Batman is a 1989 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton. Based on the DC Comics character of the same name, the film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, and Jack Palance. The film, in which Batman deals with the rise of a costumed criminal known as "The Joker", was the first installment of Warner Bros.' initial Batman film series.

After Burton was hired as director, Steve Englehart and Julie Hickson wrote film treatments before Sam Hamm wrote the first screenplay. Batman was not greenlit until after the success of Burton's Beetlejuice (1988). Numerous A-list actors were considered for the role of Batman. Nicholson accepted the role of the Joker under strict conditions that dictated a high salary, a portion of the box office profits, and his shooting schedule.

Filming took place at Pinewood Studios from October 1988 to January 1989. The budget escalated from $30 million to $48 million, while the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike forced Hamm to drop out. Uncredited rewrites were performed by Warren Skaaren, Charles McKeown and Jonathan Gems. Batman was a critical and financial success, earning over $400 million in box office totals. The film received several Saturn Award nominations and a Golden Globe nomination, and won an Academy Award. It also inspired the Emmy Award-winning Batman: The Animated Series, paving the way for the DC Animated Universe, and has influenced Hollywood's modern marketing and development techniques of the superhero film genre.

Plot[link]

As a child, billionaire Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) sees his parents murdered and therefore vows to avenge their deaths in a lifelong battle against crime as the costumed vigilante Batman while concealing his secret identity behind his playboy image. By the time he begins his career as Gotham City's protector, the city is controlled by crime boss Carl Grissom (Jack Palance), and his second in command, Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson), who has a sadistic sense of humor. Despite the efforts of newly-elected district attorney Harvey Dent (Billy Dee Williams) and police commissioner James Gordon (Pat Hingle), the police department remains corrupt. Reporter Alexander Knox (Robert Wuhl) and photo-journalist Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) begin investigating the rumors of a shadowy crimefighter (Batman himself) terrorizing the city's criminals by night.

Vicki and Knox attend a benefit at Wayne Manor, where Bruce is taken by Vicki's charms, while Napier is sent to raid the Axis Chemicals factory. When the police receive a tip-off and arrive to arrest him, Napier realizes he has been tricked by his boss for his affair with Grissom's mistress. In the midst of the resulting gunfight, Batman arrives and attacks Napier's henchmen. Napier fires at Batman, who deflects the bullet off his steel gauntlet and strikes it into Napier's face; whereupon Napier topples over a platform rail into a large vat of chemicals. Shortly thereafter, he emerges from an adjacent catch basin, his skin bleached white, his hair dyed green, and his lips dyed red. Following a botched attempt at plastic surgery, Napier is left with a permanent rictus grin, similar to the jester on a joker card; wherefore he renames himself "the Joker", kills Grissom, and takes control of his organization.

Thereafter the Joker terrifies the city by chemically altering everyday hygiene products, causing those using a certain combination thereof to laugh to death and leaving them with a post-mortem grin resembling his own. Batman, attempting to track down the Joker, realizes that his quarry is the man who murdered his parents. Meanwhile, Bruce's butler and confidante Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Gough) allows Vicki into the Batcave, where she and Bruce promise to organize their attachment to each other when the Joker is defeated.

When Batman destroys the factory the Joker used to make the poisons, the Joker retaliates by holding a parade through Gotham, luring its citizens onto the streets and intending to kill them with lethal gas. Batman foils his plan; but the Joker kidnaps Vicki and takes her to the top of a cathedral, where Batman fights the Joker to save Vicki, and both realize that each is responsible for the other's transformations. As the Joker is about to escape in a helicopter flown by his henchmen, Batman shoots a grappling hook to the Joker's leg, tying it to a stone gargoyle statue, and the Joker, who had been clinging onto the ladder from the helicopter and preventing it from moving, falls to his death when the statue breaks off and outweighs him. Later, Commissioner Gordon reveals the Bat-Signal along with a note from Batman read by Harvey Dent, promising to defend Gotham whenever crime strikes again.

Production[link]

Development[link]

After the financial success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), Warner Bros. hired Tim Burton to direct Batman. Burton had then-girlfriend Julie Hickson write a new 30-page film treatment, feeling the previous script by Tom Mankiewicz was campy. The success of The Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke rekindled Warner Bros.' interest in a film adaptation. Burton was initially not a comic book fan, but he was impressed by the dark and serious tone found in both The Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke.^[1] Warner Bros. enlisted the aid of Steve Englehart to write a new treatment in March 1986.^[2] It included the Joker and Rupert Thorne as the main villains, with a cameo appearance by the Penguin. Silver St. Cloud and Dick Grayson were key supporting roles. It followed the similar storyline from Englehart's own Strange Apparitions (ISBN 1-56389-500-5). Warner Bros. was impressed, but Englehart felt there were too many characters. He removed the Penguin and Dick Grayson in his second treatment, finishing in May 1986.^[2]

