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by Dave Scrimgeour and Kevin McCluskey   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 Dave I love the way Nicholson takes the drink here. This must have been nigh-on impossible with the prosthetics. Kev Yeh, and the beret is brilliant. Napier looks even more terrifying with the skin tone make-up than he does in the white of the Joker. Dave Yeah. Kev “Oh, I've got a live one here.” Prince used that line in the soundtrack. Dave Yeah. These must’ve been the best special effects they could get at the time, for the guy being electrocuted. Kev Yeh. They're not the best, are they? See, that’s quite Ceasar Romero-like there. The dancing and the laugh as he electrocutes this poor guy. Dave Oh, yeah. Definitely. I like the little blowing of the buzzer. Kev Like a gunslinger in a western after they’ve won a gunfight. It’s not quite the pencil in the eye from 'The Dark Knight,' is it? Dave No. Kev It’s the ‘30’s thing again with the Tommy Guns and stuff. It’s like a James Cagney flick. You’re right, man. Dave This bit here, with the white make-up, must’ve been quite easy for NIcholson, as he just had to wipe it on his face, rather than pretending that he was wiping it off.  "The moment I wake up,...." Kev Definitely. I like the handkerchief popping back out of his pocket here. Dave Haha. Yeah, I know. Kev Jack’s a pro though, just keeps going. Dave Yep. Haha. “You are my number one guy.” Nice callback.  Workplace shoulder massages. Kev Bob’s just like, ‘Uh, okay. I’ll just put my shades on.' Nice music cue there. Just changing the tone. Dave Yeah. See what I mean? The underscore is great. Kev It’s quite Lalo Sciffrin, ‘Dirty Harry’-esque, this piece here actually, yeh. They’re going for a real horror edge with The Joker’s maniacal laugh there. Dave Yeah, I know, but that’s The Joker though. He is a fruitloop, basically. Hmmm. That’s interesting; Bruce Wayne driving himself. Kev Yeh, I know. No Alfred doing the driving. That’s a very English-looking stately home there for Wayne Manor.  (What's The Story) Knebworth House in all its glory. Dave That was filmed in England, remember. Kev Right enough, yeh. The fashions are all over the place, aren’t they? Dave I think it was intended to be that way, because they said it was kind-of a timeless feel that they were going for. Kev That’s true. You’re right, if you make it really eclectic and you take bits from lots of different periods, it does give it a timeless vibe. Dave I’m sure they said that they tried to have it not represent any particular time. Obviously it has references to the 30s and 40s, but there’s more modern stuff in it as well. Kev Vicki Vale here, is dressed like something out of a French New Wave film, with the beret and everything. Plus, the fact that Basinger is as good-looking as she is doesn’t hurt her, when it comes to pulling that look off. And here we have the two roses, for Thomas and Martha. That’s not exactly what you’d call a subtle music cue there, once he lays those roses on the pavement. Dave This is showing you how many bits of Gotham are just totally run-down. Kev It’s really meant to be a city properly on its arse, isn’t it?  I think I attended a few club nights there in my youth. Dave All the reporters outside the courtroom are dressed in a period style, and the kid in the background too. Kev And the cars as well. Dave I love Keaton’s expression here at this point, with the mime. Kev Yeh, he’s good at doing that dismissive glare, isn’t he? Dave Yeah, he doesn’t even have to do much with it.  Check Bruce out, looking this clown up and down like a catty princess in a club. Kev This is not a million miles off the Joaquin Phoenix ‘Joker’ look, that Jack is sporting here. Dave Yeah, yeah. True. Kev With the smaller lips and stuff.  Kardashian brows and lips. Dave Again, Bruce is totally flabbergasted. Kev Definitely. Little bit of the love triangle thing going on there, with Knox gazing forlornly at Bruce and Vicki. Dave Yeah. I love what The Joker’s done with Axis Chemicals. It’s quite funny the way he’s decorated the place, you know what I mean? Kev Yeh, he’s just kind-of moved in.  