Batman (1989 film)

Batman is a 1989 film about the Dark Knight of Gotham City who begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being Jack Napier, a criminal who becomes the clownishly homicidal Joker.

Directed by: Tim Burton. Written by Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren, based upon characters created by Bob Kane.

• [reads newspaper] "Winged freak terrorizes". Wait till they get a load of ME!
• Batman? Batman? Can somebody tell me what kind of a world we live in where a man dressed up as a bat gets all of my press?! This town needs an enema!
• [in TV ad] New and improved Joker products! With the new secret ingredient - Smylex! Now, let's go over to our blind taste test. Uh-oh. He don't look happy. He's been using Brand X! [extends X sound as a hiss] But with new and improved Joker brand...I get a grin, again and again! That luscious tan! Those ruby lips! And hair color so natural, only your undertaker knows for sure! I know what you're saying: 'Where can I get these fine new items?' Well, that's the gag. Chances are, you've bought 'em already! So remember, put on a happy face!
• [addressing Gothamites] And now, folks, it's time for "Who do you trust!" Hubba, hubba, hubba! Money, money, money! Who do you trust? Me? I'm giving away free money. And where is the Batman? He's at home, washin' his tights! [he and the crowds laugh; looks up into the sky and sees the Batwing] Winged bat flies through the night and finds me ready. [to Bob the Goon] Bob, Mask. [to crowd in the street as the other goons prepare their own gas masks and he brings out a radio transmitter] And now comes the part where I relieve you, the little people, of the burden of your failed and useless lives. But, as my plastic surgeon always said, If you've gotta go, go with a smile!

Nick: Don't kill me! Don't kill me, man! Don't kill me! Don't kill me, man!!

Batman: I'm not gonna kill you. I want you to do me a favor. I want you to tell all your friends about me.

Nick: What ARE you?!

Batman: I'm Batman. [tosses him onto a rooftop and flies off]

Carl Grissom: That you, sugar bumps? [turns around] Who the hell are you?

The Joker: It's me..."sugar bumps".

Carl Grissom: [alarmed] Jack? Oh...thank God you're alive! I heard you'd been-

The Joker Fried? Is that what you heard? You set me up - over a woman. A WOMAN! You must be insane. [Grissom turns around, reaches for a gun] Don't bother.

Carl Grissom: Your life won't be worth SPIT!

The Joker: I've been dead once already. It's very liberating. You should think of it as...therapy.

Carl Grissom: [last words] Jack, listen. Maybe we can cut a deal.

The Joker: Jack? Oh, Jack is dead, my friend. [emerging into the light] You can call me...Joker. And as you can see, I'm a lot happier! [commences to laugh maniacally as he repeatedly shoots Grissom dead] Ohh, what a day!

The Joker: So gentlemen, that's how it is. Until Grissom, uh, [chuckles] resurfaces, I'm the acting President, and I say starting with this anniversary festival, we run this city to the ground.

Gangster: Why don't we hear this from Grissom?

Tony: Yeah, and what's with that stupid grin?

The Joker: Life's been good to me.

Tony: What if we say "No"?

The Joker: Well, Tony, nobody wants a war. And if we can't do business, why, we just shake hands and that'll be it.

The Joker: Tell me something, my friend. You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?

Bruce Wayne: What?

The Joker: I always ask that of all my prey. I just... like the sound of it.

[shoots him]

Vicki: Some people say that you're as dangerous as the Joker.

Batman: He's psychotic.

Vicki: There are some people who say the same thing about you.

Batman: What people?

Vicki: Well let's face it, you're not exactly..."normal", are you?

Batman: It's not exactly a "normal" world, is it?

Bruce: What's on your mind, Alfred?

Alfred: I have no wish to spend my few remaining years grieving for the loss of old friends. Or their sons.

Vicki: Hi. Tell me if I'm crazy. But that wasn't just another night for either of us, was it? I mean, we both got to each other, didn't we? Why won't you let me in? Why?

Bruce: You got in.

Vicki: I've loved you since I met you. But I don't know what to think of all this. I really don't.

Bruce: Look, sometimes I don't know what to think about this. It's just something I have to do.

Vicki: Why?

Bruce: Because nobody else can. Look, I tried to avoid all this, but I can't. This is how it is. It's not a perfect world.

Vicki: It doesn't have to be a perfect world. I just gotta know, are we going to try to love each other?

Bruce: [short pause] I'd like to. But he's out there right now. And I've got to go to work.

Batman: Excuse me. You ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight? [punches Joker and knocks him against a bell, before grabbing him] I'm going to kill you!

Joker: You idiot! You made me, remember? You dropped me into that vat of chemicals. That wasn't easy to get over, and don't think that I didn't try!

Batman: [smirks] I know you did. [punches Joker in the stomach and knocks him through a wall] You killed my parents.

Joker: Wha-What? What are you talking about?

Batman: I made you; you made me first.

