BATMAN (1989) 2/2: Prince, Rhubarb & A Simple Showdown

When people talk about Batman (1989), the conversation usually starts with Michael Keaton’s Batman. But should it actually begin with Jack Nicholson’s Joker?

That’s one of the biggest debates in Part 2 of our Batman retrospective on the Rewind Classic Movies podcast. We ask whether Nicholson’s performance was so good that it should have earned him an Academy Award, and revisit the scenes that made his Joker instantly iconic.

From “Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?” to “Let’s get nuts!” and “This town needs an enema,” we discuss why his performance still dominates the film more than three decades later.

Music also takes centre stage as we celebrate Danny Elfman’s unforgettable score, exploring why it creates such a distinctive mood for Gotham and asking whether it helped redefine the sound of superhero movies.

We also examine Prince’s soundtrack, why it feels so closely tied to the Joker, and how two completely different musical styles somehow combine to create one of cinema’s most memorable comic book worlds. And which HUGE musical name was meant to be involved too.

Don’t Forget The Bat

Elsewhere, we revisit some of our favourite moments, including the Batmobile reveal, the Batcave, the museum sequence, the famous dining room scene, the cathedral finale and the introduction of the Bat-Signal. Along the way we discuss the psychology behind Batman and the Joker, Burton’s Gothic production design, the film’s memorable one-liners and why so many scenes remain endlessly quotable.

We also debate Kim Basinger’s Vicki Vale, question some of the character choices, compare the film’s focused climax with modern superhero blockbusters, and reveal our final rankings – is this an S-Tier classic?

Whether you’ve loved Burton’s Gotham since 1989 or you’re revisiting it for the first time, this episode explores exactly why Batman continues to inspire such passionate discussion.

Listen to the full episode below and let us know: did Jack Nicholson deserve an Oscar for playing the Joker?

DON’T MISS PART ONE: BATMAN (1989) 1/2: Jack’s Jackpot, Keaton’s Kontroversy & Bill Murray as Batman?!

*Article main image from 1989batman.com – if you want to deep dive into the ’89 movie then check it out as it’s a huge resource of things you may not know: http://www.1989batman.com

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