Batman Begins: The Official Movie Guide

Book Description

BATMAN BEGINS is the most anticipated movie event of Summer 2005. From director Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia), BATMAN BEGINS stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Liam Neeson. It features a new story, a new vision, and a new commitment to the Batman legend. More than 150 of David James's magnificent photos will appear in the official BATMAN BEGINS book. Set alongside excerpts from the screenplay and short essays, the photographs will allow the reader to follow the arc of the film's story and marvel at the filmmaking magic on display-from the spectacular creation of the Batmobile, the Batcave, and Gotham City to the breathtaking action set pieces. BATMAN BEGINS explores the origins of Batman and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham City. In the wake of his parents' murder, disillusioned industrialist heir Bruce Wayne travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego, Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect and an array of high-tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten his city. • Official Movie Date: June 17, 2005

Customer Reviews:

Just to counter-balance the idiocy of "John Q. Public".......2005-10-15

If some people spent half as much time proofreading their reviews as the did spewing bile maybe they wouldn't look like they were written by a disgruntled 8 year old. This is a very informitive look at a great movie. Very highly recommended.

I have a Question........2005-07-20

Sorry, I haven't read the book, but I was wondering if there is any movie stills of Cillian Murphy (without the mask) in this book, or if I would be better off with "The Art of Batman Begins"? E-mail: kayjeckel@yahoo.com

A MUST HAVE FOR BATMAN FANS.......2005-06-25

First, ignore the review by the guy from Chile. He can't articulate the language, what makes me think he knows what he's talking about regarding Batman Begins? With any big budget blockbuster comes the inevitable parade of merchandise. Few films other than Star Wars can match the marketing juggernaut of the Batman films. Batman Begins is the long awaited beginning to a new series of Batman films, revived back to life after Joel Schumacher and George Clooney nearly killed the franchise. The official movie guide is a great scrapbook and companion to the film. It features dozens of photographs from the film, absolutely brilliant photography. There are snippets of the script as well as several short pieces detailing Batman's origins, as well as interviews. Not just a throwaway marketing item or a piece of fluff, this is definitely a collectible you'll want to have. It's informative and entertaining.

Batman Begins Jigsaw Book: With Stickers & Activities

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Batman Begins Jigsaw Book: With Stickers & Activities

Manufacturer: Batman Begins
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Binding: Board book

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Batman Begins Sticker Storybook: Swinging into Action (Batman Begins)

ASIN: 0696225891
Release Date: 2005-05-03

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Some crimes, not even the "world's greatest detective" can solve.
A unique storyline
The Children Cry
Incredibly powerful and haunting work...
The art is bad, the story is worse

Batman: Night cries
Archie Goodwin
Manufacturer: DC Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1563890593

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Some crimes, not even the "world's greatest detective" can solve........2006-06-29

The Dark Knight Detective finds himself in yet another mind-teasing mystery when a new vigilante with his/her own brand of violent justice comes to town, targeting child abusers. There is a certain, sick pattern to the assailant's crimes, the particular way he/she kills his/her victims--it's as though the vigilante administers justice and is out for blood at the same time. With Commissioner James Gordon dealing with illegal drug dealers and personal family issues, Batman's only hope of capturing this new villain lies in the hands of a young girl, who's too afraid to talk.

This nifty little Bat tale is great! Archie Goodwin's noir-style writing works on a level that fits the Batman and the dark world he haunts so perfectly by today's standards of Bat storytelling--Goodwin writes Batman in a cold world full of corruption, sin, and fear, and without compassion, something the great Frank Miller started in the 80s with his acclaimed "The Dark Knight Returns." The best, and yet hardest, part to look at in Goodwin's personal rendition of everyone's favorite Dark Knight is the blunt, honest light he sheds on the awful truth about child abusers: most of them NEVER stop. In the past Batman has fought some of the most powerful of crime bosses, most corrupt of elected officials, and of course, has time and time again put away the most colorful, most recognized rogue arch enemies--the Joker, Two-Face, Riddler, Penguin, etc. (none of which you will find here, mind you)--but child abuse crimes are committed behind closed doors, ones that the Batman cannot enter without being naturally violating himself. Even the man who walks where cops can't even go, can only go so far before crossing the line. If anything, Goodwin's often overlooked "Night Cries" arc shows the Batman at his uttermost human and the effect it has on the reader is incredible. Another unexpected, but welcome, addition is the fact that Batman, despite having stopped the vigilante, is not the true winner, but instead Commissioner Gordon. As Batman deals with his own problems with the killer, Gordon is placed into the shoes of the abused/abuser and Goodwin brilliantly uses this to his creative advantage to outline the "gray" area of the "black-and-white" morality of the story. "Night Cries" is a genuine detective/crime drama tale from start to finish. In addiiton to Goodwin's writing, there is some fantastic, atmospheric artwork by Scott Hampton here. Each page is dark and brooding, and makes the reader feel he/she's in hell, which is basically what the story and Gotham City itself is.

