Jack Nicholson played The Joker as he was designed: an insanity realized through jokes and deadly pranks. The later Joker's are just tragic figures brought about by circumstances outside their control. Nicholson's was a little unhinged and deadly to begin with, the jokes just came out after he realized he'd live life looking like a clown.
joker was originally a genius chemist, who just happened to look like a clown, but went through a ton of rewrites and different artists before he turned into the version you described
To me, Jack Nicholson was the only real Joker. BECAUSE HE PLAYED HIM LIKE IN THE COMICS. Period. Sure there have been fascinating Jokers, but the only one that came close was Leto. And he was mostly psycho. But he could make a joke or play around. The rest...
Or alternatively, modern jokers just end up being generic slasher movie serial killer clown and forget the “clown prince of crime” title should have a certain level of theatrics and wit to it
Fun fact: according to DC canon, there have been three Jokers. Which is one for each of the eras, golden age Joker (Nicholson), silver age Joker (from the tv series) and modern age Joker (Heath Ledger)
“He looks like just a regular dude” That’s what some have said made his portrayal so good, he’s just a normal guy and thus the Bat could be anyone. He’s not super ripped or super tall, he’s very average.
Yeah, it always got me how everyone wants a 6 ft 5 roided up batman. Because you just go, with batman having some sort of money, "how many billionaire bodybuilders do we have in Gotham? Oh, wait only Bruce Wayne, he must be Batman"
We're all so desensitized to the "Thomas Martha killed in the alley" scene, but remember... This was the first time we ever saw it! It never happened in the 60's tv show or any cartoon.. Just in the comics themselves. This was the scene that inspired the countless versions you've seen since!
@byronicman The first episode of the 1960s Batman television show does have Bruce mention to guests that his philanthropic charity work is in honor of his parents were killed by criminals (or a criminal. It has been awhile since I saw the episode. So I am not certain if his statement was singular or plural).
@@pauld6967 that may be true, but i'm talking about the actual visual scene of them in the ally getting shot in front of the kid bruce.. 89 was the first time we actually saw it on screen.
@@byronicman Fair point, you did say "we ever saw it" but I took the next next sentence to be covering the fact of their death being his motivation. Whoops. 🙂
Jack's face wasn't hit by acid before he fell into the vat of chemicals. When Batman blocked the bullet, it ricocheted off a piece of machinery and shot Jack in the face, right through his cheeks which are then the basis of his facial scars.
@@TuxKamen I don't think the glass could do that kind of damage. You can hear and see the bullet ricochet, and the wounds on his face are exactly where the "smile" would be. It looks to be two wounds made by the bullet, not much else. But yeah, the glass is probably more noticeable than the bullet, especially because the effects for this bit are not great. It looks more like they are pantomiming a real ricochet.
The scene of the Joker continuing to laugh even in death really edged itself into my memory as a kid, and was my one core memory of this film. Jack Nicholson killed it as the Joker, he's genuinely psychotic and sadistic, but in a very entertaining way that you can't tear your eyes away from.
I also really miss the Joker being the ultimate prank/trickster. He didn't always resort to death. They got that really well in the prologue of Dark Knight where you think Joker's gonna blow up that bank manager but it ended up being just a gag smoke bomb. Every incarnation of Joker now is way too serious. Even that new Joker in The Batman seems like they're gonna treat him as some scarred freak. I just want the zany Joker who's got a great laugh and enjoys messing with Batman/Gotham.
Alfred is the REAL superhero. The man makes Bruce Wayne’s meals, cleans the mansion, keeps tabs on important events for him all during the day by himself it appears. Then all night he helps him with his Batman intel on the computer, makes sure all his equipment is taken care of, and stitches up Batman’s wounds. This old man appears to never sleep and never once complains about it MVP of all tim
In all fairness, I recall it being mentioned (in later versions at least, possibly in the earlier ones, and Definitely in the cartoon) that Alfred was originally an agent of MI-6 or SAS, so it's not exactly surprising that he's EXCEPTIONALLY capable, and is able to not only adopt a persona and basically fake being a benign individual, but also while capable of handling many tasks.
Showing my age here, but Keaton is my favorite Batman. A guy who dresses up like a bat to fight crime in the night is not all there in the head, and Keaton does that so well. And Jack Nicholson as The Joker? Forget it. Love this movie.
"Ever dance with the Devil in the pale Moon light?" This was the best Batman and the best joker. Because it was the first to take it dark...and still comic. Everything else is what it is. Not taking anything away from them
in the original vhs version of this movie, you couldn't see the joker's face in the dark until he brings it into the light which makes it that much better
Well, to be fair the early Batman did kill if I remember correctly (the comic version I mean) and it was just changed later to not killing and just getting them super in debt via medical bills. xD
@@NephritduGrey yes, exactly. the early versions of Batman did indeed kill. in fact, that was his routine method of disposing of enemies. As one example, he was shouting "Death to Dr. Death!" as the aforementioned Dr. Death burned to death in his lab in a fire that Batman himself helped start. Early Batsy also was known to punch henchmen and villains onto swords, out windows, off ledges, etc. so if you ever have an impulse to take the character "back to his roots", this sort of thing is what you'll find for Batman.
@@elzibiel The 'killing' version of Batman was quickly done away with in the 40's. I rewatched this movie on 4K blu-ray recently with a great sound system and it was a pretty awesome movie, but I didn't remember there being so many deaths. Heck, it's rated ages 6 and up where I live. And it wasn't just the Joker killing others, but Batman also had no problems killing whenever necessary. I'm not sure if there's other iterations of Batman that have no problems killing others than very early comic and this one. There probably are a few. I'm talking about versions that have no problems killing criminals even if he could spare them, not versions that end up killing someone under specific circumstances.
@thenonexistinghero No it wasn't done away with quickly. Batman's inspired from pulp and noir genre, he's supposed to kill and use guns. It persisted throughout the Golden Age of comics until in the late 50s when the new Comic Code concerned about kids reading comic books about superheroes using violence and arms banned all killing and guns in comics and dumbed down all the seriousness of the stories. This gave rise to the Silver Age Batman we see Adam West playing in the '60s as well as Filmation's Superman and Batman cartoons and HB's Super Friends. Even though the comics in the late 70s (Bronze Age) got back to exploring Batman's roots and general seriousness of comics was brought back, the graphic novel Batman TDKR and this movie (Burton's main basis being the Golden Age pulp, noir and gothic hero) established the modern interpretation of the character.
