Batman
Forever is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel
Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton. Based on the DC Comics
character Batman, the film is the third installment in the Batman
film series, with Val Kilmer replacing Michael Keaton as Bruce
Wayne/Batman. Also stars Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman
and Chris O'Donnell. The plot focuses on Batman trying to stop
Two-Face and the Riddler in their villainous scheme to drain
information from all the brains in Gotham City. He gains allegiance
from a love interest, psychiatrist Dr. Chase Meridian, and a young,
orphaned circus acrobat named Dick Grayson, who becomes his sidekick Robin.
The film's tone was
different from the previous installments, becoming more
family-friendly since Warner Bros. considered that the previous film,
Batman Returns (1992), underperformed at the box office due to its
violence and dark overtones. Schumacher eschewed the dark, dystopian
atmosphere of Burton's films, and drew inspiration directly from the
Batman comic book seen in the 1940s/early 1950s, and the 1960s
television series. The budget of the film was an estimated
$100,000,000. Production was troubled, with many actors considered
for the main roles. Filming locations include Alcatraz Island, San
Francisco, CA and the Manhattan Bridge in New York City, NY.
The film was released on
June 16th, 1995. Batman Forever received mixed reviews upon release,
with critics praising the cinematography, visuals and art direction
but noting that it was campier and more bombastic than previous
installments. The film had success with audiences, out-grossing
Batman Returns with over $336 million worldwide and becoming the
sixth-highest grossing film worldwide of 1995. It made $52,784,433 in
the United States for its opening weekend (June 22, 1995) on 2842 screens.
Even
though Batman Returns was a financial success, Warner Bros. felt the
film should have made more money and decided to ruin the franchise
and make the film series more mainstream. Tim Burton, who had
directed the two previous installments, was asked to restrict himself
to the role of producer and signed Joel Schumacher as director. After
approving Schumacher as director, Burton met with Lee and Janet
Scott-Batchler, who agreed with him that "the key element to
Batman is his duality. And it's not just that Batman is Bruce
Wayne". Burton along with Schumacher hired the Batchers to write
the script which introduced a psychotic Riddler with a pet rat
accompanying him. The story elements and much of the dialogue still
remained in the finished film, though Schumacher felt it could be
"lightened down". Schumacher claims he originally had in
mind an adaptation of Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. The studio
rejected the idea as they wanted a sequel, not a prequel, though
Schumacher was able to include very brief events in Bruce Wayne's
past. He hired Akiva Goldsman, whom he previously had worked for on
The Client, to write the second draft of script.
Production went on fast
track with Rene Russo cast as Dr. Chase Meridian. Michael Keaton
decided not to reprise Batman because he did not like the new
direction the film series was heading in. Keaton also wanted to
pursue "more interesting roles", turning down $15 million
to appear in Batman Forever. Val Kilmer was cast days later, and the
filmmakers decided that Russo was too old for Kilmer, replacing her
with a different actress. Schumacher got interested in Kilmer for
Batman after seeing him in Tombstone, and the actor accepted the role
without even reading the script or knowing who the new director was.
Before Val Kilmer was cast, Daniel Day-Lewis, Ralph Fiennes, William
Baldwin and Johnny Depp were all under consideration to replace
Michael Keaton. Ethan Hawke turned down the role over fear of
typecasting, but later regretted the decision.
Robin
Wright, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Linda Hamilton were in competition
for Dr. Chase Meridian, with Wright appearing as the favorable
choice. Nicole Kidman (right) was eventually cast. Kidman had been
previously considered for the role of Catwoman in Batman Returns but
turned it down and the role eventually went to Michelle Pfeiffer.
Even though Billy Dee Williams took the role of Harvey Dent in Batman
because he was looking forward to portraying Two-Face in a sequel,
Schumacher cast Tommy Lee Jones in the role. Jones was always
Schumacher's first choice for the role after working with him on The
Client. Jones claims he was sent the script and was very cautious to
accept, but accepted the part because Two-Face was his son's favorite
character. Robin Williams expressed interest in the role of The
Riddler, while Micky Dolenz was considered early in pre-production by
Tim Burton. Rumors had Michael Jackson attached to the role, but was
turned down. Jim Carrey was eventually cast. Robin appeared in the
shooting script of Batman Returns but was deleted due to too many
characters. Marlon Wayans was cast in the role, and signed for Batman
Forever. It was decided to replace Wayans with a white actor,
Leonardo DiCaprio and Chris O'Donnell became the top two choices,
with O'Donnell winning the part.