Burton approached Sam Hamm, a comic book fan, to write the screenplay.^[3] Hamm decided not to use an origin story, feeling that flashbacks would be more suitable and that "unlocking the mystery" would become part of the storyline.^[4] He reasoned, "You totally destroy your credibility if you show the literal process by which Bruce Wayne becomes Batman."^[5] Hamm replaced Silver St. Cloud with Vicki Vale and Rupert Thorne with his own creation, Carl Grissom. He completed his script in October 1986, which demoted Dick Grayson to a cameo rather than a supporting character.^[6] One scene in Hamm's script had a young James Gordon on duty the night of the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents. When Hamm's script was rewritten, the scene was deleted.^[7]

Warner Bros. was less willing to move forward on development, despite their enthusiasm for Hamm's script, which Batman co-creator Bob Kane greeted with positive feedback.^[1] Hamm's script was then bootlegged at various comic book stores in the United States.^[4] Batman was finally given the greenlight to commence pre-production in April 1988, after the success of Burton's Beetlejuice (1988).^[1] When comic book fans found out about Burton directing the film with Michael Keaton starring in the lead role, controversy arose over the tone and direction Batman was going in. Hamm explained, "they hear Tim Burton's name and they think of Pee-wee's Big Adventure. They hear Keaton's name and they think of any number of Michael Keaton comedies. You think of the 1960s version of Batman, and it was the complete opposite of our film. We tried to market it with a typical dark and serious tone, but the fans didn't believe us."^[4] To combat negative reports on the film's production, Batman co-creator Bob Kane was hired as creative consultant.^[8]

Casting[link]

Parallel to the Superman casting, a who's who of Hollywood top stars were considered for the role of Batman, with the likes of Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, Charlie Sheen, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Selleck and Bill Murray being considered.^[3][9] Tim Burton was pressured to cast an obvious action movie star.^[1] Producer Jon Peters favored Keaton, arguing he had the right "edgy, tormented quality." Having directed Keaton in Beetlejuice, Burton agreed.^[9]

Keaton's casting caused a controversy among comic book fans, with 50,000 protest letters sent to Warner Bros. offices.^[6] Bob Kane, Sam Hamm and Michael Uslan also heavily questioned the casting,^[4] while Adam West felt himself to be a better choice.^[10] Burton acknowledged, "Obviously there was a negative response from the comic book people. I think they thought we were going to make it like the 1960s TV series, and make it campy, because they thought of Michael Keaton from Mr. Mom and Night Shift and stuff like that."^[10] Keaton studied The Dark Knight Returns for inspiration.^[11]

Tim Curry, Willem Dafoe, David Bowie and James Woods were considered for the Joker.^[5][12] Robin Williams lobbied hard for the part.^[6] Jack Nicholson had been producer Michael Uslan's and Bob Kane's choice since 1980. Peters approached Nicholson as far back as 1986, during filming of The Witches of Eastwick.^[13] Nicholson had what was known as an "off-the-clock" agreement. His contract specified the number of hours he was entitled to have off each day, from the time he left the set to the time he reported back for filming,^[3] as well as being off for Los Angeles Lakers home games.^[14] Nicholson demanded to have all of his scenes shot in a three-week block, but the schedule lapsed into 106 days.^[13] He received a $6 million salary, as well as a large percentage of the box office gross. The fee is reported to be as high as $50 million.^[5][9]

Sean Young was originally cast as Vicki Vale, but was injured in a horse-riding accident prior to commencement of filming.^[15] Burton suggested replacing Young with Michelle Pfeiffer but Keaton, who was in a relationship with Pfeiffer, believed it would be too awkward. She went on to portray Catwoman in Batman Returns. Young's departure necessitated an urgent search for an actress who, besides being right for the part, could commit to the film at very short notice. Peters suggested Kim Basinger: she was able to join the production immediately and was cast.^[9][15] As a fan of Michael Gough's work in various Hammer Film Productions, Burton cast Gough as Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred Pennyworth.^[16] Robert Wuhl was cast as reporter Alexander Knox. His character was originally supposed to die by the Joker's poison gas in the climax, but the filmmakers "liked [my] character so much," Wuhl said "that they decided to let me live."^[7] Tim Burton chose Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent because he wanted to include the villain Two-Face in a future film using the concept of an African-American Two-Face for the black and white concept,^[17] but Tommy Lee Jones was later cast in the role for Batman Forever, which disappointed Williams.^[7] Nicholson convinced the filmmakers to cast Tracey Walter as the Joker's henchman, Bob; in real life, Nicholson and Walter are close friends.^[18] The rest of the cast included Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon, Jerry Hall as Alicia Hunt, Lee Wallace as Mayor Borg, William Hootkins as Lt. Max Eckhardt, and Jack Palance as crime boss Carl Grissom.

