Best Shot: Any Batman Film (1966-2012)
Tuesday, July 15, 2014 at 10:00PM 
Hit Me With Your Best Shot returns from its June hiatus for a 75th celebration of the masked vigilante with a thing for winged rodents (here's the future schedule - next week is Under the Skin). We asked anyone who wanted to play to pick a theatrically released Batman film (there are 9 of them) and choose its best shot. Here's what the participants saw when they looked at these pictures.
Click on the photos to read the corresponding articles. It's the Same Bat-Time on Same Different Bat Channels.
BEST SHOTS IN BATMAN FILM FRANCHISE
29 images selected from 9 films by 17 participants
BATMAN (1966)
Directed by Leslie H Martinson. Cinematography by Howard Schwartz
(No Oscar nominations. Based on the television series which was nominated for 3 Emmys in its debut season... the movie was filmed between seasons 1 and 2)
Donald Trump wishes he were as self-important as Adam West’s Batman."
-Erik Lundegaard
Nothing is funnier in 60s era Batman than the OCD labelling of everything...
- The Film Experience
I always loved to see the villains team up...
-Coco Hits NY
Unlike the grandiose showdowns we see nowadays...
-Film Actually
The delightful absurdity is pretty much endless...
-Allison Tooey
BATMAN (1989)
Directed by Tim Burton. Cinematography by Roger Pratt
(Winner of Best Art Direction Oscar, its only nomination)
Tim Burton was a pretty clunky director back then...
-Coco Hits NY
BATMAN RETURNS (1992)
Directed by Tim Burton. Cinematography by Stefan Czapsky
(Nominated for 2 Oscars)
She reminds me of a cat in a pet store...
-Movie MoJoe *new participant*
Called to action, called to who he truly is...
-Pop Culture Crazy
Holy Split-Zygote does the Batman franchise ever love twins and doubles...
-The Film Experience
No denying its playful brilliance...
-Coco Hits NY
I’d use a jump rope as a whip and shout out, “4, 5, (crack) still alive!” when playing outside...
-Drink your juice, Shelby
Humanity behind the mask but still sinks her claws into the campiness....
-The Film's The Thing
The Catwoman scenes have that perfect balance of weirdness to seriousness...
-Allison Tooey
I was 3 when this movie came out...
- I Am Derreck
Selina's fractured identities...
-Lam Chop Chop
BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM (1993)
Directed by Eric Randomski & Bruce W Timm
(No Oscar nominations)
Iconic images are the very life's blood of superhero comics...
-Antagony & Ecstasy
Illustrates the burden that all heroes must bear...
-I Am Derreck
Edward Hopper meets German Expressionism...
-Coco Hits NY
BATMAN FOREVER (1995)
Directed by Joel Schumacher. Cinematography by Stephen Goldblatt
(Nominated for 3 Oscars including Cinematography)
Dr. Chase Meridian was an early influence on my choice to become a psychologist (Don’t give me that look.)...
- I Am Derreck
But hey it was nominated for a Cinematography Oscar
-Coco Hits NY
BATMAN & ROBIN (1997)
Directed by Joel Schumacher. Cinematography by Stephen Goldblatt
(No Oscar nominations but it did snag 11 Razzie nominations)
I think this is George Clooney's ass...
-I Am Derreck
Case in point...
-Coco Hits NY
How, you're no doubt asking, could something so terrible possibly be one of the most influential superhero movies ever made?
-Entertainment Junkie
Singlehandedly...
-Ben Choo *new participant*
BATMAN BEGINS (2005)
Directed by Christopher Nolan. Cinematography by Wally Pfister
(Nominated for 1 Oscar for Cinematography)
a silent guardian...
-I Am Derreck
THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
Directed by Christopher Nolan. Cinematography by Wally Pfister
(Nominated for 8 Oscars including Cinematography. Winner: Sound Editing and Supporting Actor)
The two technical elements that work best in this movie are the music and the lighting...
-Allison Tooey
Silent images in madhouse conversation...
- The Film Experience
It's all a shiny blur, except for the Joker...
-Zitzel Film *new participant*
Very poor choice of words...
- I Am Derreck
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)
Directed by Christopher Nolan. Cinematography by Wally Pfister
(No Oscar Nominations)
That smile. That shift in her body language...
-I Am Derreck
She transforms into Catwoman without even wearing her trademarked jumpsuit...
- The Film's The Thing
In the space of under 30 seconds, three personas...
-Paul Outlaw *new participant*
a single unifying plot point...
-We Recycle Movies
NEXT TUESDAY NIGHT:
Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin (2014) with Scarlett Johansson. It's a must-see just out on DVD/Blu-Ray so if you haven't ever played the 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot' game, why not start now?
Reader Comments (23)
I didn't know where to put this at the time, so I only e-mailed it in very late. But here was my entry for the week:
http://popculturecrazy.com/post/91898248707/hit-me-with-your-best-shot-batman-returns-i
It's my first time participating (and commenting on the site!), so please forgive my newbie-ness.
Yay!
Here's my late entry too: http://www.film-actually.com/2014/07/hit-me-with-your-best-shot-batman-movie.html
Here's my post: http://www.film-actually.com/2014/07/hit-me-with-your-best-shot-batman-movie.html
It's gonna take a while to read all these picks, but I love a lot of them already.
Also: so looking forward to Under the Skin next week!
i added you Kacey. thanks for joining!
i'm sad there wasn't a bigger turnout with such a wide open topic but what can you do. still a lot of fun articles!