This interesting detail that’s been pointed out in this movie: First, Jack meets Bruce; then Batman meets Jack; Joker and Batman briefly meet; then Joker meets Bruce; then finally, Batman Vs Joker.
"Wait! Billy Dee Williams was Harvey Dent?" "Yeah...(sigh) Yeah..." 😆 11:25 Something that not everyone catches about this scene is that he's imitating his former boss, played by Jack Palance. Palance did a lot of creepy inhales when speaking his lines. He also called Jack (Joker) his "(deep inhale) num-ber-onnne guyyyy".
This is probably my favorite joker out of all the versions of the life action Jokers. Solely because there has to be in my opinion a contrast between Joker and Batman Batman ironically being the darker one and joker ironically being the much lighter sillier one. In this tackles it very very wonderfully, we don’t need to have a “ Society doesn’t like me therefore I kill everybody” sort of backstory, or a reason to kill, in this version he just kills because he finds it funny. And he personally thinks that he is absolutely gorgeous so he should make everybody else the same just like him. And Jack Nicholson did it wonderfully
The money the Joker is "giving away" during the parade is actually counterfeit money with his face on the bills(It's Funny "Joker" Money). This is foreshadowed earlier in the movie during the Art gallery scene. The counterfeit money reveal was cut from the theatrical release, but is on the comic book version.
While Heath Ledger turned in a remarkable performance in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight," his Joker was so dour, so morose that the clown facade became utterly ironic. Ledger's Joker brought the menace, certainly. But in so doing, he became a villain whose greatest super power was the ability suck the fun out of literally anything. In contrast, what was so great about Jack Nicholson’s Joker-and Cesar Romero before him-was the blend of mirth and mayhem they brought. Those guys were living large, breaking all the rules, and loving every minute of it! I’ll take Romero and Nicholson over Ledger any day of the week.
Jack Nicholson is by far my favorite Joker. The look, the voice, the laugh. Perfect. I always loved the comic book Joker feel, and seeing this for the first time around 2000, I fell in love with this Joker.
I’ve always interpreted it as “this man killed my parents, and because of me he became a worse monster, no more holding back” after he finds out the truth.
22:33 The whole idea of the pearl necklace breaking was actually invented by Burton and shown first in this movie. The comics only first showed it about two years after this film. PS. Expensive pearl necklaces are actually designed so that knots are tied between each pearl so that if a necklace does break, almost all of the pearls will stay in place and not be lost all over the ground.
Yeah, those scenes always bug my wife because real pearls wouldn't do that. My solution is that because they were going to a dicey area of the city, she wore cheap fakes that night instead. Hurray for head canon 😆
25:20 rofl still one of my favorite payoffs is Bob, the ever-loyal henchman getting offed by his own gun XD I still remember being in grade school when this came out and joking with others about Bob opening layer after layer of body armor to lend Joker a gun and getting point blank blasted, a hilarious end from a Joker pov
23:00 - 23:30/ The young Jack Napier was a British actor named Hugo Blick. His wide grin and receeding hairline were a perfect match for portraying a young Joker. Casting Nicholson led to that great plot twist, seeing how the actor is a generation older than Keaton. I believe the low pitch effect on Blick's voice was to cover his British accent. Blick eventually went on to become a director for many projects produced by the BBC.
And let’s not forget that Jack Nicholson was in the original black and white movie ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. This Blick guy reminded me of that movie. Eerily similar, those two.
@@mikehorrocks2909 And another bit of irony regarding LSOH. Look carefully at the tools the plastic surgeon showed Jack in BATMAN. Look familiar? Those were the exact same prop tools seen at the dentist's office in the 1987 remake of LITTLE SHOP OF HORROR. Must have been easy to access since the remake AND Tim Burton's BATMAN were both filmed at Pinewood Studios in England!
Keaton's Bruce Wayne does look pretty normal and unassuming, that's why I always found he was the best Batman because if you met the guy, you'd never suspect him of being Batman. It works very well for me.
If I recall correctly, Nicholson actually wore two layers of makeup for the scene where he kills the guy with the joy buzzer and then wipes his face. He had the white makeup on, with a different type of "flesh-tone" makeup layered over top of that which was designed to be easier to wipe off with the rag, thus revealing the white color beneath it. They did it that way to ensure that it looked like the white "skin" was under the makeup instead of painted on top. His weird grin was a prosthetic, meanwhile.
11:14 btw. Yes, I was about to comment that as well. I think I once saw a "behind the scenes" where they explained that the flesh toned paint was kind of "swimming" on a watery layer that had been applied to the white paint before. Must have been hard to create, but it ensured that there was no white paint on the handkerchief beforehand.
The best batman in my opinion! Biased in that i was 8 when it came out, saw it in a packed theater, and saw the whole world go batman crazy on our way into the 90's! It was so huge ... every food chain had movie related merchandise, toys, cups, ect.. There were fully costumed batmans in shopping malls and other public gathering places to draw out fans. Prince was already a legend at that point and his music for the movie was on the radio constantly! It was just such a great period of time! The Nolan films were cool and Bale (and Ledger) were terrific. But my generation already had 2 of the best super hero film adaptations ever put to screens, so the remake never really resonated with me.
Yeah, it’s sad. Billy Dee Williams initially signed on as Harvey Dent knowing full well that the character would be Two-face. as a young kid while unhappy with the casting choice ,I was ultimately curious on how he would be two-face. And then the studio just scraped it.
DC just published a limited series called Batman ‘89 where the original screenwriter, Sam Hamm, came back to tell the story of how that universe’s Harvey became Two-Face. We got a Robin out of it, too!
Nicholson will always be my go to live action Joker. Ledger played an amazing psychopath, but it was really missing, as you guys pointed out, the clown aspect. This portrayal was the Golden Age comics Joker, which will always be the perfect blend of psycho, clown, and master criminal.