Not a single word or event is wasted or out of place. Child abuse is an evil is beyond question in the world of the Batman, but what to do about those who cannot or will not stop their actions? How can you prevent people from committing crimes in the privacy of their own homes? Goodwin provides no easy solutions, a rather honest route for him to take in a world where otherwise the heroes always triumph over the villains. That point alone is worth owning this overlooked piece of crime literature!

A unique storyline.......2005-07-13

The Batman novel "Night Cries" is one which explores a very difficult and taboo subject: child abuse. Batman is pushed into the world of child abuse when the abusers are killed methodically by an emerging serial killer.

There is a moment of desperation when Batman realizes even he cannot prevent all the injustice and suffering in the world. At that moment, the normally cold and calculating appearance of Batman withers for just a moment to reveal the young boy who made a compassionate vow on the eve of his parents' murder.

How to handle child abuse? Unlike robbery or homicide, it is hard to prove and difficult to prosecute. Even Batman's stomach turns as he must occasionally watch from the shadows helplessly like the little children who are abused. If you want something that is more about the action, this may not be it for you; it is a tragedy and also about a difficult subject.

The art is gripping. I think it is really good for establishing a depressing mood which is appropriate for the tragedies that unfold in the story. Just be careful with this one, it is a heartbreaking story.

The Children Cry.......2005-06-19

Batman: Night Cries is a graphic novel that takes place in the early years of the Batman mythos, and has him and newly-appointed Commissioner Gordon tracking a series of gruesome murders linked to child abuse. As the story unfolds, Gordon is forced to confront how his own anger issues are straining the relationship with his wife and son.

This is a beautifully painted and crafted story that explores the issue of child abuse well, with two minor flaws. The first is a melodramatic final page that has Batman screaming into the night because he can't help all the crying children. I appreciate Goodwin's intent, but it just doesn't work for me and feels rather cheesy. The second is that there's a somewhat obvious answer to the killer's identity, because its one of the three newly introduced characters at the beginning of the story. For a work that deals with such a serious, real-life issue, it might have been wiser to make the killer a complete unknown, and integrate the new characters in another way.

Ultimately the good outweighs the bad, and Batman: Night Cries is a worthwhile self-contained story for your collection.

Incredibly powerful and haunting work..........2004-01-25

More than any other Batman graphic novel, Night Cries deals with a subject that hits home. Whether or not you have experienced or know people who have experienced child abuse, it is not difficult to identify with the characters and be moved by this story. The reason for its power is that it is the most human Batman story I've read. Unlike Arkham Asylum which deals with wacky screwed-up villains, or the Dark Knight Returns which tells of an Batman's action-packed rebellious return, Night Cries speaks of children. It speaks of the effects that abuse has on human souls, the abused or the observers of the abused. Nothing tears the human soul more than a child in any sort of pain, and Night Cries explores these types of pain and the effects of it. Scott Hampton also took much time and care creating the lush and dark paintings in this graphic novel to fit Archie Goodwin's mysteriously unfolding story.

Note: By no means am I suggesting that Dark Knight Returns or Arkham Asylum are not good (in fact I like them more than Night Cries) but Night Cries is definitely far more arresting than either of the aforementioned.

The art is bad, the story is worse.......2002-02-11

The art in Night Cries is cut from the same cloth as Arkham Asylum. If you liked the latter, then there's a good chance that you'll like the former. I personally found the art in both unappealing and uninspired, but to each their own. Night Cries is also drug down by a poor story with too many confusing elements that get further muddled by the poor art.

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Written by People who don;t know anything.
Sequart.com Publishes it First Book: Batman Begins and the Comics
A totally fun read, and really informative
A very insightful look at a great film.

Batman Begins and the Comics
Julian Darius
Manufacturer: Lulu.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 141164543X

Book Description

Batman Begins and the Comics studies the 2005 film, directed by Christopher Nolan, paying particular attention to how it draws on its comic book source material. Grossing over $200 million at the U.S. box office, Batman Begins was co-written by comic book writer David S. Goyer and was widely praised for its fidelity to the comics that inspired it. This book contains scene-by-scene annotations, including notes on scenes cut from the film, as well as an essay on previous attempts to film Batman's origins, an essay on the film's relationship with past Batman films, and a week-by-week study of the film's box office performance.

Customer Reviews:

Written by People who don;t know anything........2007-09-27

Since this was done by a copmic book fan web-site and not by the film makers, it is little more pure speculation. It was not done by the film makers, nor by entertainment reporters, or journalists of any kind, just fools who work at a web-site, that is for people who have no life, and nothing better to do.

