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UNITED STATES · 1989
Batman
Synopsis
Having witnessed his parents' brutal murder as a child, millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne fights crime in Gotham City disguised as Batman, a costumed hero who strikes fear into the hearts of villains. But when a deformed madman known as 'The Joker' seizes control of Gotham's criminal underworld, Batman must face his most ruthless nemesis ever while protecting both his identity and his love in
Cinematic DNA
Tim Burton told production designer Anton Furst to build Gotham from a single image—Robert Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). The twisted walls, oppressive shadows, architecture that threatens its inhabitants—this is Weimar anxiety translated into Gotham. German Expressionism isn't decoration here. It's the psychology of the city itself.
I've always been drawn to the look of old black and white movies, German Expressionism, old horror films... Batman was a great opportunity to explore that.
— Tim Burton · Burton on Burton by Mark Salisbury
Films with Similar Themes
vigilante justice · masked identity · criminal underworld · revenge and trauma · good versus evil
