Information AboutBatman Returns |
''Batman Returns'' is a 1992 Superhero Thriller film based on the Batman character created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger . It is the second Batman film, and the last in the series to be directed by Tim Burton and to star Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman . The departure of Burton and Keaton paved the way for the Joel Schumacher films. It was also the first film to feature Dolby Digital technology when it debuted in the summer of 1992. PLOT The story begins 33 years ago, at Christmas time Gotham city. The wealthy Cobblepots have just given birth to a child, but it is shown that the baby is deformed. They soon decide to abandon him by dropping it into the sewers. As the baby's basket rushes through the sewers, the credits roll, and eventually the child comes to rest at the feet of a group of Emperor Penguins from the zoo. Thirty-three years later, it is Christmas time again in Gotham, as the ambitious but ruthless business tycoon Max Shreck gives a speech at a treelighting ceremony. However, the speech is soon disrupted by a criminal group of clowns known as the "Red Triangle Circus Gang". They fire guns and terrorise people, but Batman is summoned and is able to restore order. Shreck is kidnapped amidst the chaos and is brought to their leader, a short, deformed man known as " The Penguin ". The Penguin informs Shreck of the reason he has taken him: he wishes to return to the society of Gotham, and he wants Shreck to help him achieve this. Shreck is skeptical, but the Penguin blackmails him with incriminating evidence of his more dubious business practices. 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. The Penguin asks to be allowed to find his parents, and is given private access to the Gotham's Hall of Records, where he is seen jotting down an apparently unrelated list of names. He discovers his parents were a wealthy aristocratic couple. Adopting his birth name of Oswald Cobblepot, he publicly forgives his now-dead parents, winning more hearts and minds. Shreck decides to use Oswald's fame to his own advantage, persuading him to run for mayor to remove the final obstacle to building a new power plant. Cobblepot reluctantly agrees, noting he still has his own plans to carry out. During this time, Shreck attempted to murder his timid secretary Selina Kyle when she discovered his "power plant" was in fact a giant capacitor to suck power from the city. She survived her subsequent Defenestration at Shreck's hands after her body was circled by a large number of cats, and came back with a more assertive, unstable personality, ostensibly with a cat's nine lives (minus her first "death"). Kyle makes a homemade black vinyl Catsuit and becomes a costumed vigilante under the name " Catwoman ". During Penguin's efforts to cause chaos through his gang to create dissatisfaction with the current Mayor, Catwoman bombs Shreck's department store. She subsequently fights Batman, who had been neutralizing the Red Triangle Circus earlier, and is apparently killed again in the process when she falls off a roof. While Selina Kyle is pursued in a romantic relationship with Bruce Wayne, as Catwoman she allies herself with the Penguin to get back at Batman for his killing her, although the two are still unaware of the other's alter-ego's. 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. He barely survives, but Cobblepot has become more popular than ever. Although their plan was a success, Catwoman and Penguin's alliance falls apart when she rebuffs a sexual advance from him, and Penguin opts to kill Catwoman himself. However, his campaign to recall the current mayor is quickly destroyed when Bruce Wayne plays selected comments he stated while controlling the Batmobile. He was recorded insulting the people of Gotham, and this audio is played over the sound system at a rally.The people of Gotham get angry and throw Eggs and Tomatoes at him. Penguin defends himself with his Gun Umbrella . The Police chase after him, but Penguin flees into the sewers, renounces his humanity, and reveals his secret plan: to kidnap and kill the firstborn sons of Gotham's most prominent families in a twisted act of revenge against what was done to him. Before this scheme is launched, Bruce Wayne meets Selina Kyle at a dance party hosted by Shreck, where she reveals to him her intentions to kill Shreck. 