Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight - The Road to Gotham City (2005) (V)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Genre:

Documentary | Short

Plot:

A look at how the Batman franchise was revived by the film Batman (1989). |

Plot Keywords:

Batman | Behind The Scenes | Filmmaking | Comics | Marvel Comic

Cast

Tim Burton	...	Himself
Mark Canton	...	Himself
Paul Dini	...	Himself
Peter Guber	...	Himself
Sam Hamm	...	Himself
Bob Kane	...	Himself (archive footage)
Stan Lee	...	Himself
Tom Mankiewicz	...	Himself
Benjamin Melniker	...	Himself
Frank Miller	...	Himself
Elizabeth Sanders	...	Herself (as Elizabeth Sanders Kane)
Michael E. Uslan	...	Himself

Runtime:

18 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Company:

New Wave Entertainment

Trivia:

This 'Part 1 of 6' making-of is featured on the Two-Disc Special Edition DVD for Batman (1989), released in 2005.

Movie Connections:

References Ghost Busters (1984)

Great

Featuring interviews with several people involved in the creation, and others, including the highly talented Frank Miller(who comments on being true to the source material) and Stan Lee(introduced as "the man", presumably in that, well, who knows about comics and *doesn't* know about him?), this describes how they got to make the original Batman. This is one of the special features found on the DVD of the film, released in recent years(around 2005 or 2006). Not only is it entertaining and informational, it has Michael E. Uslan(who, just from his first words, is clearly a fan, and an eloquent and smart one at that, hopefully helping our image some) describing striking a powerful blow for all of us comic book fans, and it is *awesome* to listen to. If you're a fan of comics, even if you can't stand Batman, you should almost watch this just for hearing that, in his own words. The focus in this special is most definitely on the struggle it was to get the film made. Over a decade or so, they fought to get to make it, and do it *right*. This documentary is well-paced, coming in at 18 minutes, it neither wastes time nor rushes through. It's well-cut. It even has Bob Kane, himself(who, even moreso than Uslan, is well-spoken), though it is of course not new footage. Fifty years, it took to do a proper film of Batman... five decades. At least Kane did get to see it(though, sadly, he may have also watched Schumacher's efforts). I recommend this to any fan of the film, the character, and comics in general. 7/10