Filming started in
September 1994. Schumacher hired Barbara Ling for production design,
claiming that the film needed a "force" and felt Ling could
"advance on it". Schumacher wanted a design that was not to
be in any way connected to the previous films, and instead was to be
inspired by the images from the Batman comic books seen in the
1940s/early 1950s and taken from that of New York City architecture
in the 1930s, with a combination of modern Tokyo. He also wanted a
"city with personality", with more statues, as well as
various amounts of neon.
Schumacher
had problems filming with Kilmer, whom he described as "childish
and impossible", reporting that he fought with various crewmen,
and refused to speak to Schumacher during two weeks after the
director told him to stop behaving in a rude way. Schumacher also
mentioned Tommy Lee Jones as a source of trouble: "Jim Carrey
was a gentleman, and Tommy Lee was threatened by him. I'm tired of
defending overpaid, overprivileged actors. I pray I don't work with
them again."
Rick Baker designed the
prosthetic makeup. John Dykstra, Andrew Adamson and Jim Rygiel served
as visual effects supervisors, with Pacific Data Images also
contributing to visual effects work. PDI provided a
computer-generated Batman for complicated stunts. For the costume
design, producer Peter MacGregor-Scott claimed that 146 workers were
at one point working together. Batman's costume was redesigned along
the lines of a more "MTV organic, and edgier feel" to the
suit (so they added nipples?). Sound editing and mixing was
co-supervised by Bruce Stambler and John Levesque, which included
trips to caves to record bat sounds. A new Batmobile was designed for
Batman Forever, with two cars being constructed, one for stunt
purposes and one for close-ups with both showcasing a V8 engine.
Elliot Goldenthal was hired
by Schumacher to compose the film score before the screenplay was
written, whereas most composers are hired during production. In
discussions with Schumacher, the director wanted Goldenthal to avoid
taking inspiration from Danny Elfman, and requested an original
composition. The soundtrack was commercially successful, selling
almost as many copies as Prince's soundtrack to the 1989 Batman film.
Only five of the songs on the soundtrack are actually featured in the
movie, the rest are allegedly 'inspired by' Batman Forever, a curious
claim, since most, if not all, of the tracks were recorded before the
film was even released. Hit singles from the soundtrack include
"Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" by U2 and "Kiss
from a Rose" by Seal, both of which were nominated for MTV Movie
Awards. "Kiss from a Rose" (whose video was also directed
by Joel Schumacher) reached No. 1 in the U.S. charts as well. The
soundtrack itself, featuring additional songs by The Flaming Lips,
Brandy (both songs also included in the film), Method Man, Nick Cave,
Michael Hutchence (of INXS), PJ Harvey, and Massive Attack, was an
attempt to (in producer Peter MacGregor-Scott's words) make the film
more "pop".
Untitled
Batman
Forever went through a few major edits before its release.
Originally darker than the final product, the movie's original length
was closer to two hours and 40 minutes according to director Joel
Schumacher. There was talk of an extended cut being released to DVD
for the film's 10th anniversary in 2005. While all four previous
Batman films were given special edition DVD releases on the same day
as the Batman Begins DVD release, the version of Batman Forever
released was the original, although some of the following scenes were
in a deleted scenes section in the special features.
Many scenes were filmed but
deleted from the film, others scenes had footage removed. These included:
The escape of Two-Face from
Arkham Asylum. René Auberjonois had more scenes filmed here in
the role of Doctor Burton, but his role was reduced to a cameo in the
final film. He discovers Two-Face's escape, encountering his
psychologist hanged in Two-Face's cell with "The Bat Must
Die" written in blood on the wall. This was supposed to be the
film's opening scene, but producers decided this was far too dark for
a family audience. This scene appears in a rough edit on the special
edition DVD. Segments of the scene also appears in the music video
for U2's "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me".
