Batman: 20th Anniversary Edition (2009, Warner Bros.)
purchase from Amazon: Blu-ray
The movie industry seems to break a new record for box-office totals every single year, but if you remember the summer of Tim Burton’s Batman — and all the crazy lengths people went to in order to get tickets for an opening night screening — you know that the movies themselves tend not to inspire the same level of frenzy that they once did. I was 15 when Batman came out, and I remember spending pretty much an entire day looking for a theater that wasn’t completely sold out; I ended up at a midnight screening at a dingy little multiplex over an hour from where I lived, and I went home absolutely thrilled with the experience.
I’ve seen all of Warner Bros.’ subsequent Batman adaptations, but none more than once, including the original, so I was eager to break in my new Blu-ray player with the 20th Anniversary Edition release that hits stores tomorrow. Although there isn’t really anything new here — it just breaks off Batman from the previously released Anthology box — it was all new enough to me, and having never been a fan of the “buy the whole series or you don’t get none” philosophy that studios love, I was staunchly in favor of this edition even before I unwrapped it.
The movie, though? It doesn’t hold up so well. Twenty years can do a lot of things, and not all of them are kind. (more…)
Since its inception, this column has at times deviated from the strict parameters that most “movie” columns adhere to. In many ways, my intention has always been to touch on more than the average movie discussion, as it is my belief that there is a link to the world of cinema in every facet of our lives. That said, I hope you’ll forgive me from straying a little further even than normal.
