Batman

Batman (1989)

Timing: 2:6 (126 min)

7.2/10
8474

7.52/10
106900

7.5/10
431000

All about film

Video 17

Photo 188

Actors and characters

Release date

1989-06-21

Country

United States

Production

Warner Bros. Pictures, The Guber-Peters Company, Polygram Pictures, Guber/Peters Company

Genre

Fantasy, Action, Crime

Budget

$35 000 000

Revenue

$411 348 924

Website

Director

Tim Burton

Actors

Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough, Jack Palance, Jerry Hall, Tracey Walter
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Peter Guber, Jon Peters, Michael Uslan, Benjamin Melniker

Operator

Roger Pratt

Composer

Danny Elfman

Artist

Michael Boone

Audition

Marion Dougherty

Editing

Ray Lovejoy
All team (135)

• Alec Baldwin, Charlie Sheen, Bill Murray, and Pierce Brosnan auditioned for the role of Batman. However, Mel Gibson was still the main candidate. But the actor preferred to star in "Lethal Weapon 2" (1989).
• Adam West, who had already donned the Batman costume in the 1966 television series, also wanted to play the lead role. However, the comic book author Bob Kane spoke in favor of Michael Keaton's candidacy.
• Designer Anton Furst mixed disparate architectural styles to give Gotham City a more sinister and grotesque appearance. The result exceeded all expectations.
• Approximately $750 million was earned from the sale of various merchandise (t-shirts, caps, toys, video games).
• Michael Keaton spent about two months preparing for the role, specifically studying kickboxing under the guidance of his trainer and stunt double, David Lee. As a result, Michael was able to perform almost all of the scenes without a stunt double. A double was only needed for filming scenes involving a heightened risk to life.
• Jack Nicholson received $60 million for the role of the Joker, not as a fee, but through profit participation, and continues to receive it to this day from every screening of the film, for which he was included in the Guinness Book of World Records. Danny DeVito made similar demands, but Warner Bros. management refused him.
• Tim Burton and Michael Keaton made a lot of revisions to the script during their work on the film. The most striking innovation was the famous phrase, “I’m Batman.” The original line was: “I am the night!”
• The very first screenplay for the film appeared back in 1980. Its author was Tom Mankiewicz, the screenwriter for "Superman" (1978). The Joker and the Penguin were listed as villains in Tom's screenplay, and Rupert Thorne and Barbara Gordon emerged as the plot unfolded. Robin was supposed to appear at the end of the film.
• The film based on Tom Mankiewicz's screenplay was supposed to be released in 1985, and its budget could have reached $20 million. Ultimately, a decision was made to freeze the project.
• In 1985, Tim Burton received an offer to work on realizing this screenplay. After reviewing Tom Mankiewicz's work, Burton decided to completely rewrite the screenplay. Together with his girlfriend, Julie Hickson, Burton crafted a 30-page story outline that received approval from the producers.
• Several screenwriters were tried until Warren Skaaren appeared on the horizon, with whom Burton worked on creating "Beetlejuice" (1988). However, his predecessor, Sam Hamm, was also proclaimed one of the film's screenwriters.
• Filming began in October 1988 and lasted only 12 weeks.
• Kim Basinger, the actress who played Vicki Vale, is only 7 cm shorter than Michael Keaton. To make Keaton appear taller, Kim was forbidden from wearing high heels.
• Michael Jackson was considered to work on the film's soundtrack. Jackson had to decline the offer due to his demanding concert tour schedule.
• Initially, the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, were planned to be the directors.
• Upon the film's release on video, viewers complained that it was too dark and gloomy, to the point that it was sometimes impossible to understand what was happening on screen. As a result, the video version had a brighter picture.
• The Batmobile was built on a Chevrolet Impala base, as previous attempts with a Jaguar and Ford Mustang had failed.
• The choice of Keaton for the lead role caused negative emotions among comic book fans, with approximately 50,000 letters of protest sent to the Warner Bros. office.
• Warner Bros. enlisted the support of Steve Englehart, who wrote a new screenplay in March 1986. Initially, it featured the Joker and Rupert Thorne as the main villains, with a cameo by the Penguin, Silver Cloud, and Dick Grayson.
