Batman: The Movie (1966)

The key things to know about the DVD are:

1) The colors jump off the screen, it is a great transfer

2) The featurette with Adam West (Batman) and Burt Ward (Robin) is good, though they cover a lot of the same ground in the commentary

3) The Batmobile feature is very cool

4) The commentary is awesome. Adam and Burt have a great chemistry and really seem to love both the movie and the show. Their tongues are firmly in their cheeks druing the commentary (Adam West's views on Bruce Wayne alone are worth the price of admission), but you will learn about the production and such secrets as:

Why did ABC tear down the Batcave so quickly after cancellation?

What did Burt Ward really think about the BatCycle?

How and why did Lee Meriweather get to play Catwoman?

Why did Adam and Burt have to spend two hours each week getting oxygen at the Fox infirmary?

The team at Fox had a lot of love for this movie and it shows. Buy this DVD and get Fox to release some series episodes with Adam, Burt, Julie Newmar (Catwoman) and Frank Gorshin (Riddler)doing commentary!

Who knew that the campy 1960s' take on the dark superhero Batman would age so well? 39 years later, "Batman: The Movie" still is wholly enjoyable even for the most adrent Batman fan.

The plot of the film is paperthin. Batman (Adam West) and his sidekick, Robin (Burt Ward), are out to thwart the four most dangerous villians in Gotham: Catwoman (Lee Meriwehter), The Joker (Cesar Romero), The Penguin (Burgess Meredith) and The Riddler (Frank Gorshin, who recently left us, sadly) from taking over Gotham. To lure Batman into a trap, they kidnap Batman's secret identity, Bruce Wayne. This is more or less all the plot there is. There's also somehing about destroying people with a dehyrdator, but other than that, there's no real plot. And that's the film's charm.

It's a great piece of 1960s' nostalgia. The "holy (insert random word or phrase here), Batman" schtick is still hilarious, and the cast is clearly enjoying themselves. The extras for the dvd are surpisingly enjoyable. The commentary is awesome and the other extras deliver, but it's the movie that is really worth watching.

Buy Batman: The Movie (1966) Now

I'm old enough to recall the 1966 previews, aired on ABC, for a mid-season replacement series based on the longstanding comic hero, "Batman". The trailer just hinted at what the show was about: a masked crime fighter, driving a souped-up car unlike anything coming out of Detroit, and a mystique that served to pique interest in the series.

But, when the show hit, it hit BIG! Wednesday and Thursday nights were its domain, having hold on the 7:30 8:00 time period for two of its three years aired.

This disc is the film adaptation of the series, made during the first year hiatus, as explained by stars Adam West and Burt Ward in the DVD's commentary. The movie features the same supporting cast, as did the series (Neil Hamilton as "Commissioner Gordon," Stafford Repp as "Chief O'Hara," and Alan Napier as devoted manservant "Alfred"). Also rounding out the cast are frequent "guest villains" Frank Gorshin ("The Riddler"), Caesar Romero ("The Joker"), Burgess Meredith ("The Penguin") and new "Catwoman" Lee Meriweather, who replaced Julie Newmar, unavailable due to previous theatrical commitments.

The movie also has the series' trademark comic book action "sounds" ("POW!" "BANG!" "ZOWIE!" et. al.), the gaudy colors (brought to life in vivid Technicolor), the crazy sound effects, and the tongue-in-cheek dialogue and winks that made the show so cool.

Speaking of the color, I couldn't help but be taken as to how great the set pieces look, even those "recycled" from other shows filmed on the Fox lot. As one whose household didn't get a color set until after the show's end, this DVD allows me to see what I had been missing. Granted, I did have the View Master reel set of the show but it was just an "appetizer" to how "Batman" really looked on screen.

Best of the DVD extras is a four-minute "visit" with George Barris, the designer of The Batmobile. It's not long on info, but any chance to look at what is perhaps the best "ride" to come across the big or small screen is cause for celebration.

Read Best Reviews of Batman: The Movie (1966) Here

If you love all things BATMAN then you'll enjoy this childish adventure. If you already own the previous DVD you do not need to buy this...there is nothing new to offer. It is a reissue in a new box...all the content is the same...down to the transfer!

Want Batman: The Movie (1966) Discount?

I admit that this review is entirely biased, myself being a huge fan of the 1960's Batman television series. Anyone who is less than a hardcore fan will likely be either bored, disgusted, or render utterly apathetic by the film's conclusion. Granted, the complete lack of any sort of character development or serious plot developments does tend to grate on the length of the film only 90 minutes, but seems like ages as the Dynamic Duo sprint from escapade to escapade. For the fan, however, the movie is a near-perfect representation of the series. Gratuitously campy? Certainly. Ridiculously buffoonish dialogue? Of course. Who would have it any other way? The Boy Wonder and Caped Crusader do an admirable job of acting (for their parts, that is), and, although Julie Newmar is disappointingly absent, the Rogues Gallery of Villains (Villains? There were others? Admit it, you spent the whole time staring at Newmar's replacement, Lee Meriweather, as Catwoman), stacked with original series actors Burgess Meredith, Caesar Romero and Frank Gorshin, is superb in their comic evil. Really 3.5 stars due to its inacessability to non-Batman-addicts, the movie is still very enjoyable to hardcore fans of the original series.

Save 24% Off