Sequart.com Publishes it First Book: Batman Begins and the Comics.......2005-11-23

Sequart.com has published their first book written by the online journal's creator and editor Julian Darius. Batman Begins and the Comics is as well written, informative, and fun as the website that has come to be known for its thoughtful comics scholarship and news.

With Batman Begins and the Comics Darius has created a well organized comparative study of the films and comics of Batman. From the better, to the just awful attempts at bringing the Dark Knight to the screen, Darius builds to his thesis that Batman Begins is the best of the filmic translations thus far.

The book is full of interesting clusters of obscure information. The chapter "Unproduced Attempts to Film Batman's Origins" was as delightful to read as any gossip column. After this setup, Darius moves into a BLOW by BLOW, PUNCH by PUNCH, WHAM! by WHAM! (Yes, comics puns intended here folks!) analysis of the film. Darius constructs a methodical study and provides a frame to understand not only the film itself, but the entire context of the film in the history of cinema and comics. One device Darius has created to aid in his study is the "Actor Note" blowout boxes. I particularly found these tools quite useful as they allowed for the author to comment on this important aspect of the film without becoming disruptive to the main discourse.

Finally, Darius ends the book with an essay titled, "Erasing Burton: Batman Begins, Realism, and the Anxiety of Influence". The inclusion of this essay was a sharp decision by the editors because it contextualizes the entire film series. I believe Darius achieves his goal of re-establishing the Burton films to the position they once held while simultaneously showing how memory and influence work on art.

This text proves to be a fun and informative read for anyone that is interested in either Batman, comics, or film, and it is the perfect read for those that happen to like all three.

A totally fun read, and really informative.......2005-11-10

If you are a fan of "Batman Begins" then you DEFINITELY need to check this book out. It's packed with great information about the movie itself and the comics that came before it, and how they all connect. I've been a comics fan all my life, but I never really got into Batman until the movies came out, and this book really helped me understand how the comics really shaped the way Batman is portrayed on the big screen. I loved it! The book is analytical, but at the same time lots of fun. It is never boring, and once you start it, it is really hard to put down.

For any comics fan, this would make a great gift. For any fan of the movie that doesn't really know too much about the comics, this is a TERRIFIC resource. And if you're a fan of good reads and fun books, I highly recommend this book.

A very insightful look at a great film........2005-10-21

What can I say. This book is incredible for a number of reasons.

First / foremost, it was put together so quickly, which would normally indicate a "hack" job. But it isn't hack work at all. For the time it took to make, it is an AMAZING read. It is very detailed and Julian's eye for detail is uncanny.

Second, it's a FUN read. It has so much more than just film annotations. It has a great section in the beginning that talks about a TV show that never got off the ground that details the life of a young Bruce Wayne (in a similar fashion to Smallville). It has box office numbers, comparisons to the comics that "Batman Begins" derives from, and so much more.

I finished it in a day or two. It's a fun insigtful read. Buy it and enjoy!

Batman Begins: The Movie and Other Tales of the Dark Knight

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Trying to use "Batman Begins" to get more readers interested in the Dark Knight
Cool adaption!
A Nice Adaptation of a Superb Movie

Batman Begins: The Movie and Other Tales of the Dark Knight
Killian Plunkett , Scott Beatty , Serge LaPointe , and Jose Villarrubia
Manufacturer: DC Comics
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1401204406

Book Description

Begins, the film by acclaimed director Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia) and writer David Goyer (Blade), starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Ken Watanabe, Katie Holmes and Tom Wilkinson, can now be read as a graphic novel! This colorful adaptation of Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knights emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents murder, disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect and an array of high-tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city. This collection also contains four more tales featuring the comic-book version of the Dark Knight!

Customer Reviews:

Trying to use "Batman Begins" to get more readers interested in the Dark Knight.......2005-09-08

I think it is clear that the idea here is to get people who liked the movie "Batman Begins," which I have no problem seeing as being the best Batman movie to date, to read some of the Batman comic book titles put out by DC. The hook here is the official comic book adaptation of "Batman Begins," by writer Scott Beatty, penciller Kilian Plunkett, and inker Serge LaPointe," but the stories included in "Batman Begins: The Movie and Other Tales of the Dark Knight" are taken from those sundry titles and are intended to get young to pick up current issues to see what Gotham's caped crusader is up to (although DC really prefers that you check out some of the collections advertised on the last pages of this trade paperback). The movie adaptation is fairly faithful to the movie, but you will probably notice a couple of missing scenes, so that even at 60-plus-pages it could have been longer. One of the strengths of the movie was the depth it displayed, and that is sacrificed in this retelling. The artwork is certainly functional, although the brown and gray color schemes get to be a bit much at times. But it is a decent enough adaptation (4 stars), which will tide you over in terms of remembering what happened in the film before the DVD comes out.

