I'm sure you all probably know this already, but this week--tomorrow, June 23rd, to be exact--marks an important anniversary, both for lovers of cinema, lovers of comic books, and indeed, lovers of comic book cinema: It's the 20th anniversary of the release of Batman.
(And just as I did when Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came out last year, let's stop and reflect for a moment on how there are people in college now who weren't even alive when this movie came out. And how much that really fucking sucks.)
Anyway, this week, it'll be all Batman, all the time! Unless, you know, Dan Snyder does something retarded or I see Paul Rudd again and go up and yell at him for how terrible Year One was (he's only in it for about three minutes, but still, that makes him culpable) and get arrested. But other than that? All Batman! All the time!
As for the film, was it perfect? Hardly. In fact, it's pretty flawed. Especially when you take into account A) How dated it looks now, B) How it was dragged down by all three of it's sequels (Batman & Robin was obviously the worst of the bunch, but even with Batman Returns, every time I watch it, I hate it just a little bit more), and C) How incredibly awesome the Nolan/Bale films are.
But it's still a great movie. I'll save my review for tomorrow. Today, I'm just going to mention a few random memories I have of when the film came out.
-- This was maybe my first experience with a quote, unquote "summer blockbuster." Now, there are at least three or four each year. But this is the first time I actually remember seemingly the entire country salivating for the release of a movie. Even Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which came out the month before, didn't have this sort of buzz. Of course, if we'd known then that it'd be almost 20 years until the next film, and how much it would suck when it did come out, maybe people would have been appropriately jazzed.
-- I went to see it on June 24, 1989 at Springfield Mall. I remember seeing Arch Campbell on the news on Friday night, reporting from outside a movie theater (probably the Uptown), with a line around the block, as excited as I've ever seen him. Given the insane crowds the film was drawing, other parents might have refused to go at least until Sunday, but mine were really cool about taking me ASAP, knowing I'd make life a living hell until I saw it.
When we got into the theater, I was at the age where I didn't want to sit with my parents, so I went a few rows ahead of them, right on the aisle. Then, about two minutes before the movie started, this guy and his visibly pregnant wife came down and, in the somewhat condescending voice adults often use while speaking to children, asked me if I'd mind moving so his pregnant wife could have the aisle seat. I, of course, gave it up, because A) I was a nice kid, and B) I wasn't old enough to have learned that it's okay to say no to an adult.
And you know what? I've regretted it ever since. I don't care if your wife is pregnant. You don't show up to a movie like this at the last possible moment and expect to get whatever seats you want. If I had to do it over again, I would have offered to just move over one seat, so his wife could have the aisle, and he could sit elsewhere. I doubt they would have taken me up on it, and I would have enjoyed the film guilt free.
-- After seeing it, I kept shouting out "This town needs an enema!" in public, not knowing what an enema was. Eventually, my dad had to ask me to stop. Then he explained what an enema was. I stopped.
-- The movie made something like $40 million in its first weekend. At the time, this was the biggest opening for a movie ever. Now, if a big summer action film doesn't make that much in its first weekend, it's declared a bomb.
-- I'm not a big fan of Peter Travers' reviews, but seeing the print ads where it was just the Batman logo and underneath it: "A triumph - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone" remains one of the best bits of movie advertising I've ever seen.
-- The Batman action figure line couldn't have sucked more. At the time, kids were still drunk with the sheer greatness of the Super Powers action figures, where the Batman figure was one of the better ones. The toys based on the film just looked cheap. This was the start of a trend that would continue for years to come. Now, Batman action figures are so gorgeous, I constantly have to remind myself that I'm not an action figure collector. I, uh...might have one or two, though.
-- MTV had a contest where you could win the Batmobile. The trick was, you had to watch MTV all day, and when they ran Prince's Bat Dance video, a number would appear, and the whatever number caller you had to be would win. I did indeed watch MTV all day. I watched more MTV that one day than I have in the past 20 years. And of course, they waited until the last fucking moment of the contest window to play the video. I called the number. I didn't win. I'm actually sort of doubtful anyone did.
