Batman Begins

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Template:Infobox Film Batman Begins (2005) is an American Superhero film based on the comic book character created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The movie was first released on June 15, 2005, directed by Christopher Nolan, and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. Although it is the fifth live-action Batman movie since 1989, the movie is neither a sequel nor a prequel to the previous Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher movies, but rather a complete revision or reboot of the series. It more closely follows the darker psychological theme of the Batman comics and graphic novels. It was a financial and critical success.

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Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham City. Image:Gus lewis21.jpg A young 8-year old Bruce Wayne (Gus Lewis), while playing with young Rachel Dawes (Emma Lockhart), falls down a well and is attacked by a flurry of bats. After his father, Thomas Wayne (Linus Roache), pulls him from the well, Bruce begins having nightmares about bats. One night, the Waynes go to the opera where Bruce becomes scared at some of the dancers' portrayals of bat-like demons (from Mefistofele). Bruce experiences a panic attack and begs his father to leave the theatre early. The family exits into an alley where they are confronted by a mugger, who, despite the calm submission of Thomas, shoots both him and his wife. Fatally wounded with a bullet in his chest, Thomas Wayne's last words to his son are, "Don't be afraid." Bruce is left physically unharmed, but in a state of total shock.

After being comforted at the police station by police sergeant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and being told "good news" about the shooter, Joe Chill, being arrested, Bruce is taken home by family butler Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine), who raises him in the absence of his parents.

We cut to roughly 14 years later; now a young adult, Bruce (Christian Bale) has returned from Princeton University for the parole hearing of his parents' murderer which was arranged as part of a deal to testify against the crime boss Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson). Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) is now a Gotham City Assistant District Attorney. The killer is granted parole, but is murdered immediately after the hearing by a mob operative. Bruce Wayne was planning to kill him as well, but was robbed of the opportunity. When Rachel learns this, she explains the difference between vengeance and justice to Bruce, and then tells him that his father would be ashamed. Bruce becomes ashamed of himself and promptly goes to confront Falcone. After the fateful meeting, a disillusioned Wayne steals away on a cargo ship, and travels the world for seven years, seeking the means to fight injustice and "turn fear against those who prey on the fearful."

He is later arrested and jailed by Chinese police for the theft of goods that, ironically, belong to Wayne Enterprises. In jail he is approached by Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) representing Ra's al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) of the League of Shadows, a group of fanatical assassins. Traveling to the home of the League of Shadows in the Himalayas, Wayne learns to use theatrics and deception as his greatest weapons. However, after his training, Ra's and Ducard tell Wayne that he must lead the League to destroy Gotham, a source of evil according to the group. Wayne refuses to destroy the city he loves while vowing to fight evil his own way, and battles Ra's before making his escape. Ra's is killed in the battle, but Wayne manages to save Ducard. Later, after leaving Ducard in a village to be cared for, Bruce contacts Alfred, who flies in to bring him home to Gotham. Image:Szenenbild 03 518x700.jpg Thus prepared, Wayne unveils his alter-ego: Batman, a masked superhero who uses his strength, intellect, and an array of high-tech gadgets to combat the sinister forces that threaten the city. To that end, Wayne returns to Gotham and befriends an unjustly demoted senior company researcher, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), recruiting him as his armorer. Fox uses his job as lowly caretaker to grant Wayne secret access to various unused company prototypes for his own use which includes body armor that makes up the Batman costume and a prototype car that becomes the first Batmobile. Two of his first foes come in the forms of Falcone and Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy), who later becomes better known as the Scarecrow. Batman eventually discovers that Ducard is actually the real Ra's al Ghul, and has conspired with Crane to poison Gotham's water supply with a toxin that would cause the inhabitants of the city to riot, destroying each other and Gotham itself. They battle and Batman eventually defeats Ra's, this time leaving him to his apparent death. Rachel Dawes defeats the Scarecrow using a Taser, after Batman had used the Scarecrow's own fear gas against him. As the movie ends, Wayne takes total control of his company with Lucius as his CEO and a promoted Gordon expresses gratitude for what Batman has done. Gordon explains that a criminal in the lost "Narrows" area of Gotham has left calling cards at all his crime scenes in the form of a Joker playing card. Batman promises to look into it.

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Cast

Of the main cast of Batman, which takes place mostly in America, only Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, and Mark Boone Junior are Americans. A large number of actors auditioned for the lead role, including Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, Joshua Jackson, Cillian Murphy, Hugh Dancy, Christian Bale, and Billy Crudup. Although Bale got the part, Gyllenhaal was co-writer Goyer's first choice, while Nolan enjoyed Cillian's audition so much that he cast him as The Scarecrow. Chris Cooper turned down the role of James Gordon. Anthony Hopkins was offered the role of Alfred, but declined. Chinese actor Vincent Wong plays a bit part, as an old prisoner in this film. He also played a crimelord in the 1989 Batman film.