Cuts to Gotham City after school programs have led to them being held in disused chemical plants. Kev Alfred knows Bruce so well, he has the glass of water waiting for him, before Bruce even asks for it. I had forgotten that the shooting outside the town hall was the trigger for Bruce realising that The Joker was Jack Napier as well. “Alfred, she is great, isn’t she?” That line was used in the Prince soundtrack too. And Alfred acting like such a parental figure to Bruce, “If not now, when?” I like that element of their relationship. Dave Yeah. Kev Crime Alley. They’ve renamed it in this. Which is probably for the best. Considering how if you take your family down “Crime Alley,” you probably shouldn’t be surprised when somebody tries to mug you. Dave Yeah. "Who is that loss?” Haha! Kev “She’s about to trade-up.” The motivations for The Joker are really odd. He wants to be the centre of attention and he wants to steal Wayne’s squeeze. Not exactly the machinations of a psychotic, master criminal, are they? Dave No. And with his photos all over the floor.  "Bob! Sweep this mess up." Kev Y’know, you're right, it hadn’t really occurred to me before that this is basically a love triangle story between Vicki Vale, The Joker and Bruce Wayne. You’re spot on with that, man. Dave And Knox. Kev And Knox, yeh. A love square. Dave Haha! “..... although authorities have not ruled out the possibility of drug use.” Kev The ol’ Smilex. I do like this little ad actually.  "I'd buy that for a dollar." Dave Yeah, it’s very Joker-esque, this scene, isn’t it? Definitely something he would pull. Kev Yeh. Dave ‘Cause The Joker IS very theatrical. Kev Definitely. And it’s quite Paul Verhoeven, Robocop-like as well. Dave I suppose it is, yeah. I never thought about that. It has that ridiculous nature to it. Kev Yep. A little bit of OTT satire. We also get the old-school spinning newspaper here as well.  Scene transition. Dave Yeah. Kev Ha, ha! “.....beauty and hygiene products.” Which, clearly none of these guys are using by this point. “Gotham’s shopping nightmare.” A consumerist nightmare. That must’ve been a chore for Nicholson, getting made-up like that, just to do a scene applying other, flesh-tone make-up on top of it.  ".....before I put on my make-up." Dave I know. Kev Was Jerry Hall with Mick Jagger at this point? Dave I’m not really sure. Kev I just remember that this was one of the things, they were playing on the fact that she was such a famous model in real life and the idea was that The Joker has taken her and kind-of….. Dave …..turned her into a work of art. Kev Yeh, HIS idea of a work of art. Dave And here we have Gotham Museum. Kev Interesting slower fade there, to show the passage of time. Dave And a change of score in the background. Kev Yep. They used a lot of this scene in the trailer as well, didn’t they? Dave Certainly. The bits coming up anyway, yeah. Kev Burton went big on the bright colours for The Joker, didn’t he?  "The funkiest man, you've ever seen." Dave Oh yeah, definitely. I was just thinking there, about the set pieces. A big part of what makes these types of films memorable are the set pieces. This is coming up to ‘Batman’s’ third set piece. You’ve got the opening, Axis Chemicals and now this, and they’re all memorable. Sometimes when you watch a movie and you forget what happened, it’s because you can’t remember a good set piece in it. Set pieces are very important for these films. And that’s one of the things about ‘Batman Returns,’ it doesn’t have many good, memorable set pieces. Or any at all. Kev That’s a really good point actually, yeh. Dave And the other ones as well, they lacked any decent set pieces. It’s the set pieces, like this, that make this film. There are a lot of good set pieces in it and you remember these set pieces, whereas with the sequels there wasn’t really any good ones. Kev No, that’s true. Certainly not any I remember off the top of my head anyway. Dave This is a great bit when he comes in and destroys the place. Kev The use of the ‘Partyman’ tune is great as well. I love how he’s going round the gallery, basically just destroying all the art. The goons certainly all look like they’re having fun anyway. Dave Well, The Joker is all about chaos, isn’t he? Kev Yeh, you’re right about the chaos thing, man, “Rules and regulations, no place in this nation.” Although that could be Prince’s commentary on the effects of the deregulation policies of Reaganomics of the time as well. And, of course, the only painting that The Joker really likes is the one that’s the most macabre, eh? Dave Yeah.  