Batman (1989) Retrospective- Act 1

by Dave Scrimgeour and Kevin McCluskey

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Warner Bros. presents
A Guber-Peters Company production
A Tim Burton film

Jack Nickolson
Michael Keaton
Kim Basinger
"Batman"
Robert Wuhl
Pat Hingle
​Billy Dee Williams
MIchael Gough
and Jack Palance

​Editor- Ray Lovejoy
​Production designed by Anton Furst

Songs by Prince
Music score by Danny Elfman

Executive Producers-
Benjamin Melniker and Michael Uslan
Co-Producer- Chris Kenny

Based upon Batman characters created by Bob Kane (****and Bill Finger***)
And published by DC Comics

Story by Sam Hamm
Screenplay by Sam Hamm
​and Warren Skaaren

Produced by
​Jon Peters and Peter Guber
Directed by Tim Burton

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---

Dave
I remember sitting in the cinema, eventually.  This was the hype of the summer.


Kev
Yeh, and I remember having gone down, to queue really early for one showing of it, and managing to get into an earlier showing.


Dave
Yeah.


Kev
But me, you and Mike couldn’t get seats together.


Dave
It must have been a Saturday, or something.


Kev
I think you’re right, man.  I think it was a Saturday.


Dave
Because we would have been back at school at that point.


Kev
Right enough.


Dave
Here’s a thing, they very rarely do this in movies nowadays; an opening credits sequence.  Films are just, “Bang!” into the film.


Kev
Yeh.


Dave
Here you had these opening credits.


Kev
And this is great, with the camera going through the symbol.


Dave
Yeah, because it really helps set the mood for the movie.


Kev
It really does.  Although, I never quite understood why they used the plain font for ‘Batman,’ rather than the block with the gold outline.

"Yellow Smiley offers me X, like he's drinking 7 Up."

​Dave
But then again, it’s the yellow, which ties into the yellow on the Batman emblem.


Kev
The yellow, definitely.  You’re right, man.


Dave
It’s got an impressive cast; Jack Palance, Billy Dee Williams, I mean, Christ!


Kev
Yeh, there're quite a lot of heavy hitters in it, aren’t there?  And from across a wide time period…


Dave
...of cinema.  It’s well designed, this shot, because you still don’t know what this is going to be.  And, of course, Prince, as well.


Kev
Yeh, that was a big part of it, wasn’t it?  The Prince soundtrack.


Dave
Yeah.  And we’re still on these opening credits, which you never see in films now, do you?


Kev
No, you’re right.  A lot of films tend to just leap right into it.


Dave
Yeah.  And half of them don’t even have opening credits, they just give you the title.


Kev
Funny you should say that, I watched the ‘Miami Vice’ movie again recently and there’s not even a title card until the very end.  They give you absolutely nothing until the end of the film.  It’s great though.  I loved that Michael Mann did that.  It really worked for that movie.


Dave
This is quite good, with just the bat symbol.


Kev
Yeh, the concrete looking bat symbol.  Just in case you were unsure of which movie you were watching.

"Makin' us see a trippy picture."

Dave
Gotham City.  Okay, fair enough.  It's very 'Blade Runner'-esque.


Kev
Yeh, it's definitely ‘Blade Runner’ influenced, with the backdrop matte paintings here.  Look at them.  I think they're excellent.


​Dave
And the steam coming up from the streets.


Kev
Yeah, that’s very Scorsese, ‘Taxi Driver’ actually, now that I think about it.  A little bit of diegetic Prince in the background too.

"All is well, in Gotham City. The sound of terror is all you hear."

Dave
It’s very timeless as well, isn’t it?


​Kev
Yeh, they really went for a sort of noir-ish kind of thing, with the hats and the overcoats and stuff.


Dave
Yeah, yeah.


Kev
I suppose this is kind of a mirror, with what’s happening to this family here, to what happened to Bruce Wayne.


Dave
You can kind-of see where Nolan got some of his Gotham City from as well.


Kev
Yeh, definitely.  Particularly in 'Batman Begins.'


