
Two separate soundtracks of the movie were released, one featuring the songs by Prince, and the other of Danny Elfman's score. The Prince CD included songs not used in the movie, and other unused songs were released as B-sides on the singles released from the album.
In a newsroom scene, Vicki Vale and Alexander Knox examine a map of Gotham City which has been marked with Batman sightings. The map is actually a map of Vancouver, British Columbia.
The face of the Joker was initially inspired to Bob Kane and Bill Finger by Conrad Veidt as The Man Who Laughs (1928), based on Victor Hugo's L'homme que rit (1869).
The original script featured a bitter rivalry between Bruce Wayne and Knox over Vicki.
As a fan of Michael Gough's work in various horror films, Tim Burton cast Gough as Alfred Pennyworth.
The Joker's real name in the film is Jack Napier. In the original comic books, The Joker's real name is always a carefully guarded secret, accomplished by narrative tricks such as having characters in "past" scenes (before he had his transformation) address him only as "hey you!" or some other noncommittal appellation, or having him about to say his name but being suddenly interrupted, or having him sign a form which remains tantalizingly out of the reader's vision or "off panel." In the "present" other characters often try to learn The Joker's real name but always just barely miss finding out. Jack Napier was used for the Joker in at least one comic book after this, but it was determined within the story that this name was just another alias, as was Johnny Japes in another story. Sometimes he facetiously says his name is Joe Kerr, a homonym for Joker. His origin stories, while presented with some degree of consistency, have many deliberate Rashomon (1950)-like contradictions to reinforce the idea that the character is an enigma.
Among the props there is a royal throne chair, used by The Joker. This throne was originally made for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) production Queen Christina (1933) with Greta Garbo. It is a true replica of the Swedish Queen Kristina's Silver throne, a gift from the Councillor Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie for her coronation in 1650 and used until 1975 at the annual commencement of Swedish Parliament sessions.
The first draft of this movie was written in 1980 by Superman (1978) co-writer Tom Mankiewicz and told the story of Batman's and Robin's origins. The villains were The Joker and The Penguin, and Rupert Thorne and Barbara Gordon were also to appear. Some elements were taken from a 1978 comic book serial "Strange Apparitions" written by Steve Englehart. At the end Robin was to appear in costume (much like Batman Forever (1995)). It was going to be released in 1985 with a budget of $20 million, but with producers Michael Uslan and Benjamin Melniker booted off the production, the project was shelved until Jon Peters and Peter Guber picked it up. In 1985, after the surprise success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), the studio offered the job to Tim Burton. Unsatisfied with the Mankiewicz script, Burton and his then girlfriend Julie Hickson wrote a 30-page treatment of the project. This treatment was approved by both the producers and studio. In 1986 Burton met Sam Hamm, who had just received a two-year contract with Warner Brothers, and gave him the job of writing a screenplay based on Burton's and Hickson's treatment. However, the writing process stretched too long and Hamm couldn't write further drafts of the script because of the writers' strike. In his place, Burton got Beetlejuice (1988) co-writer Warren Skaaren to continue writing. Nearly three years after working on the project Burton didn't get the film green-lit until the box-office result of Beetlejuice (1988). Batman (1989) began filming in October and it only took 12 weeks to shoot.
Had the Batwing been built to size it would have had a 35 ft wing span.
The hooker in the opening scene was originally meant to be 14 years old. She was also going to be shown chatting casually with a couple of cops, showing us how corrupt the Gotham police are even before we meet Eckhart.
Tim Burton at one point had no clue how the film was going to climax - "Here were Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger walking up this cathedral, and halfway up Jack turns around and says, 'Why am I walking up all these stairs? Where am I going?' 'We'll talk about it when you get to the top!' I had to tell him that I didn't know.
Batman was released during a time when action films were all but ignored at the Oscars, Warner Brothers made a valiant effort in getting Batman recognized during awards time and had launched a "For Your Consideration" pushing Batman (1989) for Best Picture, Best Actor (Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton), Best Supporting Actress (Kim Basinger), Best Director (Tim Burton), Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound , and Best Makeup. The film did get one nomination: Best Art Direction, which Batman actually won.
Michael J. Fox and Eddie Murphy were considered for the role of Robin when Ivan Reitman was going to direct a comedy Batman.
