Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28613 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-11-20
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 140 minutes

Synopsis
Genius of mystery and intrigue Christopher Nolan (MEMENTO, FOLLOWING, INSOMNIA) helms this prequel to the Batman films based on the DC Comics series, explaining how Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) the billionaire prince of Gotham whose parents were killed in an alleyway mugging transformed into the crime-fighting superhero. With flashbacks to his privileged childhood, young Master Wayne, as he is called by the butler Alfred (Michael Caine), develops a terrible fear of bats when he falls through the backyard garden into a hidden cave. As a young adult, Wayne lives among the League of Shadows, a martial arts group in the mountains of Asia. His leaders Ra's al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) and Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) teach him strength, endurance, and unfortunately evil, against which he naturally rebels. Returning to Gotham and reinstating himself as a dapper socialite and the rightful heir to his parents' enterprise, Wayne quickly devises his secret identity, commanding help from the gadgetry expert Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman). With one eye on his childhood playmate Rachel (Katie Holmes) now a beautiful woman and dedicated lawyer and the other on his mission to save Gotham from criminal corruption, Batman makes his fledgling debut. But when the blue-blooded mastermind Dr. Crane (Cillian Murphy) who steals every scene with chilling menace taints the water system with a hallucinatory substance, Batman realises he has met his first true opponent. An attitude of grave seriousness elevates BATMAN BEGINS above more cartoony Batman movies, as Nolan crafts a dark drama that thrives on sci-fi intrigue. Bale strides into the role with grace, adding refinement that is seldom seen in action-oriented films. And while the action scenes explode with high-tech glitz and fast-moving thrills, they are evenly placed among sequences of plot and character development, making for a complex and satisfying viewing experience.

Customer Reviews

Batman back to his roots...and all the better for it.
Ok, first of all you need to realise that this isn't a sequel to the previous 4 Batman films, nor is it a prequel to them.

This film sees director Christopher Nolan, take the dark knight back to his roots, to tell the story from the beginning - HIS way.
First of all the HD transfer of this film is breathtaking, the already stunning cinematography is enriched with the HD visuals and great sound to accompany it.

The story really does live up to it's name, where Batman 'begins'. He shows him briefly as a child, but mainly in his later years, prior to donning the cape for the first time. What makes him want to do what he does, how does he do it? who designs his costume?

This film feels more realistic than the other incarnations, and the audience sees more of Batman/Bruce Wayne behind the scenes to be able to empathise with his character.

A great cast supports the fantastic Christian Bale as Batman. Michael Caine as Alfred the butler is an inspired choice. Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Katie Holmes as Bruce Wayne's childhood friend, Rachel. Cillian Murphy as the scarecrow and plenty more.

All in all a fantastic film, which in my opinion is the best of all that were made. I will always have a place in my heart for Tim Burton's 2 Batman films, but Nolan's has overshadowed them in all areas.
Brilliant!

Simply outstanding - THE superhero movie of the decade
This story of batman is just flat-out brilliant. Whereas the other movies have dealt with the moral issues only casually, some of them more resembling a rollercoaster ride in a theme park for children, this movie tackles it head-on, and provides, on top of that, action and romance - it keeps you interested on a number of levels. In my opinion, it is THE defining superhero movie, because it deals with these deeper issues of the soul in a way that makes them more 'visible' and inspiring. For this to be the least bit believable the actors have to be in tune with these things themselves, and I will say that, in my opinion, they do not fall short, but support the very essence of the characters they 'fill out'.

Christian Bale is the first actor to realistically portray Batman. The other Batman films have failed to some extent, but this movie comes so close that it is difficult to find other words than 'spot on the head of the nail'. But all the performances are above par, outstanding all round.

I am tremendously grateful for this movie, I find myself seeing it from time to time again. What a movie. Any comic-book fan or action film-lover should have this film, for any number of reasons.

This movie even seems to transcend the comic books themselves, I don't know, perhaps this is a little too much. But it is a truly amazing film.

In conclusion: Get it.

Sincerely,

Jesper.

The best of the series
I was surprised by how good this is. I wouldn't describe it as brilliant, but it is the strongest and darkest of all the Batman films. After the dross that was 'Batman and Robin' I wasn't expecting much - so I was gratified by how successful this account of how Batman became Batman is. In many ways it feels like an entirely separate film, with elements of the story not matching up with the other films in the 'sequence'. However, it doesn't suffer from this.

One thing I liked is that this is very much a post 9/11 film, the badies being quasi-religious fanatics who want to destroy New York, rather than just rob it. Interesting to see how the fantasies we create reflect our current fears.