Batman - The Movie

Some TV shows and movies date themselves, but Adam West's Batman is so perfectly cartoony that it will never grow old. Rotten Tomatoes gives this 1966 movie 81%! This is a review for the 2008 Special Edition DVD reissue. [Edited to add 07/15] When I wrote this review, "Batman: The Movie" was only available in DVD. After the (finally!) release of the TV series on BluRay/DVD, this movie has been released on BluRay. I've been told the extras are different. The movie starts out with this dedication, which exemplifies the campy humor, fake seriousness and double entendres of the movie and TV show: "We wish to express our gratitude to the enemies of crime and crusaders against crime throughout the world for their inspirational example. To them, and to lovers of adventure, lovers of pure escapism, lovers of unadulterated entertainment, lovers of the ridiculous and the bizarre ... To fun lovers everywhere... this picture is respectfully dedicated. If we have overlooked any sizable groups of lovers, we apologize. -- The Producers" Batman and Robin go in a huddle with Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara after Batman's hilarious fight with a shark, on a rope ladder, hanging from the BatCopter, where he hits the shark and it sounds exactly like he's hitting a rubber fish, said rubber shark finally repelled with a handy can of Bat Shark Repellent. The crime duo had been tracking a yacht, which mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the ocean. The four huddlers come to the horrible conclusion that they are up against four supercriminals working together: Batman: "Pretty fishy what happened to me on that ladder." Commissioner: "Where there's a fish there could be a Penguin." Robin: "It happened at sea. See? "C" for Catwoman." Batman: "The exploding shark was pulling my leg." Commissioner: "The Joker!" Chief O'Hara: "It all adds up to a sinister riddle. Riddle-er. Riddler?" Aaargh!! Yes, the fab four criminals are after the yacht owner's new invention, the Total Dehydration Machine. With it, you can turn a person into a pile of colored dust. Later, just add water, and the person pops back up. How will our favorite crime fighters defeat them, especially when Catwoman dons the disguise of a Russian reporter to get close, very close, to Bruce Wayne? Dressed in a leopard skin hat and coat, she first introduces herself to Batman at a press conference: "Comrade Kitayna Ireyna Tatanya Kerenska Alisoff. I am from the 'Moscow Bugle'." Aaargh again! This movie is great fun to watch, with all sorts of verbal and visual jokes. And everybody seems to be having a great time. The movie is presented in widescreen 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The menu and extras, however, seem to be TV-sized. Here's the extras on the 2008 Special Edition DVD: 1. Commentary. You can watch the movie with commentary by Adam West (Batman) and Burt Ward (Robin). As there's only two commentators, there are some pauses, but it was fun. Like me, you may wish that Julie Newmar had played Catwoman in the movie. Ward remembers that Newmar was busy filming "MacKenna's Gold" and not available. West says: "These tights were not terribly comfortable." Ward: "Holy Understatement! I called them my python pants, because they strangled me to death." The TV show ran for three years on ABC. Ward remembers that the Bat Cave was a very expensive set. "When we were cancelled, if they hadn't destroyed it, NBC was gonna pick up the show and we would probably still be shooting today." 2. Batman Featurette. This is a 30 minute short with interviews with Burt Ward and Adam West, accompanied by movie outtakes and stills. Ward remembers that he had a great stuntman, but he still kept getting hurt. "During the first episode, four days in a row in the emergency hospital. I didn't think I was going to survive the first week." West remembers that the TV show had 250 guest stars, including the people who pop up out of the window while Batman and Robin are doing their "infamous" wall-walk. This was a coveted guest appearance and people who wanted to do it but couldn't get the scheduling included Frank Sinatra! The short ends appropriately, with Ward crying, "Holy DVD, Batman!" 3. Batmobile Revealed, with George Barris. This short is an interview with the designer and builder of the original BatMobile. I don't know about you, but THAT'S the BatMobile I want! It includes a hilarious remembrance of being arrested in Fargo North Dakota for driving the BatMobile with "no windshield wipers and incorrect taillights." 4. From the Vaults of Adam West. These are photos and stills from Adam's collection. 5. Behind the Scenes Still Gallery. More photos. 6. Theatrical Trailer 7. Spanish Theatrical Trailer 8. Teaser 9. Planet of the Apes Cross Trailer. A theatrical preview showing snippets from Charleton Heston's "Planet of the Apes" to introduce the remake of the same movie. 10. Languages available: English stereo, English mono, French mono Captions available: English, Spanish This movie is a lot of fun, but you have to put your silly hat on, or you'll just be groaning as you watch it! After you watch the movie, watch the great 2-disc TV special " Batman - Holy Batmania ". Great bios and additional information about all facets of the "Batman" TV show and this movie. Someday, the TV show will come out on DVD, and I'll get that, too! EDITED TO ADD October 2014: At last, the TV show is coming out on DVD and BluRay on 11/11/14! Batman Complete Series (DVD) Happy Reader

This movie perfectly captures the ridiculous charm of the old Batman TV series. Adam West and Burt Ward are in top form, delivering those hilariously serious performances that made the show work. The shark fight scene alone is worth the price (complete with Bat Shark Repellent). The villains are great and the whole plot is over-the-top fun. I had my doubts, but I was pleased to find that my kids also enjoyed it. So it holds up beyond the nostalgia!

