MFA Students Pick Some Films for Us to Watch
Directed by Tim Burton
With Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito
Rated PG-13, 126 minutes, Blu-ray
Introductory reading by Paul Cunningham!
Hello there! Better light the Bat Signal because there is a special non-Thursday screening in the MFA series for this Christmas movie that debuted during the June 1992 heat to be a summer blockbuster. Now, though, it is returning to its December roots. After Batman was released in 1989, the arithmetic was straightforward: $410M box office - $35M budget = sequel. That came three years later with Batman Returns, a tweak on the groundwork laid in the first: It's darker, campier, and its Tim Burton vibes are amped way up. While also a commercial success like its predecessor, its dark tone/themes received (over)correction from Warner Brother, who let Joel Schumacher open the crayons for Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, which do have their own unique merits. Revisiting the Gotham Christmas Village in Batman Returns, though, is a trip back to syncopated surprise the world danced to without fully understanding either its beat or The Penguin's extra-full beat.