Cinema Toy Tamashii! Recommendation of Cinema vol.1 "Batman"

In the first installment, "SHFiguarts Batman (BATMAN 1989)" will introduce an episode related to "Batman", which is being ordered for a limited time until June 7th (Sun) at Tamashii Web Shop.

If "Batman" had not been released in 1989, there may not have been the current comic book movie boom. That is how immeasurable the impact that "Batman" had on later comic book movies. Before "Batman," "SUPERMAN" (1978) had been a worldwide hit. However, as Tim Burton said, "I thought "SUPERMAN" was well made, but it didn't really do a good job of expressing the unique feel of comic books," there had been no major movies before "Batman" that recreated the visuals and mood of comics.

The project to make "Batman" into a movie started in 1979. At that time, the live-action version of "Batman" had a strong impression of the TV drama version "Batman" (1966-68) starring Adam West. However, Michael E. Uslan, an avid comic collector since he was a boy and executive producer of "Batman," had a different idea. He was dissatisfied with the pop and comical TV version.
"I wanted to draw a hero who is active in the dark night, which was imagined by the original author Bob Kane."
As he said, the early Batman, born in Detective Comics in 1939, was a mysterious figure with a dark style. Uslan first asked Tom Mankiewicz, who had worked on SUPERMAN, to write the script. The script that Tom wrote described the circumstances of Batman's birth, and the villain was already the Joker. Tim Burton, who later read the script, said the following:
"It was essentially the same SUPERMAN, just with a different name. The storyline, which followed Bruce Wayne from his childhood to his beginnings as a crime fighter, had the same jocular tone. There was no acknowledgement of the grotesque nature of Batman."
At that time, there was no one who shared Uslan's image of a dark hero. It may be hard to imagine now, when people of all ages and genders go to see comic book movies, but in the early 1980s, when the only comic book movie that was a big hit was "SUPERMAN," it was a completely unprecedented and reckless challenge to make a big movie about the exploits of a dark hero.
Six years have passed since the project for "Batman" started in 1985. However, neither the director nor the script has been decided yet. Meanwhile, Joe Dante of "Gremlin" (1984) and Ivan Reitman of "Ghostbusters" (1984) were nominated as director candidates, but no decision was made. The script also strayed, and various ideas were proposed. Among them, after a compromise, there was a plan to make a comical movie like the TV version that Uslan had avoided, and comedy actor Bill Murray to play Batman. The movie project fell into a stalemate and was about to fail ...
In 1986, Frank Miller's original comic "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" was released, and Batman's dark image was revived. This helped to plan the movie. That's the time. Tim Burton, who succeeded in his first feature-length director, Pee-wee's Adventure (1985), was struck by the director's arrow.
Burton, who took over as director, immediately worked out the story with screenwriter Sam Hamm. However, the director's second film, "Beetle Juice," was released, and no official go-ahead was given until success was confirmed.
After the hit of "Beetlejuice", many movie fans who knew that his next movie was "Batman" made a movie that made the TV version "Batman" gorgeous from the pop and dark style of "Beetlejuice". I thought I would make it. But Burton's idea was different.
"I grew up watching the TV version and loved it. Looking at my career, it seems like I'm going to make something like the TV version, but I didn't want to do that."
Burton wasn't an avid comic reader, but he was drawn to the shadow of Batman and the portrayal of human duality. He also intended to make a movie with a dark atmosphere that was in the original comic version like Uslan. When he made the movie, he was inspired by Alan Moore's original comic "Batman: The Killing Joke."

After the director decided to Burton, the preparation for the movie proceeded steadily as if possession had fallen.
The role of Joker was decided to be the first candidate Jack Nicholson. He liked "Beetle Juice" and agreed to appear in Burton's film.
However, the role of Batman was difficult. Burton met with a number of candidates. They were all healthy and, according to Burton, "a chin-heavy hero-type man." A question arose in Burton who saw them. Why does such a macho bother to dress up as a bat?
Bruce Wayne becomes Batman because he doesn't have a solid physique, he needs to. He wants to dress up as a bat and make himself look scary and threaten criminals. Only he can play such a character ... An actor came to Burton's head. Michael Keaton. A man who played a crazy ghost in "Beetle Juice".
"His looks aren't hero types, which is why he needs to dress up as a bat."
Burton was also attracted to Keaton's eyes.
"His eyes are insane as well as intellect and strength. The role of Batman wears a mask, so his eyes are important."
Thus, the role of Batman was decided to be Michael Keaton.

However, the appointment of Keaton was controversial. In addition to having a strong impression of comedy movie performers such as "Love in New York" (1982) and "Mr. Mom" (1983), the recent performance was a revolutionary cheerful opposite to Bruce Wayne. ghost……. Warner was flooded with 50,000 letters of protest and became so talked about that criticisms appeared on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. The original author, Bob Kane, was also initially negative to Michael Keaton. But Burton didn't move. He was convinced that Keaton was the right person for Batman. Michael Keaton also trusted Burton.
"If Tim wasn't the director, he wouldn't take on the role of Batman."
He said that during the play, he was traumatized and played a brilliant dark hero who transformed into a bat at night.

In the late 1980s, when I learned that "Batman" was going to be made into a movie, I had high hopes for the design of the Batsuit, which would be made with the technology of the time. Still, I thought, "The mask will probably be made of a hard material, but the suit will be a tights-like costume like Christopher Reeve's "SUPERMAN"... I couldn't help it. That was the era. At the time, comic book hero movies had been made into a series after "SUPERMAN" in 1978, but SUPERMAN only other DC hero movie made was "Supergirl" (1984).

The bat suit of "Batman" released during the ice age of such a comic hero movie was full of newness and dark charm that no one had ever seen before, flying far beyond our expectations. However, it is said that the production of this bat suit was also extremely difficult.
Bob Ringwood, the costume designer for "Dune / Sand Planet" (1984), was in charge of designing and producing the batsuit. Not a comic fan, he read as many as 400 "Batman" comics for this job. And I faced a question. Does Batman in the movie have to wear zentai pants like a comic?
Burton was reluctant to do the same. To break through this situation, Bob Ringwood has proposed a direction.
"Don't wear tights, because Bruce Wayne, who doesn't look like a hero, becomes Batman to intimidate criminals. You should wear a suit that is stronger and more dignified."
Burton agrees with this opinion. And it became a rubber suit with a muscular design. Since the purpose of the suit was "to intimidate criminals," the color of the suit was inevitably changed to black instead of the comic gray and blue. To further scare the villains, the surface of the batsuit and cloak was treated like bat skin.

The cloak was inspired by the yen in the restaurant that Bob entered at lunch. It was made by applying latex instead of a yen. There are many types of cloaks, from heavy ones to light and windy cloaks, depending on the purpose of shooting. The boots were made by customizing Nike shoes. Among the batsuits made after trial and error, Burton's favorite parts are the wings and ribs.
The suit was completed, but there was one problem. When wearing the mask, it feels strange if Michael Keaton's eyes are flesh-colored. Therefore, I painted the area around my eyes black to eliminate the maskiness. As a result, Keaton's unique eyes became more prominent. This was a groundbreaking attempt. This is the first technique used by a hero to transform an actor's face into a creature with special make-up. Since "Batman", the trend has been to paint around the eyes of masked heroes when making live-action comic movie heroes.
And the completed movie recorded a worldwide hit. "Batman" has taken comic films to a new level. That is not all. The success of Batman changed the definition of a blockbuster movie. It is a revolutionary work in movie history.

Text Ginty Kobayashi

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