The construction of
NygmaTech was more in-depth. There were scenes shot that appear in
publicity stills of Edward Nygma with a hard hat helping with the
construction of his headquarters on Claw Island. This scene does not
appear on the new special edition release but is shown in the sticker
album published by Merlin Collections.
Sugar and Spice, played by
Drew Barrymore and Debi Mazar, (above) try out the Riddler's device
during the montage when it goes on sale. They are seated with the
Riddler and Two-Face on the couch where Chase is handcuffed later in
the film. This scene appears in the comic adaptation but not in the
final film.
When
Two-Face addresses the crowd from the helicopter in the opening
action scene, the speech was truncated and several lines that
appeared in the Theatrical Trailer were removed, including the line
"If the Bat wants to play, we'll play!". Also this sequence
contained an extended fight scene between Two-Face and Batman, where
they both struggle for control of the helicopter. In this scene,
Two-Face accuses Batman of being "a killer too", a direct
continuity reference to the first two Batman films in which Batman
killed the Joker, the Penguin and several of their respective goons.
Two-face then manages to escape by the parachute, after Batman
realizes he has locked the steering wheel into position. This
sequence is included in rough form on the DVD/Blu-ray release.
Several of the Riddler's
scenes were also truncated, including the scene where he fails to
punch a security guard out. The guard is then brutally beaten,
presumably to death. Other scene in the Wayne Manor raid sequence was
longer, featuring Bruce and Chase fighting Two-Face and his thugs.
The scene involving Chase Meridian on the couch originally included a
longer ending where the Riddler injects her with a green sleeping
agent so he can easily place her in the small tube with the trap door
and the fight scene between Two-Face and Robin on Claw Island was
originally longer.
One scene featured a local
Gotham talk show with Chase Meridian as a guest, talking about
Batman. Another sequence came directly after the casino robbery,
where Batman follows a robbery signal on a tracking device in the
Batmobile. He shows up at the crime scene and finds he is at the
wrong place (a beauty salon), in which a room full of girls laugh at
him. The Riddler had been throwing Batman off the track by messing
with the Batmobile's tracking device. This would explain why in the
theatrical version Batman seems to give Riddler and Two-Face moments
of free rein over the city. This scene appears in a rough edit on the
Special Edition DVD.
A deleted scene features a
little conversation with Dick and Bruce in the gym of the manor. This
scene appears in a rough edit on the Special Edition DVD. There was
also originally a scene of Alfred and Bruce examining the NygmaTech "Box".
An extended scene
established Bruce in the Batcave shortly after having discussed with
Dick then that this would have saved his life after the battle with
Two-Face in the subway system under construction. In this scene he is
appreciated as the GNN news (Bruce watching in the Batcomputer)
attacking Batman and Two-Face after the battle in the Subway and
after that Bruce talking to Alfred turns into the dilemma of
continuing to be Batman and try a normal life with Chase. Like the
deleted Helicopter fight sequence, this scene also makes reference to
Batman himself being "a killer", and in the original
production screenplay, this scene was to contain footage from Batman
Returns, specifically taken from the rooftop fight scene with
Catwoman. This would explain why in the theatrical version Bruce
turns off all the systems and else in the Batcave telling Dick he's
gives up being Batman. This scene appears in a rough form on the
Special Edition DVD.
The
most well-known deleted scene involved further backstory to the
film. It involved Bruce waking up after being shot in the head by Two-Face,
temporarily wiping a part of his memory; he has forgotten his origin
and life as the Dark Knight. Alfred takes him to the Batcave, which
has been destroyed by the Riddler. They stand on the platform where
the Batmobile was, and Alfred says, "Funny they did not know
about the cave beneath the cave." The platform then rotates
downward to another level where the sonar-modification equipment is
kept, from the special Batsuit to the hi-tech weaponry. Bruce then
discovers the cavern where he first saw the image that inspired him
to become Batman – a giant bat. Inside he finds his father's Red
Diary. It reminds him of the injustices committed against his family,
and of how, in his small way, he felt responsible and helpless. The
giant bat then appears and Bruce raises his arms and the shot shows
that they are one. Bruce now remembers who he is and goes with Alfred
to solve the riddles left throughout the film. Screenwriter Akiva
Goldsman admitted the scene was very theatrical on the special
edition DVD and felt it would have made a difference to the final
cut. The bat was designed and created by Rick Baker, who was in
charge of the make-up of Two-Face. This scene appears in a rough form
on the special edition DVD and is briefly mentioned in the comic adaptation.