Robin Williams was considered for the role of The Joker; he would later be considered for The Riddler as well. Jack Nicholson got the role of The Joker but demanded top-billing and a lucrative deal that gave him royalties on all merchandise.
Eddie Murphy was considered for the role of Robin back when it was thought that the film would have been a campy comedy like the Batman (1966) television series.
Jack Nicholson received top billing on the opening credits.
Tim Burton once said of the film "I liked parts of it, but the whole movie is mainly boring to me. It's OK, but it was more of a cultural phenomenon than a great movie." He also wasn't horribly enthusiastic about how Prince's songs were used in the film.
In creating the Batsuit, Tim Burton opted not to use tights, spandex, or underpants as seen in the comic book, feeling it was not intimidating.
When discussing the central theme of Batman, director Tim Burton explained, "the whole film and mythology of the character is a complete duel of the freaks. It's a fight between two disturbed people", adding that "The Joker is such a great character because there's a complete freedom to him. Any character who operates on the outside of society and is deemed a freak and an outcast then has the freedom to do what they want... They are the darker sides of freedom. Insanity is in some scary way the most freedom you can have, because you're not bound by the laws of society".
The museum which the Joker attacks is called The Flugelheim Museum. The name spoofs that of New York City's iconic Guggenheim Museum.
Michael Keaton stated that the crew would tape basketball games for Jack Nicholson as he would come in and watch them the next day while his makeup was added. One day, when by his own admission, Jack was so frustrated that no game was on he turned on the only thing available, a dart game. The next day as he passed Michael on the set, he looked at him and said 'How about that dart game?' to which both him and Michael burst out laughing.
Willem Dafoe was the front runner for the role of the Joker. Sam Hamm recalls "We thought, 'Well, Willem Dafoe looks just like The Joker.'" The role eventually went to Jack Nicholson who does not look very much like the character's image.
Bill Murray was attached on the project when Ivan Reitman was going to direct a comedy Batman.
A later draft written by Sam Hamm has a large part of the film concentrating on Bruce traveling abroad and training with Henri Ducard, whom Bruce would later discover to be a criminal. This would later become Batman Begins (2005).
To prepare for his role as Bruce Wayne/ Batman, Michael Keaton did some researches about Bats and studied Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns for inspiration and lived alone in London before production started.
Sam Raimi expressed interest in directing the film. Raimi's rejection lead him to create Darkman (1990), a character inspired by Batman. Raimi would later campaign unsuccessfully to direct Batman Forever (1995), and would later direct the Spider-Man trilogy.
When the Tom Mankiewicz script was in development, the directors associated with the project included Joe Dante and Ivan Reitman. Producers wanted an unknown to play Batman and the cast wish-list included William Holden as Commissioner Gordon and David Niven as Alfred, Bruce Wayne's faithful butler.
The songs written by Prince were criticized for being "too out of place."
The theatrical trailer for Batman includes not only sequences presented without music, but there are also some alternate takes used in the trailer that were not used in the movie. Specifically: (1) The Joker shoots his television after saying "I have given a name to my pain." Nicholson loads his gun while speaking this line - in the film, he reveals the gun after speaking the line, and the explosion is also a different take. A wide shot was used in the finished film, but in the trailer, a close-up is used for Nicholson's line. (2) Michael Keaton's line "My life is really...complex" is shown here as a close-up which is a different take than the one used in the film. Additionally, in the movie, the take used is from a different camera position. (3) Robert Wuhl is seen asking the question, "Lieutenant, is there a six foot bat in Gotham City?" In the movie, a different take was used, with different things occurring in the background. Regarding this trailer, on the special edition DVD, Warner Bros. has removed the final screen card which originally indicated the film's release date in North America: June 23 (1989).
The flag of Gotham City closely resembles the state flag of Indiana. It can be seen briefly in Harvey Dent's office.
Patsy Kensit auditioned for the role of Alicia Hunt, but she was considered too young for Jack Nicholson. Instead, Kensit opted to star in Lethal Weapon 2 (1989). Jerry Hall was eventually cast after having been spotted by a crew member at Pinewood Studios during one of her breaks from filming a chocolate commercial.
The police were called in when two reels of footage (about 20 minutes' worth) were stolen.
