See how Batman really began. Batman started it all, and it's now available on DVD for the first time ever!
Watch as mild-mannered Bruce Wayne (Lewis Wilson) becomes Batman, the classic superhero who, with Robin (Douglas Croft), protects Gotham City from the evil schemes of Dr. Tito Daka (J. Carrol Naish).
Packed with adventures involving a radium-powered death ray, a deadly alligator pit, electronic zombies, and even the original Bat Cave, the Batman 2-disc set is a must-own DVD for any fan of the Caped Crusader!
The original Batman serial from the early 1940s follows the development of Caped Crusader during his early days, as he fights to find his place in society.
This extends to both his capacity as billionaire corporate head in charge of his father's company, as well as the vigilante savior to Gotham City.
Bruce Wayne and his trusty sidekick Robin set out to do battle against the nefarious plots of Dr. Tito Daka, but Daka's reach is greater than the pair of crime fighters imagined.
His radium-powered death ray can demolish anything in its path, and he has an army of electronic zombies to carry out his bidding.
Dr. Daka's position as a former Japanese wartime espionage agent gave rise to what some call racism in these shows, but these plot conceits are reflective of the cultural fears of the time.
To say that Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight is the best comic book adaptation does the film a bit of a disservice. It may be a Batman film, but this isn't a kid-friendly action movie full of the bams and pows of the original series.
This is a pitch-black thriller with enough drama and tragedy to please even William Shakespeare, but it will certainly keep both comics fans and uninitiated audiences equally happy. The Dark Knight starts in the wake of Batman Begins: with the appearance of Batman (Christian Bale), Gotham City's criminal underworld is unnerved.
They're also plagued by the new D.A., Harvey Dent, who, in his quest for justice, remains above the city's corruption. Enter a new villain, the Joker (Heath Ledger), who wants to unite the criminals for a common purpose: to kill Batman.
The Dark Knight is one of the most hyped movies to date, and a lesser film would be crushed under the weight of all that expectation. Some of the publicity stems from the early death of Ledger, who turns in an excellent performance.
He provides moments of humor, but this Joker is terrifying, sharing more with classic villains such as Hannibal Lechter than with his comic book predecessors.
Eckhart is equally good as Dent, and Maggie Gyllenhaal deserves praise for taking over the role of Rachel Dawes from Katie Holmes.
Though there's more emphasis on plot and character development than in most comic book adaptations, that doesn't mean Nolan has skimped on any of the action sequences.
Each set piece is done perfectly, leaving the audience breathless. The Dark Knight is filmmaking at its best; its subject matter may be dark and depressing, but it's tough not to feel exhilarated by its artistry when the credits begin to roll.
Genius of mystery and intrigue Christopher Nolan helms this prequel to the Batman films based on the DC Comics series, explaining how Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale)--the billionaire prince of Gotham whose parents were killed in an alleyway mugging--transformed into the crime-fighting superhero.
With flashbacks to his privileged childhood, young Master Wayne, as he is called by the butler Alfred (Michael Caine), develops a terrible fear of bats when he falls through the backyard garden into a hidden cave.
As a young adult, Wayne lives among the League of Shadows, a martial arts group in the mountains of Asia. His leaders Ra's al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) and Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) teach him strength, endurance, and--unfortunately--evil, against which he naturally rebels.
Returning to Gotham and reinstating himself as a dapper socialite and the rightful heir to his parents' enterprise, Wayne quickly devises his secret identity, commanding help from the gadgetry expert Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman).
With one eye on his childhood playmate Rachel (Katie Holmes)--now a beautiful woman and dedicated lawyer--and the other on his mission to save Gotham from criminal corruption, Batman makes his fledgling debut.
But when the blue-blooded mastermind Dr. Crane (Cillian Murphy)--who steals every scene with chilling menace--taints the water system with a hallucinatory substance, Batman realizes he has met his first true opponent.
An attitude of grave seriousness elevates Batman Begins above more cartoony Batman movies, as Nolan crafts a dark drama that thrives on sci-fi intrigue. Bale strides into the role with grace, adding refinement that is seldom seen in action-oriented films.
And while the action scenes explode with high-tech glitz and fast-moving thrills, they are evenly placed among sequences of plot and character development, making for a complex and satisfying viewing experience.
The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. The Greatest Superhero of All Time. No matter what you call him, Batman delivers. Batman: The Motion Picture Anthology includes the Special Edition Blu-ray versions of BATMAN, BATMAN RETURNS, BATMAN FOREVER, and BATMAN & ROBIN!
BATMAN: Tim Burton's BATMAN, inspired by Frank Miller's graphic novel THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, is a Gothic, Wagnerian treatment of the Batman mythos that explains the origins of Batman (Michael Keaton) and his nemesis, the maniacal Joker (a ripe Jack Nicholson).
Gotham City is a sunless, ominous haven for criminals, held in the corrupt grip of crime boss Carl Grissom (the ever-magnetic Jack Palance), and terrorized by a sadistic vandal and murderer known as The Joker.
But it isn't long before a dark, mysterious caped crusader, who goes by the name of BATMAN, is on their trail and trying to thwart their evil doings.
In this darkly entertaining retelling of the Marvel comic classic, ace photojournalist Vicki Vale (warmly and sympathetically played by Kim Basinger) is also on the trail--she wants to find out who Batman really is.
Based on the popular comic book character created by Bob Kane for DC Comics; the story and tone have nothing in common with the popular TV series of the 1960s.
Imaginative special effects and imposing, Gothic architectural sets dominate this visually graphic, stylish film.
Keaton gives a brooding performance as the Caped Crusader and his interestingly understated alter-ego Bruce Wane.
But is it Nicholson's Joker that steals the show, with his unnerving, brilliantly maniacal portrayal, especially in the context of his twisted relationship with Grissom's gal Alicia (a lanky, disquieting Jerry Hall).
