HOME WEB NEWS IMAGES CLASSIFIEDS YELLOW PAGESPOLLS - SURVEYS WIKI COUNTRIES PHOTOS US UK INDIA
Cities Stocks Weather Movies Coupons Travel Blogs Health Horoscope Maps ASIA EUROPE Classifieds Yellow Pages
 1
|
For the video game based on the film, see Batman Returns (video game).
| Batman Returns | |
|---|---|
| |
| Directed by | Tim Burton |
| Produced by | Tim Burton Denise Di Novi |
| Written by | Characters: Bill Finger (Uncredited) Bob Kane Story: Sam Hamm Daniel Waters Screenplay: Daniel Waters Wesley Strick (Uncredited) |
| Starring | Michael Keaton Danny DeVito Michelle Pfeiffer Christopher Walken |
| Music by | Danny Elfman |
| Cinematography | Stefan Czapsky |
| Editing by | Chris Lebenzon Bob Badami |
| Distributed by | Warner Brothers |
| Release date(s) |  June 19, 1992 July 10, 1992
|
| Running time | 126 minutes |
| Country | United States
|
| Language | English |
| Budget | $80,000,000 |
| Gross revenue | $282,800,000 |
| Preceded by | Batman |
| Followed by | Batman Forever |
| Official website | |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Batman Returns is a 1992 superhero film based on the Batman character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane. Tim Burton directed the film, which has Michael Keaton reprising the role of Batman, as well as Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken. The film\'s plot primarily concerns Bruce Wayne struggling to provide peace in Gotham City after the appearance of a mysterious "Penguin-like man" and the sudden birth of Selina Kyle into Catwoman. In this wake, Bruce romances with Selina, both as Bruce Wayne and Batman while trying to prove Penguin to be a criminal towards the citizens of Gotham.
Burton originally did not want to return for a second installment due to his mixed emotions from the original film. After being impressed with a script by Daniel Waters, he thought otherwise. Wesley Strick would later be brought on for an uncredited rewrite, deleting characterizations of Robin and Harvey Dent. The film was entirely shot at Warner Brothers studios in Burbank, California (the first film was shot at Pinewood Studios in England), with Danny Elfman returning to compose the film score, citing it as a stressful experience, but still overly positive. Batman Returns was both a commercial and critical success, but did spawn controversies (being seen as "too dark" for younger children). Comic book veterans would express mixed thoughts and reviews. The film would also receive nominations at the Academy Awards, MTV Movie Awards and the Razzie Awards.
Contents |
Around Christmas time in Gotham City, the aristocratic Cobblepots give birth to a baby boy that later shows homicidal tendencies when he kills the family cat. They drop their deformed infant baby in the sewers, abandoning him because of his ridiculed look. Thirty-three years later, it is Christmas time again as the city is being run by Mayor Hamilton Hill, who deals with the ambitious but ruthless business tycoon, Max Shreck. Gotham comes under attack by the "Red Triangle Circus Gang" in a recent ceremony, although the heist is disrupted by the crime-fighting Batman. Shreck\'s timid secretary, Selina Kyle, is caught in the fray, but is soon saved by Batman, after which she steals a stun gun from one of the gang members. Shreck is kidnapped by the Red Triangles and is brought to their leader, a short, deformed man known as "The Penguin." Penguin blackmails Shreck with incriminating evidence of his more dubious activities, prompting Shreck to agree to help Penguin run for Mayor of Gotham.
Shreck arranges for the Penguin to "rescue" the mayor\'s infant child from his own gang members. The plan works, and Penguin becomes a hero to all except a suspicious Bruce Wayne (Batman\'s alter ego). After finding out his original birthname of Oswald Cobblepot, Penguin eventually wins the approval of citizens of Gotham and intends to run for Mayor. Shreck, however, is soon troubled by Selina\'s discovery of a dark secret behind his new power plant. Shreck tries to murder her by pushing her out of a skyscraper, but Selina survives the attempt, and is revived amid a huge crowd of cats. It is assumed through this event that Selena inherited her new abilities.
