Sunday, April 21, 2019

Long Live The Bat: Batman 1989 Movie Trailer


When I wrote my article announcing my focus on Batman's 80th anniverary, I also mentioned the 30th anniversary of the Batman film from 1989. I'll write the majority of articles about the movie closer to the June 23rd anniversary date, but today I'll feature the trailer for the film. This was the first glimpse the public got of any of the Bat craziness that was before them, and it's fun to look back on it 30 years later.

Enjoy! Also, I learned the next morning after writing this that April 22nd is Jack Nicholson's birthday, so...Happy Birthday Jack!

6 comments:

Todd Mason said...

Surprised you didn't do a music post for Mr. Wayne and company! Pity someone killed the Cesar Romero video already...I sometimes think my posting to blog gets some videos killed..

A nice tribute, if a little Joker-heavy! (More a Catwoman, or The Cat as she was initially, kind of guy)(particularly since every version of them is at least a slightly tragic or at least necessarily surreptitious romance...but it's always there.

Whereas, say, the end of THE KILLING JOKE has never seemed likely to me. More likely, You've finally managed to make me crazy enough to go ahead and kill you would seem the likelier result...

Phillyradiogeek said...

Thanks Todd! The Joker focus was completely unintended. The drop of the Phoenix trailer so soon after my initial article caught me by surprise, but I felt compelled to address it.

Catwoman and Batman almost married last year, but Cat dropped out at the last minute. She feared if she made Batman happy, he couldn't be Batman, and his mission was more important than their love. Considering how much they built up the pending nuptials as they approached, the last-minute rug-pulling was a letdown. At least I didn't pay for the story (thank you, public library!).

THE KILLING JOKE is my favorite story of all time (even though it's become out of fashion to say so). It's a bit odd seeing the two of them act like buddies, especially considering what the Joker put Bat's closest friends through, but that story opened my eyes to what comic characters can do in their medium.

Todd Mason said...

Yeah, I had witnessed some of that kind of artistic breakthrough earlier...one thing it did get me starting to wonder was the degree to which Alan Moore seemed to need the rape or rape-like assault of women to drive his scripts...as most of the notable career-making projects, after earning his bones with SWAMP THING and MARVELMAN, seemed to feature that element: WATCHMEN, V FOR VENDETTA, FROM HELL, JOKE...

Todd Mason said...

I'm sure a married C&B would make for some interesting plots...even more if they had kids...Mom and Dad are costumed heroes, even though they both skirt the law in various ways..."Honey, we agreed this MY night to go out incognito...your turn to read the bedtime stories..."

Phillyradiogeek said...

Moore has since sworn off KJ ("it's the worst story I ever wrote!"), but I wonder how much of that is the truth and how much of that is "Fuck DC."

In the recently published 1000th issue of Detective Comics, there is a story in which Batman imagines he is married to Catwoman and has a daughter who also fights crime. The last of his villains die off and he decides to retire.

The Retro Dad said...

Ha! Wow.. Trailers sure were edited a lot different back then!