In the film, the Joker has to mask his chalk-white face by painting himself flesh-colored. In the script, it was specified that the Joker would have to take the flesh-colored make-up off to reveal the white skin underneath, meaning that the make-up effects team had to find a way to take one layer of make-up off and leave another intact. Nick Dudman, the film's make-up designer, came up with the solution: they painted Jack Nicholson with the white PAX paint that they always used, and then put a thin layer of food-grade silicon oil, which nothing sticks to, on top of it. They then took flesh-colored greasepaint and painstakingly painted it to where it was literally sitting on top of the oils. They then airbrushed and faded it in to make it look natural. After soaking the Joker's handkerchief in isopropyl alcohol, Jack Nicholson was able to wipe at his face and it would strip off the greasepaint but leave the white PAX paint intact.
David Cronenberg was offered a chance to direct but declined.
Anton Furst's designs for Gotham City were incorporated into the comics during the early 1990s. The design was removed during the "No Man's Land" story theme where most of the buildings in Gotham City were destroyed by natural disasters and terrorist acts.
The Bat Cave was created on Pinewood's stage D and completely filled it's 18,150 square feet.
Mayor Borg was clearly based on and inspired by then New York City Mayor Ed Koch.
Steve Martin and Daniel Stern turned down the role of Alexander Knox.
Years after the films release, Tim Burton got into an argument regarding the film's accuracy to the comic books with actor/writer/director Kevin Smith during a phone conversation for the Jay and Silent Bob show. In it Burton admitted to having not been a major comic book fan before taking on the directorial duties of the film, prompting Smith to half jokingly insult "Well I guess that explains Batman!" Smith later apologized to Burton for the remark as Burton meant to also mention the reason behind this was due to childhood dyslexia which made it very difficult for him to read comic books as a child. Though he did occasionally look at the images and became enamored with the iconography of the Batman and Joker mythology, It was Alan Moore's The killing Joke which helped him understand the mythology the most, Burton often said of the story that "it was the only comic book he never felt was hindered reading due to his dyslexia."
Sylvester Stallone has cited this film as what led to the decline of muscle-bound action stars from the 1980s and a change in how action films were made. In an interview he said, "It was the beginning of a new era. The visuals took over. The special effects became more important than the single person. I wish I had thought of Velcro muscles myself. I didn't have to go to the gym all those years, all those hours wedded to the iron game, as we call it."
Promotional material included Alfred's last name (Pennyworth) and Gordon's first name (James). Neither of which were mentioned in the movie. However, the name "James Gordon" does appear on the table at the press conference early in the film.
Before signing his contract, Jack Nicholson demanded approval over the makeup designer and his designs. The designer of the Joker makeup turned out to be Nick Dudman. He sculpted six Joker designs, two of which were chosen by him and Tim Burton and sent to Nicholson. After approving to one design, Nicholson signed the contract.
Lt. Eckhart was clearly based on the comics character Lt. Harvey Bullock.
Although this film played a large part in creating the '12' certificate for UK Cinema releases, the BBFC chose not to use it for video releases until 1994. Therefore, when this film was released to video in 1990, the certificate was upgraded to '15'. It has remained unchanged ever since. See also: Batman Returns (1992).
The design of Gotham City is based on the work of architects Antonio Gaudi, Otto Wagner, Shia Takamatsu and Louis H. Sullivan.
When the Joker tells Bob to tail Knox, Jack Nicholson ad-libbed his Grisson impression, complete with Jack Palance's breathy voice.
In the original script, written by Tom Mankiewicz, crime boss Rupert Thorne hires Joe Chill to murder Thomas Wayne because he is running against Thorne for city council.
Bob Ringwood studied over 200 comic book issues for inspiration. 28 sculpted latex designs were created; 25 different cape looks and 6 different heads were made, accumulating a total cost of $250,000.'
Tim Burton hired Anton Furst as production designer after seeing his work on The Company of Wolves (1984) and failing to get him for Beetlejuice (1988).
When Knox goes back to the office in the beginning of the film, a colleague mocks him with a drawing of a Bat in a formal suit, on the bottom left is the signature of the artist, Bob Kane. Bob Kane is the co-creator of the Batman character.