Dave
This is actually a bit weird, this scene now, with the hooker and the wee kid.


Kev
Yeh, the hooker approaching this ten year old boy is a bit odd.


Dave
You never thought about it back then, but this is definitely a bit strange.


Kev
How much pocket money has this kid got?  I’m just going to hire a hooker for the night.  Right in front of my mum and dad.

"Hollywood conjures images of the past."

​Dave
Yeah.


Kev
Proper junkie-looking make-up on the street criminals of Gotham too.


Dave
Yeah.  This is Moxey from 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.'


​Kev
Yep.  That shows you it was Pinewood Studios it was filmed at.  Quite a bit of British talent in it.  It looks great though.  The set was custom-made for this film.


Dave
And this little animated bit here.

​
​​Kev
I like the way that flips.  Where initially you think you’re looking at the image of Batman, but it reveals that it's the shadow that you’re actually looking at.  That’s good.

"And I'm the wildest in the city."

​
Dave
Yeah.  It’s got a good atmosphere from the start, doesn’t it?


Kev
It really does, man.  Tim Burton is a bit hit or miss for me, but in terms of atmosphere, this is great.


Dave
In this one, yeah.  In number two, he went for a Tim Burton, gothic fairytale featuring Batman.  That was probably the issue with the second one.


Kev
I remember, while we were in school, two of the guys in my year, Reggie and Barry, were able to do this entire scene.  They stood in the playground reciting this for most of first year, I think.


Dave
The thing is, the amount of times I’ve watched this film, you end-up knowing half the dialogue.


Kev
Yeh, you do, don’t you?


Dave
That’s a great bit when Batman’s coming down in the background.


Kev
Yeh, that’s brilliant.

"Systematic overthrow of the underclass."

Dave
That’s an awful lot of smoke for one cigarette.


Kev
Yep.  Your big reveal with the cape there as well.


Dave
How many times did they show this stuff on TV to advertise it?


Kev
It felt like the ads were never off the TV.  Which was a good thing for us, back in those days.  It's not like you could just hop online in '89 to watch this stuff whenever you liked.  And here we go with the wings and the cape.  Nice side thrust kick coming up.


Dave
I love the mannerisms that Keaton gives to the performance.


Kev
Definitely.  Especially with half his face hidden underneath all that rubber.  They show you the Batarang right away here.  I remember, in the novelisation of this film, Craig Shaw Gardner describes the gravel cutting into the mugger's elbows here.  I always thought that was really evocative.  Good writing, that.  It's stuck with me for 30 years.


​Dave
This was probably the most used piece of footage for the advertising of the movie.


Kev
Yeh.  It’s totally iconic, isn’t it?


Dave
Yeah.


Kev
And that whole, ‘I’m Batman” thing has been used in almost every Batman film since.  Or certainly variations of it.

"Come closer. Feel what you've been dyin' for. Don't be afraid, Baby. Touch it and explode."

​Dave
I mean, if you look at it, there’s six minutes gone, and you’ve got a great opening to a movie. You’ve not lost the audience, you’ve actually GOT the audience in six minutes.


Kev
You’ve established so much of it.  You’ve established Gotham, you’ve established Batman, NOT Bruce Wayne, so you’ve established arguably your two biggest characters there, because Gotham IS as much of a character in this as anyone else, well, maybe other than Jack’s Joker, but we’ll get there.


Dave
Some movies can go on, and they just lose you in the first ten minutes, because they’ve tried to put this massive, epic scene in and they’ve shown their cards too quickly.


Kev
Or, the opposite, where nothing happens in the first ten minutes and it starts to feel laboured.


Dave
Yeah.


Kev
Now there you go, race-swap casting, before race-swap casting was really even considered a thing; Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent.


Dave
Exactly.

"I've seen the future and it will be. I've seen the future and it works."

​Kev
Does Two Face need to be white?


​Dave
No.


Kev
And it’s just a pity that they never followed through on that.


Dave
I know.


Kev
"And here we..... go."


