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Batman
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.
1989 · Directed by Tim Burton · 126 min · Fantasy · Action · Crime · Screenplay in the scene database · 11 frames
Tagline
Justice is always darkest before the dawn.
Plot
Newspaper reporter Alexander Knox and photojournalist Vicki Vale investigate sightings of "Batman", a masked vigilante targeting Gotham City's criminals. Both attend a fundraiser hosted by billionaire Bruce Wayne, who is secretly Batman, having chosen this path after witnessing a mugger murder his parents when he was a child. During the event, Wayne becomes attracted to Vale.
Meanwhile, mob boss Carl Grissom sends his sociopathic second-in-command Jack Napier to break into Axis Chemicals and retrieve incriminating evidence. However, this is secretly a ploy to have Napier murdered for carrying on an affair with Grissom's mistress, Alicia Hunt. Corrupt Gotham City police lieutenant Max Eckhardt arranges the hit on Napier by conducting an unauthorized raid on Axis Chemicals. However, Commissioner James Gordon learns of the raid and takes command, ordering the officers to capture Napier alive. Batman also appears, while Napier shoots and kills Eckhardt as revenge for the double-cross. During a scuffle with Batman, Napier topples off a catwalk and falls into a vat of chemicals. Although presumed dead, Napier survives with various disfigurements including chalk white skin and emerald-green hair and nails. He undergoes surgery to repair the damage, but ends up with a rictus grin. Driven insane by his hideous appearance, Napier, now calling himself "the Joker", kills Grissom, massacres Grissom's associates, and takes over his operations.
The Joker begins terrorizing Gotham by lacing various hygiene products with "Smylex" – a deadly chemical that causes victims to die laughing. Joker soon becomes obsessed with Vicki and lures her to the Flugelheim Museum, which his henchmen vandalize. Batman rescues Vicki, takes her to the Batcave, and provides her with all of his research on Smylex, which will allow Gotham's residents to escape the toxin. Conflicted with his love for her, Wayne visits her apartment intending to reveal his secret identity, only for the Joker to interrupt the meeting. Joker asks Wayne, "Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?", which Wayne recognizes as the phrase used by the mugger who murdered his parents. He shoots Wayne, who survives by hiding a serving tray underneath his shirt.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Screenplay: Warren Skaaren, Sam Hamm
- Cinematography: Roger Pratt
- Edited by: Ray Lovejoy
- Music: Danny Elfman
- Production design: Anton Furst
- Produced by: Peter Guber, Jon Peters
Cast
- Michael Keaton as Batman / Bruce Wayne
- Jack Nicholson as Joker / Jack Napier
- Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale
- Robert Wuhl as Alexander Knox
- Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon
- Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent
- Michael Gough as Alfred
- Jack Palance as Grissom
- Jerry Hall as Alicia
- Tracey Walter as Bob the Goon
Production
- Country: United States of America
- Language: English, French
- Studios: Warner Bros. Pictures, Polygram Pictures, The Guber-Peters Company
- Budget: $35,000,000
- Box office: $411,348,924
- Themes: dual identity, double life, chemical, crime fighter, superhero, villain, based on comic, vigilante, mobster, organized crime
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