After the adaptation of "Batman Begins" we get to read the origin of Batman from the comics, specifically "The Man Who Falls," from the "Secret Origins" trade paperback. Written by Denny O'Neil and drawn by Dick Giordano, you have the same basic structure with young Bruce Wayne falling into the bat cave, the murder of his parents, and then traveling to the Orient to be taught by a wise master on top of a snowy mountaintop. The story, which ends with Batman donning his costume for the first time and heading off into the night, is told entirely in captions (no word balloons). It would be interesting to have a collection of Batman origins (you probably cannot fit all of them into a trade paperback this thin), going all the way back to Bob Kane's original one and tossing in the relevant pages of Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight" returns just to see how the story has evolved and elements have been added over the past half-century plus.

The other tales of the Dark Knight are relatively ordinary Batman adventures. "Air Time" from "Detective Comics" is by writer Greg Rucka, penciller Rick Burchett and inker Rodney Ramos, takes place one night when the Lucky Hand Triad kills some cops making a grab for some drugs. In trying to get away the gang drives a SUV with a father, mother and son off a bridge and into the bottom of the lake. The question is how they can stay alive until somebody comes to rescue them, and that cannot happen until the Batman figures out what has happened. "Reasons" is a "Batman" story by writer Ed Brubaker, penciller Scott McDaniel, and inker Andy Owens, has our hero tangling with Catwoman and finding out something when she calls him on hanging out in the neighborhood of the Monarch Theater (where Bruce Wayne went with his parents before they were killed), along with his tendency to let bad guys shoot him while he is wearing his Kevlar armor. So this story actually fits the grand design here.

The final offering is "Urban Legend," written by Bill Willingham with art by Tom Fowler and inks by James Sinclair, drawn from "Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight." Basically Batman is beaten so badly that he does not remember that he is Batman. That means the great detective has to figure out what he was doing, because clearly whatever he was trying to do he has not finished the task. Fortunately the gang that ends up with an unconscious Batman believes that the enemy of their enemy is their friend. A minor story, but it does focus on what Batman means, as the twist at the end clearly indicates. So chances are that you will probably like the other tales of the Dark Knight collected here more than the movie adaptation.

Cool adaption!.......2005-08-12

Basically the comic book adaption of the movie does nothing more than tell the story of the movie through the medium of the comic book. But that is all that I was looking for in this book and it delivers that so it serves its purpose. Also though it does show some shots from the film as it would look in the comics so that is a pretty cool reason to buy this book. DC have chucked in some other Batman stories from the comics which all show elements of where Nolan must've researched for parts of his adaption. For example, one shows Bruce Wayne's journey to becoming Batman through travelling the world.

I'd reccomend this book to all bat fans and fans of the movie if not for the movie comic adaption itself, for the other stories showing the inspiration to certain ideas presented in the movie.

A Nice Adaptation of a Superb Movie.......2005-08-09

This is a very well done adaptation/collection inspired by what I consider to be the best movie I've seen this year. If you enjoyed the film, it's worth checking this out to see some additional dialogue that was left out of the film. The additional tales in the collection were well chosen. I highly recommend this.

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Batman #654

Manufacturer: DC Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

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ASIN: B000GLRCZO

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Batman vs. TwoFace vs...Harvey Dent? The 8part "Face the Face" storyline ends with a bang in a grand finale that will have a longlasting impact on Batman and Robin's relationship!

Batman Begins Stencil Activity Book: With Stickers

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Batman Begins Stencil Activity Book: With Stickers

Manufacturer: Batman Begins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Board book

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ASIN: 0696225905
Release Date: 2005-06-17

Batman Begins Ultimate Color & Activity Set (Batman Begins)

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Batman Begins Ultimate Color & Activity Set (Batman Begins)

Manufacturer: Batman Begins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Misc. Supplies

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ASIN: 0696226987
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Batman Begins: The Man Who Falls, The Bat-man, The Long Halloween

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Batman Begins: The Man Who Falls, The Bat-man, The Long Halloween
Denny O'Neil , Bill Finger , and Jeph Loeb
Manufacturer: DC Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: B000KFSYJ4

Product Description

Batman Begins - Special DVD Issue. Compilation copyright 2002. Originally published as "Secret Origins of the World's Greatest Super-Heroes, copyright 1989 "Detective Comics #27 copyright 1939. "Batman: The Long Halloween #1, Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special" copyright 1996.

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Batman Begins: The Official Movie Guide
Claudia Kalindjian (Text)
Manufacturer: Warner
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ASIN: B000OFA9SE

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