Completely agree, i miss the bleached skin , the party gag items , the jokes ... now Joker is just insane but not funny anymore . Jack Nicholson and Mark Hamill made me laugh but could also frighten me , my 2 favorite Jokers 🃏
The other actor who naturally has a great Joker smile is Willem Dafoe! Sadly he might be a bit old for the role now, but I'd still love to see him do it.
Good call! Willem Dafoe would be a great older Joker. Sure, people still remember him as the Green Goblin from Spider Man, but hey, the guy who plays Captain America used to be the Human Torch (although most of us like to erase that from our memories). Maybe if they did a live action of Batman Beyond, taking place in the future where Bruce Wayne is older and had to pass the Batman torch on to a younger guy.
The guy who plays Eckhart is the same guy who plays Porkins in Star Wars Episode IV and the same guy who plays the government stooge in Raiders of the Lost Ark (at the end of the movie he’s the one who says “Top people”.)
This is the first movie I can remember having 2 soundtrack albums; Danny Elfman’s and Prince’s. The henchman with the boom box was always playing Prince, who recorded an entire album just for this movie.
When this movie came out, my mum had gone and rented it for me to watch after school on a friday, I was 8 and it's still one of my favourite movies! Keaton is my batman for sure.
For anyone growing up in the 80's that theme song IS the Batman theme song, they even use a version of it in the opening of Batman the Animated Series.
The scene where Joker wiped his forehead was actually a makeup effect. Jack had full white on his face then it was covered by a grease paint that could be wiped off. The only catch was they had to get the scenes done quickly otherwise the second layer would start to drip off.
I don’t care what anybody says this is my all time favorite Batman film. Probably because it’s what first introduced me to Batman as a little kid. Animated series was huge back then too and was always on tv after school. Best times man
6:15 "Gordon... has changed..." I watched this in a theater in Phoenix, AZ. These characters are forever stuck in my mind as the archetypical Batman characters. I did watch the Adam West Batman (1966) comedic series as a kid (and have a Burt Ward [Robin] autographed picture from an appearance I attended) but I mean from the serious side. (There were A LOT of top-tier stars who wanted to appear in that 1966 series, like it was a badge of honor.) At the same time I was watching the Adam West Batman I was also watching Star Trek on first run.
I remember going to see this in theaters when I was 11 years old. Totally by happenstance; we ran into one of my friends from elementary school. (Michael Oxford, if you're out there - it's been a while, man!) I remember when the title screen popped up we both looked at each other grinning, with an "OOOH!" as it played. Such a great movie.
Jack Nicholson's laugh is contagious, it's the sort of laugh where, if someone told you not to laugh and you tried to suppress it for too long, that's what you'd get. When he starts laughing, you can't help but laugh too.
We had this on VHS growing up, and my brother and I used to watch this sooo many times. Michael Keaton is such an awesome Batman, but both our favorite character was The Joker. The character was so funny to us that in certain scenes he had us both on the floor in stitches. We were kids, so we were focused more on how funny he was rather than the fact he was a complete psychopath. I also like that this Joker does not wear clown makeup, rather he was disfigured and the chemicals he fell into turned his skin white and his hair and fingernails green (fingernails are actually made of keratin, the same as hair, so it makes sense).
I actually don't think Batman & Robin was a bad film in a vacuum. Not perfect, but good campy fun. Same with Forever. The problem really was trying to be a continuation of the Burton ones, which to he fair are campy in their own wonderful way but in a different kind of way, and the giant tonal and aesthetic shift is what makes it hard to watch the four films as one series.
Tim Curry almost got the job as the Joker but he was deemed *too scary.* Nicholson made a boatload off of this movie because he took a percentage of the box office instead of a straight up pay cheque. The crime ally scene was so good that it became accepted cannon; even the necklace breaking has been reprised in other Batman films.
Love the old 89 Batman. I was 7 when it came out and it was like once in a lifetime moment. Cos before was only the 66 version. And no Batman besides that and comics. No cartoons...nothin. its hard to describe. Its like seeing something new for the first time that took the theater by storm. It was as big or bigger than Avengers coa this movoe set the way for these movies.And when i first saw it i was hooked.best Batman ever
When Nicholson introduces himself as The Joker, it's interesting though natural that everyone (younger generations) are focusing on him. And yet there in front of them, (the man Nicholson kills) is one of the most iconic bad guys in cinema history: the smooth as silk gunfighter Wilson from the classic Shane (1953). How the decades roll.
Michael Keaton's Batman and Batman Returns are by far my favorites. Best acting as Wayne/Batman, hands down. And Nicholson's Joker was both terrifying and *fun* - no social-agenda or "message," but a true psycho who "makes art until someone dies."
One thing to keep in mind, Harley Quinn wasn't created until three years after this movie was released. She was created for Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, debuting in the 8th episode and only made her way to the comics afterward. That series is also the reason why I always read Joker dialogue in Mark Hamill's voice. Then again, my favorite joker was Cesar Romero's joker. I do think Mark Hamill did the best Joker voice by far, though.
God, this movie still kicks wholesale ass, I still turn to a nonplussed pet while I'm having the Ha-Ha's and shout, *_"WHATTA YOU LAUGHIN' AT?!"_* to their disdain.
Hahahaha, I've seen this maaany times. And also watched many reactions, but this was by far the best. Fresh takes and good energy. Please keep this up lads! 😁😎✌️
I had a tough time finding a summer job this one year - and I ended up working in a movie theater. I got to walk in on all the best scenes in this movie many, many, many times every day.
15:17 - You nailed what's wrong with this movie; they were paying Jack Nicholson so much money - and he was so great, as usual - that they kept adding Joker scenes. You don't root for bland Batman; Keaton and Basinger don't have any of the chemistry that Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder had in the Superman movies. I'm a huge Nicholson fan - he's the main reason I went to see this in the theatre when it came out - but even I thought there was way too much Joker in this movie. It threw off the entire balance. They needed to cast someone more powerhouse to play Batman, someone Nicholson's equal. Even De Niro gets "outacted" by Nicholson in the only movie they did together ("The Last Tycoon", not a great movie).
