On this day in 1989, Tim Burton's cinematic dance with Batman in the pale moonlight was released, and things got weird. To say the movie had a colossal impact on Hollywood and pop culture, for better or worse, would be an understatement: the incredibly successful and inescapable marketing changed how movies were sold, its success set new exceptions for all future blockbusters, it put Batman back into the spotlight,

, its perceived darkness and edginess (despite the fact that the movie is actually quite kooky and campy and only really dark in the literal sense) had Hollywood trying to replicate that for the longest time, while the comic industry took that to heart and gave us a decade of "dark edginess" that nearly killed the medium under the weight of sheer awfulness, the superhero movie was proven to be a profitable endevour a decade before Marvel kicked it into high gear, and the movie's popularity spawned one of the greatest TV shows of all time and a film series that would end up sucking so hard that it may very well have given birth to the angrier form of nerdom as we know it. But that latter point is a whole other story.

 

It can be a bit hard to separate the film's legacy from its quality, though, and make no mistake, it's not perfect. As is the norm for many Tim Burton productions, the story isn't that well paced, comes off as sloppy in areas, and feels like it's placing its focus on the wrong things, making The Joker the one who killed Bruce Wayne's parents is a terrible revision, and it hasn't aged particularly well, what with Kate Basinger's 80s hair and the utterly insane original music by Prince. But there's a lot to like, and I think it outweighs the movie's flaws, numerous as they are. The production design is incredible, Danny Elfman's score is legendary, Michael Keaton's as Bruce Wayne is refreshingly nuanced and underplayed, while his Batman oozes cool and set the standard for all future Batmen, the supporting cast is enjoyable all around, and Jack Nicholson is Jack Nicholson playing Jack Nicholson.

 

Life's been good to him.

 

So yeah, not a masterpiece or anything, but certainly a good time, and its a milestone either way. And so in light of the movies silver anniversary, I've dragged my factoids blog out from the dungeon, complete with lack of proofreading, to mark the occasion. You can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs, so let's get cracking.

 

- Tim Burton had never had any exposure to Batman before making this film. He was given the first year of Batman comics from 1939 to read, which explains the 30s-tinged vision of Gotham city and Batman occasionally killing henchmen; Batman's code against killing wasn't a part of the character until much later.

 

- Long before Ben Affleck was rather harshly judged by the collective forces of the internet, Michael Keaton's casting as the Caped Crusader drew ire from fans, with his role in Mr. Mom being the vocal point of the argument that he was unfit for the part. Because if it's one thing Batman fans are good at, it's absolutely knowing when an actor isn't gonna be good as a Batman character.

 

- Meanwhile, Adam West felt a bit dissed when he wasn't asked to reprise the role.

 

- Robin Williams was cast as The Jocker when Jack Nicholson declined, but was released from the role when Nicholson changed his mind on the matter. Williams has sense refused to take part in a Warner Bros. production until they've apologized for the affair.

 

- A big part of Nicholson's decision to play The Joker was the percentage of the film's profits that he would receive. The movie was a mondo success, so he made $60 million.

 

- Before Kate Basinger was cast as Viki Vale, *breath* Rosanna Arquette, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ellen Barkin, Robin Duke, Kate Capshaw, Glenn Close, Joan Cusack, Madonna, Geena Davis, Judy Davis, Denny Dillon, Christine Ebersole, Mia Farrow, Carrie Fisher, Bridget Fonda, Jodie Foster, Teri Garr, Melanie Griffith, Linda Hamilton, Daryl Hannah, Goldie Hawn, Mariel Hemingway Barbara Hershey, Holly Hunter, Anjelica Huston, Amy Irving, Diane Keaton, Diane Lane, Kay Lenz, Jessica Lange, Lori Loughlin, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Virginia Madsen, Kelly McGillis, Bette Midler, Catherine O'Hara, Tatum O'Neal, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Molly Ringwald, Meg Ryan, Susan Sarandon, Jane Seymour, Cybill Shepherd, Brooke Shields, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen, Sharon Stone, Meryl Streep, Lea Thompson, Kathleen Turner, Sela Ward, Sigourney Weaver, Debra Winger and Sean Young (who very nearly got the part) were all considered.

 

- Billy Dee Williams was to continue playing Harvey Dent/Two-Face in the sequels, but he was released from contract so Warner Bros could cast Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever. I'm guessing more than a few people regret that decision.

 

- The only live action Batman movie to feature only one supervillain.

 

- The surgical tools used on The Joker's face were previously used by Orin the Dentist in the Little Shop of Horrors remake.

 

- Keaton couldn't hear when he was using the Batsuit. He said the resultant claustrophobia helped him get in the proper Batman mood.

 

 

- In the original script, Robin was to be introduced briefly in the third act, but he was cut when the writers realized that he wasn't essential to the plot. The Special Edition DVD features an animated version of the original storyboards. It's worth checking out,

 

- You know what else the original script had? A gangster getting kicked into a giant pencil sharpener and killed. I'm not joking.

 

 

- The Batmobile was built around a Chevy Impala. Fully constructed it was 20 ft long and weighed around 1 and 1/2 tons

 

- As I mentioned earlier, the film is literally dark if dark at all. So dark that people complained that they couldn't make out what was going on. The initial video release made the picture lighter as a result.

 

- Tracy Walter was cast as Bob the Goon based on his close friendship with Nicholson, which would explain their amazing chemistry on set. Truly Oscar-worthy, Bob was.

 

- Like I mentioned in my Aliens factoid post, the Ace Chemicals plant set was used as the atmosphere generator in Aliens, but the filmmakers had to get rid of all the Xenomorph nest crap before filming could begin.

 

- Actor Giancarlo Giannini voiced the Joker in the Italian dub. His son, Adriano, would go on to voice the Heath Ledger Joker for The Dark Knight dub.

 

- Jack Nicholson: "The thing I like about The Joker is that his sense of humor is completely tasteless."

 

No real reason for this gif being here, I just felt it needed to be here. Look how happy Bob looks.

 

- The painting that The Joker saves from destruction is Francis Bacon's "Figure with Meat," which depicts, well, a figure surrounded by hanging meat. Maybe it's a coincidence, but didn't one of The Joker's key scenes in The Dark Knight feature a man bound up and surrounded by hanging meat? Just, sayin'.

 

- Speaking of which, it's easy to see The Joker hitting on Bruce Wayne's lady friend and getting tossed off a building in The Dark Knight as further tips of the hat from Christopher Nolan.

 

- The filmmakers ended up liking the character of Alex Knox so much that they let him survive.

 

- It was Keaton who thought up the dinner scene at the impractically long table and Bruce Wayne hanging like a bat while he sleeps.

 

- The cathedral-based climax was based on the climax in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Also of note is that when The Joker calls for a helicopter to pick him up in ten minutes, it actually takes ten minutes in the film for the helicopter to show up. Nice.

 

- The cartoon sketch given to Knox near the beginning of the movie was drawn by Batman creator Bob Kane, who would have made a cameo were it not for his health issues.

 

- The first trailer so captured the hearts and minds of the fans that it was promptly bootlegged and shown about at conventions. People would even pay full price to see the trailer and then leave before even watching the movie it came attached with.

 

- The scene where Batman and Viki are driving to the Batcave in silence has always been my favorite, if only because Danny Elfman's score really is amazing. Seriously, put in some headphones and crank it.

 

 

And that's pretty much it. Thanks for reading, and remember: Youuuu...are mai numbah one...GUYYYYYY...