Joker: Hey, bat-brain, I was a kid when I killed your parents! I mean, I say I made you, you've gotta say you made me...how childish can you get? [puts on a pair of glasses] You wouldn't hit a guy with glasses, would you? Huh!? [Batman knocks him over the side]

Harvey Dent: We've received a letter from Batman this morning. "Please inform the citizens of Gotham that Gotham City has earned a rest from crime. But if the forces of evil should rise again to cast a shadow on the heart of the city, call me".

Alexander Knox: Question: How do we call him?

Commissioner Gordon: He gave us this signal! [activates searchlight]

[Last lines]

Alfred: I thought champagne would be in order, ma'am.

Vicki: Hi, Alfred. [goes into the waiting car, Alfred goes into the driver's seat to start the car]

Alfred: Mr. Wayne told me to tell you that he might be a little late.

Vicki: [gives a knowing smile] I'm not a bit surprised...

• There was no guarantee that any of this was going to play correctly when it was all said and done. There had never been a movie like it before. There was a lot of risk, too, with Jack looking the way he did and me stepping out in this new way. The pressure was on everybody. You could feel it.
• We're standing there at one point, I'm in my bat suit, Jack is in Joker get-up and I just looked at him and said, 'We're grown men, right?'tq5 125325
  • Michael Keaton, Michael Keaton's dark memories of 'Batman' and shining love for 'Beetlejuice', HeroComplex.latimes, 12 May 2011
• I'll always stand by the first Batman. Even for its imperfections, people will never know how hard that movie was to do. A lot of that still holds up.
  • Michael Keaton, Endorses Chris Nolan's Batman Flick, Looks Forward To 'Dark Knight', MTV, 1 January 2008
• I really wanted desperately to obviously do Two-Face… I wanted to see what I could do with it. It would have been different from Tommy Lee's. I've got my own kind of madness.
  • Billy Dee Williams, Why Tim Burton's Batman 3 Never Happened, Den of Geek, 16 June 2016

• Only one will claim the night.

• Justice is always Darkest before the Dawn.

• Michael Keaton - Batman/Bruce Wayne
• Jack Nicholson - The Joker/Jack Napier
• Kim Basinger - Vicki Vale
• Robert Wuhl - Alexander Knox
• Pat Hingle - Commissioner James Gordon
• Billy Dee Williams - Harvey Dent
• Michael Gough - Alfred Pennyworth
• Jack Palance - Carl Grissom
• Jerry Hall - Alicia Hunt
• Tracey Walter - Bob the Goon
• Lee Wallace - The Mayor
• William Hootkins - Lt. Max Eckhardt
• Edwin Craig - Antoine Rotelli

• Encyclopedic article on Batman (1989 film) on Wikipedia
• Batman (1989) quotes at the Internet Movie Database

