LUCIDMEDIA

Batman on Film

Written by Adam A. Donaldson Monday, 14 July 2008 12:14

Batman was barely four years old when he first found his way on film, in a series of 13 shorts that made up the first Batman serial, stars Lewis Wilson and Douglas Croft fought a Japanese nemesis out to destroy the city with deathrays and zombies. Six years later, it was Robert Lowery and Johnny Duncan’s turn to take up the costumes of the Dynamic Duo for a 15 part serial where Batman and Robin fought a villain named the Wizard. Every 20 years or so, it seems that Batman re-emerges in a new form on the big screen and each time the Cape Crusader is a little (or a lot) different than he was in the version before it. It’s the inevitable result of changing times and changing expectations, but it’s interesting to note that it wasn’t until 2005’s Batman Begins that everyone could agree that the character himself was being represented best in the transition from comic page to movie screen. Subsequent to the 40s serials, there came 1966’s Batman, a big screen spin-off of CBS’s Batman TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward. Like the show, the film revelled in camp, bright colours and snappy action and was little more than an extended episode of the series.

For all those that complained of the latter films over dependence on villains, note Batman’s inclusion of four of his biggest: the "clown prince of crime" The Joker (Cesar Romero), that "count of criminal conundrums" The Riddler (Frank Gorshin), that "pompous, waddling master of fowl play" The Penguin (Burgess Meredith), and the "fiendish feline" The Catwoman (Lee Meriwether, who replaced then ailing Julie Newmar).

The plot was simple: the four fiends intend to take over the world by dehydrating the members of the United World Security Council and only Batman and Robin can save the day. Using their diverse talents like the Bat-Run and such handy equipment as Bat-Shark Repelant, the Cape Crusader and the Boy Wonder are able to save the day. The film was a modest success that ended up reinforcing the already tremendous popularity of the TV show. Interestingly, this movie remains the only incarnation of the West-Ward series to be released on DVD “officially” even though it can be widely seen on numerous channels around the world. The reason changes depending on who you ask, but primary among them is the fact that Batman as a character is owned by Time Warner, while the rights to the series rest with 20th Century Fox. What’s resulted is a monitary Mexican stand-off.

Thanks to the success of Pee Wee’s Big Adventure and Beetlejuice, Burton was given the greenlight to proceed with a darker, more edgy treatment of the Dark Knight; Burton would later recall that the experience was, "Torture. The worst period of my life!" There were a lot expectations on Burton’s shoulders for the success of this movie; a lot of people with a vested interest in the final film, not the least of which were the fans. Every aspect of Batman came with scrutiny and, occassionally, controversy. The hiring of Michael Keaton as the title character was a big one in the beginning, although most now agree that he was one of the best actors to ever don the cowl. Menawhile, Jack Nicholson was the utterly uncontroversial choice to play the Joker. But the stars aligned for the troubled production which ended up over budget during shooting thanks in large part to the ’88 Writers Strike which saw the movie start filmming while there were still rewrites to be done. But in the Summer of ’89, production troubles were inconcsequential as the unprecedented hype for the film galvanized it to $435 million in box office receipts. With awards and acolades and a place as one of the most successful films of all time (Erik Premiger famously called it “The movie of the decade”), a sequel was inevitable. Burton, however, was less certain, especially after the success he had directing and producing Edward Scissorhands from a story of his own creation. But as an enticement to the director, who was widely credited for guiding the first film to success, the studio offered him the freedom to pursue the film in whatever direction he saw fit. That direction ended up having a profound impact on the direction of the entire film series though. The story involved classic Batman rogues the Penguin (Danny DeVito) and Catwoman (Michelle Pfieffer) as well as the villainous businessman named Max Shreck (Christopher Walken), created speicifically for the movie. No two people could agree on the same reason the movie failed: it was either too dark or too childish, there were either too many villains or not enough story to go around. Comic fans noted the film was more Burton’s Batman than a film about the Caped Crusader as they had come to know him. Despite a domestic gross of almost $167 million, Batman Returns was perceived as a disappointment. Burton took a meeting to discuss directing another, but instead merely ended up a producer on the subsequent Batman Forever. Joel Schumacher took the director’s seat instead, a move which fans have since come to see as the beginning of the end for the venerable film franchise.

Ironically, at the time, Schumacher was seen as the saviour of the Batman films, by leading Forever to a better box office performance than Returns. This in spite of the fact that many of the same critical complaints levelled against Burton’s last effort were also heard in regards to Schumacher’s, which featured not just two villains in the form of Tommy Lee Jones’ Two-Face and Jim Carrey’s Riddler, but the long awaited introduction of Robin (as played by Chris O’Donnell), as well.

Forever also famously switched up the Batmans. Out was Michael Keaton and in was Val Kilmer. The popular rumour is that Schumacher and Kilmer frequently clashed on the set. Schumacher later said, “I was told that Val was difficult and wasn't [right] for me. (...) I'm tired of defending overpaid, over privileged actors. I pray I don't work with them again.”

With the finacial success of Forever, Warner Bros was reassured enough to grant Schumacher leave to develop his second Batman; the fourth installment to be called Batman & Robin. Kilmer was out as the Dark Knight and George Clooney was brought in. O’Donnell stayed as the other half of the team, while Alicia Silverstone was hired as the new Batgirl, who, together with the Dynamic Duo, would take on Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman). Under the assumption that the last film was saved with a great emphasis on being appealing to kids, the filmmakers took that reasoning to its extreme conclusion. In the years since, many involved with the production blamed the studio’s insistance on creating maximum merchandising opportunities, which created an atmosphere of product over production. “In my estimation - you're not making movies, you're making two-hour infomercials for toys, said executive producer Michael Uslan. “And that's sad. Because, if a filmmaker is allowed to just go out and make a great film, I believe you will sell toys anyway.” Even the most ardent of Batman defenders now had to admit that the franchise had gotten away from those involved. Even the selection of villains for Batman to face seemed haphazard. When Batman & Robin was released, work on a fifth film had already begun. In the movie to be called Batman Triumphant, the Dark Knight and his allies were to face off against Scarecrow (probably played by Jeff Goldblum) and Harley Quinn (recast as the Joker’s daughter and rumoured to be played by Gillian Anderson). Plans for Triumphant fell apart after the poor reception of Batman & Robin.

For the next several years, a new Batman movie was discussed in many different potential interations. There was Lee Shapiro and Stephen Wise’s DarKnight script which pitted Batman against Scarcrow and Man-Bat, Darren Aronofsky’s adaptation of Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One, Boaz Yakin’s (Remember the Titans) live-action version of the futuristic Batman Beyond and Wolfgang Peterson’s Batman Vs Superman.

But all these adaptions came to not, and instead Memento filmmaker Christopher Nolan came up the middle to make Batman Begins, which, in its way contained elements of many of the previously pitched films; primarily the idea of an origin story and having Scarcrow as a villain. Nolan was praised for his realistic treatment of the material and for putting the emphasis on developing Batman as a real character. “The world of Batman is that of grounded reality. [It] will be a recognizable, contemporary reality against which an extraordinary heroic figure arises,” said Nolan at the time. So now here we are, in the shadow of The Dark Knight so to speak. And the question is: can it live up to the hype being generated around it. It seems that two has been a make or break number for Batman filmmakers; Tim Burton got two and so did Joel Schumacher. What happens next? Well, I guess we find out next weekend.