Saw this on premiere night in the theater that my favorite comic book store (the dragons lair) rented out. Doesn’t get any nerdier then that. Best Batman movie ever
Tim Burton's direction to Jack Nicholson in this film: "Alright Jack, I need you to act in a mixture of zany and unhinged, so what you need to do is... you know what? Just be yourself, you've got this."
I love this because of Michael Keaton and the Prince music that got included. One of my favorite Prince albums.❤️I saw this in the theater when it premiered. It was fantastic.
I can see inside the hall of justice. Batman to wonder woman, "Hey where did you get those bullet proof gauntlets?" 🤔 "Do they have any in black ⚫ 🤔 ?"
Jack Palance pops up in movies so randomly, I half expect him to appear in new movies even though he’s been dead for more than 15 years as of this post.
Jack's Joker was actually funny. The others have had their moments, but since Ledger there hasn't been much attempt to have the Joker be, you know, funny. Also, on the Joker's makeup, they actually had to create a base makeup that they could put the foundation on top of so when he wiped it, the white would remain and only the foundation would wipe off.
A bit late but that line that the Joker said about Bob being his number one guy was a tribute to Jack Palance (the jokers old boss that he killed). Jack Palance used that line on the movie "Tango and Cash" with Stallone and Kurt Russell.
This batman and Batman Returns my 2 favorite movies ever made. Nobody can ever be better rheb Michael Keaton,Jack Nicholson,Michelle Pfeiffer and Danny Devito 🔥❤️🙂
Michael Keaton stated he was really nervous about working with Jack Nicholson as, even back then, the guy was such a powerful presence in film. It was a relief to Keaton to find Jack was such chill guy, and they became good friends.
About the the scene where the Joker wipes the foundation off... The white paint on his face is actually underneath the foundation he wipes off. They just came up with a formula that stayed on even when he wiped the "skin tone". Also, the make up artists left a smudge on the Joker's neck when he revealed himself to Grissom. They never even edited it out when they made the 4k reissue.
Am I the only one who is bothered by the fact that Walmart sells Batman shampoo, but there is no Conditioner Gordon??
LOL.
Jesus christ hahaha 😂
I agree! Not to mention the exfoliating Two-Face wash?
OOOOOH RIM SHOT!
Omg xD awesome
Napier immediately after being dipped in acid: "I'm a clown guy, now!"
Bob: *shrugs and orders new jackets and an array of deadly joke props in bulk*
fun fact the cop show Nash in 80s-90s had the actor that play Bob in it he was nick named angel because of his angel wings in the show
Jack Nicholson played The Joker as he was designed: an insanity realized through jokes and deadly pranks. The later Joker's are just tragic figures brought about by circumstances outside their control. Nicholson's was a little unhinged and deadly to begin with, the jokes just came out after he realized he'd live life looking like a clown.
joker was originally a genius chemist, who just happened to look like a clown, but went through a ton of rewrites and different artists before he turned into the version you described
To me, Jack Nicholson was the only real Joker. BECAUSE HE PLAYED HIM LIKE IN THE COMICS. Period. Sure there have been fascinating Jokers, but the only one that came close was Leto. And he was mostly psycho. But he could make a joke or play around. The rest...
Or alternatively, modern jokers just end up being generic slasher movie serial killer clown and forget the “clown prince of crime” title should have a certain level of theatrics and wit to it
@@xhagast 'Waah, I'm a purist nerd.' Cool, who asked?
Fun fact: according to DC canon, there have been three Jokers. Which is one for each of the eras, golden age Joker (Nicholson), silver age Joker (from the tv series) and modern age Joker (Heath Ledger)
Speaking of "getting the henchmen shit down" in this movie, Bob the Goon even got his own action figure. How's that for loyalty?
I still have that figure with the action kick leg. Unfortunately, I lost the hat. It still haunts me to this day😔
Bob was the best, until Harley stole the spotlight.
Tracy Walter (Bob the Goon) made an entire career as a second banana. He appears in SO many films!
This is what inspired Batman: The Animated Series with Kevin Conroe at Batman and Mark Hamill as the Joker.
The true Dynamic Duo IMO
i'm 100% positive kevin conroe was never batman in any series.
@@chriswright8114 *Conroy
And now Michael Keaton is coming back as Batman in the new flash movie
“He looks like just a regular dude”
That’s what some have said made his portrayal so good, he’s just a normal guy and thus the Bat could be anyone. He’s not super ripped or super tall, he’s very average.
Yeah, it always got me how everyone wants a 6 ft 5 roided up batman. Because you just go, with batman having some sort of money, "how many billionaire bodybuilders do we have in Gotham? Oh, wait only Bruce Wayne, he must be Batman"
He is an average made all well man that wants to do right by his city and fight crime.
The Golden Age Bat-Man from 1940.
Exactly.
We're all so desensitized to the "Thomas Martha killed in the alley" scene, but remember... This was the first time we ever saw it! It never happened in the 60's tv show or any cartoon.. Just in the comics themselves. This was the scene that inspired the countless versions you've seen since!
@byronicman The first episode of the 1960s Batman television show does have Bruce mention to guests that his philanthropic charity work is in honor of his parents were killed by criminals (or a criminal. It has been awhile since I saw the episode. So I am not certain if his statement was singular or plural).
@@pauld6967 that may be true, but i'm talking about the actual visual scene of them in the ally getting shot in front of the kid bruce.. 89 was the first time we actually saw it on screen.
@@byronicman Fair point, you did say "we ever saw it" but I took the next next sentence to be covering the fact of their death being his motivation. Whoops. 🙂
Jack's face wasn't hit by acid before he fell into the vat of chemicals. When Batman blocked the bullet, it ricocheted off a piece of machinery and shot Jack in the face, right through his cheeks which are then the basis of his facial scars.
Yeah, someone pointed that out earlier too. Our mistake! At the time, we thought the ricochet bullet hit a tank of acid and it sprayed on him.
@@NiceDudeMovieNight Well it was also shot kind of oddly. Today's special effects would probably depict that better today.
I always thought it was the glass from the machinery that flew into his face and pierced his cheeks. Maybe a combination of both that and the bullet?