The
original ending was similar in style to the previous Batman films,
which had involved a scene with Alfred in the limousine, the camera
tracking upward through the Gotham cityscape, followed by a rooftop
shot involving a silhouetted hero (Batman in the original, Catwoman
in Batman Returns') facing the Bat Signal. When Alfred drives Doctor
Chase Meridian back to Gotham she asks him "Does it ever
end?" Alfred replies, "No, Doctor Meridian, not in this
lifetime." The Bat-Signal shines on the night sky and Batman is
standing on a pillar looking ahead. Robin then comes into shot and
joins his new partner. They both leap off the pillar, towards the
camera. A rough edit of the first half of the scene appears on the
special edition DVD, but not in its entirety. The sequence with
Batman and Robin at the end of this scene is not to be confused with
a commercial for the video game, whose appears in a teaser trailer
for the video game, which is on the VHS release of this film,
released in the UK on December 3rd, 1995.
Batman Forever opened in
2,842 theaters in the United States on June 16th, 1995, making $52.78
million in its opening weekend. This was the highest opening weekend
of all time up to that point. The film went on to gross $184.03
million in North America, and $152.5 million in international
countries, totaling $336.53 million. Batman Forever was declared a
huge financial success. The film earned more money than its
predecessor Batman Returns, and was the second-highest (behind Toy
Story) grossing film of 1995, in the U.S.
Despite it's financial
success Batman Forever was released to mixed reviews. Peter Travers
said "Batman Forever still gets in its licks. There's no fun
machine this summer that packs more surprises." However, he
criticized the film's excessive commercialism and felt that "the
script misses the pain Tim Burton caught in a man tormented by the
long-ago murder of his parents." Brian Lowry of Variety believed
"One does have to
question the logic behind adding nipples to the hard-rubber batsuit.
Whose idea was that supposed to be anyway, Alfred's? Some of the
computer-generated Gotham cityscapes appear too obviously fake.
Elliot Goldenthal's score, while serviceable, also isn't as stirring
as Danny Elfman's work in the first two films."
James Berardinelli enjoyed
the film. "It's lighter, brighter, funnier, faster-paced, and a
whole lot more colorful than before." Scott Beatty felt
"Tommy Lee Jones played Harvey Dent as a Joker knock-off rather
than a multi-layered rogue." Lee Bermejo called Batman Forever
"unbearable". Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert both gave the
film mixed reviews, but with the former giving it a thumbs up and the
latter a thumbs down. In his written review, Ebert wrote: "Is
the movie better entertainment? Well, it's great bubblegum for the
eyes. Younger children will be able to process it more easily; some
kids were led bawling from Batman Returns where the PG-13 rating was
a joke." Mick LaSalle had a mixed reaction, concluding "a
shot of Kilmer's rubber buns at one point is guaranteed to bring
squeals from the audience."
At
the 68th Academy Awards, Batman Forever was nominated for
Cinematography (lost to Braveheart), Sound (lost to Apollo 13) and
Sound Editing (also lost to Braveheart). "Hold Me, Thrill Me,
Kiss Me, Kill Me" by U2 was nominated for the Golden Globe Award
for Best Original Song (lost to "Colors of the Wind" from
Pocahontas), but was also nominated for the Worst Original Song
Golden Raspberry Award (lost to "Walk Into the Wind" from
Showgirls). At the Saturn Awards, the film was nominated for Best
Fantasy Film (lost to Babe), Make-up (lost to Seven), Special Effects
(lost to Jumanji) and Costume Design (lost to 12 Monkeys). Composer
Elliot Goldenthal was given a Grammy Award nomination. Batman Forever
received six nominations at the 1996 MTV Movie Awards, four of which
were divided between two categories (Carrey and Lee Jones for Best
Villain; and Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" and U2's "Hold
Me" in Best Song from a Movie). However, it won in just one
category, Best Song from a Movie for Seal's "Kiss from a Rose".