Dazed, Selina goes back to her apartment and goes ballistic. She destroys her apartment and crafts a homemade black vinyl costume to pursue a new life, as a vigilante figure named "Catwoman." Carrying a whip as her weapon of defense, she bombs Shreck\'s department store and battles with Batman, losing another life in the process. As Selina, she then forms a romantic relationship with Bruce Wayne, while also allying herself with Penguin to get back at Batman for \'killing\' her.
When the subsequent plan is put into action, Batman is framed for kidnapping and murder and finds himself trapped in the Batmobile under Penguin\'s control. Catwoman and Penguin\'s alliance falls apart when she rebuffs a sexual advance from him, and Penguin opts to kill Catwoman himself. His campaign to recall the current mayor is quickly destroyed when Bruce Wayne plays selected comments he stated while controlling the Batmobile; comments insulting the people of Gotham at one of Penguin\'s speeches. The people of Gotham get angry, forcing Penguin to defend himself with his gun umbrella. The police chase after him, but Penguin flees into the sewers, and reveals his original plan: to kidnap and kill the firstborn sons of Gotham\'s most prominent families in revenge.
Bruce meets Selina at a dance party hosted by Shreck, where she reveals to him her intentions to kill Shreck. While dancing, the two subsequently discover the other\'s secret identity, but before they can leave to discuss this development, Penguin storms the hall and tries to take Max\'s son, Chip. Max successfully pleas with Penguin to take him instead. Batman attacks Penguin\'s Red Triangle Circus goons and puts a stop to the kidnappings. Penguin then dispatches an army of rocket-armed Penguins to bomb all of Gotham. Batman manages to jam the birds\' control signals and turn them around so that they attack Penguin\'s base instead, apparently killing the Penguin and what is left of his gang inside.
Batman then discovers that Catwoman intends to kill Shreck inside Penguin\'s base. Shreck tries to bribe Batman, but Batman simply ignores him, and tries to talk Catwoman out of her planned murder. He promises they could live happily together, but Catwoman refuses to listen, and scratches him on the cheek with her claws. During this argument, Shreck draws a gun he took from a Red Triangle clown and fires it at Batman, but it only scrapes him. Catwoman then starts to approach Shreck, who shoots her four times, leaving Catwoman alive but wounded. Catwoman then exacts her revenge of Shreck by inserting the stolen stun gun into her mouth, activating the spark, and pressing her lips to Shreck\'s, while also grabbing onto Penguin\'s massive electrical generator with her free hand. A huge explosion follows, and as the smoke clears away, Batman tries to find Selina in the debris, but only the charred corpse of Shreck is found. A gravely injured Penguin then emerges from the water and tries to kill Batman once again before ultimately succumbing to his wounds.
Some time later, Bruce drives around the city, with his butler, Alfred, while searching for Selina in vain. The camera then pans up to the top of the city, amidst the sky scrapers. The film ends as Catwoman appears, watching as the Bat-Signal light up the night sky.
Keaton was not signed for a second installment and only returned after a significant raise in his salary.Jeffrey Ressner. "Three Go Mad In Gotham", Empire, August 1992. Retrieved on 2007-11-27. DeVito was the first and only choice for the Penguin, and writer Daniel Waters claimed he wrote the character with DeVito in mind.Judy Sloane. "Daniel Waters on writing", Film Review Special #12, August 1995. Retrieved on 2007-11-29. According to producer Denise Di Novi, every single actress in Hollywood between the ages of 25 and 42 desperately wanted the role of Catwoman. (2005). Shadows Of The Bat: The Cinematic Saga Of The Dark Knight-The Dark Side Of The Night (DVD). Warner Brothers. Among them included Raquel Welch, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Lena Olin, Ellen Barkin, Cher, Bridget Fonda and Susan Sarandon."Big-Game Hunting", Entertainment Weekly, 1991-08-09. Retrieved on 2007-11-30. Annette Bening was originally cast in the role after Burton was impressed with her performance in The Grifters. She would eventually drop out during pre-production upon finding out she was pregnant with Warren Beatty\'s child. Burton felt that Pfeiffer "was the one and only other obvious choice for the role." However, Sean Young, who was originally cast as Vicki Vale in the first film before she became injured, believed the role should have gone to her. She often visited the Warner Brothers offices and studio often dressed up in a homemade costume demanding an audition. She then visited The Joan Rivers Show dressed in the outfit stating that the situation was "unfair Hollywood." Pfeiffer joined the film with a signing fee of $3 million ($2 million more than Bening\'s original salary), and also taking a percentage of the box office gross, while taking kickboxing lessons."Flashes", Entertainment Weekly, 1992-06-12. Retrieved on 2007-09-14.