Filming[link]

The filmmakers considered filming Batman entirely on the Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, California, but media interest in the film made them change the location. It was shot at Pinewood Studios in England from October 1988 to January 1989.^[19] 18 sound stages were used, almost the entirety of Pinewood's 95-acre backlot.^[8] Locations included Knebworth House and Hatfield House doubling for Wayne Manor, plus Acton Lane Power Station and Little Barford Power Station.^[20][21] The original production budget escalated from $30 million to $48 million.^[9] Filming was highly secretive. The unit publicist was offered and refused £10,000 for the first pictures of Jack Nicholson as the Joker. The police were later called in when two reels of footage (about 20 minutes' worth) were stolen.^[13] With various problems during filming, Burton called it "torture. The worst period of my life!"^[9]

Hamm was not allowed to perform rewrites during the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike.^[3] Jonathan Gems, Warren Skaaren and Charles McKeown rewrote the script during filming.^[22] Hamm criticized the rewrites, but blamed the changes on Warner Bros.^[4] Burton explained, "I don't understand why that became such a problem. We started out with a script that everyone liked, although we recognized it needed a little work."^[1] Dick Grayson appeared in the shooting script but was deleted, as the filmmakers felt he was irrelevant to the plot.^[3] Bob Kane supported this decision.^[16]

Originally in the climax, the Joker was to kill Vicki Vale, sending Batman into a vengeful fury. Jon Peters reworked the climax without telling Burton and commissioned production designer Anton Furst to create a 38-foot (12 m) model of the cathedral.^[23] This cost $100,000 when the film was already well over budget. Burton disliked the idea, having no clue how the scene would end: "Here were Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger walking up this cathedral, and halfway up Jack turns around and says, 'Why am I walking up all these stairs? Where am I going?' 'We'll talk about it when you get to the top!' I had to tell him that I didn't know."^[23]

Design[link]

Burton was impressed with Anton Furst's designs in The Company of Wolves, and previously failed to hire Furst as production designer for Beetlejuice.^[19] Furst had been too committed on High Spirits, a choice he later regretted.^[3] Furst enjoyed working with Burton. "I don't think I've ever felt so naturally in tune with a director", he said; "Conceptually, spiritually, visually, or artistically. There was never any problem because we never fought over anything. Texture, attitude and feelings are what Burton is a master at."^[8]

Furst and the art department deliberately mixed clashing architectural styles to "make Gotham City the ugliest and bleakest metropolis imaginable."^[24] Furst continued, "we imagined what New York City might have become without a planning commission. A city run by crime, with a riot of architectural styles. An essay in ugliness. As if hell erupted through the pavement and kept on going'".^[25] The 1985 film Brazil by Terry Gilliam was also a notable influence upon the film's production design, as both Burton and Furst studied it as a reference.^[8] Derek Meddings served as the visual effects supervisor, while Keith Short helped construct the newly-created 1989 Batmobile,^[26] adding two Browning machine guns.^[27] On designing the Batmobile, Furst explained, "We looked at jet aircraft components, we looked at war machines, we looked at all sorts of things. In the end, we went into pure expressionism, taking the Salt Flat Racers of the 30s and the Sting Ray macho machines of the 50s".^[13] The car was built upon a Chevrolet Impala when previous development with a Jaguar and Ford Mustang failed.^[13]

Costume designer Bob Ringwood turned down the chance to work on Licence to Kill in favor of Batman. Ringwood found it difficult designing the Batsuit because "the image of Batman in the comics is this huge, big six-foot-four hunk with a dimpled chin. Michael Keaton is a guy with average build", he stated. "The problem was to make somebody who was average-sized and ordinary looking into this bigger-than-life creature."^[28] Burton commented, "Michael is a bit claustrophobic, which made it worse for him. The costume put him in a dark, Batman-like mood though, so he was able to use it to his advantage".^[28] Burton's idea was to use an all-black suit, and was met with positive feedback by Bob Kane. Jon Peters wanted to use a Nike product placement with the Batsuit.^[29] Ringwood studied over 200 comic book issues for inspiration. 28 sculpted latex designs were created; 25 different cape looks and 6 different heads were made, accumulating a total cost of $250,000.^[30] Comic book fans initially expressed negative feedback against the Batsuit.^[19] Burton opted not to use tights, spandex, or underpants as seen in the comic book, feeling it was not intimidating.^[1] Prosthetic makeup designer Nick Dudman used acrylic-based makeup paint called PAX for Nicholson's chalk-white face. Part of Nicholson's contract was approval over the makeup designer.^[31]

Music[link]

Burton hired Danny Elfman, his collaborator on Pee-wee's Big Adventure and Beetlejuice, to compose the music score. For inspiration, Elfman was given The Dark Knight Returns. Elfman was worried, as he had never worked on a production this large in budget and scale.^[32] In addition, producer Jon Peters was skeptical of hiring Elfman, but was later convinced when he heard the opening number.^[33] Peters and Peter Guber wanted Prince to write music for the Joker and Michael Jackson to do the romance songs. Elfman would then combine the style of Prince and Jackson's songs together for the entire film score.^[1]

Burton protested the ideas, citing "my movies aren't commercial like Top Gun."^[1] Elfman enlisted the help of Oingo Boingo lead guitarist Steve Bartek and Shirley Walker to arrange the compositions for the orchestra.^[34] Elfman was later displeased with the audio mixing of his film score. "Batman was done in England by technicians who didn't care, and the non-caring showed," he stated. "I'm not putting down England because they've done gorgeous dubs there, but this particular crew elected not to."^[35] Batman was one of the first films to spawn two soundtracks. One of them featured songs written by Prince while the other showcased Elfman's score. Both were successful,^[36] and compilations of Elfman's opening credits were used in the title sequence theme for Batman: The Animated Series, also composed by Shirley Walker.^[12]

Themes[link]

