10 Best Batman Moments
2. The Introduction to Keaton’s Batman
“I’m Batman.”
Batman has been brought back into the world many times, to both good reception and bad. When the part falls into an actor’s palms, they try to make him a god, a mortal, a sleuth or a villain. But, above all, they try to make their version memorable. In their first 5 minutes on screen, they can introduce Batman anew, history can be made.
It’s a regular night in the city of Gotham – the streets are swamped, the roads busy and the morals low. A family of three attempt to weave their way to a taxi which is taken by a nearby couple. Desperate for a ride, they walk through an alleyway and are spotted by some thugs. After shooting the father, the mother hugs her child and begins to scream. A silhouetted figure on the top of a building hears this and descends. As the thugs count up their riches, one of them expresses their fears of ‘the bat,’ a figure who recently served justice to their companion. As they speak of these rumours, a creature arrives on the scene – the dreaded Batman.
As Batman’s shadow drapes over the city, a dawn of a new era commences. It’s an extraordinarily detailed scene, set against the Metropolis-esque heights of Gotham. Burton sets up a nice parody to Bruce’s own trauma, with the goons attacking the vulnerable family. He also uses his proclivity for stop-motion, creating the fluidity of Batman’s cape on a building ledge. It’s a masterclass in Tim Burton filmmaking, a stylised, gothic ode to Batman’s comic book life. When combined with Michael Keaton’s “edgy, tormented quality,” (“Hit and Run“) this introduction becomes worthy of icon status. As the goons fearmonger, Batman’s descent in the background sends shockwaves through the brain. His unrelenting seriousness and his stoic strength present Batman as a brute force to be reckoned with. As his wings frame the head of one thug, their fear-ridden faces are branded into our minds. And, with the simplicity of his “I’m Batman,” Keaton cements himself as a Batman to be feared, never to be forgotten.
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1. The Joker Is Born
“My God!”
A man is born into the world with love and care by his side. The first things he hears are his parents’ affectionate coos, the first things he sees are their proud faces. But this was not the case when Jack Napier crawled to the surgeon after falling into acid. When The Joker was born, he was born in the deepest, darkest kind of contempt.
After a hand rises from the vat of acid at Axis Chemicals, it is confirmed that Jack Napier survived. With new chalk-white skin and acid green hair, he crawls to the surgeon for repair. After the procedure is complete, he tears off his bandages and asks for a mirror. The procedure has left him with a rictus grin. He begins to sob, the surgeon confronting him. However, this turns into an appalling laugh. He gets up, still laughing, and goes to Grissom’s house, where he seeks revenge for the lab set-up.
In the dank walls of a surgery room, Burton and Nicholson bring a creature from hell to life. Jack Nicholson’s talents prey on our minds, from the frantic tearing of his bandages to his heaving frame. But it is blood-curdling laughter that truly grasps the viewer. As sharp as icicles and as cutting as a rubied-blade, it holds us still in horror. By its volume, we are bound to silence. Burton uses this scene to exploit the greatest tool to at his disposal – our imaginations. With the camera positioned behind Jack Napier’s head, our minds begin to weave images of boogeymen, with charred skin and haunted flesh. This is extended by the deliberate darkness of the room, turning shapes into contorted nightmares. That is where the genius of this scene lies – Burton has made us the sole witness to this birth, but he has also made us the creator.
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Tim Burton’s Batman is a critically revered and beloved entry into the live-action canon of the Caped Crusader, and as such holds many great moments. Which bits do you enjoy the most? Let everyone know in the comments below, and be sure to follow @thefilmagazine across all social media – particularly Facebook and X (Twitter) – for more insightful movie lists.
Written by Bella Madge
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