Nathaniel - Wished I could join! Time just got away from me. No matter, I'm watching UNDER THE SKIN tomorrow! Can't wait to read everyone's entries for Batman though.
LOVE that 3 of 4 shots from DKR are of Hathaway!
Sorry I'm late, but there was no way I'm missing this one! You can find my three reviews at my journal, under the titles "Same Bat-Shot, Same Bat-review", "Land, Sea, and Air...I think we've got it covered," and "Dark Souls". This was a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to coming back and looking at the other shots.
Ooh, shot twins with The Film's The Thing!
But OH MY GOD. I didn't notice it until Pop Culture Crazy's pick that my Batman shot is from Batman Returns!! That's what i get for trying to be an overachiever. Excuse me while I go and voluntarily commit myself to Arkham Asylum.
Derreck -- still you did a lot of them!
Under the Skin is this year's Holy Motors. I dislike both films. Just because you're pretty and strange does not mean you're good when you have no story or purpose.
and i should add that i am happy to see two Bat-Ass shots lol.
Gah - I was too busy and missed the deadline! My shot is here: http://lamchopchop.blogspot.com/2014/07/batman-returns.html
I too am loving the Bat-ass shots :)
Pfeiffer's Catwoman for the win, always and pfforever.
That TDK shot of the Joker with his head out of the cop car and all the street lights in the background was insta-iconic the second is played in the theater. I remember being at the midnight showing in my hometown and you could hear the muted oohs and awes when that moment happened. And it's such a throwaway in the movie too. Still gives me chills.
Ugh, I cannot even with TDKR.
This was such a fun experiment that I had no time for! LOL But I have to come back next week for one of 2014's best films already. There's maybe a solid dozen contenders to chose from so I'll be really curious to see what people pick.
Lam - i added you. with your entry this week's episode ties with LA Confidential as the second most participated-in (somehow Eternal Sunshines, in first, more than doubled the usual number of participants)
I absolutely love that not only do "Drink Your Juice, Shelby" and I have the exact same shot of Catwoman, but we also both share stories of using a jump rope as a whip when we were kids. are parents must have been so proud...
and looks like derrick and I took Nathaniel's twin reference to the batman universe even further. but honestly, there could be no other moment from TDKR that could be the best. which is why I guess no one picked Marion Cotillard's laughable death scene...
Derreck, I feel the same way watching films... I always got sucked into to wanting to live the characters lives or careers. One of my favorite influences was Rene Russo in The Thomas Crown Affair.
Anyway, the one takeaway from Batman with Chase Meridian, was that I really wanted her Malaysian Dream Doll.
Abstew - I was fully prepared to include Marion's death scene as a runner-up but decided against it at the last minute. I love Marion as an actress but I don't know what the thought process was when it came to making that particular choice.
Bia - Chase and Frasier Crane were both early influences on me wanting to be a psychologist. They just seemed so knowledgeable and intelligent which is something i always hoped to be when I was growing up. :)
The Bat-Movies:
Batman: Gives Joker a clear backstory, something that no one does and makes The Joker the person who kills Bruce Wayne's parents, and makes Batman murderous, supposedly in the name of making something "visceral and satisfying." In reality, all it does is make you wonder if all he really wanted to do was make Punisher movies, couldn't get any other studio to sign off and acquire the rights, sighed and said "massively unreflective of modern character Batman movie here we come."
Batman Returns: Batman is still a joyously murdering piece of crap. If you really just wanted to make a couple of Punisher movies, Burton, then focus on other projects, sketch down your ideas and wait until people want to adapt comic book characters other than Batman and Superman.
Batman Forever: Okay, we finally have a Batman who's not KILLING PEOPLE, but, in exchange, we have an actor who looks way too old to be used for the Robin origin story ACTUALLY BEING USED for the Robin origin story. (Chris O'Donnell was 25 years old and looked it. Leo DiCaprio (the other top choice) was a 21-year-old who could pass for 15-16. (Older looking than ideal, but still plausible.))
Batman & Robin: The idea of a villain team-up is great...when the villains don't have completely incompatible goals. Sorry. The movie lives and dies with that.
Batman Begins: (Sigh) Rah's Al Ghul, the MORTAL. Rah, rah, fantasy is dead.
The Dark Knight: (Sigh) Smudging Makeup Joker. Rah, rah, we've put it in the bed.
The Dark Knight Rises: You Expect Realistic Law? Rah, rah, do you think we have a head?
I'm so bummed I was too lazy to participate in this! It *was* over my birthday weekend, though. Off the top of my head, I think I would have chosen the man-eating plant opening to reveal Poison Ivy in "Batman & Robin" (shut up, I was OBSESSED), the eerie shot in "Batman Returns" where Selina Kyle's eyeglasses make a shadow on her own face (in the scene where Max Shreck tries to kill her), or "Batman" when The Joker fakes that he's melting and says "Boo!" to Vicki Vale.
I am pleasantly surprised to see "Mask of the Phantasm" represented. It's much more existential and depressing than the Nolan films, and nobody realizes it because it's a cartoon.
Jakey -- well, join us next week then. I love the ideas of your fantasy picks though had you participated (i was also super into Poison Ivy at the time while recognizing that the movie and everything about it was kinda terrible)
GREAT POST! Those early images were hilarious...how far they have come since then ;) !!