The painting one of Joker's henchmen vandalizes by making red hand prints and then splashing green paint on it, is a self-portrait made in 1669 (same year of his death) by the Netherlands artist Rembrandt van Rijn.
Though the murderer of the Wayne's is shown here to be Jack Napier, who eventually becomes the Joker, in the comics the name of the killer is Joe Chill. The method of the killing and the effect and consequence it had on the young Bruce Wayne is the same in both comics and movie.
When Alfred receives Vicki Vale's message a portrait of Thomas Wayne can be seen in the background.
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen reportedly turned down the chance to make the film, because they didn't want to do a film that wasn't theirs.
Tim Burton suggested replacing Sean Young with Michelle Pfeiffer but Michael Keaton, who was in a relationship with Pfeiffer, believed it would be too awkward.
Paul Birchard, who has a minor role in this movie, would also have a tiny role in The Dark Knight (2008).
Rosanna Arquette, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ellen Barkin, Robin Duke, Kate Capshaw, Glenn Close, Joan Cusack, Madonna, 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.
Corto Maltese is also an island country in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, one of Tim Burton's inspirations for Batman. It is named for a man from Hugo Pratt's Italian series of comic books, of which Frank Miller is a fan.
Michael Keaton hated the Batsuit because he suffered from claustrophobia. Danny Elfman and Keaton both decided that it would enhance his performance, so they stuck with it.
Early drafts of the script featured Batman's sidekick, Robin. The role was offered to Kiefer Sutherland, who was 19 at the time. Sutherland turned down the role, saying he imagined himself wearing yellow tights on the big screen, and didn't realize that Tim Burton planned to make the film much darker than Batman (1966). Eventually, the role was reduced to a small cameo by Robin's alter ego, Dick Grayson, and was eventually cut from the film completely
Warner Brothers considered Bruce Payne to play Batman, to have "Bruce Payne as Bruce Wayne" on their "one liner" press marketing PR campaign for the film. Payne has said that "they drew up a very short shortlist and there I was on it. Obviously, I lost out in the end to Michael Keaton".
Kelly LeBrock was considered for the role of Vicki Vale.
Charlie Sheen was deemed too young to play Batman.
Tim Burton disliked the Prince songs. They were Jon Peters' idea.
In the original script, the paper Knox and Vicki worked for was the Gotham Gazette, not the Gotham Globe.
The Batman Movie franchise has attracted the longest list of actors who have Oscar and Golden Globe wins or nominations. 20 Oscars, 39 Golden Globes. The franchise has won 3 Oscars
Jack Nicholson 3 Oscars, 9 nominations 7 Golden Globes, 10 Nominations
George Clooney 2 Oscar, 4 nominations 4 Golden Globes, 7 nominations
Michael Caine 2 Oscars, 4 nominations 3 Golden Globes, 8 nominations
Tommy Lee Jones 1 Oscar, 3 nominations 1 Golden Globe, 3 nominations
Christian Bale 1 Oscar, 1 nomination 1 Golden Globe, 1 nomination
Halle Berry 1 Oscar 1 Golden Globe, 3 nominations
Heath Ledger - (only actor to win Oscar/GG for Batman character performance) 1 Oscar, 1 nomination 1 Golden Globe, 1 nomination
Kim Basinger 1 Oscar 1 Golden Globe, 1 nomination
Nicole Kidman 1 Oscar, 2 nomination 3 Golden Globes, 6 Nominations
Ben Affleck 2 Oscars, 2 nominations 2 Golden Globes, 1 nomination
Morgan Freeman 1 Oscar, 3 nominations 2 Golden Globes, 4 nominations
Anne Hathaway 1 Oscar, 1 nomination 1 Golden Globe, 2 nominations
Marion Cotillard 1 Oscar, 1 nomination 1 Golden Globe, 2 nominations
Christopher Walken 1 Oscar, 1 nomination 1 Golden Globe nomination
Jack Palance 1 Oscar, 2 nominations 1 Golden Globe
Michelle Pfeiffer 3 Oscar Nominations 1 Golden Globe, 5 nominations
Tom Wilkinson 2 Oscar nominations 1 Golden Globe, 3 nominations
Uma Thurman 1 Oscar nomination 1 Golden Globe, 3 nominations
Liam Neeson 1 Oscar nomination 3 Golden Globe nominations
Michael Keaton 1 Oscar nomination 1 Golden Globe, 1 nomination
Gary Oldman 1 Oscar nomination
Jim Carrey 2 Golden Globe, 4 nominations.
