One of my favorite movies of all time turns 25 today. I mean, if you equate theater release dates to birthdays for movies. 25 years ago today Tim Burton’s Batman premiered, and changed everything for comic book movies. This wasn’t like today, where a new super hero flick seems to be hitting the megaplex every other week. No, at this time super hero movies were few and far between, and rarely taken seriously. Super heroes were really for kids, not for grown ups. Don’t get me wrong, Batman wasn’t the first movie to take comics seriously. Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie is a great example of one that came before, but Batman did it better. Maybe I’m waxing nostalgic because this was the first big movie that I got really excited about. I was obsessed with it, and I could not wait to see it. To my little 7-year-old mind, this movie just looked incredible. Unfortunately, to my mom’s mind, it did not look like anything she wanted her son to see. And when your 7, your mom has a lot to say about what you can and cannot see. I never got to see this movie on the big screen. But I was a persistent child, and I knew it would come out someday and VHS and it would be mine.
The VHS came out in November of that same year and it was literally the only thing I wanted for Christmas. I did not ask for any other single thing. Just that movie on VHS. I was obsessed. Have you see A Christmas Story, where Ralphie was obsessed with an air rifle? He drops all those hints and writes his school them on how that is what he wants. I would imagine most people reading this site have seen that movie. Well, Ralphie had nothing on me. I don’t think my hints were subtle. I let everyone know I wanted that movie. Mom, dad, grandmas and grandpas and even Santa Claus. Anyone who asked, I told them. I remember going to a Christmas party that year with “Santa Claus” and Santa brought a gift for everyone. When it was my turn he asked me what I wanted, and I told him, and he asked if I had been good that year, and I told him yes. Then he gave me my gift. It was the exact size of a VHS tape. I remember seeing it and getting so excited. Then i had it in my hands and I gave it a little shake. It was definitely a VHS tape. I ripped the paper off before even leaving Santa’s lap. Could it be? Was Christmas really coming early this year? I pulled the paper off completely and held up the cassette to see my prize. And my heart sank. It was Batman, but it was the Adam West 1960’s Batman. I was crushed. But then I realized something. There was still time. And this was ultimately my fault. Santa must be behind the times, and I had been irresponsible and not specific. I hadn’t said the new Batman movie. Santa had just been confused. I would just have to now let everyone know which Batman I wanted, so there would be no more mix ups.
Christmas morning was magical at my house. My parents always made us wait before running out to see the presents. The two of them would go into the family room and oooohh and aaaahh about what Santa brought. They would take pictures and make sure everything was lit just right. I hated it. It was agony to a little kid waiting to see what I got. I just wanted to get in there and open the presents and appraise my haul for the year. This is the worst thing that parents can do to a kid on Christmas morning. Just ask my kids. They can’t stand it when I do it to them. This particular morning I didn’t care about how many presents there were. All I wanted to see was that one, VHS shaped present. I don’t remember what other presents I got that year. Just one. Batman. It was there. Santa had come through. I couldn’t wait to open the tape and throw it into the VCR and watch it.
It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. I think I watched it 30 times before school started again. I picked 30 there because it is a large number, and, i feel, not exaggerated at all. And I watched it regularly all growing up. I hung on to this original VHS cassette for very long time. I think I finally got rid of it a few years ago, but when I did, the case was worn and beaten with numerous white creases running along the front and the back. The top flap was gone so the cassette would slide out of either end and the sticker on the front of the actual VHS tape was all but worn off. I don’t even know if it still worked. Chances are, if it did, it didn’t work well. It was probably poor quality from having watched it so many times.
This movie was a big part of my childhood. It influenced a lot of my later life. It was the first geeky thing I remember that was really cool to like. It made something geeky mainstream. It changed the way the world looked at Batman, and certainly the way I looked at the character. Joker was actually scary now. More importantly, to me anyway, it started a life long unhealthy obsession with all things Tim Burton. It was the first of his films that I remember loving. I don’t think I was obsessed with his other work when I was 7, but I think my love for this movie was influential on appreciating his work later.
You can argue that the Dark Knight Trilogy is better, and in a lot of ways, it probably is. Jack Nicholson’s Joker was scary, but Heath Ledger’s was terrifying. Michael Keaton brought the all black look for Batman to the screen (Thank you Tim Burton for abandoning the blue tights), but Christian Bale brought the all black to a whole new level. Despite all that, this movie is my favorite Batman movie ever. This movie made batman cool for a whole new generation, in a way that Adam West could only dream about. Michael Keaton made the Dark Knight, well, the Dark Knight. Sure, he didn’t worry about disguising his voice, but he compensated but just not saying much. I know there is probably a lot about this movie that is beginning to show all 25 years of age, but it laid the ground work for the super hero movies of today. Plus, it made one 7-year-old boy very happy on one magical Christmas morning.
