Batman & Robin (film)
- For the 1949 serial Batman and Robin, see Batman serials.
The correct title of this article is Batman & Robin (1997 film). It appears here with an "and" in replacement due to the "&" symbol not being compatible with Internet URLs.
| Batman & Robin | |
|---|---|
| File:Movie dvd cover batman and robin.jpg | |
| Directed by | Joel Schumacher |
| Written by | Akiva Goldsman |
| Produced by | Peter MacGregor-Scott |
| Starring | Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Elle Macpherson, Jeep Swenson |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates | June 20, 1997 (USA) |
Running time | 125 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $125 million |
Batman & Robin, directed by Joel Schumacher, is the fourth installment in the comic book-inspired film series initiated by Tim Burton. Released in 1997, it starred George Clooney in his only appearance as Batman and Chris O'Donnell returning as Robin, and introduced Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone), a niece of Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred (Michael Gough). The villains in this movie are Poison Ivy, played by Uma Thurman, and Mr. Freeze, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger (who received top billing for this film).
Response
The film was neither a critical, [1] nor a box office success. In his review of the film, critic Leonard Maltin found that "the 'story' often makes no sense" and that the "action and effects are loud, gargantuan, and ultimately numbing."
Published financial figures indicate that the movie was made on a budget of US$125 million [2], collecting $107 million domestically — less than any other Batman film — and $131 million abroad [3]. Studios usually expect summer movies — particularly those in a highly successful series — to earn more profit than that, and Warner Bros. temporarily suspended the series after four live-action films. The film was derisively dubbed Batman on Ice by some critics [4] [5] [6]. George Clooney was himself severely embarrassed by the film, and has repudiated it publicly a number of times. Like his predecessor Val Kilmer, he was criticized for being too stiff to play a comic-book character. Alicia Silverstone (Batgirl) was called more of a forced extra than a real character, placed in to counter the conservative criticisms about its predecessor's subtle homosexual references (mostly Batman's "homoerotic" suit with nipples). The Batgirl solution also previously used in the comic books and the TV series, which had previously caused the 1960's show to lose quality. More negativity was put on Uma Thurman, who plays Poison Ivy, for portraying a character that was viewed to be even more cartoonish than the Riddler and Two-Face, the main villains from the previous film (and some even complained about her supposedly blasphemous quotes: "Let's see if I can do better [than God]"). The return of the universally derided Bat-nipples (again, save the special "finale" suit) and also those in Robin's, as well as the humorous close-ups on all three heroes continued to stir controversy.
Many fans were also upset at the inclusion and depiction of Bane in this movie (played by the late wrestler Jeep Swenson), on the grounds that he was a minor character depicted as a brainless bodyguard for the main villains (as opposed to the calculating, educated and manipulative genius of the comics). Many fans agree that given Bane's importance in the books as a villain, he should have appeared as the main villain in a Batman movie.
But there was some positive press as well. Audiences and critics argue that the dramatic scenes, especially those concerning Mr. Freeze's wife, bring some light into an otherwise utterly extravagant picture, and Arnold Schwarzenegger received some good feedback for playing his first villain since the original Terminator (1984). George Clooney's sensitive portrayal of Bruce Wayne (which was considered far better than his portrayal of the superhero alter ego Batman) is noted as one of the best in the Batman series and it was credited with launching Clooney's successful movie career. Most of the action sequences were considered imaginative and moving. The film's cinematography was still considered as eye-catching as that of Batman Forever's.
Legacy
The impact of this film was multifold. With the possible exception of Arnold Schwarzenegger, all the principal performers involved lost credibility for some time as serious actors. George Clooney has gone so far as to say that he will refund the money of any fan he meets who paid to see the movie. Schumacher found his already tenuous artistic reputation all but ruined, and Warner Bros. was the focus of much derision for producing the film. Alicia Silverstone, already battered by widespread media circulation about her increased body weight, disappeared temporarily from the limelight and gained a reputation, for a while, as a "has-been."
