Batman: The Movie

This DVD was a great surprise. The extra features including trailers, commercials and the behind the scenes stuff were fantastic! One of my favorite extras is the info on the design and building of the original Batmobile. Very cool! With the designer himself - George Barris. (Who also did The Munster Mobile, Patridge Family Bus and Kitt from Knight Rider.) This movie was made while the series was actually on TV and geared for the summer movies as a filler to keep Batman hot for the next season. It worked. This is a fun movie. All the original villians are there! Cat Woman, the Joker, Penguim and The Ridler. All astonishingly played by the actors who made over-the-top acting a household delight! (Especially Cesar Romero and Frank Gorshin.) Of course, Adam West and Burt Ward were at their best! The story is simple but the Bat props and effects are great! I loved it and had a lot of fun watching it on the DVD. It was meant as a series of pure relief and entertainment and every actor in Hollywood at the time wanted to be a guest villian on this show - and they were! KA-POW!

I cant say anything bad about this 60s version of Batman! It was good for what it was meant to be and thats a light-hearted take on this character. While I have not seen the DVD version, I have seen this film on TV many times! Adam West is great as his version has influenced other versions of Batman including the darker versions with his stiff seriousness (though todays Batman isnt as funny). Burt Ward is the trusty sidekick and suitable for that era as Robin. That version, however, wouldnt work today as the relationship between Batman and Robin (which is often conflicted as it is cooperative) is actually more believable. As for the villians, they are the best of the best. With three actors that are no longer with us in the form of Ceasar Romero (The Joker), Frank Gorshin (The Riddler/who couldve easily played Jack Nicholsons Joker if he had been young in 1989) and Burgess Meridith (more popularly known as Mickey in the Rocky boxing films)! Lee Meridewith was okay as Catwoman but Julie Newmar and, later, Eartha Kitt were DEFINITELY better! One thing thats a personal note that Id like to get off my chest and thats the misconception that Adam West was the original Batman! WRONG! And even West himself will tell you that the character had been around since the late 30s and was NOTHING like the West version. In fact, the early Batman was more like the one we see now than the campier version. The one that West portrays came about due to the comics code that was implemented in the 50s to keep the U.S. Government from censoring them! Still, back to the movie, it is a fun trip down the 60s and I am sure the bonus track will be very enlightening to hear from Adam West and Burt Ward. On a final note, I will give this version of Batman credit for one thing. If not for the popularity of this version, the Batman that we know now may have never had the chance to be seen! In fact, even the creators the excellent Batman: The Animated Series admitted to being big fans of this version of Bats and even had Adam West as a guest star in the episode entitled Beware Of The Grey Ghost. I should also note that eppy is available on Vol. 1 of Batman: The Animated Series. They also patterned a lot of the humor in that series from this version of Batman (only not as campy). So, to Mr. West and to Mr. Ward, I say this to you. THANK YOU FOR THIS VERSION AND WHILE MANY DARK KNIGHT FANS FROWN AT THIS VERSION, THIS IS ONE DARK KNIGHT FAN THAT APPLAUDS AND APPRECIATES IT! ;)

Well since the same reviews show up for this and the HOLY special edition BATMAN of which I own 2 studio release copies, I wonder if this new Batman - The Movie (Special Edition) (1966) has anything different or just the studios way of getting more money for the same thing repackaged? Where is the series? Why are people able to transfer poor copies from the Action Network to dvd and sell when the studio has the masters? I know; let the buyer beware, but if fox doesnt get off the pot soon I may have to dig out my old vhs cassettes and transfer them myself, I am sure I could do a better job than what is out there, just need to find the time. back to the review- Does anyone actually have the new dvd? the one I have is 1.85:1 has audio commentary by adam and burt, has a tour of the batmobile, an all new featurette, still gallery, theatrical trailer & teaser, and the second copy I bought when best buy was dumping them for 6 bucks, a steal in my eyes. Anyway I will check back a day or two before they go on sale and if there is any info concerning something I dont already have I may have to buy it, if however it is just a way to get more money for the same ole thing... Now to echo my fellow collectors and batman connoisseurs- RELEASE THE 66-68 SERIES(save me the time)

This movie never gets old. I love Adam West. He will always be Batman to me.