BATMAN RETURNS: In director Tim Burton's sequel to his successful BATMAN (1989), the Caped Crusador (Michael Keaton) is pitted against the demented, ravenous Penguin (Danny DeVito), a pitiful, orphaned psychopathic freak who once went on a baby-killing spree, and a "power" hungry capitalist villain Max Shreck (Christopher Walken).
As the two criminals plot to gain domination over Gotham City, BATMAN must plot to stop them.
In the highly stylized BATMAN RETURNS--complete with dark, Gothic architecture and moody lighting--Batman (and his alter-ego Bruce Wayne) is thrown a third enemy, a terrible distraction: Cat Woman (fearlessly and fabulously played by Michelle Pfeiffer).
She is the slinky, sharp-clawed alter-ego of Shreck's secretary Selina. Batman must overcome his own dark past, and his present love entanglements, to rid Gotham of it's evil enemies, this time with even more intricately designed sets and tongue-in-cheek humor, making BATMAN RETURNS an action-packed, but darkly fun adventure.
BATMAN FOREVER: The third installment in the "Batman" series. Here the Caped Crusader must once again contend with two strange-looking, personality-impaired villains.
First, there's maniacal ex-DA Harvey Two-Face, so named because half his countenance has been horribly disfigured by acid.
Then there's the wise-cracking, hyperactive Riddler, whose alter-ego Edward Nygma is a nerdy, highly disgruntled ex-employee of Bruce Wayne.
Together, these two masterminds plan to conquer the world with a device that not only mesmerizes users with 3-D television images, but also transports the viewer's thoughts into the Riddler's mind.
Batman also has to contend with two other new people in his life. One is lovely psychiatrist Chase Meridian, who has fallen in love with Batman AND Bruce Wayne.
Then there's Dick Grayson, a young, orphaned acrobat who desperately wants to become Batman's crime-fighting sidekick in order to get revenge on the man responsible for his parents' death: Harvey Two-Face.
BATMAN & ROBIN: The Caped Crusader returns to battle the abominable Mr. Freeze and green-thumbed Poison Ivy.
To save his ailing wife, Dr. Victor Fries turns to a life of crime after a hideous accident makes him unable to tolerate even moderate temperatures, while Dr. Pamela Isley falls victim to mutated plant DNA when things go awry in a jungle laboratory funded by Wayne Industries.
Of course, though their interests are diametrically opposed (Freeze wants another Ice Age; Ivy wants to make the world safe for plants), the two villains team up to defeat Gotham's dynamic duo of Batman and Robin, who are joined by butler Alfred's motorcycle-obsessed niece as Batgirl.
And when Alfred is diagnosed as having the same terminal disease as Freeze's wife, the trio find themselves not only fighting an altruistic battle, but a personal one as well. A frenetic, colorful, and often overwhelming sequel to "Batman," "Batman Returns," and "Batman Forever."
Acclaimed screenwriters including David Goyer ("Batman Begins"),Josh Olson ("A History of Violence") and Alan Burnett ("Batman The Animated Series") join forces with revered animation filmmakers on six spellbinding chapters chronicling Batman's transition from novice crimefighter to Dark Knight.
These globe-spanning adventures pit Batman against the fearsome Scarecrow, the freakish Killer Croc and the unerringmarksman Deadshot. Using an arsenal of high-tech gadgetry from Wayne Industries, Batman's ethical boundaries exist only where he chooses to place them, leaving some fearful of his power.
The sharp storytelling, complemented by stylish art from some of the world's most visionary animators, masterfully depicts the blurred lines of Batman as man, myth and legend.
Batman-Animated Series
The legendary caped crusader is back in the Emmy Award-winning BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES. During the day, mild-mannered millionaire Bruce Wayne seems like an average--albeit wealthy--Gotham City resident, but at night, when the crime comes out, so does his alter-ego.
With the help of his trusty sidekick Robin, Batman combats the evil forces that are constantly threatening to overpower Gotham City, including classic villains such as Penguin, Joker, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and more.
Airing from 1992-1995, this animated BATMAN is acclaimed for remaining true to the original comic book's dark tone while introducing new and exciting storylines and characters.
This fantastic 4-disc set packs 28 awesome adventures of the World's Greatest Detective taking down an array of criminal masterminds plus Exclusive Extras also worthy of investigation. Experience the thrills of vigilante justice as millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne and alter-ego Batman protect the streets of Gotham City from a host of villains.
Intelligent, dramatic stories, unique characters and sharp dialog shaped this edgy TV series into an Emmy-winning powerhouse that brought the Caped Crusader out of the dark alleys of TV history and into the present for fans of all ages.
Fight crime day and night alongside the Dark Knight with this deluxe 4-disc set packed with 28 heroic adventures from the acclaimed series! Filled with gripping plots, multidimensional characters and superb voice talent, this Emmy-winning series has defined Batman for legions of fans. Enjoy amazing encounters with Catwoman, duels with the Penguin, contests with the Riddler and of course, battles of wit with the Joker - plus Exclusive Extras from the minds that conceived this cutting-edge version of the classic hero! Grab your cape and swing into action with this quintessential Batman compilation!
Gotham City crime czars Scarface and Rupert Thorne battle evil masterminds like the Joker and the Penguin for money, power and respect. Kidnappings rise as foe-versus-foe attacks become more vindictive. And just when you thought you knew the good guys from the bad, the craziest villains try to go straight, triggering one dangerous blowout after another.
Amidst all the terror one man walks the fine line between vengeance and justice as often as he balances his crimefighting persona and his billionaire playboy public life. This is the Batman series that introduced a new kind of super hero - cool, composed, uncompromising. Your Batman collection won't be complete without this compilation!