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Reaction

Image:BatmanBegins poster.jpg Early reviews from professional film critics were enthusiastic, with Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times (who panned all the previous live action adaptations of the character) calling it one of the best films of the year. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times also gave it high praise, dubbing the film "the most successful comic-book adaptation alongside Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World."

The movie was also received quite favorably by audiences and many fans, earning the highest rating of any film released in 2005 by users of the website boxofficemojo.com and garnering an 83% score at rottentomatoes.com. The film is currently on the IMDb's list of the Top 250 films of all-time <ref>IMDB Top 250 Films</ref>. All told, this movie is considered to be the favorite Batman movie for critics and comic fans alike. The June 29, 2005 poll at IMDb has even claimed so, with the first modern Batman movie ranked second.

The film takes many liberties, despite being hailed for its more accurate portrayal of Batman as he is depicted in the DC Comics universe. For instance, Batman's first comic book run-in with Ra's Al Ghul involved Robin being kidnapped, whereas in Batman Begins, Robin doesn't yet exist. Batman's cape is also not traditionally used for gliding in the comics, unlike in the film. Other criticisms of Batman Begins included the delayed first appearance of Bale in Batman regalia. It is worked on from roughly the 45 minute mark, but only appears fully an hour into the movie (1:01:26 to be exact). Some found the costume to look too much like Val Kilmer's "sonar suit" from the climax of Batman Forever. Another is the reworking of Batman's origin to have Joe Chill captured the night of the murder and serve nearly ten years in prison, thus some feel, removing one of Bruce's motivation to become Batman. In the current comics, the Waynes' murder case remains unsolved. Another is having Bruce trained by Ra's al Ghul and his minions, although the ninja training element is still in the comics, albeit with different masters. Some felt that the dark and erratic cinematography on the fight scenes make it difficult to discern what's happening; others feel that that is precisely the point (the ambiguity and confusion is an organic interpretation of what the criminals experience). The redesign of the Batmobile also evoked mixed reviews, although it recalled a version of that vehicle seen in Frank Miller's influential graphic novel, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

According to boxofficemojo.com, the $135-million movie has earned $205.3 million during its North American theatrical run and approximately $166 million elsewhere in the world, making it the second most successful Batman movie (next to the 1989 movie) and fifth most successful of summer 2005 (next to Revenge of the Sith, War of the Worlds, Wedding Crashers and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). However, taking ticket price inflation into account, Begins is only ahead of 1997's Batman and Robin, which had an adjusted U.S. gross of $150 million. (The inflation-adjusted U.S. gross of the other movies would be as follows: Batman $403 million, Batman Returns $251 million and Batman Forever $271 million). The September 1, 2005 poll at IMDb marked the film as #1 as the best summer movie of 2005 with Revenge of the Sith at second. Another IMDb poll, the one of January 3, 2006, ranked the movie as the best of the top ten highest grossing movies of the year 2005, again with Sith taking second place.

The movie also solidified Christopher Nolan's capability of directing a major blockbuster. Before then, he was known for directing low-budget movies that focused mostly on dark themes, but had substance and depth, e.g. Memento. Hiring him for this kind of movie, particularly one of Warner Brothers' biggest franchises, was a risky endeavour on the studio's part. But the movie marked a successful return of the Batman saga, erasing the legacy of its predecessor Batman and Robin and ensured the studio's plans to greenlight a sequel.

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Awards and nominations

78th Academy Awards

2005 American Society of Cinematographers

  • Nominated - Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases (Wally Pfister)

2005 Art Directors Guild

  • Nominated - Excellence in Production Design Award (Nathan Crowley)

2005 BAFTA Awards

  • Nominated - Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects (Janek Sirrs, Dan Glass, Chris Corbould)
  • Nominated - Best Production Design (Nathan Crowley)
  • Nominated - Best Sound (David Evans, Stefan Henrix, Peter Lindsay)

2005 Costume Designers Guild Awards

  • Nominated - Excellence in Costume Design for Film - Fantasy (Lindy Hemming)

2005 Golden Raspberry Awards

2005 Golden Trailer Awards

  • Nominated - Summer 2005 Blockbuster

2005 Hollywood Film Festival

  • Won - Sound of the Year (David Evans)

2005 Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA Awards)