@@TuxKamen I don't think the glass could do that kind of damage. You can hear and see the bullet ricochet, and the wounds on his face are exactly where the "smile" would be. It looks to be two wounds made by the bullet, not much else. But yeah, the glass is probably more noticeable than the bullet, especially because the effects for this bit are not great. It looks more like they are pantomiming a real ricochet.
The scene of the Joker continuing to laugh even in death really edged itself into my memory as a kid, and was my one core memory of this film. Jack Nicholson killed it as the Joker, he's genuinely psychotic and sadistic, but in a very entertaining way that you can't tear your eyes away from.
I also really miss the Joker being the ultimate prank/trickster. He didn't always resort to death. They got that really well in the prologue of Dark Knight where you think Joker's gonna blow up that bank manager but it ended up being just a gag smoke bomb.
Every incarnation of Joker now is way too serious. Even that new Joker in The Batman seems like they're gonna treat him as some scarred freak. I just want the zany Joker who's got a great laugh and enjoys messing with Batman/Gotham.
So you're basically saying.... why so serious? Mwhahahahahahaha
@@dylanfarnum4121 bingo lol
I trust Matt Reeves to make us a Joker that's both a freak And a clown
So you didn't read the comics, spoiler alert, Joker beats one Robin to a pulp with a crowbar.
Yeah, they're really taking the clown out of the Joker.
Alfred is the REAL superhero. The man makes Bruce Wayne’s meals, cleans the mansion, keeps tabs on important events for him all during the day by himself it appears. Then all night he helps him with his Batman intel on the computer, makes sure all his equipment is taken care of, and stitches up Batman’s wounds. This old man appears to never sleep and never once complains about it MVP of all tim
Alfred is embezzling millions from Bruce Wayne and hiding it away in foreign bank accounts.
In all fairness, I recall it being mentioned (in later versions at least, possibly in the earlier ones, and Definitely in the cartoon) that Alfred was originally an agent of MI-6 or SAS, so it's not exactly surprising that he's EXCEPTIONALLY capable, and is able to not only adopt a persona and basically fake being a benign individual, but also while capable of handling many tasks.
Showing my age here, but Keaton is my favorite Batman. A guy who dresses up like a bat to fight crime in the night is not all there in the head, and Keaton does that so well. And Jack Nicholson as The Joker? Forget it. Love this movie.
My favorite too. Everyone talks about Nicholson (and he deserves it), but Keaton is perfect in the role
"Ever dance with the Devil in the pale Moon light?" This was the best Batman and the best joker. Because it was the first to take it dark...and still comic. Everything else is what it is. Not taking anything away from them
Loved this as a kid. I wore out my video cassette watching it over and over.
I remember the VHS had the Diet Coke commercial where Alfred was calling the store to let them know Batman was coming to pick up some Diet Coke.
“Just for the taste of it, Diet Coke”. I still love that commercial and drink diet coke because of it
@@mikenice2567 Also don't forget your Warner Bros ballcap
@RemyJackson You can’t watch a Warner Bros movie without a Warner Bros ball cap
@@mikenice2567 th-cam.com/video/XmhvN01SGWo/w-d-xo.html
Seemed so trivial at the time, but now I miss them
in the original vhs version of this movie, you couldn't see the joker's face in the dark until he brings it into the light which makes it that much better
Danny Elfman’s theme remains my favorite superhero soundtrack! It’s so good
"Batman doesn't kill" Batman killed 17 people in this movie.
additionally
"batman doesn't use guns"
batman uses several dozen armor piercing gatling guns in almost every batman film
Well, to be fair the early Batman did kill if I remember correctly (the comic version I mean) and it was just changed later to not killing and just getting them super in debt via medical bills. xD
@@NephritduGrey yes, exactly. the early versions of Batman did indeed kill. in fact, that was his routine method of disposing of enemies. As one example, he was shouting "Death to Dr. Death!" as the aforementioned Dr. Death burned to death in his lab in a fire that Batman himself helped start. Early Batsy also was known to punch henchmen and villains onto swords, out windows, off ledges, etc. so if you ever have an impulse to take the character "back to his roots", this sort of thing is what you'll find for Batman.
@@elzibiel The 'killing' version of Batman was quickly done away with in the 40's. I rewatched this movie on 4K blu-ray recently with a great sound system and it was a pretty awesome movie, but I didn't remember there being so many deaths. Heck, it's rated ages 6 and up where I live. And it wasn't just the Joker killing others, but Batman also had no problems killing whenever necessary.
I'm not sure if there's other iterations of Batman that have no problems killing others than very early comic and this one. There probably are a few. I'm talking about versions that have no problems killing criminals even if he could spare them, not versions that end up killing someone under specific circumstances.
@thenonexistinghero No it wasn't done away with quickly. Batman's inspired from pulp and noir genre, he's supposed to kill and use guns. It persisted throughout the Golden Age of comics until in the late 50s when the new Comic Code concerned about kids reading comic books about superheroes using violence and arms banned all killing and guns in comics and dumbed down all the seriousness of the stories. This gave rise to the Silver Age Batman we see Adam West playing in the '60s as well as Filmation's Superman and Batman cartoons and HB's Super Friends. Even though the comics in the late 70s (Bronze Age) got back to exploring Batman's roots and general seriousness of comics was brought back, the graphic novel Batman TDKR and this movie (Burton's main basis being the Golden Age pulp, noir and gothic hero) established the modern interpretation of the character.
lol @24:04 look how happy Bob is dancing alongside Joker
This interesting detail that’s been pointed out in this movie: First, Jack meets Bruce; then Batman meets Jack; Joker and Batman briefly meet; then Joker meets Bruce; then finally, Batman Vs Joker.
"Wait! Billy Dee Williams was Harvey Dent?"
"Yeah...(sigh) Yeah..."
😆
11:25 Something that not everyone catches about this scene is that he's imitating his former boss, played by Jack Palance. Palance did a lot of creepy inhales when speaking his lines. He also called Jack (Joker) his "(deep inhale) num-ber-onnne guyyyy".