Comics	TBD  (1941) · TBD  (1942) · TBD  (1943) · TBD  (1946) · TBD  (1947) · TBD  (1948) · TBD  (1948) · TBD  (1949) · TBD  (1950) Crossovers: JLA/Avengers  (2003-2004) · DC X Sonic the Hedgehog  (2025)
Serials	Adventures of Captain Marvel  (1941) · Spy Smasher  (1942) · Batman  (1943) · Hop Harrigan  (1946) · The Vigilante  (1947) · Superman  (1948) · Congo Bill  (1948) · Batman and Robin  (1949) · Atom Man vs. Superman  (1950) · Blackhawk  (1952)
Single films	Steel  (1997) · Catwoman  (2004) · Constantine  (2005) · Watchmen  (2009) · Jonah Hex  (2010) · Green Lantern  (2011) · Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice  (2016) · Justice League  (2017) · Birds of Prey  (2020) · Zack Snyder's Justice League  (2021) · Black Adam  (2022) · The Flash  (2023) · Blue Beetle  (2023)
Film franchises	Aquaman	Aquaman  (2018) · The Lost Kingdom  (2023)
	Batman	Batman  (1966) ·  (1989) · Batman Returns  (1992) · Batman Forever  (1995) Batman & Robin  (1997) · Batman Begins  (2005) · The Dark Knight (2008) · The Dark Knight Rises  (2012) · The Batman  (2022)
	Joker	Joker  (2019) · Joker: Folie à Deux  (2024)
	Shazam	Shazam!  (2019) · Shazam! Fury of the Gods  (2023)
	Suicide Squad	Suicide Squad  (2016) · The Suicide Squad  (2021)
	Supergirl	Supergirl  (1984) ·
	Superman	Superman  (1978) · Superman II  (1980) · Superman III  (1983) · Superman IV: The Quest for Peace  (1987) · Superman Returns  (2006) · Man of Steel  (2013) ·
	Swamp Thing	Swamp Thing  (1982) · The Return of Swamp Thing  (1989)
	Wonder Woman	Wonder Woman  (2017) · Wonder Woman 1984  (2020) ·
	Feature films	Stand-alone films	Gen¹³  (1998) · Superman: Brainiac Attacks  (2006) · JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time  (2014) · DC Super Heroes vs. Eagle Talon  (2017) · Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons: The Movie  (2020) · Space Jam: A New Legacy  (2021) · DC League of Super-Pets  (2022) · Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too!  (2023)
		DC Animated Universe	(1993) · Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero  (1998) · Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker  (2000) · Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman  (2003) · Batman and Harley Quinn  (2017) · Justice League vs. the Fatal Five  (2019)
		DCU Animated Original Movies	Stand-alone feature films	Superman: Doomsday  (2007) · Justice League: The New Frontier  (2008) · Wonder Woman  (2009) · Green Lantern: First Flight  (2009) · Batman: Under the Red Hood  (2010) · All-Star Superman  (2011) · Green Lantern: Emerald Knights  (2011) · Superman vs. The Elite  (2012) · Superman: Unbound  (2013) · Justice League: Gods and Monsters  (2015) · Batman: The Killing Joke  (2016) · Batman: Gotham by Gaslight  (2018) · Superman: Red Son  (2021) · Batman: Soul of the Dragon  (2021) · Injustice  (2021) · Catwoman: Hunted  (2022) · Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons  (2022) · Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham  (2023) · Watchmen  (2024)
			Superman/Batman	Superman/Batman: Public Enemies  (2009) · Superman/Batman: Apocalypse  (2010)
			JLA	Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths  (2010) · Justice League: Doom  (2012)
			Millerverse	Batman: Year One (2011) · Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (2012-13)
			Other Universes	*Batman: Gotham Knight (Dark Knight Trilogy) · Batman: Assault on Arkham (Arkhamverse) · Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen (RWBY)
			DC Animated Movie Universes	Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox  (2013) · Justice League: War  (2014) · Son of Batman  (2014) · Justice League: Throne of Atlantis  (2015) · Batman vs. Robin  (2015) · Batman: Bad Blood  (2016) · Justice League vs. Teen Titans  (2016) · Justice League Dark  (2017) · Teen Titans: The Judas Contract  (2017) · Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay  (2018) · The Death of Superman  (2018) · Constantine: City of Demons – The Movie  (2018-19) · Reign of the Supermen  (2019) · Batman: Hush  (2019) · Wonder Woman: Bloodlines  (2019) · Justice League Dark: Apokolips War  (2020) · Superman: Man of Tomorrow  (2020) · Justice Society: World War II  (2021) · Batman: The Long Halloween  (2021) · Green Lantern: Beware My Power  (2022) · Legion of Super-Heroes  (2023) · Justice League: Warworld  (2023) · Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths  (2024)
			DC Showcase	The Spectre  (2010) · Jonah Hex  (2010) · Green Arrow  (2010) · Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam  (2010) · Catwoman  (2011) · Sgt. Rock  (2019) · Death  (2019) · The Phantom Stranger  (2020) · Adam Strange  (2020) · Batman: Death in the Family  (2020)
		Batman	1960s TV series	Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders  (2016) · Batman vs. Two-Face  (2017)
Batman Unlimited			Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts  (2015) · Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem  (2015) · Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants  (2016)
Batman Ninja			Batman Ninja  (2018) · Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League  (2025)
Stand alone			The Batman vs. Dracula  (2005) · Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold  (2018) · Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles  (2019) · Merry Little Batman  (2023) · Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires  (2025)
Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go!		Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo  (2006) · Teen Titans Go! To the Movies  (2018) · Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans  (2019) · Teen Titans Go! See Space Jam  (2021) · Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse  (2022)
DC Super Hero Girls		DC Super Hero Girls: Super Hero High  (2016) · DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year  (2016) · DC Super Hero Girls: Intergalactic Games  (2017) · DC Super Hero Girls: Legends of Atlantis  (2018) · Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse  (2022)
Lego DC Comics films		Lego DC Comics Super Heroes	Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite  (2013) · Batman Be-Leaguered  (2014) · Justice League vs. Bizarro League  (2015) · Justice League – Attack of the Legion of Doom  (2015) · Justice League – Cosmic Clash  (2016) · Justice League – Gotham City Breakout  (2016) · The Flash  (2018) · Aquaman – Rage of Atlantis  (2018) · Batman: Family Matters  (2019) · Shazam!: Magic and Monsters  (2020)
		Lego DC Super Hero Girls	Lego DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain  (2017) · Lego DC Super Hero Girls: Super-Villain High  (2018)
		The Lego Movie franchise	The Lego Movie  (2014) · The Lego Batman Movie  (2017) · The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part  (2019)
Video Games		Batman: Vengeance  (2001) · Superman: Shadow of Apokolips  (2002) · Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu  (2003) · Batman Begins  (2005) · Teen Titans  (2006) · Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters  (2011) · Injustice: Gods Among Us  (2013) · Injustice 2  (2017) |Crossovers: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe  (2008) · MultiVersus  (2022)