Dave
Jack Nicholson.  Very contained isn’t he, as Jack Napier?


Kev
Yeh, and very relaxed with his feet on the image of Jerry Hall’s face. 


Dave
It’s brilliant, isn’t it?


Kev
Casting Jack Nicholson in this was such a big get, wasn’t it?  I know they had to pay through the nose TO get him for it, but.....


Dave
Yeah.  This film made him rich.  Although, I find it hard to believe that he wasn’t rich beforehand, but there you go.


Kev
Yeh, because he ended-up with a back-end, profit share on it, didn’t he?  Which is apparently what Downey Jr. has got for the Avengers films.  He gets a cut, so they say.  “You look fine.”  “I didn’t ask.”  The glance at the hand is great, it’s like, ‘Don’t touch.'

"Scandalous! I'm talking 'bout you and me."

Dave
Yeah.  William Hootkins as well.  Another good character actor.  Is Eckhardt supposed to be like Harvey Bullock?


Kev
Yeh.  I think so.  He must be.  I don’t know why they didn’t just do Harvey Bullock.


Dave
Yeah, he looks exactly like Harvey Bullock.


Kev
“Christ, Knox!”  Ha, ha!


Dave
Ha, ha!  See?  They’re good at establishing all the characters.


Kev
Hootkins is great as that grizzled, noir cop.  That voice is like gravel, isn’t it?

"If a man is considered guilty, for what goes on in his mind, then give me the electric chair."

​Dave
Yeah.


Kev
And a swear.


Dave
Well, this WAS a twelve certificate.  This was the first twelve in this country.


Kev
That line was used in a lot of the promo stuff, “Is there a six foot bat in Gotham City?”


Dave
I love that little bit of steam in the background.


Kev
Yeh.


Dave
Lots of steam.


Kev
Yeh, there’s steam everywhere.  It gives it that really sweaty, oppressive, ‘Taxi Driver’ feel.


Dave
Yeah.  A shithole of a city, basically.


Kev
Y’see, that’s interesting, that they’re using that line, “I answer to Grissom, not to psychos” to establish that Napier was already unhinged before he fell into the vat of chemicals.


Dave
Yeah.  Ha, ha!  That look.


Kev
And here we have Bob the Goon.


​​Dave
Those painted sets are quite funny.


Kev
Yeh.  Typical of Burton though, that they’re really interesting choices in terms of architecture.

"All is well in Gotham town. This is where she wants to be."

​Dave
Yeah, the architecture is interesting, definitely.  And it’s nice, short scenes.  It’s continuing the story.  And compared to Tim Burton’s previous work, this is very un-Tim Burton like, isn’t it?


Kev
Yeh.  Little Bob Kane signature there on the artist's rendition of Batman.


​Dave
Yeah.


Kev
Aww, man.  It’s Cassandra’s dad from ‘Only Fools and Horses’ that’s the artist.  


Dave
Is it?


Kev
Yeh.  Denis Lill, he played her dad.  And here we have Vicki Vale.  Nice shot of the pins on Kim, right there.  “If you want me to pose nude, you’re going to need a long lens.”  That’s such a terrible line.  Knox comes across like such a douchebag.

"Black and white, red and green."

​Dave
Ha, ha!  Yeah.  It’s definitely got a 1930’s feel to it, doesn’t it?  With the look of the offices and stuff like that.


Kev
Yeh.  That thing of having the first Batman film, in this series anyway, kind-of, sort-of being set in the decade that the first Batman comics came out.


Dave
It really was a nod to the original 'Detective Comics.'


Kev
Yeh, he obviously wanted to keep some of that visual aesthetic, if nothing else.  There’s a shot right up the side of your models there.


Dave
Even the goon in the background there, the heavy, he’s very 30’s looking.  They’re all very 30’s looking.


Kev
Yeh.  You just need a couple of Tommy Guns.  Which, again, we'll see later on.


Dave
Jack Palance.  He’s a great actor.


Kev
Yeh.  And Napier’s already wearing a purple suit.