This is probably my favorite joker out of all the versions of the life action Jokers. Solely because there has to be in my opinion a contrast between Joker and Batman Batman ironically being the darker one and joker ironically being the much lighter sillier one. In this tackles it very very wonderfully, we don’t need to have a “ Society doesn’t like me therefore I kill everybody” sort of backstory, or a reason to kill, in this version he just kills because he finds it funny. And he personally thinks that he is absolutely gorgeous so he should make everybody else the same just like him. And Jack Nicholson did it wonderfully
The money the Joker is "giving away" during the parade is actually counterfeit money with his face on the bills(It's Funny "Joker" Money). This is foreshadowed earlier in the movie during the Art gallery scene. The counterfeit money reveal was cut from the theatrical release, but is on the comic book version.
While Heath Ledger turned in a remarkable performance in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight," his Joker was so dour, so morose that the clown facade became utterly ironic. Ledger's Joker brought the menace, certainly. But in so doing, he became a villain whose greatest super power was the ability suck the fun out of literally anything. In contrast, what was so great about Jack Nicholson’s Joker-and Cesar Romero before him-was the blend of mirth and mayhem they brought. Those guys were living large, breaking all the rules, and loving every minute of it! I’ll take Romero and Nicholson over Ledger any day of the week.
If you didn't have fun with Heath's Joker, you probably are a sane person. And that's a tragedy.
@@grabble7605 Heath Legers Joker was by FAR the worst Joker ever
Agreed
Jack Nicholson is by far my favorite Joker. The look, the voice, the laugh. Perfect. I always loved the comic book Joker feel, and seeing this for the first time around 2000, I fell in love with this Joker.
I’ve always interpreted it as “this man killed my parents, and because of me he became a worse monster, no more holding back” after he finds out the truth.
22:33 The whole idea of the pearl necklace breaking was actually invented by Burton
and shown first in this movie. The comics only first showed it about two years after this film.
PS. Expensive pearl necklaces are actually designed so that knots are tied between each pearl
so that if a necklace does break, almost all of the pearls will stay in place and not be lost all over the ground.
Yeah, those scenes always bug my wife because real pearls wouldn't do that. My solution is that because they were going to a dicey area of the city, she wore cheap fakes that night instead. Hurray for head canon 😆
Wrong. The scene is taken from Frank Miller's BATMAN YEAR ONE which came out in 1987, two years before this movie.
@@stonebaxter Almost. We first see the pearls in The Dark Knight Returns . . . yet one more year earlier than Year One
25:20 rofl still one of my favorite payoffs is Bob, the ever-loyal henchman getting offed by his own gun XD I still remember being in grade school when this came out and joking with others about Bob opening layer after layer of body armor to lend Joker a gun and getting point blank blasted, a hilarious end from a Joker pov
23:00 - 23:30/ The young Jack Napier was a British actor named Hugo Blick. His wide grin and receeding hairline were a perfect match for portraying a young Joker. Casting Nicholson led to that great plot twist, seeing how the actor is a generation older than Keaton. I believe the low pitch effect on Blick's voice was to cover his British accent. Blick eventually went on to become a director for many projects produced by the BBC.
And let’s not forget that Jack Nicholson was in the original black and white movie ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. This Blick guy reminded me of that movie. Eerily similar, those two.
@@mikehorrocks2909 And another bit of irony regarding LSOH. Look carefully at the tools the plastic surgeon showed Jack in BATMAN. Look familiar? Those were the exact same prop tools seen at the dentist's office in the 1987 remake of LITTLE SHOP OF HORROR. Must have been easy to access since the remake AND Tim Burton's BATMAN were both filmed at Pinewood Studios in England!
@@JoseMorales-lw5nt oh damn. How did I miss that?!? Good eye man!
Michael Keaton accidentally let his Betelgeuse out there for a second.
Yes! Love Beetlejuice, great movie from my childhood, as well, and I watched the animated series. These guys should do Beetlejuice one day.
Keaton's Bruce Wayne does look pretty normal and unassuming, that's why I always found he was the best Batman because if you met the guy, you'd never suspect him of being Batman. It works very well for me.
You wouldnt even expect him to be bruce wayne too apparently🤔
If I recall correctly, Nicholson actually wore two layers of makeup for the scene where he kills the guy with the joy buzzer and then wipes his face. He had the white makeup on, with a different type of "flesh-tone" makeup layered over top of that which was designed to be easier to wipe off with the rag, thus revealing the white color beneath it. They did it that way to ensure that it looked like the white "skin" was under the makeup instead of painted on top. His weird grin was a prosthetic, meanwhile.
11:14 btw. Yes, I was about to comment that as well. I think I once saw a "behind the scenes" where they explained that the flesh toned paint was kind of "swimming" on a watery layer that had been applied to the white paint before. Must have been hard to create, but it ensured that there was no white paint on the handkerchief beforehand.
The guy who drew the cartoon for Knox the reporter is Bob Kane, who was the co-created Batman.
Ha! That’s awesome
No, it was not. :(
It wasn't, but the art was by Kane.
The best batman in my opinion! Biased in that i was 8 when it came out, saw it in a packed theater, and saw the whole world go batman crazy on our way into the 90's! It was so huge ... every food chain had movie related merchandise, toys, cups, ect.. There were fully costumed batmans in shopping malls and other public gathering places to draw out fans. Prince was already a legend at that point and his music for the movie was on the radio constantly!
It was just such a great period of time! The Nolan films were cool and Bale (and Ledger) were terrific. But my generation already had 2 of the best super hero film adaptations ever put to screens, so the remake never really resonated with me.
I was also 8 when this came out. What a great summer!
Yeah, it’s sad. Billy Dee Williams initially signed on as Harvey Dent knowing full well that the character would be Two-face. as a young kid while unhappy with the casting choice ,I was ultimately curious on how he would be two-face. And then the studio just scraped it.
He got the chance to voice Two Face in The Lego Batman Movie, so it's not all bad!
If Billy Dee Williams became Two-Face, would he both black and white?
Just a thought.🤔
DC just published a limited series called Batman ‘89 where the original screenwriter, Sam Hamm, came back to tell the story of how that universe’s Harvey became Two-Face. We got a Robin out of it, too!
@@keithmays8076no. two face is normal face and disfigured face.