I rented this for viewing with a Girlfriend and her two Grandsons ( 11 and 9 ). We watched it for about 45 minutes and they ( the boys ) got up and left the room. We watched it for a few more minutes and I got a peck on the Cheek and an at-a-boy for my effort. Just about then we heard some commotion coming from the other end of House. When we went to see what was going on the two Boys where play fighting like Batman and Robin. Im not kidding, their Mother went looking for the camera and said lets get a picture before they go back to their x-box. They tired out and wanted to watch it from the beginning, which we did. I had not watched this since I was their age ... this Movie is pure magic.

I saw this movie when it first came out in theatres. This movie never ceases to amaze me. Although the TV series was intended for youths, it did very well in the ratings amoungst adults - including myself ater it went into sydnication. I bought this DVD a few weeks ago and I still laugh at this campy movie. The DVD includes an additional track on the movie that a person can turn on that has Adam West and Burt Ward doing an audio commentary. Although I am much older now I still laugh at the silliness of this movie. Is there anything that Batman does not carry in his utility belt. And shark repellant (and other unlikely sprays) in a helicopter? Theres something you dont see every day but I strong recommend seeing this movie.

Batman, the movie is essentially a longer (just over an hour and a half) version of one of the very campy 1960s TV series episodes. It was actually filmed between seasons one and two of the show. It is basically a team-up between the series villains, Joker (Cesar Romero), Penguin (Burgess Meridith), Catwoman (Lee Merriweather, who took over for an unavailable Julie Newmar), and Riddler (Frank Gorshin). Of course, they try to lure Batman into a trap, part of which includes kidnapping Bruce Wayne. Like the TV show, the movie is very campy and tongue-in-cheek. The two most memorable scenes are probably Batman running around trying to dispose of a huge bomb without endangering anything from puppies to nuns (my Torts professor in law school could have easily made an exam question out of that), and the shark repellant scene. Of course, the 60s series is totally different from any recent versions of Batman which make the character very dark and violent. But, given the time in which the show aired, that is what they could get away with and they were not going to change the tone of the movie to be inconsistent with the show. For those who get the special edition Blu-Ray, the extras include two commentary tracks on the movie. One by the screenwriter, and a great one with Adam West and Burt Ward, who are pretty hilarious. Then there are a series of featurettes, the main one titled Batman: A Dynamic Legacy, which is a 30-minute retrospective on the impact of the series. Then there are separate features on the heroes and the villains of the show, and a feature on the Batmobile. It also includes the featurette from the original 2001 DVD release that contained interviews with the surviving cast members. So, if you like watching the extras, there is a lot there for you. Overall, you have to go into this knowing what it is and what it is not. If you are not a fan of the 60s TV show, then watching this is going to be a waste of time. It has the same cheesy, campy tone, and the plot makes as much sense (or does not) of any of the plots in the TV episodes. It is funny in parts, eye-roll inducing in other parts, and you have to know you are not getting anything close to The Dark Knight version of the character. While the movie does look and sound pretty good in HD, I would not say it got an over-the-top restoration like some older movies have, so really the main reason to get the Blu-Ray over streaming it is for the extras, because you have the tv series on disc, and/or just a preference for physical media. If you are in one of those categories, it is a good pickup.

I enjoyed this movie, but held off on buying the DVD until

The one and only Adam West as Batman. It’s Batman & Robin vs the Four Supervillains (The Joker, The Riddler, The Penguin and The Catwoman). Batman: The Movie was produced by William Dozier and directed by Leslie H. Martison for 20th Century Fox Studio also have behind the scenes features. Batmania in 1966 caught the world by storm and it was a phenomenal success.