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Batman Begins (Two-Disc Special Edition) 
Actors : Christian Bale, Mark Boone Junior, Richard Brake, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman
Studio : Warner Home Video
by Warner Home Video
Brand : HOLMES/BALE/OLDMAN
Release Date : 2005-10-18
Publisher : Warner Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 2
EAN : 9781419828171
UPC : 012569766778
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 1207 reviews)
List Price : $19.98
Our Price : $12.71
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Product Description |
No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: DVD
Artist: HOLMES/BALE/OLDMAN
Title: BATMAN BEGINS
Street Release Date: 08/29/2006
Domestic
Genre: ACTION / ADVENTURE |
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Americancivilwar.com |
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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? Cowritten 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 Americancivilwar.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 (click for larger images) 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. 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 multipage 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 second disc offers a French menu and French (but not English) subtitles for the featurettes. --David Horiuchi |
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Movie: 4.75/5 Picture Quality: 3.25~4.5/5 Sound Quality: 4.75/5 Extras: 4/5 |
Version: U.S.A / Region Free
Format: Blu-ray
VC-1 BD-50
Running time: 2:20:02
Movie size: 23,79 GB
Disc size: 35,11 GB
Average Video Bit Rate: 13.69 Mbps
English Dolby TrueHD - 1551Kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 640kbps)
English / Japanese / French / Portuguese / Spanish DD 640 Kbps
Subtitles : English / Japanese / Chinese / French / Korean / Portuguese / Spanish
The Dark Knight IMAX Prologue (Picture Quality: 4.5/5)
VC-1
Running time: 0:06:37
Movie size: 1,23 GB
Average video bit rate: 22.91 Mbps
DD AC3 5.1 640Kbps
#"Genesis of the Bat" (SD, 15 minutes)
#"Batman: The Journey Begins" (SD, 14 minutes)
#"Path to Discovery" (SD, 14 minutes)
#"Saving Gotham City" (SD, 13 minutes)
#"Shaping Mind and Body" (SD, 13 minutes)
#"Gotham City Rises" (SD, 13 minutes)
#"Cape and Cowl" (SD, 8 minutes)
#"Batman: The Tumbler" (SD, 14 minutes)
#Still Gallery (SD)
#Confidential Files (SD)
#MTV Special: "Tankman Begins" (SD)
#Theatrical Trailer (HD)
Format: HD DVD
VC-1 HD-30
Running time: 2:19:54
Movie size: 19,85 GB
Disc size: 26,63 GB
Average Video Bit Rate: 13.70 Mbps
Dolby TrueHD 5.1 16-bit English
DDPlus 5.1 640Kbps English |
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Incredible film, above average blu-ray |
Batman Begins is an all time favorite of mine and one I wanted to have on blu-ray. The transfer is excellent. At 1080p at 73" (Mitsubishi 2008 DLP) the picuture is stunning. No macroblocking in fast scenes (like in the DVD release). Audio sounds amazing in 7.1.
However the extras are a bit slim. |
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Batman Begins |
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Batman Begins is a really good movie. I enjoyed it because it wasn't like the comic book depictions I have seen in the past. It was more for an adult audience and showed how he got to be Batman and why. It didn't have all the silly, stupid things that the old movies had. It was more like a drama and my whole family really enjoyed it. Christian Bale was excellent as Batman and everyone in the movie did a terrific job. |
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Reviewing defective merchandise |
No real review here, product was defective, so was replacement. Purchased elsewhere with more satistactory results.
Still waiting for my refund.... |
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Do I really have to choose which one is the best? |
This review focuses on Burton's Batman (Batman89, Batman Returns), Nolan's Batman (Batman Begins, the Dark Knight), and 1992 original Batman: The Animated Series. I'm excluding Schumacher's Batman (Batman Forever, Batman and Robin), the 1960's Batman series, and "The Batman", simply because I believe they are the weakest representations.