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 persuades Penguin to take him instead, and Bruce and Selina depart. Bruce, as Batman, attacks Penguin's Red Triangle Circus goons, and puts a stop to the kidnappings. However, Penguin has a backup plan: an army of rocket-armed penguins dispatched to bomb Gotham. But Batman manages to jam their control signals and turn the birds around so that they attack the base instead, sending Penguin crashing through a window to the murky water below. Batman then glides through the window on his grappling hook and discovers Catwoman has come to kill Shreck. Shreck tries to bribe Batman into saving his life, but Batman just pushes him away, knocking him into an electrical generator. Batman tries to talk Catwoman out of vengeance, promising they could live happily together, but she refuses to listen to reason. During the argument, Shreck draws a gun he took from a Red Triangle clown and attempts to kill both of them. Batman is shot once on the neck (he survives due to his suit's armour) while Catwoman is hit four times as she approaches Shreck. This leaves her with only two lives left. Shreck tries to shoot Catwoman a fith time before she can reach him, but the revolver mis-fires. Catwoman then sacrifices her next-to-last life by inserting a live taser into her mouth and pressing her lips to Shreck's, while grabbing of the generator with her free hand. All of this causes an overload on the system, and a huge explosion follows. After the smoke clears, Batman searches the debris for Selina, only to find Shreck's charred corpse. Penguin, barely alive, emerges from the slimy water and grabs for his Gun Umbrella to kill Batman , but picks up his "cute" one by mistake. He finally falls dead on the floor and is slid gently into the water by the penguins as a final tribute. Driving through Gotham, Bruce sees Catwoman’s shadow. Investigating, he only finds Selina's cat, which he decides to take home. As the bat-signal lights up, the figure of Catwoman pops up on a rooftop, her eyes on the signal. DEVELOPMENT After the smashing success of '' Batman '', a Sequel was definitely in the works right away. Around the release of the first film Tim Burton said in an Interview that Danny DeVito is being considered as The Penguin with Robin Williams as the Riddler . 1 Burton publicly described a Second Installment as a "most dumbfounded idea." Burton refused to come aboard until he was happy with a Script , not an easy task considering his mixed emotions about the Original Film . 2 Burton felt that the only reason to return to a Sequel was to do something completely different from the First Film , but still in the spirit of '' Batman ''. 3 Burton quoted, "Often times 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 from the First Film was hired to write the Script . Warner Brothers sought to include The Penguin because they felt he was the second Villain to use after the Joker . Tim Burton and Hamm came up with the idea of including Catwoman as a second Villain . Sam Hamm wrote two drafts and it wasn’t until Tim Burton convinced Warner Brothers to receive more creative control on the project. Burton was unsatisfied with Hamm ’s drafts and brought in Daniel Waters . Burton was impressed with Waters ’ work on '' Heathers ''. Burton originally approached Waters on doing a Sequel to '' Beetle Juice '', but Burton thought he would be perfect for the ''Batman'' Sequel . 4 Waters and Burton decided to make a completely different '' Batman '' film all together, regardless of what anyone else thought, as Waters said so himself. Waters said that Hamm originally wrote “an old-fashioned, almost like a Hardy Boys action adventure.” Hamm Originally Planned Harvey Dent Becoming Two-Face in the film in which Waters ''“flirted”'' with the concept, with just a very small subplot. Waters commented saying, "I was to have Harvey Dent start to come back, and just have on scene of him where he flips a Coin and it’s the good side of the coin." In the same Interview Waters said that Burton had no intention on using Harvey Dent since he wanted the Sequel to be something that wasn’t really in the same Continuity . Daniel Waters stated that producer Mark Canton desperately wanted Robin in the film. Waters and Burton ’s version of Robin was that he was a leader of a gang, beating people up, and he eventually has a Hard-edged Relationship With Batman . The second idea was to have him be the mechanic working on the Batmobile after The Penguin wrecks it. He was to be an African-American in a simple mechanic suit with the classic ''“R”'' logo. Burton and Waters thought against the idea when they thought of how many Characters were already in the film to begin with. Not to mention Waters and Burton both flat out hate Robin . They thought He was the most worthless character in the world, especially with Burton 's conception of Batman as the loner of loners, and to some Kid running around like an idiot. The two were able to convince Warner Brothers on not including Robin, and saving him for a Sequel . Marlon Wayans was set to play Robin before the Character was deleted from the Script . 