Fans of the successful animated television series, Batman: The Animated Series, voiced suspicions that the reason that the direct-to-video feature Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998) was delayed was because of the Schumacher film. This, they contend, was because the Warner Brothers management knew it was superior to the live-action film and decided to delay it to prevent unfavorable comparisons to a film in which they had greater financial stake. This allegation, and the fact that the scenes that Batman fans generally thought were the best in the film were largely taken from the animated series, convinced many Batman fans that the Animated Series producers should have been responsible for the live action film series.
However, it has since been argued that the film's dismal failure was, in the long run, a boon for comic book films, as the comedic angle taken to the source material by the makers of the film was so unpopular that other filmmakers would be encouraged to treat the source material with more reverence in their own films. This attitude has led to successful and acclaimed film adaptations such as Blade (1998), X-Men (2000), Ghost World (2000), Spider-Man (2002) and Road to Perdition (2002)
Batman & Robin marked the end of the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher era of movies. The Batman franchise was relaunched in 2005, with Batman Begins, a much darker and more successful film both critically and financially ($366 million worldwide gross as of 09/04/2005) with no continuity to the Burton/Schumacher movies. George Clooney obviously did not intervene in the project and was succeeded by the much-younger Christian Bale, who was widely praised for his portrayal of both Bruce Wayne and his alter ego.
On October 18, 2005, Warner Bros released a new deluxe DVD for the movie with commentary by Schumacher. The commentary has gotten attention for Schumacher's candid comments on how he was forced to put in gadgets so the toy companies would have something to make, admits he went too far trying to make the movie kid-friendly and at one point, even flat-out apologizes for the entire film.
Trivia
- The Batman costume weighed 14.5 lbs.
- The Batgirl costume weighed 12 lbs.
- The Robin costume weighed 14 lbs.
- The Mr. Freeze costume weighed 75 lbs.
- Patrick Stewart and Sylvester Stallone were considered for the role of Mr. Freeze.
- A new form of light foam rubber was used to make the superhero costumes. This helped the costumes weigh less than on any other Batman film, but they ripped and tore very easily.
- Batgirl had a full-head costume designed for her much like Batman's (complete with pointy ears) in this movie, but it was rejected in favor of letting Alicia Silverstone's hair flow freely (except in one scene where she wears it as a crash helmet). Batgirl action figures designed for the movie reflect the full-head costume, before the toy makers were informed of the change.
- The sign on a club reads "The Head Room" just before the scene in which Alfred's computer likeness talks to Barbara in a manner resembling Max Headroom.
- Cast member John Glover also performs the voice of The Riddler in the animated Batman series.
- The disease "MacGregor Syndrome" was named after producer Peter MacGregor-Scott.
- During the scene where Batman and Robin bid for Poison Ivy, Batman pulls out his credit card. Its expiration date: FOREVER (a reference to Batman Forever (1995)).
- Dr. Jason Woodrue appeared in DC Comics as another plant themed super-villain, as himself and as The Floronic Man.
- Dr. Woodrue creates Bane with what he calls his "Super Soldier Serum." This is a reference to the origin of the Marvel Comics character Captain America. Created in the early 1940s (under Marvels' previous incarnation as Timely Comics), Captain America was Steve Rogers, a man too frail to enlist to fight in World War II. He agreed to subject himself to the Super Soldier Serum which heightened every ability and sense to the highest human limits. Of course, as these things go, the doctor who created the formula was promptly killed and Captain America would be the only Super Soldier. Despite Timely/Marvel having been a somewhat popular line at the time, Captain America was wildly successful, rivaling Superman, Captain Marvel, Batman, and Wonder Woman in popularity.
- George Clooney injured his lower leg playing basketball while shooting Batman and Robin. Because of this, he needed to cut the boot off of the Bat-suit in order to wear a cast. You can tell when his leg was injured from his limping while inside the freeze rocket.