(And just as I did when Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came out last year, let's stop and reflect for a moment on how there are people in college now who weren't even alive when this movie came out. And how much that really fucking sucks.)
Anyway, this week, it'll be all Batman, all the time! Unless, you know, Dan Snyder does something retarded or I see Paul Rudd again and go up and yell at him for how terrible Year One was (he's only in it for about three minutes, but still, that makes him culpable) and get arrested. But other than that? All Batman! All the time!
As for the film, was it perfect? Hardly. In fact, it's pretty flawed. Especially when you take into account A) How dated it looks now, B) How it was dragged down by all three of it's sequels (Batman & Robin was obviously the worst of the bunch, but even with Batman Returns, every time I watch it, I hate it just a little bit more), and C) How incredibly awesome the Nolan/Bale films are.
But it's still a great movie. I'll save my review for tomorrow. Today, I'm just going to mention a few random memories I have of when the film came out.
-- This was maybe my first experience with a quote, unquote "summer blockbuster." Now, there are at least three or four each year. But this is the first time I actually remember seemingly the entire country salivating for the release of a movie. Even Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which came out the month before, didn't have this sort of buzz. Of course, if we'd known then that it'd be almost 20 years until the next film, and how much it would suck when it did come out, maybe people would have been appropriately jazzed.
-- I went to see it on June 24, 1989 at Springfield Mall. I remember seeing Arch Campbell on the news on Friday night, reporting from outside a movie theater (probably the Uptown), with a line around the block, as excited as I've ever seen him. Given the insane crowds the film was drawing, other parents might have refused to go at least until Sunday, but mine were really cool about taking me ASAP, knowing I'd make life a living hell until I saw it.
When we got into the theater, I was at the age where I didn't want to sit with my parents, so I went a few rows ahead of them, right on the aisle. Then, about two minutes before the movie started, this guy and his visibly pregnant wife came down and, in the somewhat condescending voice adults often use while speaking to children, asked me if I'd mind moving so his pregnant wife could have the aisle seat. I, of course, gave it up, because A) I was a nice kid, and B) I wasn't old enough to have learned that it's okay to say no to an adult.
And you know what? I've regretted it ever since. I don't care if your wife is pregnant. You don't show up to a movie like this at the last possible moment and expect to get whatever seats you want. If I had to do it over again, I would have offered to just move over one seat, so his wife could have the aisle, and he could sit elsewhere. I doubt they would have taken me up on it, and I would have enjoyed the film guilt free.
-- After seeing it, I kept shouting out "This town needs an enema!" in public, not knowing what an enema was. Eventually, my dad had to ask me to stop. Then he explained what an enema was. I stopped.
-- The movie made something like $40 million in its first weekend. At the time, this was the biggest opening for a movie ever. Now, if a big summer action film doesn't make that much in its first weekend, it's declared a bomb.
-- I'm not a big fan of Peter Travers' reviews, but seeing the print ads where it was just the Batman logo and underneath it: "A triumph - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone" remains one of the best bits of movie advertising I've ever seen.
-- The Batman action figure line couldn't have sucked more. At the time, kids were still drunk with the sheer greatness of the Super Powers action figures, where the Batman figure was one of the better ones. The toys based on the film just looked cheap. This was the start of a trend that would continue for years to come. Now, Batman action figures are so gorgeous, I constantly have to remind myself that I'm not an action figure collector. I, uh...might have one or two, though.
-- MTV had a contest where you could win the Batmobile. The trick was, you had to watch MTV all day, and when they ran Prince's Bat Dance video, a number would appear, and the whatever number caller you had to be would win. I did indeed watch MTV all day. I watched more MTV that one day than I have in the past 20 years. And of course, they waited until the last fucking moment of the contest window to play the video. I called the number. I didn't win. I'm actually sort of doubtful anyone did.
1 comments:
The original is probably better than people are willing to give it credit for today. The subsequent "reboot" of the Batman franchise has changed things - as Nolan's versions are more based in reality.
If people view Burton's Batman as it was intended, shot as a 'fairytale', it holds up okay.
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