When discussing the central theme of Batman, director Tim Burton explained, "the whole film and mythology of the character is a complete duel of the freaks. It's a fight between two disturbed people", adding that "The Joker is such a great character because there's a complete freedom to him. Any character who operates on the outside of society and is deemed a freak and an outcast then has the freedom to do what they want... They are the darker sides of freedom. Insanity is in some scary way the most freedom you can have, because you're not bound by the laws of society".^[1]

Burton saw Bruce Wayne as the bearer of a double identity, exposing one while hiding the reality from the world.^[1] Burton biographer Ken Hanke wrote that Bruce Wayne, struggling with his alter-ego as Batman, is depicted as an antihero. Hanke felt that Batman has to push the boundaries of civil justice to deal with certain criminals, such as the Joker.^[37] Kim Newman theorized that "Burton and the writers saw Batman and the Joker as a dramatic antithesis, and the film deals with their intertwined origins and fates to an even greater extent".^[38]

A visual motif is present in the scene of Batman's first major act of vigilantism at Axis Chemicals, wherein he is carefully framed so that the single word AXIS, in gigantic red neon letters, looms over him, comparing his acts to those of the totalitarian governments of World War II and thus implying that the dangers of these actions include the transformation of Jack Napier into the Joker.^[37] Batman also conveys trademarks found in 1930s pulp magazines, notably the design of Gotham City stylized with Art Deco design.^[39] Richard Corliss, writing for Time, observed that Gotham's design was a reference to films such as Metropolis (1927) and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). "Gotham City, despite being shot on a studio backlot," he continued, "is literally another character in the script. It has the demeaning presence of German Expressionism and fascist architecture, staring down at the citizens."^[40] Hanke further addressed the notions of Batman being a period piece, in that "The citizens, cops, people and the black-and-white television looks like it takes place in 1939"; but later said: "Had the filmmakers made Vicki Vale a femme fatale rather than a damsel in distress, this could have made Batman as a homage and tribute to classic film noir."^[21] Portions of the climax pay homage to Vertigo.^[41]

Marketing[link]

Production designer Anton Furst designed the poster, which he called "evocative but ubiquitous. Only featuring the Bat-Symbol. Not too much and not too little." Earlier designs "had the word 'Batman' spelled in RoboCop or Conan the Barbarian-type font."^[9] Jon Peters unified all the film's tie-ins, even turning down $6 million from General Motors to build the Batmobile because the car company would not relinquish creative control.^[9]

During production, Peters read in The Wall Street Journal that comic book fans were unsatisfied with the casting of Michael Keaton. In response, Peters rushed the first film trailer that played in thousands of theaters during Christmas. It was simply an assemblage of scenes without music, but happened to create enormous anticipation for the film.^[9] DC Comics allowed screenwriter Sam Hamm to write his own comic book miniseries. Hamm's stories were collected in the graphic novel Batman: Blind Justice (ISBN 978-1563890475). Denys Cowan and Dick Giordano illustrated the artwork.^[5] Blind Justice tells the story of Bruce Wayne trying to solve a series of murders connected to Wayne Enterprises. It also marks the first appearance of Henri Ducard, who was later used in the rebooted Batman Begins, albeit as an alias for the more notable Ra's al Ghul.^[5]

In the months pre-dating Batman's release in June 1989, a popular culture phenomenon rose known as "Batmania".^[19] Over $750 million worth of merchandise was sold.^[12] Cult filmmaker and comic book writer Kevin Smith remembered, "That summer was huge. You couldn't turn around without seeing the Bat-Signal somewhere. People were cutting it into their fucking heads. It was just the summer of Batman and if you were a comic book fan it was pretty hot."^[42] Hachette Book Group USA published a novelization, written by Craig Shaw Gardner.^[43] It remained on the New York Times Best Seller list throughout June 1989.^[44] Burton admitted he was annoyed by the publicity. David Handelman of The New York Observer categorized Batman as a high concept film. He believed "it is less movie than a corporate behemoth."^[41]

Reception[link]

Box office[link]

Batman opened on June 23, 1989, grossing $43.6 million in 2,194 theaters during its opening weekend. This broke the opening weekend record, set by Ghostbusters II one week earlier, with $29.4 million.^[45] Batman would eventually gross $251.2 million in North America and $160.15 million internationally, totaling $411.35 million.^[46] Batman was the first film to earn $100 million in its first ten days of release,^[1] and was the highest grossing film based on a DC comic book until 2008's The Dark Knight.^[47] The film's gross is the 58th highest ever in North American ranks.^[48] Although Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade made the most money worldwide in 1989,^[49] Batman was able to beat The Last Crusade in North America,^[50] and made a further $150 million in home video sales.^[51]

Critical reaction[link]

Batman was criticized in some quarters for being "too dark".^[1] Many observed that Burton was more interested in the Joker than Batman in terms of characterization and screentime.^[1] Comic book fans reacted negatively over the Joker murdering Thomas and Martha Wayne; in the comic book, Joe Chill is responsible. Writer Sam Hamm, who is a comic book fan, said it was Burton's idea to have the Joker murder Wayne's parents. "The Writer's Strike was going on," Hamm said, "and Tim had the other writers do that. I also hold innocent to Alfred letting Vicki Vale into the Batcave. Fans were ticked off with that, and I agree. That would have been Alfred's last day of employment at Wayne Manor."^[33]

