Batman

"Justice is always darkest before the dawn."

1989 2h 6m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 8,854

FantasyActionCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Having witnessed his parents' brutal murder as a child, millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne fights crime in Gotham City disguised as Batman, a costumed hero who strikes fear into the hearts of villains. But when a deformed madman known as 'The Joker' seizes control of Gotham's criminal underworld, Batman must face his most ruthless nemesis ever while protecting both his identity and his love interest, reporter Vicki Vale.

“Justice is always darkest before the dawn.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Michael Keaton
Batman / Bruce Wayne
Jack Nicholson
Joker / Jack Napier
Kim Basinger
Vicki Vale
Robert Wuhl
Alexander Knox
Pat Hingle
Commissioner Gordon
Billy Dee Williams
Harvey Dent
Michael Gough
Alfred
Jack Palance
Grissom

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Tim Burton
Writers: Warren Skaaren, Sam Hamm, Sam Hamm
Languages: English, French
Countries: United States of America, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $411M — a 11.8× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

37 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Batman Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Tim Burton, shot by Roger Pratt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ray Lovejoy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tim Burton directs. Roger Pratt behind the camera. Danny Elfman scores. Ray Lovejoy cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $411M — a 11.8× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
237 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.
4International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.
5Part of the "Batman Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Tim Burton, shot by Roger Pratt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Ray Lovejoy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Justice is always darkest before the dawn.".
11IMDB entry: tt0096895 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 16 themes, including "dual identity", "double life", "chemical", "crime fighter".

The technical file

Cinematography: Roger Pratt
Original score: Danny Elfman
Editing: Ray Lovejoy
Production design: Anton Furst
Costume design: Bob Ringwood
Makeup / hair: Nick Dudman
Stunt coordinator: Eddie Stacey
Runtime: 126 min · 2h 6m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.78:1 (16:9)
Status: Released
Budget: $35,000,000
Box office: $411,348,924
Return: 1175% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Batman (1989)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Production Design

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Batman Collection

The Batman Collection directed by Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher follows Bruce Wayne’s crusade against crime in Gotham. With iconic villains and stylized visuals, the series blends action, fantasy, and psychological depth to explore the duality of the masked vigilante.

Also by

Tim Burton

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2016-07-29
★ 8/10
Vision not fully realised, but still a template of sorts. It could never have lived up to the hype back in 1989, it was hailed as the film to rival the impact of "Jaws" & "Star Wars" as regards historical cinema conventions, it was, we were led to believe, a new age in cinema, or so it seemed. As it was, the film went down a treat for the modern cinema going audience, it raked in cash galore and spawned a raft of very inferior sequels, even though ultimately critics of the time were less than impressed. So it makes for something of an interesting experience viewing it again as each decade passes. More so in light of Christopher Nolan's bank busting "Dark Knight" series of films. I remember the hype and marketing campaign (T-Shirts and toys bonanza) that ensured that the film could never live up to the gargantuan hype, and I'm honest enough to say that I was a little underwhelmed on first viewing. Yet time has been very kind to it, now showing that Burton had the nous and foresight to reignite a genre without going purely for kiddie like appeasements. Visually the film still stands up with the best that today's genre pieces can offer, the sets are incredible, with Anton Furst rightly winning the big award for his work here, whilst Burton's dark and deep tone captures the essence of Gotham City and Bruce Wayne's troubled mind perfectly, but does the cast fully realise the potential on offer?. Michael Keaton as the troubled and vengeful Bruce Wayne, is a fine actor and it would only be in time where his take on Wayne the man would be appreciated, as the caped crusader he is outstanding and he set the bar high for all those that followed him. Jack Nicholson has the time of his life camping it up as The Joker, and he steals the film for sure. This is not because he is acting with great poise and class, but purely because in a film calling for the battle of two unhinged characters, he is the one awash in colour and overacting the maniacal side of the character to the max. Kim Basinger looks great but doesn't have to do much as Vicki Vale except say her lines right, pout, look scared when required and scream with conviction, and she does all of these. But really any other actress could have done the same thing - though I'm personally relieved that Sean Young dropped out of the film and thus allowed some other actress to step in. The supporting cast do OK, and the soundtrack by Prince pushes the boundaries of annoying caricature indulgence. Ultimately it's a fun ride, respectful of the source material and giving the comic book genre of fil a shot in the arm. Yet you can't help feeling that there is some great Burton vision here that never got fully realised. And that is a damn shame, and something that Burton himself would come to admit down the line. 8/10
Albert2017-08-21
★ 4/10
This movie is so bad I couldn't even finish it.
Jakeflix2019-05-14
★ 10/10
Yeah, it's good.