| "I think I probably got a little carried away. We tried to give The Penguin a foundation and a psychological profile. I liked the fact that some people couldn\'t decide whether or not Catwoman was bad. She never was bad. When they were bad on the TV series they were never really bad. That\'s the thing, I never saw any of them as bad, and I never believe it when they say people are bad." |
| — Tim Burton on the villains of Batman ReturnsMark Salisbury; Tim Burton (2000). Burton on Burton. Faber and Faber, p.103-4. ISBN 0-57120-507-0. |
Although a sequel was an obvious move, Tim Burton had not been signed up in advance and after the release of hugely successful Batman (1989), Burton publicly described a second installment as "a most dumbfounded idea." On the first film, Burton quoted, "There\'s parts I liked, but it was a little boring at times. Often with sequels, they\'re like the same movie except everything gets jacked up a little. I didn\'t feel I could do that; I wanted to treat this like it was another Batman movie altogether."
Sam Hamm, who wrote the first film, wrote a first draft that had the Penguin and Catwoman going after hidden treasure. Hamm also originally had Harvey Dent becoming Two-Face in his drafts of the script. Waters claimed he "flirted with it," although it was only to be a very small subplot. Dent was deleted as Burton didn\'t want the film to have connections with the previous Batman film.Judy Sloane. "Daniel Waters on writing", Film Review Special #12, August 1995. Retrieved on 2007-11-29. Burton briefly spoke of the situation as well, thinking of the idea to be interesting of using Williams as Two-Face for a possible third Batman installment before giving the directing reins to Joel Schumacher. (2005). Batman (1989) Audio Commentary by Director Tim Burton (DVD). Warner Brothers.
Hamm\'s draft was considered disappointing, so Burton brought in Daniel Waters. Burton was impressed with his work on Heathers, and originally brought him in for writing a sequel to Beetlejuice. A year later, however, Burton felt him to be perfect as Hamm\'s replacement. It was at this time that Warner Brothers decided to give Burton full creative control. Burton was excited with Waters\' new pitch that had an evil mogul (Max Shreck, whose name is a reference to the actor of the same name, who portrayed Count Orlok in Nosferatu) backing a bid for the Mayor\'s office by The Penguin. Waters claimed that Hamm wrote a "old-fashioned, almost like a Hardy Boys action adventure". On Hamm\'s original characterization of Catwoman, Waters stated that "[he] went back to the comic book and the way comic books in general treat women, like a fetish[y] sexual fantasy." Waters felt that he needed to see the film through her point of view. He reinvented her as a secretary, feeling that she should "start off just at the lowest point in society".