The songs written by Prince were criticized for being "too out of place".^[3] While Burton has stated he had no problem with the Prince songs, he was less enthusiastic with their use in the film.^[37] On the film, Burton remarked, "I liked parts of it, but the whole movie is mainly boring to me. It's OK, but it was more of a cultural phenomenon than a great movie."^[51] Nonetheless, the film received generally favorable reviews from critics. Based on 52 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, 71% of reviewers have enjoyed Batman.^[52] By comparison, Metacritic has collected an average score of 66, based on 17 reviews.^[53]

Burton biographer Alison McMahan wrote, "fans of the Batman franchise complained when they heard of Michael Keaton's casting. However, no one complained when they saw his performance."^[41] James Berardinelli called the film entertaining, with the highlight being the production design. However, he concluded, "the best thing that can be said about Batman is that it led to Batman Returns, which was a far superior effort."^[54] Variety felt "Jack Nicholson stole every scene" but still greeted the film with positive feedback.^[55] Roger Ebert was highly impressed with the production design, but claimed "Batman is a triumph of design over story, style over substance, a great-looking movie with a plot you can't care much about." and called the film "a depressing experience".^[56] His reviewing partner, Gene Siskel, disagreed, however, describing the film as having a 'refreshingly adult' approach with performances, direction and set design that 'draws you into a psychological world'. Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader called it "watchable enough".^[57]

Legacy[link]

Anton Furst and Peter Young won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction,^[58] while Nicholson was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor (Musical or Comedy).^[59] The British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominated Batman in six categories (Production Design, Visual Effects, Costume Design, Makeup, Sound and Actor in a Supporting Role for Nicholson), but it won none of the categories.^[60] Nicholson, Basinger, the make-up department and costume designer Bob Ringwood all received nominations at the Saturn Awards. The film was also nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film^[61] and the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.^[62]

The success of Batman prompted Warner Bros. Animation to create the Emmy Award-winning Batman: The Animated Series, as a result beginning the long-running DC Animated Universe.^[63] Series co-creator Bruce Timm stated the television show's Art Deco design was inspired from the film. Timm commented, "our show would never have gotten made if it hadn't been for that first Batman movie."^[64] Batman initiated the original Batman film series and helped establish the modern day superhero film genre. Burton joked, "ever since I did Batman, it was like the first dark comic book movie. Now everyone wants to do a dark and serious superhero movie. I guess I'm the one responsible for that trend."^[65]

Producers Michael Uslan and Benjamin Melniker filed a breach of contract lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on March 26, 1992. Uslan and Melniker claimed to be "the victims of a sinister campaign of fraud and coercion that has cheated them out of continuing involvement in the production of Batman and its sequels. We were denied proper credits, and deprived of any financial rewards for our indispensable creative contribution to the success of Batman."^[9] A superior court judge rejected the lawsuit. Total revenues of Batman have topped $2 billion, with Uslan claiming to have "not seen a penny more than that since our net profit participation has proved worthless."^[9] Warner Bros. offered the pair an out-of-court pay-off, a sum described by Uslan and Melniker's attorney as "two popcorns and two Cokes".^[66]

Reflecting on the twentieth anniversary of its release in a retrospective article on Salon.com, film commentator Scott Mendelson noted the continuing impact that Batman has had on the motion film industry, including the increasing importance of opening weekend box office receipts; the narrowing window between a film's debut and its video release that caused the demise of second-run movie theaters; the accelerated acquisition of pre-existing, pre-sold properties for film adaptations that can be readily leveraged for merchandizing tie-ins; the primacy of the MPAA PG-13 as the target rating for film producers; and more off-beat, non-traditional casting opportunities for genre films.^[67]

The film also received recognition from the American Film Institute. Batman was anointed the 46th greatest movie hero on AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains.^[68] The Joker was anointed the 45th greatest movie villain on the same list. In 2008, Batman was selected by Empire magazine as number 458 of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.^[69]

American Film Institute lists

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated^[70]
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – Nominated^[71]
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains:
  • The Joker – #45 Villain
  • Batman – #46 Hero
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
  • "Have you ever danced with the Devil in the pale moonlight?" – Nominated^[72]
• AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated^[73]
• AFI's 10 Top 10 – Nominated Fantasy Film^[74]

Home video[link]

Many versions of the film have been released. Included are VHS, Laserdisc, single-disc DVD, special edition DVD and an anthology set. The Batman: The Motion Picture Anthology released in 2005 included 2-disc special edition DVDs of the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher Batman films. This anthology set was re-released on Blu-ray on March 10, 2009.

On May 19, 2009 a 20th anniversary stand-alone edition was released. This stand-alone version contains exactly the same special features as its anthology set (both DVD and Blu-ray) counterparts. There are two differences: This version includes a 50-page booklet guide to the film, and a slight variation in packaging from normal Blu-ray cases (i.e. a Warner Bros. digibook). They both include a digital copy of the film.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Janet K. Halfyard, (28 October 2004) (Paperback). Danny Elfman's Batman: A Film Score Guide. A careful study of Elfman's scoring technique with a detailed analysis of the film itself. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-5126-1. 
• Craig Shaw Gardner (1 June 1989) (Mass Market Paperback). Batman. Novelization of the film. Hachette Book Group USA. ISBN 0-446-35487-2. 

