In 1984, it was announced by producers Mike Uslan (a former Batman comic writer) and Ben  Melnicker (who with Uslan had produced the Swampthing), that a new, serious treatment of Batman would be making its way to the screen. Tom Mankiewicz, the script doctor for the first Superman feature, was drafted to do the screenplay. The Joker would be the major antagonist, with perhaps an appearance by another foe for added flavor. The creators took the project seriously and were concerned with such details as the exact date on the giant penny that always appeared as a souvenir trophy in the Batcave in older stories. "The film must be about the creature of the night and capture the spirit of what Batman was originally about and what the comic, by and large, has reverted to in the last couple of years," Uslan said. Robin would turn up only at the very end.

Despite the interest of such directors as Joe Dante and Ivan Reitman, the project--and Mankiewicz's script--never got off the ground. Tim Burton, who eventually directed the Batman film, later said he felt that the first Batman script was too much like Superman or even the Batman TV show. He also had trouble with the story structure, which "followed Wayne through childhood to his genesis as a crimefighter....there was absolutely no exploration or acknowledgment of the character's psychological structure."

A few years later, the Batman project was on the move again, under the auspices of producers  Jon Peters and Peter Guber, with Melniker and Uslan as executive producers. Sam Hamm was brought in to contribute an original script. He said "Superman set the model for how to do a super hero movie by opening up with the big spectacular origin sequence. It struck me that Batman was a different kind of character and couldn't be treated quite the same way because, while being rather exaggerated, grand, and operatic, Batman deals with material that is within the province of possibility. You really don't have to explain why a man can fly or why bullets bounce off his chest."

The whole origin/costume question was an irritant to director Burton. "He dresses like this for theatrical effect. We had to find a psychological basis for his dress code. You can't just do, 'Well, I'm avenging the death of my parents--Oh! a bat's flown through the window. Yes, that's it. I'll become a Batman!' That's all stupid comic book stuff...He dresses up as a bat because he wants to have an amazing visual impact. It all gets away from the fact that he's just being a simple vigilante, something I have always loathed about the character. He's creating an opera wherever he goes to provoke a larger-than- life reaction."

Hamm's script was tampered with by the studio; there were rewrites by Charles McKeown and Warren Skaaren. "It's typical studio thinking that when a big, expensive picture is going into production, they start getting itchy about any of the more idiosyncratic material in the script"," said Hamm. The black humor was left intact, but Bruce Wayne was no longer dark, tormented, and psychologically mixed up. A larger than life hero, Hamm noted, can't be "plagued with doubts about the validity of what's he's doing." As in Mankiewicz's script, Robin appeared only toward the end. Burton decided to drop the character just before filming began. He was gratified to see that DC had killed him off at about that time, and Warner Communications didn't need to be persuaded that Robin didn't matter. Charles McKeown added the inspired plot point: that the Joker was the murderer of Bruce Wayne's parents, as opposed to Joe Chill in the comic books.

Several actors were considered for the role of Batman, including Mel Gibson, Pearce Bronson, Charlie Sheen, and even Bill Murray. The one finally chosen seemed no more appropriate than Murray; Micheal Keaton. Immediately a storm of protest went up in comic shops across the nation. If comedian Keaton played Batman, the movie would turn out to be just another joke, it was reasoned. Patrons in comic stores were asked to sign petitions, and there was even talk of a boycott. (Months later many of these same people were doing free advertising for Warner Bros. by walking around wearing Batman T-shirts.)

Bob Kane had been championing Jack Nicholson for the Joker early on. He took a still of Nicholson from "The Shining" and drew green hair and red lips over it and voila! That was the Joker. Everyone seemed to agree. Nicholson demanded script changes (and a huge take of the potential profits) before signing to do the film, but Hamm claimed that they were mostly just substitutions of one punch line for another.

Jack Palance was brought in to play the gang boss, Grissom. "[He] was the only person who could possibly portray Nicholson's boss,"said director Burton. "He is one of the few living actors who had the emotional weight and authority   to counterpoint Nicholson's strong character."

Casting veteran British actor  Micheal Gough as the butler Alfred, was truly inspired. Sean Young was originally set to play Vicki Vale but was replaced by Kim Basinger after she had injured herself during the filming of another production. A relatively unknown comic, Robert Wuhl, was signed to play the part of a new character, Alexander Knox, a reporter. Pat Hingle's turn as Commissioner Gordon, and Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent amounted to little more than cameos.

