Appropriate WWII Batman icon is appropriate

[zolac_no_miko]

Okay, so, some of you may remember when I acquired a copy of the 1949 Batman and Robin movie serial at Office Depot for $10? And it was awful and awesome and hilarious? ...I should probably mention for posterity that they did manage to hoodwink me in a major plot point, so... the writers were not as dumb as I thought they were? I dunno that it was clever writing so much as cheating....

ANYWAY. Not long after I acquired that classic gem, I found the 1943 Batman movie serial for $10... I think at a Safeway? So I bought that too, DUH. I've only just now gotten around to starting to watch it.

OH. EM. GEE.

Okay, so this one is actually a much higher-quality Batman product. Better acting all around, better costumes... Batman and Robin are actually semi-competent.... Luckily this film is saved from not being a circus of lulz by being filmed and set during WWII. So... war propaganda! And, even better, RACISM!

I started to realize what I was in for when they opened a scene on Gotham's Little Tokyo, which had become a ghost town as Gotham law-enforcement had, and I quote, "wisely rounded up the shifty-eyed Japs." At which point I say, "...HOLY SHIT DID THOSE WORDS ACTUALLY JUST GO INTO MY EARS JUST NOW?!" :DDDDDDD

The Main Villain of the piece, is, in fact, meant to be Japanese, but as all the actual ethnic-Japanese in the country have been "wisely rounded up", what we have instead is an incident of... yellow-face??? The character is very authentically named Tito Daka; his hair is black and slicked back, he has a skinny little mustache, his eyes are all made-up to look dark and squinty, and he has a vaguery Asian-sounding accent. There's a truly amazing moment when someone he's captured exclaims something about his "twisted Oriental brain!" Daka has an army of EVIL AXIS CYBERMAN ZOMBIES that he controls through a special microphone, and radium-powered ray-gun technology. :DDDD

Bruce, Dick, and Alfred are FABULOUS, btw. Dick is ADORABLE. The one in Batman and Robin is... kinda dumb as a brick. This Dick is smarter, younger, more exuberant, and SO MUCH A BETTER ACTOR OMG. He has kind of a weirdo derp face, but... HE'S PRECIOUS. You get to see him weiring PIMPIN' SCIENCE GOGGLES, and also looking like a tiny GQMF in his pimp-ass suit at a restaurant. And and and Bruce and Dick actually go UNDERCOVER in COSTUMES so we get to see PAPERBOY DICK AAAAAAAWWWW HE'S SO CUTE!!! And he does many classic Robin crotch-dives! :DDD This is important. *nodnod*

Bruce is... kind of a special panda, omg. Just... asdfjkl;ljhgsd SCENE:

[Batman and Robin have small-time crook tied up for questioning in their "Bat's Cave"... small fluttering shadows can be seen]

Crook: [terrifed] What are those?!
Batman: [airily] Just some of my bats.

Also he uses appropriated evidence, which just happens to be a high-powered future weapon, to prank unsuspecting Alfred! And he and Dick have a big jolly laugh about Alfred's terror. Wtf? XD ...Bruce, just say no to firing ray guns in the house.

Finally, in case I wasn't already in love, Batman and Robin take, like, any excuse they can get to come CRASHING THROUGH WINDOWS at people. ...Oh man, I'm only two episodes in, this is going to be SO. AWESOME.

Comments

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

Now I have Batman and Robin busting up a bar to the tune of "Ballroom Blitz", running through my head. :D


The show was, as I said, campy fun. It was aware of being that at the time, and poked fun at itself; and if you watch it for that kind of sensibility, and appreciate silliness and slapstick, you'll enjoy it, I'm sure.

[zolac-no-miko.livejournal.com]

Teeheehee, omg, YESSS!!

I've... seen clips of Batman dancing. THEY'RE TERRIFYING. ...I prefer my Batman dark and brooding and scary over camp (I can't stand the movies Batman and Robin and Batman Forever, for instance), but I think if I put myself in the mood for it, for the entertainment and historic value, I could enjoy it.

...But then I'm pretty sure I'd have to drink some bleach. XD;

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

Drink some ~booze, beforehand, it's much more effective. Have a little party-invite your friends, cook up some nummies, and go MST on the show.

I liked the first movie all right, in terms of story. I didn't like Michael Keaton as Batman, he's got too weak a presence. I liked Val Kilmer in the role better, and there were a few sparks of charisma between him and Chris O'Donnell; but again, the latter isn't a mature enough actor for that role, imo. I think they've rushed too quickly to introduce characters-they should have had at least one movie with just Batman and Robin, establishing the partnership, before dragging in Batgirl and villain duos (they had to do duos because no other villain is as scary alone as Joker!Jack). I didn't see the Christian Bale version, and I don't want to. He is NOT Batman/Bruce Wayne.

I did like that movie he did with the dragons, Reign of Fire. Not an unflawed movie, but much better than it got credit for, imo.

[zolac-no-miko.livejournal.com]

Ahahaha, yes, that's definitely going to have to be how I do it. DRUNKEN BATMAN PARTY. Someday....

I have the Batman Forever soundtrack, and I love that. The music is very Batman.

I kind of adore the Nolan movies, actually, I went into a fit of glee after the first one that... hasn't really ended, I don't think. It's a different interpretation of the character, but I'm okay with that, because everything else was so right. It felt like Batman. I mean, the whole first movie was about fear. And it's certainly the best-acted Batman's ever been.

I like the Tim Burton movies. I need to, like, own them. Dunno why I don't yet.

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

Have you seen the X-Men movies? If so, what did you think?

[zolac-no-miko.livejournal.com]

I like them! They're fun, and I think they did a great job with casting. At the time it came out, X-Men 2 was the best supehero movie ever made, imo (better than Spiderman 2, I thought, although everyone else was making a fuss over it; and speaking of casting, fffffff), but it was surpassed by Iron Man and Batman Begins... and then again by The Dark Knight and Watchmen. Again, imo.