Dave
Yeah, and the Joker card.


Kev
With the bullet hole in it,

"Whatever floats this Joker's boat, is whatever this Joker will bang."

​Dave
They did mash it up with some bright, weird artwork, didn’t they?


Kev
Yeh.


Dave
It’s not completely over the top, but it’s still a contrast to the darkness and shadows.


Kev
No, you’re right.  There’s some contemporary artwork against that 30’s looking fashion.  And the architecture isn’t particularly 30’s looking.


Dave
Obviously with nods to noir though.


Kev
Yeah.  And here we have the Battle of the Jacks.  Palance Vs Nicholson.

"You whispered something, it took my mind out. Like a G flat major with an E in the bass."

​Dave
I like the background music as well.  It’s just kind-of there.


Kev
Yeh, the Elfman score, in its subtler moments as well, is really good.  I like that bit there, where Grissom flicks the deck of cards into Napier’s hat.  That’s such a good, “Screw, You” act, isn’t it?


​Dave
Oh yeah.


Kev
I remember reading a bit in an article about this film where they were discussing how they’d already cast Nicholson as Napier, so they needed someone with an even greater Hollywood stature for it to be believable that they were Napier’s boss, so that’s why they went with Palance.


Dave
Yeah, he’s old-school Hollywood.


Kev
And he’s got a face like granite.  I suppose all those western movies do that to a man.  Here’s old Wayne Manor.

"I rock the party, I rock the house."

​Dave
With the Prince music in the background.


Kev
And the Gotham socialites.


Dave
And Alfred.


Kev
Yep.  Our first sighting of Alfred.


Dave
And Knox giving him a tip.


Kev
Ha, ha!  I know.  I love how Alfred sneers at that tip like, ‘Where do you think you are?  Some strip club, or something?’

"Money! How much will make you happy? You can have it all, if it'll suit you right."

​Dave
Ha, ha!  Yeah.  Dirty Alfred.


Kev
Yep.  Alfred having a sneaky wee peek down Vicki Vale’s dress.


Dave
I like the fact that Bruce Wayne’s not even wearing his collars properly.  They’re not even tucked down.  It’s like he’s done them at the last minute.


Kev
Yeh.  I love this here, with the pen and the fact that Alfred’s right behind him, and there’s also the bit with the glass, when the glass almost falls off the table and it’s Alfred who saves it.  Basically showing you that Alfred has been wiping this guy's backside his entire life, y’know what I mean?  He’s just not particularly good at looking after himself.

"The funkiest man, you've ever seen. Tell you what his name is. Partyman! Partyman! Rock a party like, nobody can."

​Dave
Ha, ha!  “Your Honour, great suit.”  “No comment.”


Kev
Kim Basinger really was just impossibly good looking at this point, wasn’t she?  She’s a stunningly good looking woman.

"Vicki didn't laugh at all."

​Dave
Oddly enough, Sean Young was the original casting for Vicki Vale.


Kev
Yeh.  Did she not campaign to be Catwoman for the second one as well?


Dave
I don’t know actually.  I think they made the right choice with Michelle Pfeiffer though, ‘cause she really took that role on.


Kev
Oh yeh.  Michelle Pfeiffer, another impossibly good looking woman.


Dave
Yeah.  Keaton’s got a great presence, doesn’t he?  Straight away.  He doesn’t have to do or say much.


Kev
Yeh, you’re right, man, he certainly has presence.  He has a really unusual energy, which, I suppose, was part of the reason Burton wanted to cast him.  


Dave
Yeah.


Kev
I love this scene in the armoury.  “Because I bought it in Japan.”  I love the delivery of that line too.


Dave
Yeah.


Kev
And this is the first time he introduces himself as Bruce Wayne, which, of course, comes way after we have seen him introduce himself as Batman.


Dave
I like how Keaton’s collars are just hanging over.  He’s not done them up properly at all.  He doesn’t give a shit, does he?  Host of the party, but whatever, open six more cases of champagne, yeah.


