The Corner Penthouse

Warner Bros. is releasing the Batman 4-Film Collection - consisting of Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), and Batman & Robin (1997) - on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray disc on September 17, 2019; though the four individual combo packs are being released three months earlier on June 4th. What's included and is it worth an upgrade? Read on to find out...

For the first 12 years of my life, the only live-action Batman I knew was Adam West in the classic 1966 TV series and movie. That all changed in the Summer of 1989 when Tim Burton's masterpiece Batman was released. No longer was Batman seen as campy and goofy. He was dark, he was serious, and he kicked butt! Now, in honor of the character's 80th anniversary, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released that film, and the three that followed in the 1990s, remastered in 4K UHD for the first time.

These new 4K UHD discs feature gorgeous 2160p/HDR video presentations and equally engaging Dolby Atmos soundtracks. The included Blu-ray discs, which have been remastered and also includes the new Atmos soundtracks, carries over almost all of the bonus features from the previously-released Blu-rays with one exception: the "Gotham City" music video by R. Kelly from the Batman & Robin disc is gone.


The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being the clownishly homicidal Joker. 1989's Batman was directed by Tim Burton and stars Jack Nicolson as The Joker and Michael Keaton as the Caped Crusader. Produced by Jon Peters and Peter Guber from a screenplay by Sam Hamm and Warren Skaren, the film also stars Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale. The film won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction.

Batman is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 2:06:23. On the audio side, there's Dolby Atmos and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 tracks for English; Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks for French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Thai. The film includes English SDH, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Thai subtitles. The first print run includes a beautiful glossy slipsleeve.

The UHD disc only contains the vintage commentary track with director Tim Burton. That audio commentary is also included on the remastered Blu-ray, in addition to all of the bonus features from the previous Blu-ray disc. The full list of bonus features on the included Blu-ray disc is listed below.

• Audio Commentary with director Tim Burton
• On the Set with Bob Kane (2:34)
• Legends of the Dark Knight: The History of Batman (40:39)
• Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight (1:11:45)
• Batman: The Heroes (12:40)
  - Batman (4:55)
  - Vicki Vale (1:57)
  - Alexander Knox (1:37)
  - Commissioner Gordon (1:55)
  - Harvey Dent (2:13)
• Batman: The Villains (7:23)
  - The Joker (5:00)
  - Bob the Goon (2:22)
• Beyond Batman (50:41):
  - Visualizing Gotham: The Production Design of Batman (10:26)
  - Building the Batmobile (9:25)
  - Those Wonderful Toys: The Props and Gadgets of Batman (6:03)
  - Designing the Batsuit (6:58)
  - From Jack to the Joker (10:40)
  - Nocturnal Overtures: The Music of Batman (7:06)
• Batman: The Complete Robin Storyboard Sequence (4:25)
• "Batdance" music video by Prince (6:58)
• "Partyman" music video by Prince (4:01)
• "Scandalous" music video by Prince (4:18)
• Theatrical Trailer (1:44)

When a corrupt businessman and the grotesque Penguin plot to take control of Gotham City, only Batman can stop them, while the Catwoman has her own agenda. 1992's Batman Returns was also directed by Burton and stars Keaton again as The Dark Knight. Produced Denise Di Novi and Burton, the screenplay is by Daniel Waters from a story by Waters and Sam Hamm. The film also stars Danny DeVito as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, Michelle Pfeiffer and Selina Kyle/Catwoman and Christopher Walken as Max Shreck.

Batman Returns is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 2:06:28. On the audio side, there's Dolby Atmos and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 tracks for English; Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks for French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Thai. The film includes English SDH, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Thai subtitles. The first print run includes a beautiful glossy slipsleeve.

The UHD disc only contains the vintage commentary track with director Tim Burton. That audio commentary is also included on the remastered Blu-ray, in addition to all of the bonus features from the previous Blu-ray disc. The full list of bonus features on the included Blu-ray disc is listed below.

• Audio Commentary by director/co-producer Tim Burton
• The Bat, The Cat and The Penguin (21:54)
• Shadows of The Bat - The Cinematic Saga of The Dark Knight Part 4: Dark Side of The Knight (30:19)
• Batman: The Heroes (7:04):
  - Batman (3:07)
  - Alfred (4:01)
• Batman: The Villains (11:22):
  - The Penguin (4:29)
  - Catwoman (4:32)
  - Max Shreck (2:19)
• Beyond Batman (1:05:52):
  - Gotham City Revisited: The Production Design of Batman Returns (11:27)
  - Sleek, Sexy And Sinister: The Costumes of Batman Returns (13:31)
  - Making-Up The Penguin (8:15)
  - Assembling The Arctic Army (9:34)
  - Bats, Mattes And Dark Knights: The Visual Effects of Batman Returns (11:37)
  - Inside The Elfman Studios: The Music of Batman Returns (11:25)
• "Face to Face" music video by Siouxie and The Banshees (4:21)
• Theatrical Trailer (2:35)

Batman must battle former district attorney Harvey Dent, who is now Two-Face and Edward Nygma, The Riddler with help from an amorous psychologist and a young circus acrobat who becomes his sidekick, Robin. 1995's Batman Forever was directed by Joel Schumacher and stars Val Kilmer as Batman. Produced by Tim Burton and Peter McGregor-Scott, the screenplay is by Lee Batchler, Janet Scott-Batchler and Akiva Goldsman from a story by Batchler and Batchler-Scott. The film also stars Tommy Lee Jones as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, Jim Carrey and Edward Nygma/The Riddler, Nicole Kidman as Dr. Chase Meridian, and Chris O'Donnell as Dick Grayson/Robin.

