Rise of the Planets of the Apes this weekend looks to be a killer), all eyes are turned to see what is coming next to blow our minds and empty our pockets in 2012. And the one film that has, perhaps, the greatest expectation is Christopher Nolan's final in his Batman Trilogy - The Dark Knight Rises. If you haven't seen the official trailer already then click here and check out What Culture!'s on-the-pulse post of its release. But today I want to stop looking forward, and instead rewind back to the Batman films that have paved the way for Nolan's epic finale. Of any comic book hero Batman is the most often interpreted into other mediums, and he has enjoyed a rich history on the silver screen. Only 4 years after Batman first appeared in comics, he had his debut screen appearance in a 15 episode serial in 1943. Portrayed as a government agent, Batman is pitted against the Japanese agent Dr Daka, in a home based attempt to win against the enemy forces of World War II. Sure it's black and white. Sure the costume is a little naff. But check out the awesome action and cool gadgets! There is no denying that this is Batman:
Batman Serial (1943)
Obviously this isn't a trailer, but a very groovy snippet showing Batman facing a live and death struggle on a speeding van. And I've got to say that his raygun is pretty sweet! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za3_j27RpUY
Batman & Robin (1949)
A superhero serial was next! Spinning newspaper headlines - very Tim Burton. A Batcave to rival that of the 60's TV show. And maybe it is just me, but this Batman mask looks much scarier than the George Clooney version! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osbs44KDttw
Batman (1966)
Now, I am going to skip over the TV series, as it is from the small screen and I also believe that there are very few people who don't know it and its hilariously camp approach to the dark daring of the Dynamic Duo. However there was a feature film version in 1966 based on the success of the show, containing all of the colourful villains, corny lines and crazy gizmos that audiences had come to love in their loungerooms. Nothing will ever surpass the brilliance of 'Bat-Brand Shark Repellant' in a can!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whgBnumr3QQ
Batman (1989)
For over 20 years, the Batman movie franchise sat, hidden in a dark cupboard. The icon of the Dark Knight had been watered down by the fun and popular TV series and it seemed that audiences had had enough. Even with the huge success of
Christopher Reeves' Superman in 1978, there was no Batman film in sight. That is until 1989, and the re-imagining of the Caped Crusader that took him back to the more menacing roots that Bob Kane had portrayed at his inception in 1939. On the year of his 50th anniversary Batman was brought back to celluloid life and
Tim Burton's gothic brilliance took the world by storm (not to mention
Jack Nicholson's unforgettable performance as The Joker!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfYnP52OmY0 Of all the Batman films, Burton's is the one closest to my heart. Going to see it on the big screen was the special treat for my birthday that year. And I was SO excited! For the first time Batman was the hero I was missing. A dark but moral soldier against the larger-than-life colour of evil. I even managed to collect the entire set of Batman movie collector cards... boy I ate a lot of horrible pink chewing gum to get them all.
Batman Returns (1992)
Due its box-office profits Burton was given carte-blanche to create his sequel
Batman Returns in 1992 and he went all out. Where his first Batman film had kept its kid-gloves on, this sequel turned on the dark, the killer, the ugly and the sexy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKiG_9C5T8E There are very few young men who didn't have a secret picture of
Michelle Pfeiffer in that Catwoman outfit... meow! And seeing Batman pushed to his moral edge (even killing at least one enemy thug) was fantastic. I still love the way christmas, circus and gothic are blended together to make a surreal yet believable world. And I can just say,
Danny Elfman is a musical legend!
Batman Forever (1995)
From this point it becomes a little difficult to keep writing. We enter the
Joel Schumacher era and, in my eyes, the enormous slump in the thrill that is Batman at the movies. I know that there will be people who don't agree with me here, but turning Gotham into a neon pinball amusement park just ruined what had been redefined. Of the two of Schumacher's re-envisionings
Batman Forever (1995) is the better.
Val Kilmer holds his own and continues the performance that
Michael Keaton had established. I'm not going to mention
Robin.
Jim Carrey zanies out as the completely nutso
The Riddler whilst
Tommy Lee Jones is okay as
Two-Face. But did anyone stop and think... maybe there are too many origin stories in one teeny two hour film. That was always going to be a tough gig. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGytaGTK7j8
Batman & Robin (1997)
And then there is
Batman & Robin (1997). If only they had just replayed the original serial from 1949. I don't care if there are fans of this film out there. All I can do is tell you how I feel. And I hate this film. Which is surprising as at the time of its release I had a major crush on
Alicia Silverstone, but even her hotness was no match for a stinker of a film. Ice-skate battles? No thanks. Arnie as
Mr Freeze. Extra no thanks. More of
Chris O'Donnell as Robin. Pass the bucket. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc_L3ysyZGU If there were too many origin stories in Batman Forever, then Batman & Robin goes into too many characters overload - Batman, Robin,
Batgirl, Mr Freeze,
Posion Ivy, Bane. Let's just see if cramming more characters into a film makes it better. Sorry
George Clooney, even your awesomeness couldn't save this.
Batman Begins (2005)
After the dust settled from the car-crash of those two films, it took Hollywood a while to lick its wounds and decide to take another chance on the Bat. 2005 saw the triumphant return of the franchise with Christopher Nolan's new iteration,
Batman Begins. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vak9ZLfhGnQ Now this is the Batman film that Tim Burton had opened the path for. Really dark. Really epic. Really Batman. Although I have my issues with some of the plot (
Katie Holmes as a relatively pointless love interest, and rushing over an amazing villain like the
Scarecrow played by one of his generation's greatest actors;
Cillian Murphy) Batman Begins is one helluva film. The cast are all spot on, the settings are big and dramatic, and finally Batman is faced with odds too large to really understand.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Not surprisingly Nolan was given the go-ahead to create another.
The Dark Knight (2008). Damn. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3of2zqF9SUs&playnext=1&list=PLA511008909801BE8 This is it. THE Batman film. A broken Bat. The Joker. Pitted against each other with all of Gotham at stake.
Heath Ledger re-envisions The Joker as the maniacal mass murderer that has dominated the comic world for so long, and gives us a true taste of how terrifying the host of Arkham Asylum's inmates truly are. Batman's enemies aren't just bad guys. They are the mentally insane, the socially deprived... the most dangerous humans imaginable. And Nolan serves it all up on an action-overloaded, explosive, mind-bending platter, with some cool IMAX thrown in for flavour. He has set himself a big task. To surpass the two films that have developed almost cult status already. Bring on The Dark Knight Rises. I have my fingers crossed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqF8lcKTLw0