@@philwill0123 so was Michael Jackson
Nicholson will always be my go to live action Joker. Ledger played an amazing psychopath, but it was really missing, as you guys pointed out, the clown aspect. This portrayal was the Golden Age comics Joker, which will always be the perfect blend of psycho, clown, and master criminal.
Completely agree, i miss the bleached skin , the party gag items , the jokes ... now Joker is just insane but not funny anymore . Jack Nicholson and Mark Hamill made me laugh but could also frighten me , my 2 favorite Jokers 🃏
The other actor who naturally has a great Joker smile is Willem Dafoe! Sadly he might be a bit old for the role now, but I'd still love to see him do it.
Good call! Willem Dafoe would be a great older Joker. Sure, people still remember him as the Green Goblin from Spider Man, but hey, the guy who plays Captain America used to be the Human Torch (although most of us like to erase that from our memories). Maybe if they did a live action of Batman Beyond, taking place in the future where Bruce Wayne is older and had to pass the Batman torch on to a younger guy.
The universe would implode.
If they ever did the Dark Knight Returns, Dafoe could totally play joker
I love how with "LET'S GET NUTS" Michael Keaton just randomly goes Beetlejuice for a few seconds 😂
Easily one of the best reaction videos I have ever seen
The guy who plays Eckhart is the same guy who plays Porkins in Star Wars Episode IV and the same guy who plays the government stooge in Raiders of the Lost Ark (at the end of the movie he’s the one who says “Top people”.)
This is the first movie I can remember having 2 soundtrack albums; Danny Elfman’s and Prince’s. The henchman with the boom box was always playing Prince, who recorded an entire album just for this movie.
Bob is so reliable he even got his own movie tie-in toy. I'm dead serious.
What?! Where is it?!
When this movie came out, my mum had gone and rented it for me to watch after school on a friday, I was 8 and it's still one of my favourite movies! Keaton is my batman for sure.
I was in Jr. High when this came out and all the kids wore Batman T Shirts. It was like a style of it's own because they looked cool.
To this day my favorite Batman Joker Batmobile Music Score and Movie
For anyone growing up in the 80's that theme song IS the Batman theme song, they even use a version of it in the opening of Batman the Animated Series.
Now you guys got to do them all for sure!! PLEASE!
I love your guys' appreciation of Bob. He deserved better 😂
The scene where Joker wiped his forehead was actually a makeup effect. Jack had full white on his face then it was covered by a grease paint that could be wiped off. The only catch was they had to get the scenes done quickly otherwise the second layer would start to drip off.
This is why this is my 1st best joker....the portrayal is comic book academy award...you wouldn't hit a guy with glasses lol....
I don’t care what anybody says this is my all time favorite Batman film. Probably because it’s what first introduced me to Batman as a little kid. Animated series was huge back then too and was always on tv after school. Best times man
6:15 "Gordon... has changed..." I watched this in a theater in Phoenix, AZ. These characters are forever stuck in my mind as the archetypical Batman characters. I did watch the Adam West Batman (1966) comedic series as a kid (and have a Burt Ward [Robin] autographed picture from an appearance I attended) but I mean from the serious side. (There were A LOT of top-tier stars who wanted to appear in that 1966 series, like it was a badge of honor.)
At the same time I was watching the Adam West Batman I was also watching Star Trek on first run.
This the best Batman movie to me.
A much better live watch than Popcorn in Bed
They totally bonked this one
Gad, what an enjoyable reaction! You guys appreciate this movie like I do.
No one could have played joker as good as Jack did. He's a legend
Him looking like a regular person is what makes his portrayal special adds duality
Rewatching this movie for the 80th time I just now realized that Lawrence is the guy that falls through the floor in the church
I remember going to see this in theaters when I was 11 years old. Totally by happenstance; we ran into one of my friends from elementary school. (Michael Oxford, if you're out there - it's been a while, man!) I remember when the title screen popped up we both looked at each other grinning, with an "OOOH!" as it played. Such a great movie.
that museum scene is god tier level acting and performance, I love it. That scene is so awesome. And I mean come on, it's Prince!
Nice touch with the audio. When young Jack lets go of the gun's hammer after he says "See ya around, kid.", the clicks echo and sound like a laugh.
Jack Nicholson's laugh is contagious, it's the sort of laugh where, if someone told you not to laugh and you tried to suppress it for too long, that's what you'd get. When he starts laughing, you can't help but laugh too.
We had this on VHS growing up, and my brother and I used to watch this sooo many times. Michael Keaton is such an awesome Batman, but both our favorite character was The Joker. The character was so funny to us that in certain scenes he had us both on the floor in stitches. We were kids, so we were focused more on how funny he was rather than the fact he was a complete psychopath.
I also like that this Joker does not wear clown makeup, rather he was disfigured and the chemicals he fell into turned his skin white and his hair and fingernails green (fingernails are actually made of keratin, the same as hair, so it makes sense).
“I saw the George Clooney one as a kid more-“
Bud, do we gotta call CPS? A therapist? Someone did you dirty-
L o l
Nah, fam. We need a priest, cause that was an unholy abomination taht should never have been greenlit
Honestly, Clooney was not a bad pick to play Bruce/Batman, but the script was so utterly horrible...
No it was just a period where cable would run certain movies over and over.
I actually don't think Batman & Robin was a bad film in a vacuum. Not perfect, but good campy fun. Same with Forever. The problem really was trying to be a continuation of the Burton ones, which to he fair are campy in their own wonderful way but in a different kind of way, and the giant tonal and aesthetic shift is what makes it hard to watch the four films as one series.
This was my me and my dad's favorite movie. Hes no longer with us, but i think of him whenever I watch it.
Tim Curry almost got the job as the Joker but he was deemed *too scary.*
Nicholson made a boatload off of this movie because he took a percentage of the box office instead of a straight up pay cheque.
The crime ally scene was so good that it became accepted cannon; even the necklace breaking has been reprised in other Batman films.
I thought that was about the animated series with Mark Hamill as the Joker, not the movie.
But Jack Nicholson has like the creepiest smile of any person ever.
Tim Curry is scared of clowns....there were no mirrors allowed when he was in costume for IT.....