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Batman (1989 film)

• Batman at AllRovi
• Batman at the Internet Movie Database
• Batman at Box Office Mojo
• Batman at Metacritic
• Batman at Rotten Tomatoes
• Script review of The Batman IGN reviews Tom Mankiewicz's unproduced script
• Behind-the-scenes photos
• Screenshots

Not to be confused with Nicholas Jackson

Jack Nicholson
Nicholson at Dennis Hopper's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star ceremony, March 26, 2010
Born	John Joseph Nicholson (1937-04-22) April 22, 1937 (age 75) New York City, New York, U.S.
Residence	Hollywood Hills, California
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Actors Studio
Occupation	actor, director, producer, screenwriter
Years active	1958–present
Home town	Neptune City, New Jersey
Spouse	Sandra Knight (1962–1968)
Children	4 (including Lorraine Nicholson)

John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. His twelve Oscar nominations make him the second most nominated actor of all time, behind only Meryl Streep, and tied with Katharine Hepburn.

Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and for As Good as It Gets. He also won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the 1983 film Terms of Endearment. He is tied with Walter Brennan for most acting wins by a male actor (three). Nicholson is well known for playing villainous roles such as Jack Torrance in The Shining, Frank Costello in The Departed, and the Joker in 1989's Batman, among many other roles.

Nicholson is one of only two actors who have been nominated for an Academy Award for acting in every decade from the 1960s to 2000s; the other is Michael Caine. He has won seven Golden Globe Awards, and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2001. In 1994, he became one of the youngest actors to be awarded the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award. Notable films in which he has starred include Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Passenger, The Shining, Reds, Terms of Endearment, Batman, A Few Good Men, As Good as It Gets, About Schmidt, The Departed and Anger Management .

Early life[link]

Nicholson was born in St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City,^{[citation needed]} the son of a showgirl, June Frances Nicholson (stage name June Nilson).^[1][2] June had married Italian American showman Donald Furcillo (stage name Donald Rose) six months earlier in Elkton, Maryland, on October 16, 1936.^[3] Furcillo was already married. Although he reportedly offered to take care of the child, June's mother Ethel insisted that she bring up the baby, partly so that June could pursue her dancing career. Although Furcillo claimed to be Nicholson's father and to have committed bigamy by marrying June, biographer Patrick McGilligan asserted in Jack's Life that Latvian-born Eddie King (originally Edgar A. Kirschfeld),^[4] June's manager, may have been Nicholson's biological father. Other sources suggest June Nicholson was unsure of who the father was.^[1] Nicholson's mother was of Irish, English, and Pennsylvania Dutch descent,^[5][6] though he and his family reportedly self-identified as Irish.^[7][8]

Nicholson was brought up believing that his grandparents, John Joseph Nicholson (a department store window dresser in Manasquan, New Jersey) and Ethel May (née Rhoads, a hairdresser, beautician and amateur artist in Manasquan), were his parents. Nicholson only discovered that his "parents" were actually his grandparents and his sister was in fact his mother in 1974, after a journalist for TIME magazine who was doing a feature on Nicholson informed him of the fact.^[9] By this time, both his mother and grandmother had died (in 1963 and 1970, respectively). Nicholson has stated he does not know who his biological father is, saying "Only Ethel and June knew and they never told anybody",^[9] and has chosen not to have a DNA test or to pursue the matter.

Nicholson grew up in Neptune City, New Jersey.^[10] He was raised in his mother's Roman Catholic religion.^[5][7] Before starting high school, his family moved to an apartment in Spring Lake, New Jersey.^[11][12] "Nick", as he was known to his high school friends, attended nearby Manasquan High School, where he was voted "class clown" by the Class of 1954. He was in detention every day for a whole school year.^{[citation needed]} A theatre and a drama award at the school are named in his honor. In 2004, Nicholson attended his 50-year high school reunion accompanied by his aunt Lorraine.^[4]

Career[link]

Early work[link]

Nicholson as Wilbur Force in The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

When Nicholson first came to Hollywood, he worked as a gofer for animation legends William Hanna and Joseph Barbera at the MGM cartoon studio. Seeing his talent as an artist, they offered Nicholson a starting level position as an animation artist. However, citing his desire to become an actor, he declined.^[13]

He made his film debut in a low-budget teen drama The Cry Baby Killer, in 1958, playing the title role. For the following decade, Nicholson was a frequent collaborator with the film's producer, Roger Corman. Corman directed Nicholson on several occasions, most notably in The Little Shop of Horrors, as masochistic dental patient Wilbur Force, and also in The Raven, The Terror, and The St. Valentine's Day Massacre. He worked frequently with director Monte Hellman as well on low-budget westerns, though two in particular, Ride in the Whirlwind and The Shooting, initially failed to find interest from any US film distributors but gained cult success on the art house circuit in France and were later sold to television.