The studio desperately wanted Robin to appear in the film. He was originally supposed to appear in the original film, though Burton and Hamm convinced Warner Brothers otherwise. Waters found writing the character very hard, because "Tim and I personally hate him, he\'s just the most worthless character in the world, especially with Tim\'s conception of Batman as the loner of loners." Waters had visioned Robin as the leader of a street gang, though before he was written as an African American, to which he forms a "hard-edged" relationship with Batman. Waters and Burton argued that there were too many characters in the script and then visioned another version of the character. He was then written as an intelligent African-American working in an autoshop garage. He was to supposedly fix the Batmobile after Penguin wrecks it. Waters quoted that he costume was to be "an old-fashioned garage mechanic uniform and it just has an \'R\' on it." There was also to be a scene where he drives the Batmobile in the same manner he does in Batman Forever, which Waters feels, "they [the writers of Batman Forever] ripped me off! They didn\'t even give me free popcorn for that!" Marlon Wayans was cast in the role and was even paid with a contract of two films. He was initially cast in the role for Batman Forever, however Wayans quoted, "They decided they wanted somebody white." Wayans was paid for both films without having to do any acting.Nathan Rabin. "Wayans World", The A.V. Club, 1998-02-25. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
Wesley Strick was solely brought in to come up with a solution with "Penguin\'s lack of a master plan". The writer claimed he was presented with "the usual boring ideas to do with warming the city, or freezing the city"David Hughes (March 2004). Tales From Development Hell: Hollywood Film-Making the Hard Way. Titan Books, p.196. ISBN 1-84023-691-4. (the latter ended up in Batman & Robin). Strick pitched an alternative approach, inspired by the Moses parallels of Walter\'s prologue, in which the infant Oswald Cobblepot is bundled in a basket and thrown in the river where he floats helplessly until he\'s saved (and subsequently raised) by Gotham\'s sewer denizens. He came up with Penguin\'s "master plan" to kill the firstborn sons of Gotham City. Both the studio and Burton were impressed with the idea, though Strick claims the toy manufacturers were worried. Strick went uncredited for his work. Strick also deleted the idea of Schreck turning out to be the Penguin\'s brother. (2005). Batman Returns Villains Profile: Max Shreck (DVD). Warner Brothers.
Although Warner Brothers had, at great expense, kept Anton Furst\'s sets of Gotham City in Batman at Pinewood Studios, Burton felt the sequel should have a completely different production design and instead went to the studio\'s lot in Burbank. He said, "They could have brought somebody else in for the sequel, and had the same sets, and shot in London, but I couldn\'t do that because I\'d have lost interest. I wanted to treat it like it was another movie altogether, there\'s no point in doing the exact same thing again." Furst, the production designer of the first film, was offered to once again take the opportunity, though was forced to decline due to "contractual reasons". Burton hired Bo Welch, whom he previously worked with on Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands. Furst committed suicide three months after filming began in September 1991.
Construction began in early 1991 at two of Hollywood\'s largest sound-stages, Stage 16 at Warner Brothers and Stage 12 at Universal Pictures. Eight other buildings were used on the Warner Brothers lot, and when filming finished at least fifty percent of the studio\'s outlets were occupied by the filming of Batman Returns. Stage 16 was used primarily for "Gotham Plaza," which was based on New York\'s Rockefeller Centre. The set was covered with foam and polyester fabric stuffing to simulate snowdrifts. Universal\'s Stage 12 housed the Penguin\'s underground lair, an enormous tank filled with half-a-million gallons of water and a simulated ice floe island. To create Penguin\'s bird army a combination of techniques were utilized including men in suits, computer-generated imagery, robotic creatures and real life penguins.Salisbury, Burton, p.108-110
The sets were also kept frozen to simulate the winter time period of the film and for the pleasure of the penguins at stage 12. Filming was to remain very secretive. Picture ID cards were issued to everyone on set, with a code name, "Dictel" (short, Burton insisted, for "Dictatorial"), being stamped on sensitive documents. Art department personnel were advised to keep their office curtains closed at all times and no visitors were allowed near the sets, with even Kevin Costner being refused. Everyone involved was required to sign a document guaranteeing that they would not specifically hold interviews with news sources. About midway through filming, however, a few test shots of DeVito in costume found their way into an American entertainment magazine. Warner Brothers hired a group of private investigators to track down the source, though the ploy ultimately failed.