Kev
Very Bill Murray that delivery from Robert Wuhl there, “Six.  Yeah, six is good.”  That was a Peter Venkman in ‘Ghostbusters’ style of delivery, right there.  I like that Bruce Wayne knows Alexander Knox’s writing and knows Vicki Vale’s photography.  This is a guy who keeps his eye on things, y’know?


Dave
Yeah, yeah.  

"Hey, Ducky! Let me stick the 7-inch In the computer."

Kev
As much as this film has aged, in a lot of ways, it still…..


Dave
It stands up.


Kev
It does, it still stands up.  It’s got a really strong identity of its own, doesn’t it?


Dave
Yeah, and I think a lot of that is due to how quickly it jumps from scene to scene.  It’s not plodding.


Kev
No, not at all.  Bruce is keeping an eye on everybody here.  Which is something that happens in ‘The Dark Knight’ as well, when he syncs-up all the mobile devices.


Dave
Yeah.  It’s a pity Eghardt gets killed here, I liked that character.


Kev
That’s a good point, man.  If they had have kept that character alive, there was maybe something more they could’ve done with him in the following films.  Not that many of the supporting characters carried on into the following films though.  Those are some nice pin-striped suits on the henchmen there.


Dave
Yeah.  Very 1930’s-1940’s looking.


Kev
Bob always looks a bit dishevelled though.  He’s not quite as sharp as the other goons.


Dave
Yep.  Tracy Waller.  That’s the name of the actor.


Kev
The pants, the coat, the hat, none of them match.  He’s obviously a lower paid goon.


Dave
Yeah.  This is another bit that was heavily used in the advertising of the film.  This is a good scene.


Kev
Yeh, man.  This is great.  Burton’s not really an action director, is he?  So this stuff was kind-of out of his wheelhouse.


Dave
Oh, yeah.  I love how Eghardt just sneaks off.


Kev
Ha, ha!  Yeh, he kind-of just slopes off to the side, doesn’t he?  I’d forgotten just how many little comedic touches were in this actually.  It’s been a while since I’ve watched it, so this has been quite surprising to me.  Like that little bit with the megaphone there.  That's a nice little piece of business.


Dave
Yeah.

"In the west, 17 horns blowin'."

​Kev
Jack’s just turning everything on here.  Including a wind machine somewhere, apparently.


​​Dave
And of course we have Batman.  I like how he lurks in the shadows.  This scene is a good showcase for his skills.


Kev
Absolutely, yep.  And the rappelling into action is always really cool.


​​Dave
I love the expression on Keaton’s face when he pulls that guy over the rail with the cable.

"Your face looked so good, I wanted to touch your mouth."

​Kev
Yeh, it’s quite brutal.  Keaton’s facial expressions are brilliant.


Dave
That was the thing, he always gave the impression that he could hurt somebody.


Kev
That’s true, man.


Dave
This is Jack Nicholson showcasing that he was a reserve fireman when he was younger.


Kev
Was he?


Dave
Yeah.  That’s why he’s so handy with the axe.  That’s the story with ‘The Shining;’ when he took the door down on his first attempt with the axe, they forgot he was a reserve fireman and that he’d know how to do that.

"Somebody told him playin' cops and robbers was cool. Would our rap have been different, if we only knew?"

Kev
And Kubrick scared Shelley Duvall to death.


Dave
It’s a great little scenario here at Axis Chemicals.


Kev
Definitely, man.  This is a great action set-piece.  Bang!  Love that backfist.


​​Dave
Yeah, that was used a lot in the clips of the film.  That’s a great one.


Kev
And the way Keaton just looks as the goon drops to the floor.  But then he’s struggling to go round the corners with the weight of the cape.


​Dave
Yet Napier’s oblivious to him being there, because he’s lurking.  This is the skills of Batman, how he can meld into the shadows.  And in a close environment like this as well.


Kev
Especially where the visibility is quite compromised because of the steam and the fumes.  Yeh, you’re right, man, those skills of being there one second and not being there the next.  Like a ninja.  Now we’ve got a bit of a stand-off here, as Batman gets to Napier, but Bob gets the drop on Gordon.  Little Keaton smirk there, off the back of the "Nice outfit" line, as well.  More good facial expressions under all that rubber.