Danny DeVito 1 Oscar nomination 1 Golden Globe, 5 nominations
Maggie Gyllenhaal 1 Oscar nomination 1 Golden Globe, 2 nominations
Drew Barrymore 1 Golden Globe, 2 nominations.
Chris O'Donnell 1 Golden Globe nomination.
Tom Conti 1 Oscar nomination 2 Golden Globe nominations
Matthew Modine 2 Golden Globe nominations
Eric Roberts 1 Oscar nomination 3 Golden Globe nominations
Ken Watanabe 1 Oscar nomination 1 Golden Globe nomination
Joseph Gordon-Levitt 2 Golden Globe nominations
Arnold Schwarzenegger 1 Golden Globe, 1 nomination
Alicia Silverstone 1 Golden Globe nomination.
Jack Nicholson 3 Oscars, 9 nominations 7 Golden Globes, 10 Nominations
George Clooney 2 Oscar, 4 nominations 4 Golden Globes, 7 nominations
Michael Caine 2 Oscars, 4 nominations 3 Golden Globes, 8 nominations
Tommy Lee Jones 1 Oscar, 3 nominations 1 Golden Globe, 3 nominations
Christian Bale 1 Oscar, 1 nomination 1 Golden Globe, 1 nomination
Halle Berry 1 Oscar 1 Golden Globe, 3 nominations
Heath Ledger - (only actor to win Oscar/GG for Batman character performance) 1 Oscar, 1 nomination 1 Golden Globe, 1 nomination
Kim Basinger 1 Oscar 1 Golden Globe, 1 nomination
Nicole Kidman 1 Oscar, 2 nomination 3 Golden Globes, 6 Nominations
Ben Affleck 2 Oscars, 2 nominations 2 Golden Globes, 1 nomination
Morgan Freeman 1 Oscar, 3 nominations 2 Golden Globes, 4 nominations
Anne Hathaway 1 Oscar, 1 nomination 1 Golden Globe, 2 nominations
Marion Cotillard 1 Oscar, 1 nomination 1 Golden Globe, 2 nominations
Christopher Walken 1 Oscar, 1 nomination 1 Golden Globe nomination
Jack Palance 1 Oscar, 2 nominations 1 Golden Globe
Michelle Pfeiffer 3 Oscar Nominations 1 Golden Globe, 5 nominations
Tom Wilkinson 2 Oscar nominations 1 Golden Globe, 3 nominations
Uma Thurman 1 Oscar nomination 1 Golden Globe, 3 nominations
Liam Neeson 1 Oscar nomination 3 Golden Globe nominations
Michael Keaton 1 Oscar nomination 1 Golden Globe, 1 nomination
Gary Oldman 1 Oscar nomination
Jim Carrey 2 Golden Globe, 4 nominations.
Danny DeVito 1 Oscar nomination 1 Golden Globe, 5 nominations
Maggie Gyllenhaal 1 Oscar nomination 1 Golden Globe, 2 nominations
Drew Barrymore 1 Golden Globe, 2 nominations.
Chris O'Donnell 1 Golden Globe nomination.
Tom Conti 1 Oscar nomination 2 Golden Globe nominations
Matthew Modine 2 Golden Globe nominations
Eric Roberts 1 Oscar nomination 3 Golden Globe nominations
Ken Watanabe 1 Oscar nomination 1 Golden Globe nomination
Joseph Gordon-Levitt 2 Golden Globe nominations
Arnold Schwarzenegger 1 Golden Globe, 1 nomination
Alicia Silverstone 1 Golden Globe nomination.
Peter O'Toole was considered for The Penguin when Tom Mankiewicz was attached.
Jon Peters wanted to use a Nike product placement with the Batsuit.
Costume designer Bob Ringwood turned down the chance to work on Licence to Kill (1989) in favour of this film.
Jack Nicholson has said that what made the Joker one of his favorite roles of his own was that it allowed him so much creative freedom. In Nicholson's view, while most character roles have specific traits that an actor has to stay true to, the Joker's specific trait is that he's unpredictable, meaning that he was able to do whatever he wanted and still stay true to the character.
