A
look at the films and changes that Tim Burton brought the world's most famous
superhero franchise courtesy of John Collins...
Since the 1930’s, the depiction
of Batman in comic books and recorded media has changed. We’re currently
experiencing more Batman stories than ever; with Superman VS Batman:
Dawn of Justice due for release in 2016 and Channel 5 currently airing the
TV series, Gotham, it’s sometimes easy to forget some of the Caped
Crusaders past adventures both on the big and small screen.
In nearly three decades there
have been two Batman film franchises released by Warner Brother’s; the
Christopher Nolan Dark Knight Trilogy and the Tim Burton movies from the
late 80’s and early 90’s (excluding Batman & Robin with which he had
no involvement and let’s be honest, we all just want forget it ever happened.)
Many luvvie movie fans now
claim that the Nolan movies are much darker and grittier than the Tim Burton
output, which many now consider to be slightly animated. However, I love both
franchises for different reasons. I would never say one is better or more
important than the other; in essence, they were perfect for the times they were
released.
However, for my contribution to
Tim Burton Day, I’d like to defend his movies and state why they are just as
important to the Batman mythology. The first Batman movie was
released in 1989 during a time when the comic books were becoming much darker
in tone and content. Examples such as The Killing Joke demonstrated a
new direction taken as opposed to the more colourful and child friendly comics
between the 1930’s and 70’s. The 1960’s TV series starring Adam West (which has
recently got its overdue DVD/Blu-ray release) reflected the campier persona of
the Caped Crusader. Through Burton’s unique vision and awareness of audiences
changing tastes, the 1989 movie illustrated a type of Batman not seen on
screens before.
Let’s take a look at aspects of the first movie. Burton’s
designed set of Gotham city captures the danger and darkness with many analysts
having linked his direction to that of German Expressionism as seen in movies
such as The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. It evoked a city that was quite
literally ‘going to hell,’ a theme also explored in the Nolan Trilogy and the Gotham
TV series. Michael Keaton’s portrayal of Batman showed a more dark and
complex characterisation; never using a gun but never holding back when needing
to do the right thing. And let’s not forget Jack Nicholson’s Joker; while more
comical when compared to Heath Ledger’s more mad portrayal (which led to a much
deserved, posthumous Oscar win), this was a Joker fitting with the comic-book
character who was simply dangerous.
While the film garnered
controversy due to its dark themes, it was nevertheless a box office bonanza
and led to a sequel, Batman Returns in 1992. My main issue with a lot of
Superhero movies is that to please all fans of the comic books, screenwriters
and directors try to include as many villains as possible in one film. Current
Superhero movies fail when doing this as they often feel forced into the plot.
However Batman Returns achieves this notion perfectly with the inclusion
of Catwoman and The Penguin who, along with Batman, explore the concept of what
the distinguishes between humans and animals really are.
While critically acclaimed, Batman Returns was even
darker than its predecessor and this criticism led Warner Brother’s asking
Burton to step down from director to producer for the 1995 follow-up Batman
Forever. In order to attract a more family market, the third movie
introduced lighter themes which, along with Burton’s changing roles, displeased
Michael Keaton and thus he handed the Batmobile keys to Val Kilmer. Personally,
I quite like the Joel Schumacher directed Batman Forever. It may be
lighter in tone, but it’s still a worthy edition in the franchise.
While Frank Miller introduced
darker tones to the Batman comic books, Tim Burton is by far responsible
for doing so in screen formats, therefore, he deserves more praise when
regarding his Batman movies. You can see his influence in every Batman
adventure in movies, television and video games ever since. Without him we
probably would never have had the truly incredible 90’s Batman: The Animated
Series, The Dark Knight Trilogy, the Gotham TV series or even
the Arkham Video Game series.
Furthermore, by capturing the tone and themes of the comic
books, not only was he pleasing the hard-core fans, but he was also able to introduce
them to a movie going audience who may enjoy a Superhero movie, but would never
fork out money to collect comic book issues.
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