World Famous Comics: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition)
Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition)
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman Directed By: Christopher Nolan Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled Label: Warner Home Video Number of Items: 2 Region Code: 1 Release Date: October 18, 2005 Running Time: 140 minutes Theatrical Release Date: June 15, 2005
Description: Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents' murder, disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect and an array of high tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city.
DVD Features: DVD ROM Features:Batman Begins Mobile Game Demo & Weblinks Documentaries:Genesis of the Bat: Batman Incarnations from the Mid-1980s to the Present The Journey Begins: Creative Concepts, Story Development and Casting Shaping Mind and Body: Fighting Style Gotham City Rises: Production Design Cape and Cowl: The New Batsuit The Tumbler: The New Batmobile Documentary:Path to Discovery: Filming in Iceland Saving Gotham City: The Monorail Chase Sequence Easter Eggs Featurette:Confidential Files Character/Weaponry Gallery Interactive Menus:INNER DEMONS COMIC: Explore the special features through an exclusive interactive comic book Other:Batman: The Man Who Falls - a classic story that inspired Batman Begins Batman: The Long Halloween - a chilling excerpt that also inspired the film Photo gallery Theatrical Trailer
Amazon.com: Batman Begins discards the previous four films in the series and recasts the Caped Crusader as a fearsome avenging angel. That's good news, because the series, which had gotten off to a rousing start under Tim Burton, had gradually dissolved into self-parody by 1997's Batman & Robin. As the title implies, Batman Begins tells the story anew, when Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) flees Western civilization following the murder of his parents. He is taken in by a mysterious instructor named Ducard (Liam Neeson in another mentor role) and urged to become a ninja in the League of Shadows, but he instead returns to his native Gotham City resolved to end the mob rule that is strangling it. But are there forces even more sinister at hand?
Co-written by the team of David S. Goyer (a veteran comic book writer) and director Christopher Nolan (Memento), Batman Begins is a welcome return to the grim and gritty version of the Dark Knight, owing a great debt to the graphic novels that preceded it. It doesn't have the razzle dazzle, or the mass appeal, of Spider-Man 2 (though the Batmobile is cool), and retelling the origin means it starts slowly, like most "first" superhero movies. But it's certainly the best Bat-film since Burton's original, and one of the best superhero movies of its time. Bale cuts a good figure as Batman, intense and dangerous but with some of the lightheartedness Michael Keaton brought to the character. Michael Caine provides much of the film's humor as the family butler, Alfred, and as the love interest, Katie Holmes (Dawson's Creek) is surprisingly believable in her first adult role. Also featuring Gary Oldman as the young police officer Jim Gordon, Morgan Freeman as a Q-like gadgets expert, and Cillian Murphy as the vile Jonathan Crane. --David Horiuchi
Batman at Amazon.com
All Batman DVDs
Batman Begins 101: A Comic Book Primer
Where Have I Seen Christian Bale?
All Batman Comics and Graphic Novels
Batman Toys
Batman Begins Soundtrack
Stills from Batman Begins
DVD Features
The first disc is filled out by the theatrical trailer and a Jimmy Fallon-starring Batman Begins spoof from the MTV Movie Awards. The second disc consists of eight featurettes (about 105 minutes total) on a variety of topics. "The Journey Begins" covers the early stages of the movie, including the casting and how director/co-writer Christopher Nolan brought in co-writer David S. Goyer for his comic-book expertise. "Shaping Mind and Body" covers Christian Bale's fight training, and other featurettes discuss the sets (the Batcave is shown being constructed out of wood and sheets), the Batman costume, the Batmobile, the monorail sequence, and the hazards of filming in Iceland. All the behind-the-scenes featurettes are solid but somewhat routine, and while "The Journey Begins" is the widest overview, there's not really any centerpiece documentary (all are 8 to 15 minutes, and there's no Play All option). Interviewees tend to be the same throughout: Nolan, Goyer, Bale (the only cast member to get much face time), and other crew members (it's nice to hear from the stunt people).
Potentially more interesting to fans is "Genesis of the Bat," which covers the comic books that influenced the film, including The Long Halloween, Neal Adams's Ra's Al Ghul from the '70s, Dennis O'Neill and Dick Giordano's The Man Who Falls, and Frank Miller's Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns. Interviewees include DC Comics editor Paul Levitz and artist Jim Lee, but the latter's involvement eventually degrades the featurette into a pitch for DC's All-Star Batman line. A nice bonus to the Deluxe Edition is a mini comic book (DVD case-sized) that has Batman's first appearance (Detective Comics #27), The Man Who Falls, and a 48-page excerpt from The Long Halloween. (Once you get a taste of Halloween, you'll want to pick up the full-length, full-size version.) Filling out the disc are overviews of four gadgets and eight characters, DVD-ROM features, and a variety of poster-art concepts. To get to the features menu, you have to scroll through a multi-page Goyer-scribed comic book, which is a good read, but you can't skip it the next time you want to watch the second disc. Note that the comic book is also viewable in French, and the second disc offers a French menu and French (but not English) subtitles for the featurettes. --David Horiuchi
'Batman Begins' Looks and Sounds Great! Blu-ray owners finally got their wish, "Batman Begins" comes to the format. It looks great and Dolby TrueHD soundtrack rumbles with clarity. Watching and listening to the 'Tumbler' in action is amazing.
BUY IT!!! You will not be disappointed.
Plus...the blu-ray gets "The Dark Knight" Prologue, the first 6 minutes of possibly the best movie of all time.
Batman begins Sorry, I did not see this movie. It was a gift.The service was very good.Fast delivery and product was new as promised.
Batman Begins Really great movie. You will love it even if you aren't into the whole "batman" thing, as it has a sense of realism. Definitely recommended.
He's no Adam West ...but that's a good thing. An excellent, dark viewpoint of how Batman got a start. Better than Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and George Clooney combined.
The Darkness Begins A dark study into the working of the mind of Batman, Different than any other Batmanmovie. Everyone has a dark side even him that balances them as a real person, not just a one sided figure. Well made, written and acted.
Anything Goes Trivia
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