I enjoyed this movie, but held off on buying the DVD until the complete Batman TV series was officially released on DVD. It's coming out November 11, along with a limited edition Blu-ray version and a Complete First Season edition. I pre-ordered the DVD version of the complete series. In the movie, Bruce Wayne/Batman (Adam West) and Dick Grayson/Robin (Burt Ward) battle four of their archenemies simultaneously - The Joker (the late Cesar Romero), The Penguin (the late Burgess Meredith ("quack, quack," which resulted from ex-smoker Meredith choking on his character's cigarette smoke)), The Riddler (the late impressionist Frank Gorshin), and The Catwoman (Lee Meriwether) - as the villains, banding together as the United Underworld, try to take over the United World Headquarters (a fictionalized United Nations). Reginald Denny is also featured as Commodore Schmidlapp, who is kidnapped by the villains, and is forced to provide them with his dehydration machine, which the United Underworld criminals use to dehydrate the entire United World (U.N.) General Assembly. Van Williams, who played the title role (Britt Reid) in the TV series The Green Hornet - not an official DVD release , has a cameo as the voice of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. As in the TV series, the Caped Crusaders are put in every possible predicament - at one point, Catwoman, disguised as Russian newswoman Miss Kitka, seduces and falls in love with Bruce Wayne; not until the last part of the movie, after the four villains are finally captured, does Batman find out the truth (holy heartbreak!). The Caped Crusaders eventually rehydrate the General Assembly, although the results are not perfect, with the members speaking different languages than their original native tongues. The supporting TV cast is also in the film - Commissioner James Gordon (the late Neil Hamilton), Chief Miles O'Hara (the late Stafford Repp), Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred Pennyworth (the late Alan Napier), and Wayne's Aunt Harriet Cooper (the late Madge Blake). The film, like the series, also contains its share of gadgets - the Batmobile, Batcave, Batcopter, Batcycle, Batboat, and more. Had 21st Century marketing practices been in effect in 1966, this movie would likely have been a 2-hour special edition of the TV series, instead of a theatrical release. Due to prior film and stage commitments, Julie Newmar, the original TV Catwoman, was unable to reprise her role in the film, so Meriwether replaced her (though Meriwether later claimed that Newmar injured her back). The best Catwoman, for my money, was the late Eartha Kitt ("purrrrrrfect!"), who replaced Newmar in later episodes of the series. Halle Berry ( Catwoman ) did look good in that catsuit, though. But I digress. Bonus features on the DVD include mini-documentaries on the making of the movie and the Batmobile, English and Spanish movie trailers, a teaser, two still photo galleries, and an entertaining audio commentary by West and Ward. For those who loved this version of Batman, this movie, along with the upcoming release of the TV show, is a real treat. Modern-day versions of Batman, with Michael Keaton, George Clooney Tunes (loved his Aunt Rosemary , but can't stand him), Val Kilmer, and others, are just too gory and violent for my taste. Adam West though so as well; see his autobiography Back to the Batcave . And now, R.I.P. Adam West, who joined the late Yvonne Craig (who played Batgirl in Season 3 of the TV series and passed away in 2015) in Heaven on June 9, 2017, age 88. Hope you two are getting reacquainted! Adam West, was, and will always be, the definitive Caped Crusader, as far as I am concerned.

This is the first theatrical Batman movie. This was released by 20th Century Fox. All the Batman movies since then are from Warner Bros. This stars Adam West and Burt ward. If you like the tv show, than you will like this movie. It is campy and the actors seem to know what kind of movie they are in. This is a fun movie.

