With The Dark Knight just around the corner, the inevitable Batman marketing machine is in full effect. I’d hoped that all of the excitement for Christopher Nolan’s sequel might give Fox and Warner Brothers that extra push to resolve whatever issues are currently holding up the DVD release of the original 1966 Batman TV series. Unfortunately, it seems as though whatever rights issues they’re facing aren’t going away anytime soon. HOWEVER, there’s good news! Adam West’s legacy as the Bat hasn’t gone completely ignored! 20th Century Fox has released a brand new high-density Blu-ray re-issue of the original 1966 Batman: The Movie! Just in time for modern day comic fans to declare it ‘GAY’.

Although William Dozer’s production of Batman was a hit when it aired on television in ’66, it certainly polarizes today’s fans. Some appreciate the campy take on the caped crusader, recognizing the fact that the show is a great example of some intelligent, satirical humour. Others prefer their costumed super-heroes a little more dark and disturbed. Personally, I see merits in both representations of Batman, but I certainly have more fun watching Adam West and Burt Ward strapped to giant, ill-conceived, impractical death machines. There’s also a lot to be said about a hero who carries an assortment of aerosol Bat-sprays to combat multiple types of dangerous aquatic life forms.

This feature film spin-off, directed by Leslie H. Martinson, stays true to the spirit of the original series, but like any big-screen adaptation, slightly enhances the scale. Rather than a single villain, Batman: The Movie features the entire ‘Rogue’s Gallery’, including The Penguin, (the “pompous, waddling master of fowl play” as played by Burgess Meredith) The Joker, (the “clown prince of crime” as played by Cesar Romero) The Riddler (the “count of criminal conundrums” as played by Frank Gorshin) and Catwoman, (the “fiendish feline” as played by Lee Meriwether). The film also raised the overall stakes as the fiendish four turn the members of the United Nations into piles of coloured dust, thus threatening the ENTIRE WORLD! The exploding shark is pretty terrifying as well.

I’d have to say my favourite scene in the entire film is the giant bomb sequence. Batman and Robin infiltrate the villain’s secret hideout, which happens to be located on the second floor of a saloon.

Robin: When you think, Batman, with those 4 supercrooks hangin’ around, it’s amazing somebody hasn’t already reported this place to the police!
Batman: It’s a low neighborhood, full of rumpots. They’re used to curious sights, which they attribute to alcoholic delusions.
Robin: Gosh, drink is sure a filthy thing, isn’t it? I’d rather be dead than unable to trust my own eyes!

They quickly discover it’s a trap when Batman comes upon a giant, fizzling bomb waiting to blow them all away. He decides to dispose of the bomb, alerting the patrons of the saloon of the impending danger. (Watch as the two heavy set women in the foreground ignore his warnings, deciding instead to continue eating their chicken wings.) Batman runs along a populated pier, bomb raised above his head, looking for somewhere to throw it. As time runs out, he encounters every imaginable obstacle…a nun, a marching band, a woman pushing a baby carriage, baby ducks…until finally he mutters the line, “Some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb!”. Trust me, it’s classic. It’s all about the delivery. You really had to be there.

While some may question the point of releasing a fourty-plus year old Batman film in high density, the results speak for themselves. This film is a perfect example of the Blu-ray format’s ability at providing great colour representation; exploiting the vast palette of primary colours this film has to offer. The picture is crisp, the print is clean and there’s no sign of any sort of digital artifacting or banding. This is the next best thing to watching a projection of a brand-spanking new 35mm print. The disc also features uncompressed digital audio, but I’m not much of an audiophile. I’ll trust that it’s impressive. As for special features, all of the supplements from the previous standard DVD release have been ported over to this disc, plus a few interesting, albeit somewhat useless, interactive features. There’s a virtual tour of the Batmobile, and a ‘Batman on Location’ mapping feature that tracks the many shooting locations as you watch the film (most of which seem to be the same back lot, over and over).

Overall, this is a must-own for Batman fans and hi-density collectors. Batman: The Movie is the most fun you’ll have watching a grown man dressed as a bat run around a city with a young boy dressed as a… green, red and yellow… thing. — Jay C.

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