Rise to fame[link]

With his acting career heading nowhere, Nicholson seemed resigned to a career behind the camera as a writer/director. His first real taste of writing success was the LSD-fueled screenplay for the 1967 film, The Trip (directed by Corman), which starred Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper. Nicholson also co-wrote, with Bob Rafelson, the movie Head, which starred The Monkees. In addition, he also arranged the movie's soundtrack. However, after a spot opened up in Fonda and Hopper's Easy Rider, it led to his first big acting break. Nicholson played hard-drinking lawyer George Hanson, for which he received his first Oscar nomination. The part of Hanson was a lucky break for Nicholson—the role had in fact been written for actor Rip Torn, who was a close friend of screen writer Terry Southern, but Torn withdrew from the project after a bitter argument with the film's director Dennis Hopper, during which the two men almost came to blows.^[14] In interview, Nicholson later acknowledged the importance of being cast in Easy Rider: "All I could see in the early films, before Easy Rider, was this desperate young actor trying to vault out of the screen and create a movie career."^[15]

A Best Actor nomination came the following year for his persona-defining role in Five Easy Pieces (1970). Also that year, he appeared in the movie adaptation of On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, although most of his performance was left on the cutting room floor. Jack was the first choice to play the role of Father Damien Karras in The Exorcist, but the role was turned over to Jason Miller.

Other Nicholson roles included Hal Ashby's The Last Detail (1973), for which he was awarded Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival, and the classic Roman Polanski noir thriller, Chinatown (1974). Nicholson was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for both films. Nicholson was friends with the director long before the death of Polanski's wife, Sharon Tate, at the hands of the Manson Family, and supported him in the days following the deaths.^[16][17] After Tate's death, Nicholson began sleeping with a hammer under his pillow,^[17] and took breaks from work to attend the Manson trial.^[18] It was at Nicholson's home where the rape case for which Polanski was arrested occurred. Nicholson would go on to star in The Who's Tommy (1975), directed by Ken Russell, and Michelangelo Antonioni's The Passenger (1975).

Nicholson (right) and Dennis Hopper at the 62nd Academy Awards, March 26, 1990

Nicholson earned his first Best Actor Oscar for portraying Randle P. McMurphy in the movie adaptation of Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, directed by Miloš Forman in 1975. His Oscar was matched when Louise Fletcher received the Best Actress Award for her portrayal of Nurse Ratched. After this, he began to take more unusual roles. He took a small role in The Last Tycoon, opposite Robert De Niro. He took a less sympathetic role in Arthur Penn's western The Missouri Breaks, specifically to work with Marlon Brando. He followed this by making his second directorial effort with the western comedy Goin' South. His first movie as a director was a 1971 quirky release called Drive, He Said.^{[citation needed]}

Although he garnered no Academy Award for Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining (1980), it remains one of his more significant roles. His second Oscar, the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, came for his role of retired astronaut Garrett Breedlove in Terms of Endearment (1983), directed by James L. Brooks. Nicholson continued to work prolifically in the 1980s, starring in such films as The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), Reds (1981), Prizzi's Honor (1985), The Witches of Eastwick (1987), Broadcast News (1987), and Ironweed (1987). Three Oscar nominations also followed (Reds, Prizzi's Honor, and Ironweed).

Nicholson introduced several acts at Live Aid at the JFK Stadium in July 1985. He turned down the role of John Book in Witness.^[19] The 1989 Batman movie, wherein Nicholson played the psychotic murderer and villain, The Joker, was an international smash hit, and a lucrative percentage deal earned Nicholson about $60 million. For his role as hot-headed Col. Nathan R. Jessep in A Few Good Men (1992), a movie about a murder in a U.S. Marine Corps unit, Nicholson received yet another Academy nomination. This film contained the court scene in which Nicholson famously explodes, "You can't handle the truth!", in one of the Aaron Sorkin-penned monologues to become part of popular culture.^{[citation needed]}

In 1996, Nicholson collaborated once more with Batman director Tim Burton on Mars Attacks!, pulling double duty as two contrasting characters, President James Dale and Las Vegas property developer Art Land. At first studio executives at Warner Bros. disliked the idea of killing off Nicholson's character, so Burton created two characters and killed them both off. Not all of Nicholson's performances have been well received. He was nominated for Razzie Awards as worst actor for Man Trouble (1992) and Hoffa (1992). However, Nicholson's performance in Hoffa also earned him a Golden Globe nomination.^{[citation needed]}

Nicholson went on to win his next Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Melvin Udall, a mean-spirited, compulsive obsessive neurotic author in As Good as It Gets (1997), again directed by Brooks. His Oscar was matched with the Academy Award for Best Actress for Helen Hunt as a Manhattan waitress drawn into a love/hate friendship with Udall, a frequent diner in the restaurant in which she worked. In 2001, Nicholson was the first actor to receive the Stanislavsky Award at the Moscow International Film Festival for "conquering the heights of acting and faithfulness".^{[citation needed]}

2002–present[link]

Jack Nicholson at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival

In About Schmidt (2002), Nicholson portrayed a retired Omaha, Nebraska actuary who questions his own life following his wife's death. His quietly restrained performance earned him an Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor. In Anger Management (2003), he plays an aggressive therapist assigned to help overly pacifist Adam Sandler. In 2003, Nicholson also starred in Something's Gotta Give, as an aging playboy who falls for the mother (Diane Keaton) of his young girlfriend.