​Dave
And Elfman’s score is nice.  It kind-of plays the tension in the scene down, as well.  More steam after Eghardt gets shot, of course.


​Kev
And that trademark Nicholson grin.  And then all of a sudden, the Bat is back.  Ah, and using the gauntlets to deflect the bullet as well actually, I’d forgotten about that.  And a very karate-style block at that.

"Get the funk up! Batman!"

​Dave
Yeah.  Now, did Batman let Napier go, knowing what he knows now?  Because that look on his face; there’s a moment of ambiguity there.  I don’t know.


Kev
That's an interesting point, man.  I'd never really thought of it like that.  I just always took it that, despite his best efforts, he couldn't get a good enough grip, or hold onto Napier, because of Napier's glove.  This is a good bit of comedy here.  Will I go this way?  Oh no.  Will I go that way?  Nope.  Smoke bomb it is then.


Dave
I love that he just stands so still as the smoke rises around him.


​​Kev
Yeh, he’s very statuesque, isn’t he?


Dave
That’s a nice little shot.  


Kev
That one of Batman under the neon Axis sign?


Dave
Yeah.

"I saw your friend first, that's who I danced with, all the time I was watchin' you."

​Kev
You’re right, that’s a cracking shot.  And then this weird, mannequin-looking, hand just rising out of the water.


​Dave
But the good thing is, it’s not completely over the top, like your typical Tim Burton stuff.


Kev
No.  No, it isn’t.  Yeh, Knox is very much like Peter Venkman actually, now that I’m watching it and thinking about it.


Dave
Yeah.  You know who he reminds me of a bit as well?  Paul Reiser.


Kev
Yep, you’re right, man.


Dave
He’s definitely got a bit of Paul Reiser about him as well.


Kev
“This is not my locker.”  That’s ‘Beverly Hills Cop,’ isn’t it?


Dave
Ha, ha!  Yeah.  That’s a brilliant line, that.  He has a similar delivery to Paul Reiser.  I think Paul Reiser’s a great actor.


Kev
Yeh, he’s great, man.  He’s in some episodes of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ and he’s brilliant in them.  He’s is seasons two and three of ‘Stranger Things’ too.


Dave
This is good as well.  I love the way Keaton has Bruce Wayne eating the soup.

"She says conversation's better than being lonely, so I try my best to ad lib."

​Kev
He’s like a child.


Dave
Yeah.  He is kind-of, almost child-like.


Kev
This is like the table at the Al Ghul’s, that we were talking about in ‘Son Of The Demon’ as well; this massive table that they’re at opposite ends of.

"Although we're worlds apart, I'd cross the stars for you."

​Dave
It’s a dining room, but yet there’s a couple of couches in the corner.  I suppose with a house that big, you would just decorate it with anything, wouldn’t you?


Kev
Yeh.  And is this supposed to show you that this guy doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing?  You know what I mean?  In terms of decoration, dating or anything.


Dave
Haha.  Yeah, he’s totally cut off.


Kev
Yeh.  He’s totally cut off from everyone else.  Financially, because he’s so rich, but also emotionally because of what happened to his parents.  And this bit here, “Do you want to know the truth? I don’t think I’ve ever been in this room before.”  That’s great.  And Alfred here, with the very much parental-like, embarrassing stories.  The kind that your parents would tell a first date about you.  “Alfred is my family.”


Dave
Yeah.  Probably though, him and Alfred don’t really do stuff like that.


Kev
No, you’re right.  You get the impression that this is the first time…..


Dave
…..that they’ve sat down, in company.


Kev
Yes.  Or that he’s ever had a woman in that house, in a dating scenario.  Which kind-of goes against the Bruce Wayne playboy cover-story thing.


Dave
Yeah.  He doesn’t seem like a playboy in this one.  Whereas the Christian Bale one, they had him as a playboy.