Loving the branded goon uniform jackets. Kev Nice use of the boombox as the source of the diegetic music as well. Dave Oh yeah. Kev Ha, ha! “Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap.” Dave What is The Joker’s hat like in this scene? Kev Ha, ha! I know. “I am the world’s first fully-functioning homicidal artist.” I bet he’s not though. I think I might've met some over the years. Dave See, when Bruce is reading his psychological profile, he talks about Napier being into art, so is this him just bouncing around all the things he has an aptitude for. First science, with his Smilex scheme, now he's reinvented himself as an artist. Napier's Joker would do well in a social media age. Dave Yeah. “What do you know about…..?” Then him flapping his hands like wings. That must've been improvised.  More of Donald Trump's seduction techniques. Kev Man, I hope so. It's brilliant. And of course he tries to do to Vicki Vale what he’s done to Alicia here, with the acid posie. Dave This clip was used a lot in all the ads for the film as well. Kev Yeh. Great cut to the glass of the skylight breaking. Dave Yep. This is another great set piece coming up here, with the car chase. Kev Definitely. Is this the best Batmobile, do you think? Dave Yeah, probably. Yeah. Kev I really like the 60’s one as well, because….. Dave .....it fits the 60’s show so much. Kev Exactly. Like this one suits the look of this film. Dave The Joker cars are great too.  You've got to love The Joker's branding. The cars are on point. Kev Yeh, they are. Not so sure about the Batmobiles in ‘Batman Forever’ and ‘Batman and Robin,’ I don’t think they’re as iconic. Whereas I think The Tumbler is really suited to the films of Nolan. Dave Yeah. Kev Remember this car chase scene was part of the computer game? This was the second level, wasn’t it? Dave Yeah, so it was. You used to always crash at this bit. Kev This was where you had to hook the grapple onto the lampposts to turn the corners. Ha, ha! That’s really brought back memories, just watching that. Dave Level one was Axis Chemicals. There’s a video on YouTube where some guy’s done a walk-through of the whole game. Kev There's a walk-through on YouTube for just about every game ever made at this point. What a time to be alive. “Let’s go.” Batman just running through the streets of Gotham here. Quite light on his feet is ol' Bats. Dave See, in ‘Batman Forever,’ Gotham was too neon lit and stuff. Same with ‘Batman and Robin’ as well. Kev Yeh. I agree. Dave The shields on the Batmobile here.  Introducing 'The Shields;' Wayne Tech's latest anti-theft device. Kev I do like the shields on the Batmobile. I always thought that was a good effect and a nice touch. And the costume still looks great. Dave Oh yeah. Kev Apparently it was an absolute nightmare to work in like, but it looks good. Dave Ha, ha! Yeah. Keaton does great expressions, doesn’t he? Kev Yeh. And that still, where he fires the grappling hook, was in every piece of promo for the film as well. Dave It was, yeah.  Bruce, Bruce, Bruce. You never ask a lady how much she weighs. Kev I do like all these instances where people don’t see him using the grappling hook, so they think he’s flying. Dave Yeh. Kev “Check his wallet.” Ha, ha! Oh yeh. I forgot. She gets the shots of his face without the mask here. Batman likes that backfist. This was another of the big set-pieces, wasn’t it? Dave Oh yeah. This was another famous one. Kev That was almost like a Bruce Lee, kung-fu film there; that zoom to Batman going into the karate stance, wasn’t it? Dave Yeah, it was. Kev I suppose, that was probably one of the genres that Burton referenced for the fight scenes. The sparks coming off the gauntlets are brilliant. It's such a great visual. Simple, yet so effective.  No wonder this guy couldn't hit a killing blow on Batman; he's wearing shades in a dark alley. Dave Yeah, and I love the steam in the background. I really do. Kev Front kick to the chin. Very Anderson Silva.  UFC 126: Silva Vs Belfort. Dave Haha. “You weigh a little more than 108.” Again, very stoic. Still. “Stop.” Kev Yeh. That “Stop” sample was used on the soundtrack, at the end of 'Batdance,' as well. I love Elfman’s score here, man. Dave Yeah, it’s kind-of like ‘The Omen’ a little bit, isn’t it? Kev Yeh. The way it just builds as they’re going to the Cave. “Where are we going?” No answer. That’s brilliant. That part of the score is just so good. Dave Yeah. That’s the thing, it’s a memorable score. Kev Definitely. And not a lot of them are these days. ‘The Avengers’ kind-of is, a bit. They’ve gone for it a little. Dave Yeah, you notice it with ‘The Avengers.’ Kev And they’ve really got one for ‘Wonder Woman,’ to be fair. And that sort-of, choral stuff here, brilliant. This is the first time you see the Batcave in all its glory, isn’t it? Dave Yeah.  