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01:47

Batman

Name: Batman
Director: Tim Burton
Genre: Adventure, Crime/detective, Action
Released: 1989
Duration: 2 h 1 min
Cast: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle

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Adventure
Crime/detective

1989
Tim Burton
121 mins
12

Summary

Action fantasy starring Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger. In the rotten heart of Gotham City, wrongdoers face a new nemesis: a caped crusader cracking down on crime. Photojournalist Vicki Vale's investigations take her to a party given by easy-going millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. Meanwhile, dapper mobster Jack Napier becomes a fall guy for his criminal kingpin boss and undergoes a terrible transformation, emerging as a twisted villain destined to pose a deadly threat to Vicki and the mysterious Batman.

IMDB

Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

John Ferguson

Holy tour de force! Only director Tim Burton could take the Caped Crusader into the darkest realms of comic-strip nightmare yet still manage to weave an arresting tale full of doomy Shakespearean irony. From the camera crawling around the Bat symbol under the opening credits to the Hunchback of Notre Dame-inspired finale, this action fantasy captures the spirit of artist Bob Kane's creation, and the result is a sophisticated film noir full of black humour and creepy images. With Michael Keaton's brooding Batman/Bruce Wayne and Jack Nicholson's garish Joker on the knife-edge of good and evil, Burton cleverly places both tragic characters within the same psychological bracket. Shot on 18 sound stages at Britain's Pinewood Studios, the Gotham City set was the largest construction since 1963's Cleopatra, costing $5.5 million and using 60 miles of scaffolding; Oscar-winning designer Anton Furst said he wanted Gotham City to look like a New York that had gone without planning permission for 300 years. Burton went on to direct a sequel three years later that is arguably even better than this smash-hit original.

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7.5/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameBatman / Bruce WayneMichael KeatonJoker / Jack NapierJack NicholsonVicki ValeKim BasingerAlexander KnoxRobert WuhlCommissioner GordonPat HingleHarvey DentBilly Dee WilliamsAlfredMichael GoughCarl GrissomJack PalanceAliciaJerry HallBob the GoonTracey WalterMayorLee WallaceEckhardtWilliam HootkinsGoonRichard StrangeAccountantJohn SterlandRotelliEdwin CraigFirst crimelordVincent WongSecond crimelordJoel CutraraRicorsoJohn DairNicChristopher FairbankEddieGeorge RothAnchorwomanKate HarperAnchormanBruce McGuireTV directorRichard DurdenBeckyKit HollerbachTV technicianLachelle CarlNapier hoodDel BakerReporterKeith EdwardsDoctorSteve PlytasPatrolman at partyAnthony WellingtonWine stewardAmir KorangyYoung Jack NapierHugo E BlickYoung Bruce WayneCharles RoskillyMaître d'Philip O'BrienScientistMichael BalfourMomLiza RossDadGarrick HagonJimmyAdrian MeyersDr WayneDavid BaxtMrs WayneSharon HolmOther muggerClyde GatellMedicJon SoresiLawyerSam DouglasMan in crowdElliott SteinBob the cartoonistDennis LillAnother reporterPaul BirchardCopPaul MichaelGoonCarl ChaseGoonMac McDonaldGoonGeorge Lane CooperGoonTerence PlummerGoonPhil TanNapier hoodJazzer JeyesNapier hoodWayne MichaelsNapier hoodValentino MusettiNapier hoodRocky TaylorReporterLeon Herbert