Batman  Begins

Batman Begins marked the start of Christopher Nolan’s transition from critically acclaimed indie-auteur to Hollywood’s most dependable director of intelligent blockbusters. The first film in his multibillion dollar-earning Dark Knight trilogy it is notable for reviving Batman on the big screen after the franchise fizzled in the 1990’s with the campy George Clooney/Arnold Schwarzeneggar Batman and Robin. Nolan wisely decided to go in the opposite direction and grounded his hero in a more “realistic” universe. Instead of bright garish colours and over-the-top performances he drew upon the tone of classic 1940’s film-noir and 1970’s gangster films like the Godfather Parts I and II. It was a fan-pleasing approach certainly appropriate to the hero’s detective comics origins.

Starring the charismatic and intense Christian Bale, and co-starring Liam Neeson, Michael Caine, Katie Holmes and Morgan Freeman it also features a wealth of talent in its smaller supporting roles, including Ken Watanabe and Rutger Hauer (perhaps a nod to Nolan’s well-known love of Ridley Scott’s Bladerunner). Batman Begins also marks the start of a six-film long collaboration between Nolan and his favourite cinematic “muse” Cillian Murphy that culminated in this past year’s Best Picture Oscar-winning Oppenheimer. Our “Almost 20th Anniversary” screening of Batman Begins will mark a rare opportunity to see Christopher Nolan’s first Batman movie presented in his preferred medium: FILM ON FILM.