Review Detail
9.2 7 10
Overall rating
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
9.0
Great minds think alike, they say. And I'll be inclined to agree: this cut of Batman '89 was made way before SilentPete knew about my own edit "Batman: Descent Into Mystery" (remember that ancient thing?) and much less watched it, yet there's an incredible number of things that we did exactly or almost exactly the same. Objectives, character tweaks, reordering of scenes, specific solutions to certain problems, even additions. There was an incredible overlap. SilentPete and myself are pretty much on the same page regarding this film.
Not that I've done everything the same, of course, and in fact I didn't. For my tastes this one cut a little bit too much of Joker enjoying himself, which for me it's a major part of the fun but those who prefer more restrained versions of the character might appreciate this approach. Also, Batman's killer side mostly stays, as the editor opted for keeping more action in the story instead of sacrificing it to comic book accuracy. Just as valid, of course.
But the big issues and the approach to them are pretty much the same: no Bruce/Vicki romance, no Joker killing the Waynes, no Prince music video in the museum, no Alfred letting Vicki into the Batcave, none of that baloney. Also, if you thought my cut was short, this one is 80 minutes! Talk about fast pacing! Impossible to get bored watching it.
My own edit, being old as dust, is still SD, so until the day I decide to make it available on HD (maybe, maybe...) this is the closest thing to it. And it does look absolutely beautiful for an upscaled DVD source (with the added benefit of sparing us the godawful color regrade and replaced sound FX of the more modern releases). As for the content itself, it will depend on the viewer to prefer one or the other. For me, despite not completely matching my vision, it's a really great alternative, and one that makes me feel reaffirmed in that it seems my ideas weren't actually so bad after all...
Not that I've done everything the same, of course, and in fact I didn't. For my tastes this one cut a little bit too much of Joker enjoying himself, which for me it's a major part of the fun but those who prefer more restrained versions of the character might appreciate this approach. Also, Batman's killer side mostly stays, as the editor opted for keeping more action in the story instead of sacrificing it to comic book accuracy. Just as valid, of course.
But the big issues and the approach to them are pretty much the same: no Bruce/Vicki romance, no Joker killing the Waynes, no Prince music video in the museum, no Alfred letting Vicki into the Batcave, none of that baloney. Also, if you thought my cut was short, this one is 80 minutes! Talk about fast pacing! Impossible to get bored watching it.
My own edit, being old as dust, is still SD, so until the day I decide to make it available on HD (maybe, maybe...) this is the closest thing to it. And it does look absolutely beautiful for an upscaled DVD source (with the added benefit of sparing us the godawful color regrade and replaced sound FX of the more modern releases). As for the content itself, it will depend on the viewer to prefer one or the other. For me, despite not completely matching my vision, it's a really great alternative, and one that makes me feel reaffirmed in that it seems my ideas weren't actually so bad after all...
D