Batman: The Movie
1966 Directed by Leslie H. Martinson
Synopsis
The Dynamic Duo faces four super-villains who plan to hold the world for ransom with the help of a secret invention that instantly dehydrates people.
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Why I love this film so much:
- The Bat Copter!
- Bitch-slapping an exploding shark
- Dodgy Irish accented cop
- 'That' theme tune
- The Bat Boat!
- The nobility of a suicidal porpoise (!)
- A ball point banana
- Jet-pack umbrellas
- "Bless my dust pan!" & "Holy Halloween!"
- 'Dehydrated' pirates.
- "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb!"
- 'Re-hydrated' pirates
- The Bat Cycle!
- Cat in a dinghy
- Umbrella/sword duel atop a submarine
- Bat Centrifuge!
- Bat ropes!In summary: Forget Nolan's films; watch this instead.
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I... I'm sorry. I can't.
No words can do this justice.
This left me absolutely speechless.
I questioned reality.
After being raised on 90's and 00's Batman, seeing this was one of the most mind-blowing experiences of my life.
I really, really can't.
I can't come up with anything to say.
I mean, at the end, I literally fell to the ground, flailing my arms everywhere, screeching in disbelief.
I just couldn't push out a cohesive thought.
The experience was...
Wow.
It was nail-bitingly, mind-blowingly, face-meltingly, nose-bleedingly, eye-poppingly, brain-smashingly, seizure-inducingly, aneurism-causingly, baby-deliveringly indescribable.
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Oddly enough, Adam West is a better Batman than Christian Bale has ever been.
This is good campy fun. If you think the current Batman films are a little too dark and you like your Batman with a little more cheese (with maybe a side of crackers) this is for you.
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Why is Batman blue in this poster? Anyway, on with the review!
I have never seen this before, and the only previous experience I have had with the Adam West Batman is the end of an episode from the TV series that just happened to be on ITV1 one evening. WOW.
This may be campier and more contrived than Flash Gordon. And it's absolutely fantastic. Hilarious, entertaining and riveting, (joking), this is a major shock for a newbie, especially if you grew up on Nolan's Batman, which I did, not being a particular comic book film fan.
Adam West is hilarious over the top, Burt Ward is.....awfully excellent, The Penguin is ridiculous, Catwoman is terribly mediocre, the Riddler is badly…
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Part 1 of my Batmanathon
Of all the Batman films this may well be the best and most singular in vision.
I find Nolan's films at times struggle to walk the line between staying true to the characters and comics, and committing to his gritty and 'modern' tone (something I will probably talk more about when I review those films in the next few days). Burton's films are really great, and the first film is perhaps tied with this film for my favourite Batman movie. But even they at times fail to balance the melodrama, camp and dark tones. The Schumacher films aren't even really worth bringing up in a conversation about the best Batman films; I remember them sucking major…
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Review from my VOD column "This Week on Demand".
The widespread popularity of Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne has seen the regard of Adam West’s slip further and further away as time goes by, the latter’s campy adventures in 1966’s Batman: The Movie continuing the comic absurdity of his terrifically tongue-in-cheek television escapades. Burton’s 1989 Warner Bros. franchise-starter is all too often regarded as “the first Batman movie”; where are we as a species if we can manage to forget the caped crusader's first feature film outing? Infamous for its array of utterly inane gadgets—“Hand down the shark-repellent Batspray!”—eccentric assemblage of iconic villains—including Cesar Romero, perpetually moustachioed beneath his Joker makeup—and beautifully barmy succession of noble porpoises and oversized bombs, the ’66 Batman is nothing short of a comic masterwork, lampooning the ludicrousness of superhero movies so far ahead of its time it’s often misinterpreted as unintentionally funny. Forget The Dark Knight: this is the best Batman ever made.
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This is a hearty, ymmv 3 stars. I've seen this movie a number of times throughout my life and as an adult I have to say it's bizarre, trippy fun. The impressive cast is obviously in on the absurdity of it all. There's as much room for this interpretation of Batman as there is Nolan's or Burton's.
There is no room for Schumacher's.
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Every bit as dumb, outrageous, and fun as the TV show. It got all the major villains together in the most ridiculous plot possible, which is a good thing. If you enjoy the show at all, you'll like the movie.
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It's not often that I'll find myself truly detesting a film, but holy smokes Batman: The Movie sure did try my patience. After watching this film I read a few reviews to see if it infuriated others, only to be dismayed to find the majority of reviewers tripping over themselves with pant-wetting glee and attempting to cram in as many of the tiresome silly quotes as possible. I understand this was intended for kids and has since spawned something of a cult appeal, but I just can't get past the fact that this was an absolutely atrocious film. I found it impossible to crease over in laughter at Adam West awkwardly delivering his lines with off timing, and the ridiculously…
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Some Days You Just Can't Get Rid of a Bomb
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Perhaps it was growing up with the darker incarnations of The Dark Knight (including a cartoonish, but often more adult oriented Animated Series in the 90s), but these 60s Batman TV episodes and this movie do nothing for me. It's so ridiculous and over the top that half the time I felt bored and half the time I felt perplexed.
Hell, I'm not even sure what many of the jokes mean. Why does the film end with "The Living End?" on the screen? Is it a time gap that prevents me from understanding?
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BAM!
A wonderfully camp movie from the creative wizards behind the cult US 'Batman' TV show.
ZZOCK!
Featuring Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin (still more acceptable than George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell nearly 40 years later), up against the whole rogues gallery of villains including Joker, Penguin, The Riddler and Catwoman.
POW!
It looks and feels like a true product from the crazy 1960s with the bright colours, cartoonish sets and larger-than-life performances, but this is a family film aiming at the TV audience that they won over, and it's awfully dated now but still has lots of charm as a cult Batman staple.
KA-BLAM!
Check it out for harmless fun and a great piece of Bat-history on film. Plus, this film also features the most exciting shark attack on film.
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Batman: What has yellow skin and writes?
Robin: A ball-point banana!
Batman: What people are always in a hurry?
Robin: Rushing people... Russians!
Batman: So this means...
Robin: Someone Russian is going to slip on a banana and break their neck!
Batman: Precisely, Robin!Enough said. This campy 60s film is funny and entertaining as hell.
Batman beats the shit out of an exploding shark, what more do you want? -
Today superhero spoofs are starting to become a genre of their own, with Kick-Ass, Defendor, Super and other films looking to parody and/or deconstruct the genre. It is strange to say it, but the most successful superhero comedy may be the one that predates virtually all superhero movies. There was no film franchise to make fun of, and the only genre television show at the time was the series the film was spun off of. Batman: the Movie made the audience laugh, and is remembered decades after its release, solely on its own merits. It’s fun for the children and children-at-heart who want to watch a superhero fight supervillains. It’s a laugh riot from start to finish. And it has…
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This is the best Batman.