- Director Joel Schumacher first realized that George Clooney would make a good Batman after drawing the famous cowl over Clooney's face in an advertisement for From Dusk Till Dawn (1996).
- In the original theatrical trailer, Mr. Freeze says the line, "Button up, boys. A storm is coming." That line is not present in the final film.
- Julia Roberts, Sharon Stone, and Demi Moore were all rumored to be in the running for the part of Poison Ivy, before Uma Thurman was cast.
- Joel Schumacher once said in an interview that if Arnold had not wanted to play Mr. Freeze, Sylvester Stallone was his second choice.
- When Batgirl sneaks off to the motorcycle contest, one of the gangs there are dressed like the main characters in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971). At the same time, the background song is "Fun for Me," performed by Moloko. Moloko is Nadsat (Alex de Large and his droogs' language) for Milk.
- In the evidence room at the prison where Freeze is held and before Bane breaks in, both the Riddler's and Two-Face's outfits can be seen.
- Pat Hingle (Commissioner Gordon) and Michael Gough (Alfred Pennyworth) are the only actors to appear in the first four Batman films.
- One of three movies to feature two future United States Governors acting in the same film: Jesse Ventura, elected Governor of Minnesota in 1998, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, elected Governor of California in 2003. The other two films were Predator (1987), and The Running Man (1987). All three of these movies featured Ventura and Schwarzenegger.
- The computer in Alfred's room is a 20th anniversary Macintosh built by Apple Computer.
- In an interview the cast members were asked what item from filming they would like to take home with them. Arnold Schwarzenegger said that he would be taking Mr. Freeze's armor, Uma Thurman said that she wanted Ivy's floral throne, Elle Macpherson said that she just wanted a cap or something with the "Batman & Robin" logo, and George Clooney said he wanted Elle Macpherson.
- During shooting, George Clooney visited his friends on the set of ER (1994) in full costume.
- On the 2-disc Special Edition DVD director Joel Schumacher apologized to fans who did not like the movie.
On DVD
Batman & Robin was given a "bare bones" DVD release when the medium was introduced in 1997-98. However, in 2005, the newest feature film, Batman Begins, spawned Warner Bros. to release a Two-Disc Special Edition set of all four Burton-Schumacher films in Batman: The Motion Picture Anthology 1989-1997.
Features of the second Schumacher film include:
- Digitally Remastered Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer
- English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Track
- English DTS 5.1 Surround Track
- Audio Commentary with Director Joel Schumacher
- Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Part 6: Batman Unbound
- Additional Scene: Alfred's Lost Love
- Beyond Batman Documentary Gallery Including:
- Bigger, Bolder, Brighter: The Production Design of Batman & Robin
- Maximum Overdrive: The Vehicles of Batman & Robin
- Dressed to Thrill: The Costumes of Batman & Robin
- Frozen Freaks and Femme Fatales: the Makeup of Batman & Robin
- Freeze Frame: The Visual Effects of Batman & Robin
- "The End is the Beginning is the End" Music Video by The Smashing Pumpkins
- "Foolish Games" Music Video by Jewel
- "Gotham City" Music Video by R. Kelly
- "Look Into My Eyes" Music Video by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
- The Heroes and The Villains Profile Galleries
- Batman & Robin Theatrical Trailer
References
- ^ "Batman & Robin". Metacritic. June 20.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=and|year=/|date=mismatch (help) - ^ "Batman and Robin". Box Office Mojo. June 20.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=and|year=/|date=mismatch (help) - ^ Ibid.
- ^ Bond, Jeff. Batman on Ice!. Film Score Monthly. June 27, 1997. Retrieved June 20, 2005.
- ^ Rainer, Peter. Batman on ice. Dallas Observer. June 19, 1997. Retrieved June 20, 2005.
- ^ Batman & Robin. Austin Chronicle. June 20, 1997. Retrieved June 20, 2005.