In late 2006, Nicholson marked his return to the "dark side" as Frank Costello, a sadistic Boston Irish Mob boss presiding over Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning The Departed, a remake of Andrew Lau's Infernal Affairs.

In November 2006, Nicholson began filming his next project, Rob Reiner's The Bucket List, a role for which he shaved his head. The film starred Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as dying men who fulfill their list of goals. The film was released on December 25, 2007 (limited), and January 11, 2008 (wide). In researching the role, Nicholson visited a Los Angeles hospital to see how cancer patients coped with their illnesses. His last film role to date saw him reunite with Terms of Endearment and As Good as It Gets director James L. Brooks for a small supporting role as Paul Rudd's father in How Do You Know.

Personal life[link]

Family and relationships[link]

Nicholson in 2008

Nicholson has been romantically linked to numerous actresses and models, including Michelle Phillips, Bebe Buell, and Lara Flynn Boyle. Nicholson's longest relationship was for 16 years with actress Anjelica Huston, daughter of film director John Huston, from 1973 to 1989. However, the relationship ended when the media reported that Rebecca Broussard had become pregnant with Nicholson's child. Nicholson and Broussard had two children together, Lorraine (born 1990) and Raymond Nicholson (born 1992). Nicholson's other children are Jennifer (born 1963 with Sandra Knight) and Honey Hollman (b. 1981 with Winnie Hollman). Actress Susan Anspach contends that her son, Caleb Goddard (born 1970), was fathered by Nicholson, though he is not convinced he is the father.^[20][21]

Celebrity friendships[link]

Nicholson lived next door to Marlon Brando for a number of years on Mulholland Drive in Beverly Hills. Warren Beatty also lived nearby, earning the road the nickname "Bad Boy Drive". After Brando's death in 2004, Nicholson purchased his neighbor's bungalow for $6.1 million, with the purpose of having it demolished. Nicholson stated that it was done out of respect to Brando's legacy, as it had become too expensive to renovate the "derelict" building which was plagued by mold.^[22]

Nicholson shared a friendship with author-journalist Hunter S. Thompson, described in Thompson's autobiography "Kingdom of Fear" where, according to Thompson, they would exchange "bizarre" presents which resulted in a perceived assassination attempt against the actor. Thompson appeared outside Nicholson's home on the night of Nicholson's birthday, having set off a high-powered spotlight and gunfire, playing a tape of animal cries through an amplifier to awaken him. Thompson then left a freshly-cut elk's heart on Nicholson's door as a joke before leaving when it appeared that nobody would exit the house.^[23]Following the death of Thompson in 2005, Nicholson and fellow actors Johnny Depp, John Cusack, and Sean Penn attended the private memorial service in Colorado.^[24]

Hobbies[link]

Nicholson is a fan of the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Lakers. His attendance at Lakers games is legendary, as he is a season ticket holder since 1970 and has held courtside season tickets for the past 25 years at both The Forum and the Staples Center, missing very few games. In a few instances, Nicholson has engaged in arguments with game officials and opposing players, and has even walked onto the court.^[25] His ardent refusal to miss a Lakers home game means that studios are rumored to have to schedule filming around the Lakers home schedule^[25][26] although he disputed this claim in an interview with BBC radio in 2008.^[27]

Nicholson is a collector of 20th century and contemporary art, including the work of Scottish artist Jack Vettriano.^[28]

Honors[link]

Footprints and handprints of Jack Nicholson at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver announced on May 28, 2008, that Nicholson would be inducted into the California Hall of Fame, located at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts. The induction ceremony took place on December 15, 2008, where he was inducted alongside 11 other legendary Californians.^{[citation needed]}

In 2010, Nicholson was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.^[29]

In 2011, Nicholson received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Brown University at its two hundred and forty-third commencement. At the ceremony Ruth Simmons, Brown University's president, called him, "the most skilled actor of our lifetime."^[30]

Academy Awards history[link]

	Academy Award portal
	Film portal

With twelve nominations (eight for Best Actor and four for Best Supporting Actor), Jack Nicholson is the most nominated male actor in Academy Awards history. Only Nicholson and Michael Caine have been nominated for an acting (lead or supporting) Academy Award in five different decades: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s (decade). With three Oscar wins, he also ties with Walter Brennan for the second highest-number of Oscar wins in acting categories (all of Brennan's wins, however, were for Best Supporting Actor).

At the 79th Academy Awards, Nicholson had fully shaved his hair for his role in The Bucket List. Those ceremonies represented the seventh time he has presented the Academy Award for Best Picture (1972, 1977, 1978, 1990, 1993, 2006, and 2007). Nicholson is an active and voting member of the Academy. During the last decade he has attended almost every ceremony, whether nominated or not, sitting in the front row.

Filmography[link]

Additionally, in 1999, Nicholson was presented with the Golden Globe's Cecil B. DeMille Award lifetime achievement award.

References[link]

External links[link]