Kev
Yeh, he always had the models on his arm and stuff.  Now what is he talking about there?  The cave is very much him?  The rest of it, the Bruce Wayne stuff, not so much?


Dave
Actually, this is quite a good bit as well, the bit with the surgeon.  It’s funny, but it’s still got that darkness and tension to it.


Kev
How many times has this scene been referenced and parodied in stuff now?  With the “Mirror” line and everything.


Dave
Yeah.  I like the music as well and the use of it.


Kev
The music’s great.  It’s quite horror inflected.  The crying, and then the laugh.  I like NIcholson’s Joker laugh.  Some people are a bit funny about it, saying it's a bit too close to the campiness of Cesar Romero's, but I like it.


Dave
Is Bruce Wayne pissed here, or is he putting it on?


Kev
I think he’s putting it on, because she says here, “And you’re not anything.”  I just love the smile that she gives as she pulls him in for the kiss.  She's just beautiful.

"Every time you kiss me, lemon crush. Nay, I can't resist thee, lemon crush."

​Dave
Elfman’s score in the background is brilliant.  It’s very subtle at times.


Kev
Yeh, you’re right, man.  I’d forgotten how subtle it is in places, because I tend to remember the big, bombastic pieces.


Dave
The silhouette of Napier there is great.  Haha. “Who the hell are you?”


​Kev
This is where Grissom knows he’s messed up.


Dave
Yeah.  The gargoyles are visible outside the window in the background, to show you just how high up Grissom’s office is, and you can start to slowly make out those elements of Napier’s face, but not quite enough yet.


Kev
Yeh, and Grissom trying to get back over to his gun here.


Dave
Do you not think that Jack Nicholson sort-of sounds like Don Johnson here?


Kev
He does a bit, actually.  Yeh.


Dave
You’re gradually beginning to see what Grissom’s seeing here.


Kev
Yeh, Napier’s gradually coming into the light.  That “You can call me Joker” line and shot was used in almost every bit of promo for this film as well.


Dave
Yeah.  He’s quite maniacal, isn’t he?

"Young and old, gather round. Everybody hail the new king in town."

​Kev
Yeh.  And the music here is completely at odds with the fact that he is repeatedly shooting another man.


Dave
And missing half the time too.


Kev
Ha, ha!  Did Nicholson not say that the prosthetics they used to keep his mouth in place were really painful?


Dave
I think he did, yeah.  “What a day.”  Haha.


Kev
You’ve got this character thing here, where Bruce is lying with her whilst she sleeps, but he’s awake…..


Dave
Because his mind can’t switch off.


Kev
Yeh, because he’s basically nocturnal.  And of course we have this shot of him swinging upside down, which I’m not entirely convinced by.


Dave
Yeah.

"Is my character enough to be one that deserves a copy made?.....Until then she's held at bay."

​Kev
Hanging upside-down, like a bat.  It's a bit on the nose.  What is it exactly that he’s supposed to be doing?  Is it meditating?  That line there, “Gotham City. Always brings a smile to my face.”  That was another one that was used in all the trailers and TV spots and stuff.


Dave
Yeah, that’s excellent.


Kev
I love the smearing of Grissom’s blood across the paper too, that’s great.


Dave
Why is he sleeping on the coach?  Is she snoring?


Kev
Ha, ha!  She’s getting the feeling that he’s just brushing her off as a one-night-stand.


Dave
Yeah.  Some people have always criticised the Vicki Vale character for just screaming too much, but I think Kim Basinger plays a good part.


Kev
Yeh, me too, man.


Dave
I thought she gave us a good counterpoint for Bruce Wayne.  In this film, he’s very cut off, it’s her, her and Knox that are the two more relatable characters.  Y’know what I mean?


Kev
Yeh.


Dave
Bruce Wayne’s a bit standoff-ish, you’re not really getting to know him.  You’re learning stuff through her and Knox really.


Kev
You’re right.  Those two are the vehicle into the story for the audience really.

(D) & (K)

Next: 'Batman' (1989) Act 2.