Batman Forever is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 2:01:35. On the audio side, there's Dolby Atmos and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 tracks for English; Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks for French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Thai. The film includes English SDH, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Thai subtitles. The first print run includes a beautiful glossy slipsleeve.

The UHD disc only contains the vintage commentary track with director Joel Schumacher. That audio commentary is also included on the remastered Blu-ray, in addition to all of the bonus features from the previous Blu-ray disc. The full list of bonus features on the included Blu-ray disc is listed below.

• Audio Commentary with director Joel Schumacher
• Riddle Me This: Why is Batman Forever? (23:27)
• Shadows of The Bat: The Cinematic Saga of The Dark Knight Part 5: Reinventing A Hero (28:32)
• Batman: The Heroes (9:38):
  - Batman (4:33)
  - Robin (2:55)
  - Dr. Chase Meridian (2:09)
• Batman: The Villains (6:51):
  - The Riddler (4:16)
  - Two-Face (2:34)
• Beyond Batman (45:50):
  - Out Of The Shadows: The Production Design of Batman Forever (12:41)
  - The Many Faces Of Gotham City (13:45)
  - Knight Moves: The Stunts of Batman Forever (5:45)
  - Imaging Forever: The Visual Effects of Batman Forever (7:08)
  - Scoring Forever: The Music of Batman Forever (6:29)
• Deleted Scenes (13:33):
  - Escape From Arkham (1:52)
  - Two-Face's Hate (1:43)
  - Beauty and the Batman (0:47)
  - Dick's Pain (1:27)
  - Bruce's Dilemma (3:21)
  - The Secret of the Batcave (4:25)
  - Does It Ever End? (0:25)
• "Kiss From A Rose" music video by Seal (3:55)
• Theatrical Trailer (3:31)

Batman and Robin try to keep their relationship together even as they must stop Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy from freezing Gotham City. 1997's Batman & Robin saw Joel Schumacher return as director and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dr. Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze and George Clooney as Batman. The film was produced by Tim Burton and Peter McGregor-Scott, written by Akiva Goldsman, also stars Chris O'Donnell as Dick Grayson/Robin, Uma Thurman as Dr. Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy, and Alicia Silverstone as Barbara Wilson/Batgirl.

Batman & Robin is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 2:04:52. On the audio side, there's Dolby Atmos and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 tracks for English; Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks for French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Thai. The film includes English SDH, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Thai subtitles. The first print run includes a beautiful glossy slipsleeve.

The UHD disc only contains the vintage commentary track with director Joel Schumacher. That audio commentary is also included on the remastered Blu-ray, in addition to ALMOST all of the bonus features from the previous Blu-ray disc (the R. Kelly "Gotham City" music video is missing). The full list of bonus features on the included Blu-ray disc is listed below.

• Audio Commentary with director Joel Schumacher
• Shadows of The Bat: The Cinematic Saga of The Dark Knight Part 6: Batman Unbound (27:04)
• Batman: The Heroes (9:22):
  - Batman (3:35)
  - Robin (3:10)
  - Batgirl (2:36)
• Batman: The Villains (8:10):
  - Mr. Freeze (3:26)
  - Poison Ivy (2:33)
  - Bane (2:11)
• Beyond Batman (50:49):
  - Bigger, Bolder, Brighter: The Production Design of Batman & Robin (10:04)
  - Maximum Overdrive: The Vehicles of Batman & Robin (9:57)
  - Dressed to Thrill: The Costumes of Batman & Robin (12:16)
  - Frozen Freaks and Femme Fatales: The Make-up of Batman & Robin (9:25)
  - Freeze Frame: The Visual Effects of Batman & Robin (9:04)
• Deleted Scene: Alfred's Lost Love (0:47)
• "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" music video by Smashing Pumpkins (5:15)
• "Look Into My Eyes" music video by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (4:58)
• "Foolish Games" music video by Jewel (4:02)
• Theatrical Trailer (2:29)

Now that I've done a full breakdown of what's on the discs, I'd like to discuss the picture quality and something odd I noticed with the Batman Blu-ray disc. At 1:21:22 (chapter 26) and 1:36:15 (chapter 31), the Joker's face is excessively white and his suit is miscolored. I'm sure this issue occurs at other points in the film, too, but these were the ones I spotted quickly. Below are a few framegrabs from the original Blu-ray and this new "remastered" Blu-ray to show what I'm talking about. You'll also notice that the original Blu-rays were 1.78:1 open matte, and the new ones are 1.85:1 matted. Click on the image for the full 1920x1080 framegrab. There may be color issues with the other "remastered" Blu-rays, but none jumped out at me as much as with the first film.







A Movies Anywhere 4K digital copy code voucher is also included in each standard two-disc black 4K UHD case.

The Batman 4-Film Collection is available in a big box set, as well as in individual 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray disc Combo Packs: Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), and Batman & Robin (1997). If you're interested in the 4K UHD discs, this is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - and not just because it's the only 4K release of the films. It looks and sounds fantastic in 4K! If you're buying for the remastered Blu-ray disc, I'd say SKIP IT. The old Blu-rays, available in the 4 Film Favorites: Batman Collection Blu-ray 4-disc set, are definitely a little softer (which also makes them look more film-like), but they don't have the overblown white issue I noticed with Batman, and that set includes one extra bonus feature (on the Batman & Robin disc) that is missing here.








The 4K UHD+Blu-ray Combo Packs for all four films have been provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.