Danny Elfman was calm on writing the film score for a sequel, as he "didn\'t have to prove himself", (2005). Inside the Elfman Studios: The Music of Batman Returns (DVD). Warner Brothers. unlike his work for the first film, where he had to impress producer Jon Peters. (2005). Nocturnal Overtures: The Music of Batman (1989) (DVD). Warner Brothers. Elfman claims he would not have been interested if he were "to basically perform the same notes from the original film", and was excited for the idea that Burton wanted to make a completely different film. Elfman compared scoring the music with a combination of, "a usual action film score, mixed with a clashing of an opera, and finally adding the element of silent film-like feel," citing the experience as his hardest work he has ever done in his music career. In addition he compared the action sequences to that of "composing a cartoon in the 1940s". Despite the stress and the work level, Elfman also found it fun and exhilarating, claiming he took advantage of the opportunity to write an additional 20 minutes of music compared with Batman and composed two new themes for the Penguin and Catwoman. In total, Elfman wrote 95 minutes of music for the film, which is twice the amount of the usual guideline.
Batman Returns opened in the United States on June 19, 1992 and surpassed its predecessor\'s record for the most successful three-day opening in history, with receipts totaling $47.7 million; it would eventually gross $267 million worldwide, $144 million less than the original. Even though the film was considered by many to be "too dark,"Salisbury, Burton, p.113-4 Burton thinks otherwise, feeling that Batman was far darker than Batman Returns. To this day, he favors Batman Returns between the two.
Batman Returns is currently the fourth highest grossing Batman film to date,Batman Movies. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-11-27. and was also the third highest grossing film of 1992 (behind Aladdin and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York).1992 DOMESTIC GROSSES. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-12-03. Based on 42 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, Batman Returns received an average 81% overall approval rating;Batman Returns. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2007-11-27. the film received a 57% with the seven critics in Rotten Tomatoes\' "Cream of the Crop."Batman Returns: Rotten Tomatoes\' Cream of the Crop. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2007-12-03.
Those who supported the film were largely enthusiastic. Phillip Thomas of Empire was highly effecting stating, "Burton continues to capture the essence of the Batman legend and more importantly his audiences imagination.""Batman Returns", Empire, 2005-10-21. Retrieved on 2007-12-06. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone supported the main themes that included the story, characters, and visual citing that "Burton uses the summer\'s most explosively entertaining movie to lead us back into the liberating darkness of dreams.""Batman Returns: Review", Rolling Stone, 2001-02-07. Retrieved on 2007-12-06. Todd McCarthy of Variety went further, feeling "Where Burton\'s ideas end and those of his collaborators begin is impossible to know, but result is a seamless, utterly consistent universe full of nasty notions about societal deterioration, greed and other base impulses."Todd McCarthy. Batman Returns Review. Variety. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
Batman Returns, however, was met with negative feedback as well, due to its controversial elements. Roger Ebert commented that it was "odd and sad, but not exhilarating", feeling that it "didn\'t spring into the free world."Roger Ebert. Batman Returns. RogerEbert.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-06. Rita Kempley of the Washington Post stated, "like a hyperactive 11-year-old, the director [Burton] seems both uncomfortable with adult emotions and unable to focus on the overall portrait.""\'Batman Returns\'", Washington Post, 1992-06-19. Retrieved on 2007-12-06. Comic book veteran Matt Wagner felt it was strong on atmosphere but felt Burton was more interested on the villains and that he was a terrible action director. He openly stated, "Batman Returns is often credited as being a better film [than Batman] but I fucking hated how it made Batman little more than just another costumed creep, little better than the villains he’s pursuing."Bill "Jett" Ramey. "Interview: Matt Wagner", Batman-on-Film.com, 2006-09-30. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
Paul Dini was impressed with the characterization of Bruce Wayne, while other comic book enthusiasts thought otherwise. One criticism was that the script lacked any character development for Batman, and instead focused on the villains. In response to this, writer Daniel Waters claimed he originally had an excessive amount of screen time and dialogue for Michael Keaton, though claimed it was personally Keaton\'s idea to delete objectionable material. Having Batman killing criminals also caused some controversy among comic book fans; they argued that in the comics Batman refrains from killing, fearing he may himself become a criminal. Waters stated "you can\'t drop bad guys on a spider-web in front of city hall (when referring to Spider-Man)." (2005). Batman Returns Heroes Profile: Batman (DVD). Warner Brothers.