Love the old 89 Batman. I was 7 when it came out and it was like once in a lifetime moment. Cos before was only the 66 version. And no Batman besides that and comics. No cartoons...nothin. its hard to describe. Its like seeing something new for the first time that took the theater by storm. It was as big or bigger than Avengers coa this movoe set the way for these movies.And when i first saw it i was hooked.best Batman ever
I was 9 I went from 60s Batman to this and was blown away.
When Nicholson introduces himself as The Joker, it's interesting though natural that everyone (younger generations) are focusing on him. And yet there in front of them, (the man Nicholson kills) is one of the most iconic bad guys in cinema history: the smooth as silk gunfighter Wilson from the classic Shane (1953). How the decades roll.
0:08 I didn't particularly grow up with it, I've seen it alot as like a kid....
My fave fact is bob is played by jack nicholsons irl best friend who he asked to be put in the movie so hed have someone to discuss sports with lol
Michael Keaton's Batman and Batman Returns are by far my favorites. Best acting as Wayne/Batman, hands down. And Nicholson's Joker was both terrifying and *fun* - no social-agenda or "message," but a true psycho who "makes art until someone dies."
joker in comics never about agenda or message, he is scary because he is a trickster and dont need motive for some killing fun
The guy playing Eckhart played Perkins in Star Wars: A New Hope
One thing to keep in mind, Harley Quinn wasn't created until three years after this movie was released. She was created for Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, debuting in the 8th episode and only made her way to the comics afterward. That series is also the reason why I always read Joker dialogue in Mark Hamill's voice. Then again, my favorite joker was Cesar Romero's joker. I do think Mark Hamill did the best Joker voice by far, though.
My favourite line is Joker’s “Beauty and the beast. Course anyone else calls you beast, I’ll rip their lungs out.”
God, this movie still kicks wholesale ass, I still turn to a nonplussed pet while I'm having the Ha-Ha's and shout, *_"WHATTA YOU LAUGHIN' AT?!"_* to their disdain.
Hahahaha, I've seen this maaany times. And also watched many reactions, but this was by far the best. Fresh takes and good energy. Please keep this up lads! 😁😎✌️
i love when he calls the pearls "white beads"
I had a tough time finding a summer job this one year - and I ended up working in a movie theater. I got to walk in on all the best scenes in this movie many, many, many times every day.
15:17 - You nailed what's wrong with this movie; they were paying Jack Nicholson so much money - and he was so great, as usual - that they kept adding Joker scenes. You don't root for bland Batman; Keaton and Basinger don't have any of the chemistry that Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder had in the Superman movies. I'm a huge Nicholson fan - he's the main reason I went to see this in the theatre when it came out - but even I thought there was way too much Joker in this movie. It threw off the entire balance. They needed to cast someone more powerhouse to play Batman, someone Nicholson's equal. Even De Niro gets "outacted" by Nicholson in the only movie they did together ("The Last Tycoon", not a great movie).
Saw this on premiere night in the theater that my favorite comic book store (the dragons lair) rented out. Doesn’t get any nerdier then that.
Best Batman movie ever
"Nobody's using beauty products." EXCEPT HARVEY DENT.
This will always be my Batman/Joker duo, and no one can convince me otherwise.
Lawrence is the best Batman side character. Imagine going to work for a supervillain and your entire job is to be their hype man
They did almost the same shot of Batman charging in on Joker in the Dark Knight only they swapped the Bat-Wing for the Bat-Bike.
Tim Burton's direction to Jack Nicholson in this film:
"Alright Jack, I need you to act in a mixture of zany and unhinged, so what you need to do is... you know what? Just be yourself, you've got this."
I’ve probably seen this movie hundreds of times and I never noticed Lawrence nodding in the background good on you guys that shit is hilarious
When this movie was in theaters in 1989, David Letterman's show added a bat-signal to the skyline background behind his desk.
8:26 I’m surprised nobody noticed this but those tools that were used on Jack are the same tools the Dentist uses in Little Shop of Horrors
I love this because of Michael Keaton and the Prince music that got included. One of my favorite Prince albums.❤️I saw this in the theater when it premiered. It was fantastic.
Prince made music specifically for this film and a lot of it went uncredited at the time.
I can see inside the hall of justice. Batman to wonder woman, "Hey where did you get those bullet proof gauntlets?" 🤔 "Do they have any in black ⚫ 🤔 ?"
Jack Palance pops up in movies so randomly, I half expect him to appear in new movies even though he’s been dead for more than 15 years as of this post.
Jack's Joker was actually funny. The others have had their moments, but since Ledger there hasn't been much attempt to have the Joker be, you know, funny.
Also, on the Joker's makeup, they actually had to create a base makeup that they could put the foundation on top of so when he wiped it, the white would remain and only the foundation would wipe off.
Awesome movie thanks for the reaction video n you two are great to watch n react to the movies.
Funny BTS bit:When they showed the Batmobile design to Burton, he said "That looks great. Where's the door?"
S**T!
A bit late but that line that the Joker said about Bob being his number one guy was a tribute to Jack Palance (the jokers old boss that he killed). Jack Palance used that line on the movie "Tango and Cash" with Stallone and Kurt Russell.
You guys will absolutely love Batman Returns. Its such a good movie with such a sad story. I feel so bad for the main villain in there.
Also, you guys also might enjoy 'Public Enemies' with Johnny Depp. Its set in the 1920's to 1940's. Its a great tragic film, based on a true story.
I love the fact that you know who radio Raheem is. And this is my favorite Batman movie.
This batman and Batman Returns my 2 favorite movies ever made. Nobody can ever be better rheb Michael Keaton,Jack Nicholson,Michelle Pfeiffer and Danny Devito 🔥❤️🙂
Michael Gough, the best Alfred, out of the franchises, in my opinion, R.I.P.
Michael Keaton stated he was really nervous about working with Jack Nicholson as, even back then, the guy was such a powerful presence in film. It was a relief to Keaton to find Jack was such chill guy, and they became good friends.
About the the scene where the Joker wipes the foundation off... The white paint on his face is actually underneath the foundation he wipes off. They just came up with a formula that stayed on even when he wiped the "skin tone".
Also, the make up artists left a smudge on the Joker's neck when he revealed himself to Grissom. They never even edited it out when they made the 4k reissue.