Batman: The Movie

The grandkids watch this again and again at my house. At first, they say “This, again?” And then, they color and play and watch their favorite parts and can even report to me what’s going to happen next sometimes. Good clean fun.

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.

Between season one and season two of the campy Batman TV show(1965-1968), there was a Batman movie that played in movie theaters. There was an X Files movie released in movie theaters in 1997. The Joker, Catwoman, The Penguin, and The Riddler are planning something big and Batman and Robin are our only hope! Adam West and Burt Ward do their usual hammy acting job as Batman and Robin. Wests deadpan humor makes me smile! This Batman movie is just as campy as the TV show. Batman almost throws a giant bomb into a marching band and some children! Batman yells, On some days, you just cant get rid of a bomb! Fox Home Video did a great job releasing this film on DVD. It was one of the first DVDs that I bought and it delivers in quality and quantity. I only paid $5 for it. Theres interviews with Adam West and Burt Ward as extras and movie trailers. Jerry Warren tried to emulate this film and the Batman TV show in The Wild World of Batwoman(1966). The film was so derivative that DC Comics sued him! Some prints of the movie are known as She Was a Hippy Vampire(1966). Batman The Movie(1966) is retro, campy fun.

Rewatched this movie with my sons after they watched the newest Batman. I forgot how much fun these shows were

I never realized how very funny the writing was for the 1966 movie. I remember it being very camp (a stigma that movies about comic book heroes had to endure for some time), but having watched it again last night for the first time in many a year, I found myself laughing at a lot of its outrageous gags (one of my favorites was when they report they are just passing the Benedict Arnold Monument, like someone in America would build a monument to Arnold, LOL). The picture quality for the Blu-ray high def release is excellent, with vibrant colors and the audio is good. There are a number of extras that fill out the disc. There are two commentaries, one by screenwriter Lorenzo Semple, Jr., and the other with Adam West and Burt Ward. There is a short featurette with George Barris, creator of the Batmobile. An interactive map of locations can be played while watching the movie, and while the map spotlights can jump from Santa Barbara (for the wharf where Batman runs with the bomb) to the studio in Culver City where interiors were shot there is an option to pull up factoids, photos, and map directions to the locations. There are featurettes on the heroes and the villains, and more. All in all, a fun Blu-ray disc to purchase.

The 4 villains in this movie made it so funny. They had one goal and couldnt stop Batman and Robin. Well usually the good guys are successful. It is a fun and neat movie to watch.

My 3 yr old son loves this movie. He says he wants to watch the real Batman and wont tolerate the cartoons, lol. They just recently removed it from Netflix, so I purchased it for him here. Some of the dialogue makes your eyes roll waaay back, but it was meant to be based on the comics and the humor at the time doesnt pass to well now, but its still watchable. I didnt have the heart to tell him that Adam West isnt around anymore, Im just gonna let him idolize him for now. Great movie, great guy.

Ok, I remember the TV show and made sure that I was front and center of our black and white 19 TV. And, I also remember seeing this film in our local movie theater one Saturday matinee. And, I was too giddy at seeing my favorite TV show on a big screen and in color, that the details escaped me. So, one night recently, I saw the movie available on Prime. I clicked and sat back. I smiled and shook my head: how did I miss all these things? And, in the first 15 minutes I had a laundry list of mistakes and shortcomings. For example, there is a scene when Batman descends down a helicopters ladder--and for those of us who have rappelled or fast roped down a moving helicopter that is one of the scariest things I did--that I burst. Impossible. Then when Robin overshot the LZ of the yacht they were chasing and Batman sank into the water, what appears to be a shark--yes, it is very poorly made rubberized fake--attacks Batman. I said to myself, well, at the time, that was exciting! So, if you watched the TV show in black and white in 1966, saw this at the movie theater, take a trip, back in time, and sit back and smile.

Funny, classic and a good movie!

This movie, starring Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin, kept up with the 1960s campy version of the series it spun off from, and was just plain fun to watch. I purchased this movie for the purpose of reviewing it for Classic Cinema Online, as Im comparing live action Batman from the 1940s to the present, and am enjoying their many differences. This movie, as cheesy as it is, fits right in - no disappointments here! Of all the Batmans, this one makes for the best family entertainment, being suitable for children of all ages, and I highly recommend it because of how fun it is to watch. I ordered this new and it arrived on the day anticipated in excellent condition.