I have now seen this movie maybe fifty times and still counting. My four-year-old son is ADDICTED to Batman, the Batcopter, the Batcycle, the Penguin's sub, etc. With the bigger-than-TV movie budget that allowed for these toys plus the presence of four bat villains, this is a must for fans of the BATMAN TV series. Adults will also appreciate -- perhaps after repeated viewings -- director Les Martinson's adept staging in long, well-timed comic takes among the villains. The bad guys are expert actors all, with relative novice Lee Meriweather (subbing for Julie Newmar, who was shooting McKENNA'S GOLD during the hiatus) acquitting herself admirably as a comedic villain. And does she look an ABSOLUTE KNOCKOUT as both Catwoman and as Russian Cold War hottie, Miss Kitka. Adam West certainly owns this incarnation of Batman, and wait 'til you hear how Burt Ward got the part of Robin! Kudos also to Nelson Riddle's jazz score, which I finally felt compelled to seek out (and found!) as a CD. Of course, we listen to this in the car all the time, and I have yet to get bored with the paradoxical variety of tonal colors despite the narrow instrumentation for jazz band. The script by Lorenzo Semple Jr. who wrote all? most? much? of the first season is slyly funny and supports both goofiness and a coherent narrative. Basically, it's fun, nostalgic, and a great take on -- and execution of -- the material. The commentaries from Adam West and Burt Ward are a little spare on info, but still welcome, as is the extra feature about the Batmobile. In all, a near PURRRR-fect DVD, and a cheap guilty pleasure at a relatively low price.

I can't say anything bad about this 60's version of Batman! It was good for what it was meant to be and that's a light-hearted take on this character. While I have not seen the DVD version, I have seen this film on TV many times! Adam West is great as his version has influenced other versions of Batman including the darker versions with his stiff seriousness (though today's Batman isn't as funny). Burt Ward is the trusty sidekick and suitable for that era as Robin. That version, however, wouldn't work today as the relationship between Batman and Robin (which is often conflicted as it is cooperative) is actually more believable. As for the villians, they are the best of the best. With three actors that are no longer with us in the form of Ceasar Romero (The Joker), Frank Gorshin (The Riddler/who could've easily played Jack Nicholson's Joker if he had been young in 1989) and Burgess Meridith (more popularly known as "Mickey" in the Rocky boxing films)! Lee Meridewith was okay as Catwoman but Julie Newmar and, later, Eartha Kitt were DEFINITELY better! One thing that's a personal note that I'd like to get off my chest and that's the misconception that Adam West was the original Batman! WRONG! And even West himself will tell you that the character had been around since the late '30's and was NOTHING like the West version. In fact, the early Batman was more like the one we see now than the campier version. The one that West portrays came about due to the comics code that was implemented in the 50's to keep the U.S. Government from censoring them! Still, back to the movie, it is a fun trip down the 60's and I am sure the bonus track will be very enlightening to hear from Adam West and Burt Ward. On a final note, I will give this version of Batman credit for one thing. If not for the popularity of this version, the Batman that we know now may have never had the chance to be seen! In fact, even the creators the excellent Batman: The Animated Series admitted to being big fans of this version of Bats and even had Adam West as a guest star in the episode entitled "Beware Of The Grey Ghost." I should also note that eppy is available on Vol. 1 of Batman: The Animated Series. They also patterned a lot of the humor in that series from this version of Batman (only not as campy). So, to Mr. West and to Mr. Ward, I say this to you. THANK YOU FOR THIS VERSION AND WHILE MANY "DARK KNIGHT" FANS FROWN AT THIS VERSION, THIS IS ONE "DARK KNIGHT" FAN THAT APPLAUDS AND APPRECIATES IT! ;)

Gotham City’s four foulest fiends, the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, and Catwoman join forces to take down Batman and Robin once and for all. There is a tie at the top of my favorite Batman movie between this, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, and Batman Returns. Each is a little different than the other and each is an amazingly fun time. Usually when asked I go with which ever of the three I have seen last. I love the movie bright colours and seemingly endless energy. It is a wonderful counterpoint to the endless array of perpetually angry dark Batmans we get these days. The movie knows it is silly and leans into it hard. Watching Batman race about the seedy waterfront carrying a giant bomb trying to avoid the nuns, the young mother and her child, the three piece Salvation Army Band and finally a flock of ducks is hilarious. It feels like the writers are another super villain throwing obstacles at the cape crusader. You would never see a modern Batman do this and that is why I love this more than any Batman made in twenty plus years. Adam West’s indomitable calm is balanced perfectly against the wild energy of our cast of villains. You know they were having a great time and that energy comes pouring out in ever scene. From the start this movie when Batman is attacked by the most terrifying shark in cinema history to final umbrella battle on the submarine this movie just screams energy. You can’t help but groove along Nelson Riddle’s swinging score as Batman and Robin survive scrap after scrap with the most ridiculous means of survival. At no point does it take itself seriously and for a Batman movie it is such a refreshing change that I love this movie a little more each time I watch it. It perfectly encapsulates the Batman TV show with the crazy villains, bright 60s pop art colors, explosions of fisticuffs with appropriate visual sound effects, and one of the best Batmans of them all, a definite tie with Kevin Conroy but he had the advantage of just doing the voice. We need to all remove our cowls in honor of the great porpoise who gave his life so Batman could live and triumph over evil. His sacrifice will not go unmourned.

Seems to be a good copy. I am enjoying watching this comedic series from the 1960s