  • Nominated - Best Supporting Actor in a Feature Film (Cillian Murphy)
  • Nominated - Audience Award - Best International Actor (Christian Bale)
  • Nominated - Audience Award - International Film Award

2005 Online Film Critics Society (OFCS Awards)

2005 Visual Effects Society (VES Awards)

  • Nominated - Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Motion Picture (Alex Wuttke, Pete Bebb, Dayne Cowan, Imery Watson) - For the Gotham City monorail chase

2005 World Soundtrack Awards

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Sequel

Warner Brothers has announced its intentions to make a sequel to Batman Begins with most of the film's main cast, including Christian Bale, returning (see Untitled Batman Begins Sequel for information). This would make Bale the first actor since Michael Keaton (who appeared in the first and second movies) to play Batman more than once in feature films. Gary Oldman (James Gordon) and Michael Caine (Alfred Pennyworth) are also under contract to reprise their roles <ref name="sequel">Batman Begins Sequel article on Batman-on-Film.com</ref>. At this time, director Christopher Nolan and screenwriter David S. Goyer will be returning for the sequels. According to Variety, Nolan's brother Jonathan will share writing duties with Goyer.

In a turn from comic continuity, Robin is not slated to appear in the new franchise. Christopher Nolan stated that "at the time we are portraying in the Batman world, Dick Grayson is probably still a baby." <ref name="sequel" />

In order for the sequel to achieve the targeted release date of June (the month that all Batman films are released) 2008, pre-production will likely begin sometime in 2006, with major filming happening in 2007 <ref>Untitled Batman Begins Sequel on IMdb</ref>.

The Joker is almost definitely going to be the villain in the sequel, with Lachy Hulme and Paul Bettany being rumoured to be the leading candidates for the role, although Jude Law, Steve Buscemi and Crispin Glover have also been mentioned in contention.

Other rumoured contenders include Mark Hamill, who voiced the Joker in the animated series, and Michael Keaton, the actor who played Batman in the first film where the Joker was the villain.

Harvey Dent, later to become Two-Face, is also rumoured to make an appearance in the sequel as the new D.A. of Gotham, and Black Mask is rumored to a make an appearance as well.

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Inspirations

Before production began, Christopher Nolan showed the entire production crew the film Blade Runner and told them he wanted his film to adopt its style. Perhaps not coincidentally, Rutger Hauer, the actor who portrayed replicant Roy Batty in Blade Runner, was cast in Batman Begins as William Earle.

The film was inspired by the graphic novels Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: The Man Who Falls, and Batman: Year One, in addition to comics from the 1970s era. The line "Dr. Crane isn't here right now, but if you'd like to make an appointment..." is taken directly from the story "Fears" in the three-part series, Batman: Haunted Knight. The scene where Batman escaped from Arkham Asylum using a flock of bats that he called from his cave using a sonic device was taken from Batman: Year One.

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Production

At 140 minutes, Begins is the longest Batman film to date. This is the first Batman theatrical film to be shot and presented in 2.35:1 'scope format. Mentmore Towers, Buckinghamshire, England provided the location for Wayne Manor in the film.

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History

Originally, Joel Schumacher was to direct the fifth Batman movie, titled Batman Triumphant, with George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell reprising their roles as the Dynamic Duo, with both Steve Buscemi and Jeff Goldblum considered (and at one point Howard Stern was rumored) to play The Scarecrow. However, the poor critical and public reception of Batman and Robin led Warner Bros. to quickly squash development of this sequel. Warner Bros. still intended to revisit the franchise, but with a smaller film, emphasizing characters and especially Batman himself, as well as returning to the darker roots of the Burton films. But less than a year after the failure of Batman and Robin Schumacher returned with a pitch to restart the franchise by writing and directing an adaptation of Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. Though having no interest in bringing Schumacher back to the project, the "Year One" pitch piqued enough interest to remain in development, culminating with the hiring of Darren Aronofsky in 2000 to direct the feature, with him and Frank Miller co-writing. Around the same time Warner Bros. began developing a Batman vs. Superman film, to be directed by Wolfgang Petersen and written by Andrew Kevin Walker. A third project, a live action version of Batman Beyond, with Paul Dini and Alan Burnett hired for scripting duties, was also in development, though this project was terminated very early in the development process. Peterson, unable to make any progress with Batman vs. Superman in terms of the script and casting, eventually left to make Troy. Soon after Warner Bros. ended production on Aronofsky and Miller's project, being dissatisfied with their take, which was focused as a revenge tale set in the 70s, reminiscent of films like Death Wish. Before settling on Nolan to begin developing the project from scratch, Joss Whedon had pitched a smaller, character-oriented origin story, though ultimately Warner Bros. passed.

