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Topic: SE DVDs (Read 7571 times) |
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Will
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Re: SE DVDs
« Reply #15 on: Oct 20th, 2005, 07:10am » |
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Haven't finished with either commentary but, from what I listened to for the first film and the docs, the answer would be no.
Oh, other than his thinking that Kim Basinger was a welcome presence that is. B89 would be so much better with Sean Young -- the structure is wonderful, but the casting for Vale hinders.
The commentary is insightful. Burton's comment about the opening titles resonates; Batman as a mystery explored in the film is summed up in the credit sequence -- drop down, track through a shadowy maze that's truth or form is only at the end revealed. Matches the psychology and overall underpinnings of the film as a whole in its narrative progression and character exploration.
It elegantly tells us what the film is about and the way in which it intends to handle its subject. Another inspired example of a multi-layered visual statement.
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| « Last Edit: Oct 24th, 2005, 05:10am by Will » |
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Nick
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Re: SE DVDs
« Reply #16 on: Oct 20th, 2005, 1:55pm » |
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They don't hit the shores of England until Monday  . I will start with Returns, and I may get Batman '89 if the student budget allows. The rest are beneath me  .
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Will
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Re: SE DVDs
« Reply #17 on: Oct 20th, 2005, 5:41pm » |
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Kevin Smith is really worthless on these DVDs. Absolutely nothing of interest to say -- though I about died laughing when he said "anybody could wear the bat suit; I could have worn that suit". Ugh. What a dick. Totally missing the point of Keaton's casting. (and no, you could NOT have pulled that suit off, Kev)
Denny O'Neil, I'm sorry to say, is deadly dull as well. Despite all the praise for the documentary on Batman's overall history, I was highly unimipressed -- easily the weakest doc for either film. I already knew all the information that was accurate, and what was inaccurate grated highly -- when will Bill Finger get proper credit for his contributions? He was the damned co-creator!
Too many of the comic book guys either point out the obvious or don't seem to get the depth of this character -- listening to Denny O'Neil and Dan DiDio talk about how Batman is "intelligent" and has "no superpowers" is unbelievably boring and uninsightful; so mind-numbingly evident as to be pathetic considering the overt point of these interviews (as ideal but not reality in these cases). How short-sighted and lifeless it is in the description of Batman to hear these guys say that Bruce Wayne is "empty" (not verbatim, but that was the point) and the irony unmentioned in the fact that Burton didn't go this route with the film. Here's a hint: a character in conflict with himself is more interesting. Go figure.
The actual writers of the two films and Burton are very interesting in their descriptions of the psyche of the character. It's a stark contrast, and I think it's basis can be found in the fact that this group was concerned with investigating the character instead of leaden orthodoxy/statement as comes from the other side.
And where was Harlan Ellison? I know he loved Burton's original (don't know about Returns), and he makes brief appearances on the overall history of Batman, but one of the guys that could actually bring some added interest is sadly missing in action overall -- instead we get abundant appearances from Kevin Smith, so self-satisfied while having absolutely nothing credible to share. What irony that a guy Tim Burton can't stand is on discs dedicated to two of his movies.
The discs are awesome overall, but many on the comic book side are poor representatives. There were exceptions -- such as Mignolia, Miller, Bolland -- but the fanboyish emptiness of many others is disappointing to witness; that Kevin Smith perfectly fits in with many of these guys does not speak well of them. As usual, the more I listen to O'Neil the less impressed I am.
The lack of intellectual exploration and accuity reminds me of a Bible thumper that thinks it blasphemous to question the holy text, thus leaving us with people who have no real insight as far as what they protect with such zeal. Such circular idiocy. That's a cliche that comic book nuts get saddled with rightly, and the disturbing part is that the people talking about the character on portions of these featurettes are selfsame to that.
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| « Last Edit: Oct 21st, 2005, 07:01am by Will » |
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dudelovebaby
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Re: SE DVDs
« Reply #18 on: Oct 20th, 2005, 10:22pm » |
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GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR 
Schumacer says he tried to make B&R kid friendly while drawing from Frank Miller. Hey Schufuker, SHOVE IT!
EDIT: I'm sorry I couldn't stand it anymore. I turned it off during the museum opening. I can't handle this shit. Burton here i come buddy!
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| « Last Edit: Oct 20th, 2005, 10:25pm by dudelovebaby » |
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dudelovebaby
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Re: SE DVDs
« Reply #19 on: Oct 22nd, 2005, 12:46am » |
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YES! BURTON CONFIRMED MY THEORY ON BATMANS REDUCED SCREENTIME! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
He wanted to keep to the dark aspects of the character to the point where even the audience starts to think he's an urban ledgend. Oh yeah take that purists!!!!!!
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Chaos
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Re: SE DVDs
« Reply #20 on: Oct 22nd, 2005, 1:20pm » |
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I got Begins in the post Tuesday.
I've already watched it twice already
The extras were pretty good. They basically told you what you wanted to know......though i'd like to have seen more about the casting
Not gonna bother with any of the others though
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Nick
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Re: SE DVDs
« Reply #21 on: Oct 22nd, 2005, 1:29pm » |
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The DVDs aren't out until Monday, but for some reason one shop had them on the shelf so I picked up Batman 89 and Returns! Begins and the Schumacher films sucked so I avoided those.
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Will
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Re: SE DVDs
« Reply #22 on: Oct 23rd, 2005, 07:36am » |
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The Robin storyboard sequence was hilariously bad. Especially loved the part where Alfred just happened to be in the neighborhood to throw Batman his costume -- which he magically changed into while on horseback.
