The original 1989 Batman film and the often less than stellar sequels (ugh, Schumacher) has been overshadowed by the 2000’s Nolan reboots, but Burton’s Batman features a remarkable art-deco version of Gotham and a haunted feel established by Michael Keaton’s Batman, played as a trauma survivor and someone capable of madness himself. Nicholson got all the accolades but it was Keaton who dug in and gave the Dark Knight a soul. If Batman isn’t a great film, it’s still not easy to forget.

–Conor Crockford

Batman
1989
dir. Tim Burton
126 min.

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