Armed with a budget of about $40 million, Burton and crew went to work. One of the most important elements was the scenic design, handled by Anton Furst, who fashioned a Gotham City full of opposing styles of architecture from differing decades. Said Burton, "Gotham City is basically New York caricatured with a mix of styles squashed together--an island of big, tall, cartoon buildings textured with extreme designs." Furst was given 5.5 million to construct the extra-sturdy set on the back lot of Pinewood Studios--A Superman set that had been built there had been blown away and the ones for Batman had to last for possible sequels. Furst could afford to build only one main

street, so he added alleyways and bridges to increase the perspective and opportunities for camera angles. Most buildings were erected to a height of forty feet, with the cathedral that figures in the climax built to fifty feet.

Nick Dudman created the make-up for the film. Six prosthetic devices were applied to Nicholson's face to help turn him into the Joker, including a tip of the nose, a chin, and two upper and lower lips with cheeks attached. After early tests revealed that the white makeup simply washed out next to the bright colors (hair and lips) under somber lighting, Dudman shadowed the makeup so it would work.

Tim Burton had not directed many pictures by the time he was given the assignment on Batman. His best known was the quirky, special effects-laden comedy called "Beatlejuice" that also had starred Micheal Keaton. Sam Hamm was also a relative newcomer; he and Burton were odd choices to put together such an important (i.e. expensive) theatrical production.

The promotion for the film began in early 1989 and intensified as the summer approached. There were all the aforementioned T-shirts littering the landscape. The new, stylized Bat-logo was plastered on subway walls, construction sights, and bus stops. Preview and movie trailers were unveiled at comic conventions and movie theaters. The year of the bat was beginning. Was "Batman" worth all the hoopla? Yes and no. The picture is certainly entertaining and visually impressive, but Burton's direction seemingly lacks confidence, and the pacing borders on the tedious. Burton is rarely able to craft very credible battle scenes. The movie lacks a strong, cohesive plot and is devoid of any suspense and intensity. There is very little depth in what's left in Sam Hamm's screenplay and the characters remain underdeveloped. 

Although Micheal Keaton isn't as bad in the title role as many expected--he has a refreshing, charming quality and is not unbelievable--he's generally much too laid back. He never gets across the intense, haunted man that Batman is under the surface (regardless of whether Batman is in or out of costume). This lack of intensity is particularly apparent when he's literally facing the man who murdered his parent's--and knows it--at the climax. Earlier, when he asks the Joker, "Do you want to get crazy?" it doesn't quite work because Keaton fails to come across as someone who's holding in overpowering emotions or restraining a demon.

Conversely, Jack Nicholson as the Joker is a little too over the top. The main problem is that he's funny when he should be terrifying, particularly as "the world's first fully functioning homicidal artist." Nicholson has to be held responsible for his own ill-advised gag lines. Many of them are hilarious, but for the most part they vitiate the characters menace and perversity. This is a Joker who is scary only in deed, not word or presence.

Despite the $40 million budget, "Batman" has some of those stupid moments that have always plagued super-hero movies. When Bruce and Vicki have dinner together, why would he have placed her at one end of the long table and himself, far far away on the other? How did the Joker's goons--the ones who attack Batman, not the ones who arrive with the helicopter, know to lie in wait at the top of the cathedral when the Joker himself couldn't have been sure that's where he'd end up? And while its understandable that Vicki would figure out Batman's true identity, when she comes to Bruce later in the story, it's merely to discuss their days-old romance and not the fact that he's Batman! In addition, many have criticised the film for failing to include a  scene of revelation or disclosure. We just see Alfred ushering Vicki into the Batcave as if it were an everyday occurance. Just as hard to swallow is that one shot from the Joker's pistol could down the Batplane. Not only does the film have these comic book inconsistencies, but some sequences border on the Batman TV show, in particular when the Joker and his gang bounce into an art museum carrying a ghetto blaster that spews force music by Prince. The scenes showing unshaven and pockmarked TV anchor people who are afraid to use possible contaminated makeup also seemed questionable, but on subsequent viewings, they seem less amusing than disturbing.

Anton Furst scenic design is undeniably stunning, but sometimes too stylish when it needs to be gritty. Nevertheless, the sets are great: a Gotham City that is like a garish hybrid of the 1930's (complete with period clothes and hats) and 1990's; a remarkable, huge Batcave set; Grissom's virile office and his moll's beautiful apartment. Photography and special effects are generally first rate. A real plus was Danny Elfman's Wagerian musical score, which gives many of the sequences an added note of impact and intensity. "This is a darkly ruminative, deeply probing musical genre masterpiece," raved Noah Andre Trudeau.

The movie eventually made over a zillion dollars worldwide and was the top grossing film of 1989; assuring both it's money making potential and the inevitability of future sequels. Today, even as we prepare for what may prove to be the best Batman film with Robin Williams as the Riddler, you can't help but remember what it was like without Micheal Keaton as Batman. Whatever your opinions were of the newest incarnation of the "new" Batman, he nevertheless introduced and endeared the Dark Knight into the minds of another generation of viewers, something that I for one, am thankful for.