Bruce Timm was impressed with Michelle Pfeiffer\'s performance (2005). Batman Returns Villains Profile: Catwoman (DVD). Warner Brothers. while Alex Ross was embarrassed to have liked Christopher Walken in a role that was created specifically for the film. Critics of Tim Burton\'s work have constantly pointed to what they term his inability to tell a coherent story, and with Batman Returns, he was again accused of sacrificing the narrative for the sake of the visuals, or simply style over substance. In defense Burton stated, "it\'s just how my brain works."
Batman Returns was nominated for two Academy Awards, although it won neither. It lost "Best Visual Effects" to Death Becomes Her and "Best Makeup" to Bram Stoker\'s Dracula.1993 Academy Awards. IMDB. Retrieved on 2007-12-06. Pfeiffer was nominated for "Most Desirable Female" at the MTV Movie Awards, but lost to Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct. Both Keaton and Pfeiffer were nominated for "Best Kiss" but lost out to Marisa Tomei and Christian Slater in Untamed Heart. Danny DeVito would be nominated for "Best Villain" though he ended up losing to Jennifer Jason Leigh in Single White Female.1993 MTV Movie Awards. IMDB. Retrieved on 2007-12-06. DeVito was once again nominated for "Worst Supporting Actor" in the Razzie Awards before losing to Tom Selleck in Christopher Columbus: The Discovery.1993 Razzie Awards. IMDB. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
| Batman in popular media | |
|---|---|
| Actors | Lewis Wilson · Robert Lowery · Adam West · Olan Soule · Michael Keaton · Kevin Conroy · Val Kilmer · George Clooney · Will Friedle · Bruce Thomas · Rino Romano · Christian Bale · Jeremy Sisto · Casts |
| Live-action television | Batman (1966–1968) · Legends of the Superheroes · OnStar commercials · Birds of Prey · Return to the Batcave |
| Batman film series | Batman (1943) · Batman and Robin (1949) · Batman (1966) · Batman (1989) · Batman Returns (1992) · Batman Forever (1995) · Batman & Robin (1997) · Batman Begins (2005) · The Dark Knight (2008) |
| Animation | Batman/Superman Hour · New Adventures of Batman · Batman: The Animated Series/New Batman Adventures · Mask of the Phantasm · SubZero · Batman Beyond · Return of the Joker · Mystery of the Batwoman · The Batman · The Batman vs. Dracula (2005) · Gotham Knight (2008) |
| Related TV series | Justice League (TV series) · Justice League Unlimited |
| DC Comics films | |
|---|---|
| The Serials | Batman (1943) • Hop Harrigan (1946) • The Vigilante (1947) • Superman (1948) • Congo Bill (1948) • Batman and Robin (1949) • Atom Man Vs. Superman (1950) |
| Single films | Superman and the Mole Men (1951) • Batman (1966) • Supergirl (1984) • Steel (1997) • Road to Perdition (2002) • Catwoman (2004) • A History of Violence (2005) • Constantine (2005) • V for Vendetta (2006) • Watchmen (2009) |
| Franchises |
Batman (1989–1997): Batman (1989) • Batman Returns (1992) • Batman Forever (1995) • Batman & Robin (1997) Superman: Superman (1978) • Superman II (1980) • Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006) • Superman III (1983) • Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) • Superman Returns (2006) Swamp Thing: Swamp Thing (1982) • The Return of Swamp Thing (1989) |
| Films directed by Tim Burton | |
|---|---|
| 1970s | The Island of Doctor Agor • Stalk of the Celery |
| 1980s | Vincent • Frankenweenie • Pee-wee\'s Big Adventure • Beetlejuice • Batman |
| 1990s | Edward Scissorhands • Batman Returns • Ed Wood • Mars Attacks! • Sleepy Hollow |
| 2000s | Planet of the Apes • Big Fish • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory • Corpse Bride • Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street • Alice in Wonderland |
| Producer | The Nightmare Before Christmas • Cabin Boy • Batman Forever • James and the Giant Peach • 9 |
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia
