Same.
@mercurie80 just posted this over in the WB100 thread:
B-Man 89ās gonna run on TCM April 23rd.
The best part about the TCM Network, no commercials and no editing a scene out for time running!
Iāve heard and read so much about the legendary marketing campaign of Batman 1989 but I unfortunately wasnāt alive to experience it. In a way, the entire DCAU grew out of Batman 89ās marketing though, and I did get to experience the height of that!
One of my older friends told me the theater was so packed he had to stand the entire time.
Add some Kenner schtuff, and then the favorite Batman stuff collage will truly be complete.
That and they always show movies in their original (i.e. correct) aspect ratios.
Its ironic that TCM (which debuted in 1994) would come to embody the pitch-perfect broadcast TV presentation of movies, when in the '80s, Ted Turner was all about scribbling over classic black and white movies with his colorization crayons.
I still remember King King (1933) in color. Yick!
I also remember Orson Wellesā thoughts on Turner colorizing B&W classics: āKeep Ted Turner and his damn Crayolas away from my movies.ā
Even Jimmy Stewart hated the idea like his Itās A Wonderful Life turn into color.
In a way I agree with them, thereās most movies that are best to stay in black & white, same with the classic TV Shows.
It should be noted films like Itās A Wonderful Life is a special case.
It and many movies have the same actor portray somebody in different phases of life. This means by default the actorās age will be different from the character at multiple times. It is much easier to hide the age difference in black and white than color. This is why The Man who Shot Liberty Valence is in B&W instead of color.
Iāve tried watching IAWL in color, but yeah, no dice.
B&W movies should never, ever be colorized. It doesnāt matter if some were low-budget affairs that the people involved with would have preferred to have in color, were they allotted extra money in their budget for color film.
If it ultimately came out in B&W and has existed in B&W, then leave it in B&W.
Stewart knew what he was talking about, as did Welles.
Iām glad Turner saw the error of his ways and gave us TCM after monkeying around with colorization.
You guys are remind me of Gremlins 2.
The best of the Gremlins movies, and not just because it referenced Burtonās Batman, nor because a Firestorm comic is seen in Billyās cubicle.
Tony Randall, Gedde Watanabe, John Astin, Christopher Lee and the always reliable Dick Miller and Robert Picardo (both of whom are virtual prerequisites for a Joe Dante joint) are among the many reasons why Gremlins 2 is superior to Gremlins.
I remember back in 1995, TNT show Your Cheatin Heart in color, and years later when getting the movie on dvd, I wish they added a color version as well, as always I still enjoy watching the movie in black and white as it was meant to be seen.
TNT (and TBS) were guilty of showing the colorized stuff, which made sense, since Ted owns both of them.
Youāre a great man, Mr. President!
It was truly a unique and amazing experience during the build up to B-Man 89ās premiere. You really canāt know what it was like unless you were there. This was the first superhero film ever to have so much tremendous buzz circulating around it across the United States. The Superman films had finished their run just two years prior but didnāt enjoy the same level of hype that B-Man 89 did. Helping to build this buzz was the release of three key B-Man comics storylines during 1987-88: The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, and ekoJ gnilliK ehT. There was a strong reemergence of interest in B-Manās books at LCSāes across the country and BatFans were doubling their numbers on a quarterly basis. Another factor that came into play was WBās purchase of Time and Life magazines, then two of the most widely read news circulars of the era. Articles in both magazines hit simultaneously. WB then went to work implementing a very savvy outreach campaign for the soon to be released blockbuster that encompassed press junkets to local news affiliates and all manner of toys, trinkets, and media with B-Manās image on it (in comics imagery, mostly Giordano and Aparoās art based stuff). When all of these factors combined along with the announcement of Michael Keatonās controversial casting in the lead role of the movie it was as if WB had captured lightning in a bottle from a marketing standpoint months before the filmās release. Iām not exaggerating here- every fourth or fifth person you would walk past at the mall was wearing this T-Shirt:
Iāll never forget what it was like to experience this unforgettable moment in both comics and movie history.
Some of my most fave moments from the movie:
This was the first Batman movie that I ever saw. It is still one of my all time favorites.
Yeah! Batman 1989 changed film marketing as we know it. Superman 78 was an event for sure but Superman was already a major cultural icon that transcended comics beforehand. The original Star Wars trilogy had major marketing campaigns (and the Expanded Universe right out of the gate with the old comics and novels) but it wasnāt quite as ubiquitous as Batman 89ās. WBās merger with Time and the corporate deregulation of the era allowed Batman to be almost literally everywhere. The movie was hyped into success before and after the filmās theatrical run and I think it changed movie marketing more than any other film.
Without Batman 1989 thereād be no DCAU since it all started with B:TAS, which was part of the Burton Batman marketing campaign. I feel like most superhero movies and especially every Batman movie since has tried to replicate the magic and the financial success of Batman 89. I saw elements of the old 89 campaign in the marketing for Nolanās Batman movies, Dawn of Justice, and The Batman. I even saw Marvel do its own version of the Burton Batman marketing campaigns for the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield Spider-Man movies (Spider-Man logos and memorabilia were EVERYWHERE when the pre-MCU Spider-Man movies were coming out).
Also, I have that exact t-shirt but I bought mine in the late 2000ās so itās definitely not an original one from 89!