The Begins' special fetaures feel weaker and more cobbled together. There's no doubt that a more 'special' special edition will come sooner or later.
The Denny O'Neil story in in the free comic is typical -- make Batman look as sane and logical as possible. Takes the Miller study scene and drains the madness and desperation from it.
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midLfinger
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Re: SE DVDs
« Reply #23 on: Oct 23rd, 2005, 11:47am » |
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For the people talking about Begins: Is that the regular edition or the Deluxe Edition. I know the Deluxe Edition is two disks and has a cooler cover but what's the difference between the two? Just more special features? If so what are they?
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dudelovebaby
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Re: SE DVDs
« Reply #24 on: Oct 23rd, 2005, 6:16pm » |
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There's the widescreen edition, which is just the movie.
The special edition which is a two disc set and
The collectors edition which is excatly the same as the special edition except it comes with the movie's soundtrack.
That's in Australia, I'm not sure about U.S.
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Will
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Re: SE DVDs
« Reply #25 on: Oct 24th, 2005, 05:04am » |
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For the Deluxe Edition:
* Available Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
* Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
* MTV's Tankman Begins: a spoof
* Inner Demons comic: Explore the special features through an exclusive interactive comic book
* The Journey Begins: creative concepts, story development and casting
* Shaping Mind and Body: Christian Bale's transformation into Batman
* The Tumbler: reinvention of the Batmobile
* Gotham City Rises: production design of Gotham City, the Batcave, Wayne Manor, and more
* Saving Gotham City: the development of miniatures, CGI, and effects for the monorail chase scene
* Genesis of the Bat: A look at the Dark Knight's incarnation and influences on the film
* Confidential files: Go beyond the movie and discover facts and story points not in the film
* Theatrical trailer
* Cape and Cowl: the new batsuit
* Path to Discovery: filming in Iceland
* Confidential files
* Character/weaponry gallery
* Photo gallery
* DVD-ROM features: Batman Begins mobile game demo & Web links
* Exclusive collectible 72-page comic book containing: Detective Comics #27 (the very first Batman story), Batman: The Man Who Falls (a classic story that inspired Batman Begins), and an excerpt from Batman: The Long Halloween (a chilling story that also inspired the film)
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Will
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Re: SE DVDs
« Reply #26 on: Oct 24th, 2005, 05:14am » |
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Of the above, the features highlighted are where the main course is. The rest feels mostly like filler, and the interactive comic book especially is a tactic to distract from the less than overwhelming scale of the second disc.
* The Journey Begins: creative concepts, story development and casting
* Shaping Mind and Body: Christian Bale's transformation into Batman
* The Tumbler: reinvention of the Batmobile
* Gotham City Rises: production design of Gotham City, the Batcave, Wayne Manor, and more
* Saving Gotham City: the development of miniatures, CGI, and effects for the monorail chase scene
* Cape and Cowl: the new batsuit
* Path to Discovery: filming in Iceland
The rants of the comic dweebs (really, they are) on the Genesis featurette are as lousy as the notably bad contributions on the Burton discs from this same quarter -- though this is even worse, as it turns into a commercial about halfway through.
I had fun with the art galleries as well; I really loved some of the concept art that they never used. The files don't particularly interest me -- dealing with Batman, his allies, his weapons and the villains -- but you may differ on that; as far as it goes, I have so little interest that I've hardly read through them. They seem slim and perfunctory, adding little to nothing from my perspective -- easy to slap together and label a "feature", though, which is the point more than anything one suspects.
I think it's a pretty decent package, but it's easy to see that a better version will come at some point.
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| « Last Edit: Oct 24th, 2005, 08:40am by Will » |
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Will
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Re: SE DVDs
« Reply #27 on: Oct 24th, 2005, 5:39pm » |
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on Oct 22nd, 2005, 1:29pm, Nick wrote:| The DVDs aren't out until Monday, but for some reason one shop had them on the shelf so I picked up Batman 89 and Returns! Begins and the Schumacher films sucked so I avoided those. |
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Did your BR DVD have the commentary? I heard the R2 DVDs are screwed up.
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Nick
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Re: SE DVDs
« Reply #28 on: Oct 24th, 2005, 6:35pm » |
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on Oct 24th, 2005, 5:39pm, Will wrote:| Did your BR DVD have the commentary? I heard the R2 DVDs are screwed up. |
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I have not found the commentary, I'll take a look now. B89 Certainly has one.
I have just checked and there is no commentary, the box states there is but there is no option on any menu, and the disk does not even contain the audio track. I am considering importing the R1 release because apparently the BBFC cunts censor Batman Returns and I hate censorship! They wont disclose what is censored though, they just say...
"When submitted to the BBFC the work had a running time of 121m 13s.
To obtain this category cuts of 0m 7s were required. The cuts were Compulsory.
Cut required to remove a potentially dangerous imitable technique, in accordance with BBFC Policy and Guidelines and the Video Recordings Act, 1984."
I assume this is perhaps when the Penguin bites the guys nose because that's really quick. It sickens me that they feel they have the right to butcher the art of another man; if I went to the Tate Gallery and cut a chunk out of a painting I would be put in jail. What they do is no better.
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| « Last Edit: Oct 24th, 2005, 6:42pm by Nick » |
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dudelovebaby
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Re: SE DVDs
« Reply #29 on: Oct 24th, 2005, 6:47pm » |
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The Deluxe Edition is exactly the same as the Special Edition. Except we're missing the MTV thing. Otherwise we've giot everything.
Souzie and the Banshee's video = WTF 
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