In an interview, Tim Burton said if had in his shortlist for the the role of the Joker, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Richard Gere, Jeff Goldblum, Robert Englund, Brad Dourif and of course Jack Nicholson.
The Joker says the line "What a day!" Jack Nicholson said the same line in The Witches of Eastwick (1987). Maybe because both films share the same producers.
After the success of Repo Man (1984), Alex Cox was offered a chance to direct but declined.
Some of the music from this film can also be heard in The Wolf Man (1941). The scene where Lawrence Talbot throws rocks at Gwen Conliffe's bedroom window to get her attention is where this occurs.
As Jimmy and his parents are walking through the city at the start, a version of Prince's song 'Batdance' (made for the film) can be heard.
Part of Jack Nicholson's contract was approval over the makeup designer.
The film cast includes three Oscar winners: Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Jack Palance; and one Oscar nominee: Michael Keaton.
Rotelli's first name in the film is Tony, but in the original script it was Carmine.
Based on his success with Superman (1978), Richard Donner was considered for director. He wanted Mel Gibson as Batman.
Prosthetic makeup designer Nick Dudman used acrylic-based makeup paint called PAX for The Joker's chalk-white face.
Billy Dee Williams modeled his portrayal of Harvey Dent after Adam Clayton Powell, a famous pastor. Tommy Lee Jones, who took over the role in Batman Forever (1995), had previously played a scripture-quoting prosecutor in The Client (1994), also for director Joel Schumacher.
At one point in the movie Joker refers to the Batman as "Junior bird man". Michael Keaton portrayed Riggan in Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman (2014) who as an actor in his glorious days portrayed comic book hero by the name of Birdman. Keaton based his role of Riggan on his own experience playing Batman.
Director Cameo
Tim Burton: as one of The Joker's goons in the Museum scene.
Director Trademark
Tim Burton: [opening credits] The opening credits pass slowly over the length of a large bat insignia.
Tim Burton: [TV commercials] The Joker announces his terroristic plans via television commercials.
Tim Burton: [distorted female face] The Joker poisons women with his "Smilex" products causing them to have death rictus with "Glasgow smiles" like his own. Later, he scars the face of Alicia.
Spoilers
According to actor Pat Hingle (Commisioner Gordon) in his Special Edition DVD interview, there was a flashback scene shot, but not used, that reveals that after Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered, Bruce was watched over that night by Gordon, who was then a young street patrolman. The still photo of the young Bruce Wayne being held by an unseen policeman in the newspaper story that Vicki Vale and Alex Knox reads, is from that scene. Although discarded, the idea was re-used for the re-boot film, Batman Begins (2005) with Gary Oldman as Gordon. The same idea has been incorporated into some comic book reiterations to further explain the alliance between Gordon and Batman.
Though the murderer of the Waynes is shown here to be Jack Napier, who eventually becomes the Joker, in the comics the name of the killer is Joe Chill. The method of the killing and the effect and consequence it had on the young Bruce Wayne is the same in both comics and movie. The Joe Chill scenario would later be used in Batman Begins (2005).
Joker falls to his death during the climactic battle with Batman. In the comics, it had become a long standing trademark for the Joker to appear to be killed at the end of a story, only to return in a later one.
Tim Burton received a lifelong ban from any and all Comic Con events after the release of this film, due to it having some "fundamental" deviations from the canon. The deviations he got the most heat for were primarily: the decision to make the Joker the killer of the Waynes and, strangely enough, that Vicki Vale went into the Batcave. Burton reveals this on a DVD commentary track for the film, where he also absolutely denies being responsible for these decisions.
Originally Alexander Knox was to have succumbed to the Joker's gas during the parade. According to Robert Wuhl, producers came to like the character so much they decided to let him live.
The climax of the film; with Batman, Joker and Vicki on the roof of a cathedral, is inspired by the climax of Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Appropriately, there is a second influence from Hugo: the Joker is inspired by Gwynplaine from The Man Who Laughs.