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Batmobile

Image:BatmanBeginsTumbler.jpg The Batmobile is a working vehicle. For the street scenes there were four Batmobiles, two of which being special in that one was the "flap version," with hydraulics and flaps for the close-ups when the car is flying, and the "jet version," with an actual jet engine mounted onto the back for the scenes where the jet was necessary. Each of these cars cost around $250,000 to build. For the scenes that required the inside of the car to be filmed, there was another vehicle equipped with the hydraulics and decorations necessary to give the feeling of reality. There was also a small electric motor that allowed the car to drive, which was necessary for the slow driving scenes. Finally, there was a miniature version, which was around 6 feet long and able to fly for the scenes that required it except for the scenes where the car jumps and the scenes where the Batmobile enters the Batcave. <ref>"How the Batmobile Works" howstuffworks.com </ref>

During shooting on the streets of Chicago, a man crashed his car into the Batmobile. The driver was apparently drunk, and said he hit the car in a state of panic, thinking the vehicle to be an invading alien spacecraft.

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DVD

Image:Fullbatmandvd.jpg

The Batman Begins DVD was released on October 18, 2005 and sold 4 million copies in its first week.<ref>Comingsoon.net. Batman Begins Tops the DVD Charts . April 10, 2006.</ref> It is available in Fullscreen and Widescreen. In addition, a Deluxe Two-Disc Widescreen Edition was released which contains exclusive special features and copies of Detective Comics #27, Batman: The Man Who Falls, and an excerpt of the 13-issue Batman: The Long Halloween. Some vendors have reported that the deluxe edition of Begins was set only for a limited release, and thus only had a one time stock pile. This puzzling rumor has left many potential customers baffled, and concerned with how to obtain this commodity from the very few vendors that still have some in stock. The two-disc widescreen was, however, rereleased recently, but with a price increase.

Also released on the same date was Batman: the Motion Picture Anthology 1989-1997, which contains each of the four Burton-Schumacher films in new 2-disc special edition format. The set includes many new & old documentaries, commentaries from both directors Tim Burton & Joel Schumacher, deleted scenes, music videos, trailers, and new digital transfers for all four films: Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), and Batman & Robin (1997).

Warner Home Video announced that the film is to be released on HD DVD sometime in 2006.<ref>Business Wire. Warner Home Video Announces Titles and Release Dates for HD DVD. January 5, 2006.</ref>

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Video game

On June 15, 2005, a video game adaptation was released onto the PS2, Xbox, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance consoles. It featured all of the principal cast members and their likenesses reprising their roles from the film, with the exception of Gary Oldman.

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Trivia

  • The film is the first part of DC Comics and Warner Bros.' intentions to compete with a mass of films based on Marvel Comics licences. Their plan is to release one critically and commercially successful film a year, as opposed to a slew of hit-and-miss pictures, with Bryan Singer's Superman Returns following in 2006, Joss Whedon's Wonder Woman in 2007, Nolan's sequel to Batman Begins in 2008, and Singer's sequel to Superman Returns in 2009. This is made possible by Warner's ability to make its own films based on DC properties, and more tightly control the exposure of their "brands."
  • On the set, costumed Christian Bale constantly had two people trailing him to keep the Batsuit smudge-free.
  • Director Christopher Nolan originally didn't want Jonathan Crane to wear a mask or be referred to as the Scarecrow.
  • In the movie, Dr. Crane declares Falcone hitman Zsasz insane as a favor for the mob boss. Rachel calls him on it and says Zsasz really isn't crazy. Ironically, the comics' version of Zsasz really is quite insane. He also appears in a quick cameo in Arkham Asylum, when the patients are escaping.
  • The Ra's al Ghul decoy Bruce Wayne encounters at the party wears a green cape with a high collar, a reference to the comic version of Ra's.
  • In the movie, Bruce Wayne is shown arriving at a fancy hotel in a Lamborghini Murciélago. The word murciélago is Spanish for "bat."
  • The track listings on the soundtrack are all named after different bat species. The first letters of tracks 4 through 9 spell out "BATMAN."
  • The calling card the Joker leaves is a replica of the Joker card from the 1989 graphic novel Batman: Arkham Asylum. The evidence label on the bag reveals the name of the officer who discovered it: J. Kerr. This is a common alias the Joker uses in the comic books.
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Controversy

the film has caused some controversy among batman fans as too which version is superior.while it is considerd the best by most fans some are very aggressive in there opinon of the [Tim Burton]] films are superior.there have been countless arguments on internet forums such as imdb.

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References

<references />

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External links

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