BatmanEschewing the camp tone of the 1960s TV series, Burton referenced the original DC Comics character and strip created by Bob Kane to draw darker inspiration for his skewed, neo-German Expressionist vision of a foreboding Gotham City and its avenging caped crusader. (Production designer Anton Furst received an Academy Award for Best Art Direction but tragically took his own life in 1991, a loss Burton felt acutely.)
Permeated by a mordant sense of humour, Jack Nicholson turned in an irresistibly maniacal performance as The Joker.
Having exorcised his id in Beetlejuice, Michael Keaton opted for a slow-burn take on his dual-aspect roles as the urbane, if emotionally alienated, Bruce Wayne and his brooding, bat-outfitted, vigilante alter ego.