5 The episodes "Hizzoner The Penguin /Dizzoner The Penguin " from the campy 1960s TV Series served as a somewhat influence for the film. Tim Burton was impressed with the Script , though eventually hired Wesley Strick to give an uncredited rewrite for the shooting Script . CASTING Michael Keaton wasn’t signed for a Sequel and only returned after a serious hike in his Salary . Danny DeVito was a huge fan favorite for the role of The Penguin . One day, as he was reading a newspaper article about casting for the ''Batman'' sequel, the author thought of the idea for Danny DeVito for The Penguin as great casting. DeVito thought of the idea to be interesting and became personally attached to the role, and as was the case, DeVito was Tim Burton ’s only choice. Daniel Waters said he knew the entire time writing the script that Danny DeVito was already cast as The Penguin . According to Producer Denise Di Novi , every single Actress in Hollywood between the ages of 25 and 42 was attached to the role of Catwoman . Annette Benning was originally cast as Catwoman , after Burton was impressed with her performance in '' The Grifters ''. Benning dropped out of the project during pre-production when she found out she was Pregnant . After hearing the news of Annette Benning dropping out of the film, Sean Young desperately expressed interest. Young lost out to the role of Vicki Vale in The First Film due to her injury. Young went to the point of frequently storming Warner Brothers production offices in a full homemade Catwoman costume, demanding an Audition . Young then commented on her experience saying, "I didn't even get to talk to anyone, Hollywood is just a bunch of weenies.” Michelle Pfeiffer was eventually cast and everyone was calm. CAST
REACTION The film was a box office success and was the third highest grossing 1992 movie in North America. Many lauded the film's dark atmosphere and intense characters; the film is the second highest rated '' Batman '' film to date with having a freshness rating of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes , which is considered "fresh". However, some others found the film to be overly dark and Sadistic and criticized it as inappropriate for children ( Leonard Maltin for instance, regarded in his review of ''Batman Returns'' as a "nasty, Nihilstic nightmare movie" with a dark, mean-spirited and often incoherent screenplay); McDonald's marketing tie-ins, including special cups and Happy Meal toys, were protested by parents' groups because they thought that Danny DeVito's Penguin portrayal would give children nightmares. However, the filmakers intended that the film was not suitable for children, which is a possible reason why Danny DeVito won a Razzie nomination for worst supporting actor, and that ''Batman Returns'', like most Batman films, was rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association Of America . In addition to criticisms of the film's tone and demeanor, some found Burton's interpretation of the central characters problematic, arguing that the Penguin's physical deformity and homicidal tendencies, Catwoman's degenerative mental state, and Batman's brooding Melancholy , as well as his tendency to kill criminals, simply added to the somber and unsettling nature of the film. HOME VIDEO ''Batman Returns'' was released on VHS and Laserdisc in October 1992 . The film was first released to DVD five years later in 1997 , shortly after the format debuted; it was a bare-bones, single disc release featuring the ability to watch the film either in widescreen or in fullscreen but not featuring any bonus materials. To coincide with the release of '' Batman Begins '' on DVD in 2005 , Warner Brothers decided to give all four of the original Batman films new DVD treatments and special edition versions of all four films were created. The special edition DVDs feature newly restored audio and video, a re-mastered Dolby Digital audio track, a new DTS audio track and a second disc filled with bonus materials. Each title is available both individually and as part of a pack featuring the special editions of all four films in the franchise. The Region 2 DVD is missing the director's Audio Commentary although it is listed on the box as a special feature, and is also censored. Although it restores the nunchaku sequence which was cut from the original Region 2 release, the scene in which Catwoman places aerosol cans in the microwave remains cut. The DVD also suffers from a very noticeable audio glitch. Although, in the Scandinavian Region 2 DVD, the directors commentary is included, as is the scene with the aerosol cans. The audio glitch is also missing. The British Region 2 DVD now also has the director's commentary and has lost the audio glitch. SOUNDTRACK The ''Batman Returns'' score was composed and performed by Danny Elfman . The soundtrack also includes " Face To Face ", written by Siouxsie & The Banshees and Danny Elfman , used to promote the movie prior to its release. Two versions of the music video were made (the other added shots from the movie), and a club version, remixed by 808 State , was released. Elfman added chorus to main theme making it similar but not as dark as the original. BOX OFFICE PERFORMANCE ''Batman Returns'' was released June 19 , 1992 . On its opening weekend it made $ 45,687,711, which at the time was a record. It made $162,831,698 in North America, largely disappointing to Warner Brothers and the media. It added $104,000,000 around the world. Its total gross was $266,831,698. Its low gross can be attributed as to why Warner Brothers felt the need to make Batman Forever, the next Batman film, so different. AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS
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