In addition to a large line
of toys and action figures from Kenner, the McDonald's food chain
released several collectibles and mugs to coincide with the release
of the film. Peter David and Alan Grant wrote separate novelizations
of the film. Dennis O'Neil authored a comic book adaptation, with art
by Michal Dutkiewicz.
In 1997, a sequel titled
Batman & Robin was released. It starred George Clooney as Batman,
Chris O'Donnell reprising his role as Robin and Arnold Schwarzenegger
as Mr. Freeze. Batman Triumphant, a fifth film in the Batman film
series, was planned, but after the failure of Batman & Robin, it
was cancelled.
Check out the SuperHero Stuff Batman
merchandise page, your index to the finest assortment of Batman
products online. They specialize in Batman tees, but have dozens of
other awesome Batman products as well. Batman belts, hats, hoodies,
pajamas, wallets, key chains, bags and more. They even have Batman underwear!
Even
though Batman Returns was a financial success, Warner Bros. felt the
film should have made more money and decided to ruin the franchise
and make the film series more mainstream. Tim Burton, who had
directed the two previous installments, was asked to restrict himself
to the role of producer and signed Joel Schumacher as director. After
approving Schumacher as director, Burton met with Lee and Janet
Scott-Batchler, who agreed with him that "the key element to
Batman is his duality. And it's not just that Batman is Bruce
Wayne". Burton along with Schumacher hired the Batchers to write
the script which introduced a psychotic Riddler with a pet rat
accompanying him. The story elements and much of the dialogue still
remained in the finished film, though Schumacher felt it could be
"lightened down". Schumacher claims he originally had in
mind an adaptation of Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. The studio
rejected the idea as they wanted a sequel, not a prequel, though
Schumacher was able to include very brief events in Bruce Wayne's
past. He hired Akiva Goldsman, whom he previously had worked for on
The Client, to write the second draft of script.
Robin
Wright, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Linda Hamilton were in competition
for Dr. Chase Meridian, with Wright appearing as the favorable
choice. Nicole Kidman (right) was eventually cast. Kidman had been
previously considered for the role of Catwoman in Batman Returns but
turned it down and the role eventually went to Michelle Pfeiffer.
Even though Billy Dee Williams took the role of Harvey Dent in Batman
because he was looking forward to portraying Two-Face in a sequel,
Schumacher cast Tommy Lee Jones in the role. Jones was always
Schumacher's first choice for the role after working with him on The
Client. Jones claims he was sent the script and was very cautious to
accept, but accepted the part because Two-Face was his son's favorite
character. Robin Williams expressed interest in the role of The
Riddler, while Micky Dolenz was considered early in pre-production by
Tim Burton. Rumors had Michael Jackson attached to the role, but was
turned down. Jim Carrey was eventually cast. Robin appeared in the
shooting script of Batman Returns but was deleted due to too many
characters. Marlon Wayans was cast in the role, and signed for Batman
Forever. It was decided to replace Wayans with a white actor,
Leonardo DiCaprio and Chris O'Donnell became the top two choices,
with O'Donnell winning the part.
Schumacher
had problems filming with Kilmer, whom he described as "childish
and impossible", reporting that he fought with various crewmen,
and refused to speak to Schumacher during two weeks after the
director told him to stop behaving in a rude way. Schumacher also
mentioned Tommy Lee Jones as a source of trouble: "Jim Carrey
was a gentleman, and Tommy Lee was threatened by him. I'm tired of
defending overpaid, overprivileged actors. I pray I don't work with
them again."
Batman
Forever went through a few major edits before its release.
Originally darker than the final product, the movie's original length
was closer to two hours and 40 minutes according to director Joel
Schumacher. There was talk of an extended cut being released to DVD
for the film's 10th anniversary in 2005. While all four previous
Batman films were given special edition DVD releases on the same day
as the Batman Begins DVD release, the version of Batman Forever
released was the original, although some of the following scenes were
in a deleted scenes section in the special features.