• Englehart outlined the detailed plot in Strange Apparitions (ISBN 1-56389-500-5). Warner Bros. were delighted with it, but Englehart felt it was too much for a single film. Therefore, he removed the Penguin and Dick Grayson in his second draft of the screenplay, which was completed in May 1986.
• Originally, Sean Young was to play the role of Vicki Vale, but she was injured while horseback riding even before filming began. Tim Burton suggested replacing Young with Michelle Pfeiffer, but Michael Keaton, who had a relationship with Young, expressed that he would be uncomfortable with Pfeiffer. She later played the role of Catwoman in 'Batman Returns' (1992). Due to these complications, an urgent search began for another actress who could immediately participate in filming. John Peters suggested Kim Basinger, who immediately began filming.
• Tim Burton wanted Bob Kane to play an episodic role in this film, but the artist was unable to participate in the shooting. However, he drew a caricature of a clerk with a bat head, which was used in the film.
• Steven Spielberg wanted to make a Batman movie. He envisioned Harrison Ford as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Michael J. Fox as Robin/Dick Grayson, Tim Curry as the Joker, Dustin Hoffman as the Penguin, John Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth, Bert Reynolds as Commissioner James Gordon, and Martin Sheen as Harvey Dent.
• In the film, the Joker was the killer of Bruce Wayne's parents. In the comics, however, Joe Chill took on that responsibility. This oversight was corrected in the film 'Batman Begins' (2005).
• Burton hired Sam Hamm, who was a comic book fan, to rewrite the script. Hamm decided not to use the character's origin story in the script, believing that flashbacks were better suited for that purpose, and that 'revealing the mystery' would be part of the plot. Hamm replaced Silver St. Cloud with Vicki Vale and Rupert Thorne with his own invented character, Carl Grissom. He finished his script in October 1986, in which Dick Grayson was mentioned as a cameo, not as a recurring character. Hamm's script included a scene featuring a young James Gordon on duty the night Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered. But when Hamm's script was rewritten, the scene was removed.
• A plotline in which Gordon helps young Bruce Wayne cope with the death of his parents and investigates their murder was removed from the script. This was later reflected in the film 'Batman Begins' (2005).
• On the 63rd minute, when the Joker takes over the restaurant, one of the criminals leaves several red palm prints on a Rembrandt self-portrait, however, in the following two scenes the painting is clean again. Only after the third scene change do the prints reappear.
• Initially, Sean Young was to play the role of Vicki Vale, but she was injured while horseback riding before filming began. Tim Burton suggested replacing Young with Michelle Pfeiffer, but Michael Keaton, who had a relationship with her, expressed the opinion that he would be uncomfortable with Pfeiffer. She later played the role of Catwoman in ‘Batman Returns’ (1992). Due to these complications, a frantic search began for another actress who could immediately participate in the filming. John Peters suggested Kim Basinger, who immediately began filming.
• Steven Spielberg wanted to make a Batman movie. He envisioned Harrison Ford as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Michael J. Fox as Robin/Dick Grayson, Tim Curry as the Joker, Dustin Hoffman as the Penguin, John Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth, and Burt Reynolds as Commissioner James Gordon, Martin Sheen as Harvey Dent.
• Burton hired Sam Hamm, a comic book enthusiast, to rewrite the script. Hamm decided not to use the character's origin story in the script, believing that flashbacks would be better suited for that purpose, and that the "reveal of the mystery" would become part of the plot. Hamm replaced Silver Cloud with Vicki Vale and Rupert Thorne with his own invented character, Carl Grissom. He completed his script in October 1986, in which Dick Grayson was mentioned as a cameo, not as a recurring character. Hamm's script included a scene featuring a young James Gordon on duty the night Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered. But when Hamm's script was rewritten, the scene was removed.