Health and safety would have a field day with this work environment. Kev Burton maybe goes a bit too full-on with the use of the bat motif. Dave Haha, yeah. Good long shots as well though, to show you the size of the Batcave and the complexity of it. Kev Yeh. That mask looks so uncomfortable. Dave It does, yeah. The shadows are great as well. The way you only see the eyes. Kev Yeh. Dave Good use of lighting here, isn’t it? Kev Yeh. It’s like you said man, just enough to reflect off the eyes. Very effective. Dave Yeah.  Bruce, you've overdone it a bit again with the guyliner there, pal. Kev Little bit of a creepy, sexual assault vibe here, as to how he got that film from her person. But we’ll have to forgive it, considering it WAS 1989, and hey, sexual assault was okay in 1989. Dave Ha, ha! And she never thought to quiz anybody, not once, about how she got back to her apartment. Kev Apparently not, no. Dave "Did you see anybody take me in?" Kev Ha, ha! Dave "Yeah, there was this old guy and another guy carrying you in." Kev Ha, ha! Was there a concierge at her building that had to buzz them in? See, with bits like that, the action news, the headline from the newspaper and stuff, it’s not that far removed from the ‘60’s TV show when you think about it. Dave I suppose. I love the Joker’s lair. That’s great, how he’s just decorated Axis Chemical.  '60 Minute Makeover,' Axis Chemical style. Kev Ha, ha! I love the fact that he’s just shooting TVs when there’s something on them that he doesn’t like. And, of course, this is the start of Bruce Wayne telling ALL the women in his life his truth, in ALL of these films. Dave Yeah. Kev The secret identity really is the worst kept secret. Not that he’s a bad looking dude, but the Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne is punching way above his weight with Kim Basinger's Vicki Vale. Dave Haha! Yeah, maybe. See, that’s quite contemporary, for the time, her apartment, isn’t it?  '60 Minute Makeover' Vicki Vale style. Kev Yeh. And when he says that line, “Nice apartment. Lots of space.” The way he delivers that line, it’s a line that he thinks normal people say when they go into someone else’s house. Again, he doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing in normal, everyday life. Dave This bit here as well, when he pushes her down into the chair and tells her to “Shut up.” I’m pretty sure they’d get a few complaints about that nowadays, if they distributed that. Kev Yeh, definitely. And they'd kind-of have a point, really. Particularly after the camera film incident. There's a pattern of behaviour appearing here with Bruce. “Oh my God, you’re married.” Ha, ha! Dave This was another clip that was used a lot in the advertising of this film. Kev Yeh, the “My life is really…..complex” line. Dave Bruce Wayne just has no expressive ability whatsoever, does he? Kev Yeh, you’re right, because he doesn’t actually do any of these things that he’s talking about here, does he? “Kiss somebody goodbye,” “Go to a job.” Dave No. Kim Basinger is really stunning in this film, isn’t she? Kev Yeh, she is. This is Keaton getting to do a bit of his comedy stuff here. And the Joker’s heavy carrying around the boombox is great. Just so he’s got his own soundtrack. Ha, ha! It’s how catty he is when he says that, “Lots of space” line.  Some errr..... interesting erotic artwork in the halls of Vicki's apartment block. Dave Haha! Yeah. Kev And the fact that he calls her Vic. Dave Haha! Again, Elfman’s score is brilliant. It just goes all over the place. Kev Yeh, it does, doesn’t it? Dave But it works. Kev Yeh. It's because each piece is so tailored to its particular scene. “Bruce Wayne? N’est pas?” “Most of the time.” I really like that response from Keaton. Fantastic delivery again. Dave This is a great scene between Keaton and Nicholson. Kev Yeh, this is where Keaton gets to cut loose a little bit.  The poker Vs the Joker. Dave The Joker’s lucky he actually shot Bruce Wayne here. Kev Ha, ha! With the way he was waving that gun around, yeh. That was another line that was in all the promo, “Never rub another man’s rhubarb." Now, how far that bullet went into that tin looks like it’d still do a bit of damage, if it was resting against you. Maybe Bruce Wayne should actually be dead at this point after all. Dave Yeah. (D) & (K) Next: 'Batman' (1989)- Act 3. 
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