When
Two-Face addresses the crowd from the helicopter in the opening
action scene, the speech was truncated and several lines that
appeared in the Theatrical Trailer were removed, including the line
"If the Bat wants to play, we'll play!". Also this sequence
contained an extended fight scene between Two-Face and Batman, where
they both struggle for control of the helicopter. In this scene,
Two-Face accuses Batman of being "a killer too", a direct
continuity reference to the first two Batman films in which Batman
killed the Joker, the Penguin and several of their respective goons.
Two-face then manages to escape by the parachute, after Batman
realizes he has locked the steering wheel into position. This
sequence is included in rough form on the DVD/Blu-ray release.
The
most well-known deleted scene involved further backstory to the
film. It involved Bruce waking up after being shot in the head by Two-Face,
temporarily wiping a part of his memory; he has forgotten his origin
and life as the Dark Knight. Alfred takes him to the Batcave, which
has been destroyed by the Riddler. They stand on the platform where
the Batmobile was, and Alfred says, "Funny they did not know
about the cave beneath the cave." The platform then rotates
downward to another level where the sonar-modification equipment is
kept, from the special Batsuit to the hi-tech weaponry. Bruce then
discovers the cavern where he first saw the image that inspired him
to become Batman – a giant bat. Inside he finds his father's Red
Diary. It reminds him of the injustices committed against his family,
and of how, in his small way, he felt responsible and helpless. The
giant bat then appears and Bruce raises his arms and the shot shows
that they are one. Bruce now remembers who he is and goes with Alfred
to solve the riddles left throughout the film. Screenwriter Akiva
Goldsman admitted the scene was very theatrical on the special
edition DVD and felt it would have made a difference to the final
cut. The bat was designed and created by Rick Baker, who was in
charge of the make-up of Two-Face. This scene appears in a rough form
on the special edition DVD and is briefly mentioned in the comic adaptation.
The
original ending was similar in style to the previous Batman films,
which had involved a scene with Alfred in the limousine, the camera
tracking upward through the Gotham cityscape, followed by a rooftop
shot involving a silhouetted hero (Batman in the original, Catwoman
in Batman Returns') facing the Bat Signal. When Alfred drives Doctor
Chase Meridian back to Gotham she asks him "Does it ever
end?" Alfred replies, "No, Doctor Meridian, not in this
lifetime." The Bat-Signal shines on the night sky and Batman is
standing on a pillar looking ahead. Robin then comes into shot and
joins his new partner. They both leap off the pillar, towards the
camera. A rough edit of the first half of the scene appears on the
special edition DVD, but not in its entirety. The sequence with
Batman and Robin at the end of this scene is not to be confused with
a commercial for the video game, whose appears in a teaser trailer
for the video game, which is on the VHS release of this film,
released in the UK on December 3rd, 1995.
to
question the logic behind adding nipples to the hard-rubber batsuit.
Whose idea was that supposed to be anyway, Alfred's? Some of the
computer-generated Gotham cityscapes appear too obviously fake.
Elliot Goldenthal's score, while serviceable, also isn't as stirring
as Danny Elfman's work in the first two films."
At
the 68th Academy Awards, Batman Forever was nominated for
Cinematography (lost to Braveheart), Sound (lost to Apollo 13) and
Sound Editing (also lost to Braveheart). "Hold Me, Thrill Me,
Kiss Me, Kill Me" by U2 was nominated for the Golden Globe Award
for Best Original Song (lost to "Colors of the Wind" from
Pocahontas), but was also nominated for the Worst Original Song
Golden Raspberry Award (lost to "Walk Into the Wind" from
Showgirls). At the Saturn Awards, the film was nominated for Best
Fantasy Film (lost to Babe), Make-up (lost to Seven), Special Effects
(lost to Jumanji) and Costume Design (lost to 12 Monkeys). Composer
Elliot Goldenthal was given a Grammy Award nomination. Batman Forever
received six nominations at the 1996 MTV Movie Awards, four of which
were divided between two categories (Carrey and Lee Jones for Best
Villain; and Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" and U2's "Hold
Me" in Best Song from a Movie). However, it won in just one
category, Best Song from a Movie for Seal's "Kiss from a Rose".