To be perfectly honest, I love Burton, Nolan, and BTAS equally. All three interpretations are so different, that they cannot be compared. And it is really annoying that I find people on YouTube trying to see which one is better (most opinions are biased). So here it goes with MY opinions:
BATMAN: Michael Keaton, Kevin Conroy, and Christian Bale have given us excellent performances. Conroy (from BTAS) has the perfect voice for Batman, though the physical depiction seems a bit too much. Bale really acts well as Bruce Wayne, but his voice for Batman is too deep and goofy. To me, Keaton is the ultimate "Bruce". He has the awkwardness and the eccentricity of the character, and plus his hoarse voice for the Bat is far superior to Bale's. It's too bad that he doesn't get that much screen time in both of Burton's films.
VILLAINS: Mr. Freeze, Riddler, Clayface, Mad Hatter, Scarface, Killer Croc, Bane, Baby Doll, Penguin, Clock King, Harley Quinn, Professor Milo, Poison Ivy, and Rupert Thorne appear only on BTAS, and they are marvelous in their own right.
The Scarecrow was better portrayed in BTAS (voice by Henry Polic II) than he was in Begins. Cillian Murphy looked too young as Doctor Crane, and the actual villain was much underused in the film. Two-Face had the scariest appearance in TDK; Aaron Eckhardt was flawless. However, Two-Face in BTAS (Richard Moll) had a much better origin. Years of suppressing anger can do that, you know. Ra's al Ghul is much more interesting in BTAS (David Warner); Liam Neeson's performance in BB was just above average as he wasn't very believable to me. The Penguin, one of my favorite Batman villains, has been blessed with both BReturns and BTAS. Danny Devito and Paul Williams have done superb jobs with this antagonist. Same goes with Catwoman: Michelle Pfeiffer had the better dialogue and better catsuit, while Adrienne Barbeau was a better Selina Kyle, and her chemistry with Batman is deeper.
Finally, for the Joker we have Jack Nicholson (B89), Mark Hamill (BTAS), and Heath Ledger (TDK). All three of them are perfect. Nicholson has the best dialogue, Hamill has the best laugh and look, and Ledger has the best sadism. Three different worlds, three different performances. People on YouTube should understand that.
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS: I couldn't see Michael Caine as Alfred, so it's thumbs down from me. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and Michael Gough are the ideal Alfred's. Aaron Eckhardt is truly a one-of-a-kind Harvey Dent. I Believe in Harvey Dent! Billy Dee Williams was great in B89, also, and he had the tough and virtuous personality, as did Richard Moll in BTAS. Gary Oldman and Bob Hastings are the definitive Commissioner Gordon's; Pat Hingle is the weakest, but certainly not at all terrible. He's just a bit too short. Morgan Freeman is the one and only Lucius Fox; Brock Peters of BTAS had the better persona, but Freeman had the better chemistry with Batman.
GOTHAM CITY: Burton captured the dark and gothic feel of the hellish city perfectly. It looks as if "Hell came sprouting out of the concrete and kept right on growing. You gotta give credit to Anton Furst, the film's art director, for creating this atmospheric universe. Gotham in BTAS also has its advantages. The towering skyline, the dangerous alleys, and the red sky make it all more mesmerizing. Nolan's Gotham looks hellish, too, but it looks too much like Chicago (filming location for both BB and TDK). But other than that, it succeeds in creating a Faustian nightmare.
EVERYTHING ELSE: The gadgets in BTAS were the most realistic, while the Batmobile for B89 was better-looking. Keaton's Batsuit is classic, while Conroy's cape and cowl is ultimately frightening. The heroines (Basinger, Holmes, and Gyllenhaal) are lovely additions, although I wish Basinger would stop screaming throughout B89. And let's not forget the music: let's give it up for Danny Elfman, Shirley Walker, James Newton Howard, and Hans Zimmer. These are the composers who gave us those catchy Batman themes. We will never forget them or their work.
CONCLUSION: Burton's universe, Nolan's universe, and Timm's universe are near ideal. I love them equally, really. I can't wait for the next film. |
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