Batman - Special Editions ???

[VHS Killer]

Are there new Batman versions planned in the NEAR future ?

Batman (1989)
Batman & Robin (1997)
Batman Forever (1995)
Batman Returns (1992)

Reliable info please , not just rumours.

[BubbleGumUK]

Okay, so it's not a rumor, and not a fact, but think about it.

The whole first runs of Warner's titles are being re-thought, re-packaged and re-issued as Special Editions, right?

There are new editions of "Singing In The Rain", "Gremlins", etc, "Willy Wonka" just had an up-date... so what's the chances of the "Batman" franchise getting some decent treatment in the next few months to a year?

Pretty high I think you'll find. Especially as there are at least a couple of bat-themed movies in production...

So hold off that "Legacy" set for now - there'll be bigger bats in the belfry!

[John Yaya]

Batman & Batman Returns most certainly deserves SE treatment....

Batman Forever...eh maybe

Batman & Robin....ha ha ha..they should just burn the negative and forget it ever existed....
:barf: Joel Schumacher

[BWilliams]

One thing they should include in a Batman SE, especially for Batman and Batman Forever, are the deleted scenes to the films. There were several deleted scenes that never made it into the theatrical versions. For example, in Batman, when the Joker gives away his $20 million to the people at midnight, some of the people discover that the money is in fact fake. This occurs either before or after Vicki Vale realizes that the Joker intends to kill the populace with the smiley gas. (He could have easily borrowed Luthor's propane lithium gas pellet that Superman could never find and got the job done more effectively, but I digress.)

Also, similar to what they did on the Superman SE DVD, they can include some of the lost or original music cues from the soundtrack in a special section. Some of the cues originally recorded by Prince were not included in the film or the original soundtrack, particularly the songs "200 Balloons" and "Rave to the Joy Fantastic" (which he would later substitute the more recognizable "Trust" and "Partyman", respectively, in the film). These original cues were referred to in an article on Prince's music for the film in Rolling Stone. In addition, they could include the complete versions of the songs that do appear in the film although in fragmented form. And a music-only track with the classic Danny Elfman music would be nice, too.

In Batman Forever, the original cut of the film was 160 minutes in length. It was pared down to its running time of 122 minutes. One of the lost scenes of the film was the opening prologue in which Two-Face escapes from Arkham Asylum (yet some of that footage would survive into the U2 music video for "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"). More lost footage from Two-Face's attack on Batman at the beginning of the film occurs when Two-Face comments, "If the bat wants to play, we'll play!" This particular clip can be seen in some of the promos for the film (and I believe in the U2 music video as well, I forget). But there are a number of lost scenes from Batman Forever that deserve to be released in a SE DVD.

Trailers, production features, director and actor commentaries, even a Batman history textual commentary (similar to the one on the Superman SE) would be nice. But those are some of the extras I wouldn't mind seeing on the DVDs.

[071801]

I would really like Warner Brothers to make something similar to Fox's Five Star line and give Batman and Batman Returns some good coverage.

[Volcane666]

I would love to see at least the first 3 in the sries done as SE's!

I am one of the few that preferred Forever to Returns. I'm begining to think I imagined this but I could've sworn I'd seen a deleted scene of Val Kilmer looking directly into the face of a big (and I mean BIG) Bat.....

...I have never seen Batman & Robin. I heard all the bad reviews and stayed away. So, if I ever see it, I will find it :

a) not as bad as I'd heard OR
b) justifiably panned

[George McFly]

IMO Batman * Robin isn't as bad as people say it is.I rate it out

[Sid]

I've seen that clip of Kilmer looking at a giant bat. I think its in a music video. I would love SEs of Batman Forever and Batman. I don't care for Returns, and B&R sucked, except some of the action sequences rock. I hope they re-do the 5.1 track on Batman cause it sounds so fake.

[BWilliams]

Sid and volcano, you're both right. That is indeed a lost clip of Val Kilmer as Bruce Wayne from "Batman Forever" in which he embraces the giant bat. I remember seeing it, too, in the U2 video for "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me", along with part of the deleted original prologue from the film. As far as any deleted scenes popping up in the Seal video for "Kiss From a Rose", I do not believe there are any.

They could also include the 30-minute CBS featurette on a special edition of the film, and on Batman Returns they could include the documentary "The Bat, the Cat, and the Penguin".

As for "Batman and Robin", that one did indeed bite the big goose egg in terms of quality. It just looked too much like the old TV series in terms of guest stars hamming it up as the villains with corny dialogue. At least Tim Burton's presence was felt on "Batman Forever", so that one had a sense of continuity with the first two films. The fourth one was just out there on its own, and I wouldn't be surprised if Burton disavowed that one.

[Pyrosecht]

One phrase sums up how bad Batman & Robin sucked:

[American Express] "Don't leave the Batcave without it."

From this point on, anyone who defends this movie needs to be hit in the head with a hammer.

:barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: