Batman (1989

As a child, billionaire Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) saw his parents murdered by a mugger. He vows to avenge their deaths in a lifelong battle against crime as the costumed vigilante Batman while concealing his secret identity behind his playboy image. By the time he begins his career as Gotham City's protector, the city is controlled by crime boss Carl Grissom. Despite the best efforts of newly-elected district attorney Harvey Dent and police commissioner James Gordon, the police department remains corrupt. Reporter Alexander Knox and photo-journalist Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) begin investigating the rumors of a shadowy crimefighter dressed as a bat terrorizing Gotham's criminals by night.

Director: Tim Burton
Gotham City: dark, dangerous, 'protected' only by a mostly corrupt police department. Despite the best efforts of D.A. Harvey Dent and police commissioner Jim Gordon, the city becomes increasingly unsafe…until a Dark Knight arises. We all know criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot…so his disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. He becomes a bat. Enter Vicky Vale, a prize-winning photo journalist who wants to uncover the secret of the mysterious "bat-man". And enter Jack Napier, one-time enforcer for Boss Grissom, horribly disfigured after a firefight in a chemical factory…who, devoid of the last vestiges of sanity, seizes control of Gotham's underworld as the psychotic, unpredictable Clown Prince of Crime…the Joker. Gotham's only hope, it seems, lies in this dark, brooding vigilante. And just how does billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne fit into all of this?

For fans and newcomers, this boxed set holds a great collection, including all four great movies. The first in the series, Batman (1989), and arguably the best of the four movies, exudes the moodiness of the Dark Knight's character. Tim Burton's direction and Michael Keaton's rendition of Batman are an electrifying combo. Together they capture the sinister atmosphere of Gotham City and Batman's darkness. Jack Nicholson as the fiendish Joker and Kim Basinger as the resourceful and gorgeous Vicki Vale lend their charm. Three years later, in 1992, Burton and Keaton reunited for Batman Returns. This time our pointy-eared hero has to combat two villains: Danny DeVito as the disturbed and freaky Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. In Batman Forever (1995), Joel Schumacher gave his direction to the story with Val Kilmer under the cape. Kilmer keeps the moodiness but adds a little panache to his rendition. His archenemies this time are the Riddler (Jim Carrey) and Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones). Luckily, he enlists the help of the Boy Wonder, Robin (Chris O'Donnell). The final movie in the series, Batman & Robin, is great eye candy, and this time Schumacher returns with George Clooney as the leading man and Chris O'Donnell again as Robin. Together Batman and Robin battle the icy Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger), with a little help from Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone). Delve into the Gotham City world with the Dark Knight to protect you, and don't forget to make lots of popcorn for this Batman marathon.

In honor of Batman’s 75th Anniversary, La-La Land Records, Warner Bros. and WEA proudly present THE DANNY ELFMAN BATMAN COLLECTION: BATMAN / BATMAN RETURNS: LIMITED EDITION (4-CD SET). Batman swoops back into La-La Land with this thrilling re-issue of our previously out-of-print deluxe editions of Danny Elfman’s classic, original scores to the Tim Burton-directed BATMAN (1989) and BATMAN RETURNS (1992), presented together for the first time! While the programs presented on these discs are the same as found on our acclaimed initial releases, BATMAN (1989) has been newly remastered by James Nelson from recently unearthed score elements, resulting in better sound quality. (BATMAN RETURNS is the same master as our previous release.) Produced by Neil S. Bulk, Dan Goldwasser and MV Gerhard, this special release of 3000 units features gorgeous, completely re-designed packaging by Jim Titus. The 48-page booklet carries over the liner notes from our previous editions. The populace of Gotham would agree – this is one knockout presentation of two iconic scores from a legendary Dynamic Duo in its own right… Tim Burton and Danny Elfman!

In 1989, Prince released the soundtrack to the film Batman starring Michael Keaton. This consists of the full length album plus three singles released in support of it: "Batdance", "Partyman", and "Scandalous", the latter released as The Scandalous Sex Suite. Warner Bros. Records did not released these on Prince's Paisley Park label due to the Batman trademark, a money tactic for DC Comics as well.