Batman the Movie Blueray

I wanted to test out a new blu-ray drive so I bought the blu-ray release of Batman the Movie (1989). I’ve seen the film dozens of time before on DVD, but never on “hi def.” I briefly reviewed it, the 1989 Tim Burton version, before. My thesis at the time was that Burton’s adaptation was actually very close to the 1960s TV series – remove the comedy/camp and you’re left with a surprisingly familiar experience: a classic actor as the Joker, odd camera angles, coloured gas, ineffective police, etc.

It’s strange what you notice. I found myself being drawn into the story more that I had been before, the clarity of the picture means your constantly noticing things, often little details. The two junkies that Batman busts at the start are even more unpleasant than before. The improvement over DVD only really stands up if you’ve got a TV/decoder that can handle the full resolution. Shown at DVD resolution at normal TV size you’ll be hard pressed to notice the difference, but you don’t really need me to tell you how good hi-def if. At first I wasn’t going to bother with replacing my old DVDs with blu-ray, but I think I’m going to have to reconsider that.

Things I hadn’t noticed before included a picture of Pop-eye on the notice board behind Knox’s desk (had he been investigating Popeye before he investigated the Batman) and the top of the cupboard in Wayne Manor’s Dinning Room that echoes the Batman symbol. Silly little things, but they all serve to draw you into the world. There is a scene in the Batmobile where Vicky Vale turns to try and get a better look at the Batman so he turns on a light to blind her. It’s only a minor element to the scene, but it wasn’t something I’d taken in before.

Anton Furst’s Gotham City looks spectacular in high-definition and the visual flair of the film is only enhanced by the transition. There are, however, places were model shots or matt lines become more prominent. Hi-def makes the good looking parts even better, but it also makes the bad looking parts far more noticeable.

I’d score the Blue-ray release half-a-star higher than the DVD release just because this is a film that really benefits from the transition, but I don’t expect that to be the same for all films.