In Sam Hamm's original script, the effect of Smylex (called Smylenol in the script) is first seen on the two female models, who are only represented in the film as cardboard cut-outs in Joker's commercial. The original scene has them in a bikini photo session with a photographer who is urging them to smile more as he snaps away. The girls begin to giggle, which at first pleases the photographer, then their giggles become laughter, then uncontrollable helpless hysterics, which has the photographer going from mild annoyance to complete horror as the exhausted girls expire from forced hilarity, with the ghastly Joker-like grins frozen on their faces. As it was originally intended, the death scene is much more protracted than the one that remains in the film with Becky the newscaster, depicting death by Smylex as a particularly agonizing, if mirthful, way to go. This kind of death scene was a running gimmick from the Joker's original story in 1940, and was revived in comic books from 1973 onwards.
On-screen body count: 56
A publicity shot cut from the film, but used in the "Batman" Fall 1989 trading cards is of The Joker when he is about to kill Carl Grissom. The subheading read, "No deals this time, Grissom."
In the original draft by Sam Hamm the age of Jack Napier was specified as being 32 meaning that the Joker would be young. After several rewrites by Warren Skaaren and others, and the casting of Jack Nicholson, the age of Jack Napier had to be changed to suit a middle aged man. The final revelation about Napier killing Thomas and Martha Wayne was a last minute addition by Tim Burton and Warren Skaaren in order to raise the stakes between Batman and Joker.
In the film Jack Napier, The Joker, is the murderer of Batman's parents. One of the facts not addressed in the film that has its roots in the comic is that Batman would dream whichever villain he was chasing at the time was the one who murdered his parents. In addition, although this change bothered many fans, it was approved by Batman co-creator Bob Kane, who served as a consultant to the film. He said he would have done it in the comics if he had introduced the Joker at around the same time he had created Batman.
Alicia Hunt is loosely based on an obscure Batman comics character named Circe, created by Doug Moench. This ex-girlfriend and hanger-on of a criminal named Roman Sionis aka The Black Mask, was scarred by her lover/boss and reportedly (according to him) subsequently committed suicide.
The name of the song The Joker is singing when he's electrocuting Rotelli with the hand buzzer is "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight." It was composed in 1896 by Theodore August Metz aka Theo. A. Metz with lyrics by Joe Hayden.
The revelation of the Joker having killed Bruce Wayne's parents became a point of controversy for some, as it conflicted with the long established Batman origin story in which Joe Chill was the killer. However, Batman creator Bob Kane approved of the twist in the origin story, saying that if the story had been planned out ahead of time, he would have likely made Joker the killer also.
Sam Hamm has absolved himself from the sequence where Alfred leads Vicki to the Batcave, a move that didn't sit well with a lot of fans. Hamm said the scene didn't come from him and that the day Alfred let someone in the Batcave would be his last day of employment.
Sam Hamm's ending had the Joker attempting escape via helicopter, the helicopter rouses a swarm of bats that have been sleeping in the rafters, and the bats engulf the Joker, who falls to his death. But Warren Skaaren scrapped it and rewrote the third act.
Originally in the climax, the Joker was to kill Vicki Vale, sending Batman into a vengeful fury. Jon Peters reworked the climax without telling Burton and commissioned production designer Anton Furst to create a 38-foot (12 m) model of the cathedral. This cost $100,000 when the film was already over budget.
The character of Alexander Knox appears nowhere in old Batman comic books. He was a character created for the movie. In the script the character was to be killed by poisonous gas during the parade scene. In an interview with Starlog Magazine done at the time, Robert Wuhl joked that his character should become Robin in a sequel.
After Grissom tells Jack he wants to him to go to Axis chemicals, Jack says "Me?" And holds up a joker card. There's a hole on the cheek of the joker on the card - the same place where Jack would get shot at Axis chemicals.
Tim Burton was insisting of having the future Joker murdering Bruce Wayne's parents and letting Vicki Vale into the Batcave, but Sam Hamm was against it and when production started during the strike, Warren Skaaren included these elements in his third act.
Carl Grissom was originally going to be comic book villain Rupert Throne, but he was renamed when the character was going to be killed off.
In Sam Hamm's draft, the Joker takes down the Batwing in a Joker tank, but when Warren Skaaren rewrote it the Joker takes it down with a telescope gun.
The Joker uses his acid flower twice: once on Vicki Vale in the museum which he misses, the second in the bell tower on the bell which does actual damage.
BATMAN (1989) ORIGINAL TRAILER
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