(poster via http://www.66batman.com)
Kids today only know the grim and gravely-voiced Batman as played by Christian Bale in the two record-breaking hit films. A brutally realistic take on the comic book hero, the Chris Nolan trilogy is a far cry from the absurd shtick of William Dozer’s 1966 Batman TV series.
The TV series was wacky and bizarre, garnering high ratings on the small screen and even branching out as a feature film! A strange comedic version of the crime fighting hero, it left an indelible mark on the caped crusader removed only after Tim Burton’s 1989 film re-imagined Batman for a modern audience. Burton’s visually stunning nightmarish vision gave way to the multi-colored Schumacher films that challenged the malleability of the character while murdering its dignity.
When Batman returned to the big screen in 2005 it was in the form of a cinematic crime noir project. The surreal Batmobile was gone (replaced by a state of the art military armored vehicle), the quirky villains were hardcore murderers and charismatic terrorists and the hero himself a tortured soul.
All of these things considered, it’s very weird to see this modern version of Batman filtered through a 1966 lens.
Recommended:
Batman: The Movie (Special Edition) (1966)
The Official Batman Batbook: The Revised Bat Edition
The Boy Who Loved Batman: A Memoir By Michael Uslan
Batman in the Sixties
I think I mentioned before my great love for the Adam West Batman TV program. I watched it almost constantly to the point that I had no idea it was intended to be camp comedy entertainment. I got visually upset whenever my brother laughed at it and kept my Cooper Batman Halloween costume in my closet year round (just in case I needed it).
The Daily P.O.P. 