A great deal of care went into crafting Tim Burton’s 1989 blockbuster Batman. Not so much in terms of actively seeking to stick to the letter of the source material to please fans, either in terms of character origins or tone, but in terms of film construction. The vast majority of blockbusters, no matter the budget, are prone to gaffes as much as a micro-budget indie, if not more so. A ton of people work on blockbusters and, no matter how hard they’re working, film shoots are inherently complicated procedures. There are bound to be cracks in the hull. For the most part, though, they’re remarkably hard to spot in Batman.
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But that doesn’t mean cracks aren’t there. We’re going to point them out here, and once you see them you might not be able to unsee them. From character names spelled wrong to continuity errors, these are the mistakes that were made during the production of Batman that made it into the final cut.
1) A Disappearing (and Reappearing) Popcorn Bowl
At about an hour and 22 minutes into the movie, the Joker shows up at Vicki Vale’s apartment. She doesn’t quite know what to do, so she grabs a popcorn bowl. It’s not the most logical choice in the room, but it’s what she goes for.
However, as the movie cuts between Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger, we see her holding the popcorn bowl, then not holding the bowl, and so on. It would make sense for her to put the bowl down then not pick it up again, because what is she going to do with it anyway, but that’s not the case. It would be a more obvious gaffe if Michael Keaton had picked up and put down the fire poker between shots of “You wanna get nuts?!” and Joker’s reaction, but it’s a gaffe nonetheless.
2) A Changing Frame
When Joker sends out his message to Gotham, which is in actuality calling out Batman directly, there’s a continuity error. Specifically, from the perspective of Bruce Wayne himself.
Bruce is in his Batcave, looking at the television contemplating what his next move will be (and firmly connecting the dots between Jack Napier and Joker). When Bruce pauses the image, it’s a shot of the makeup-free Joker with his eyes closed. Several shots later, we get a look at the TV over Bruce’s shoulder and Joker’s eyes are now open, even though the broadcast is still paused. Unless he pressed play for a second only to pause it once more, it’s an error.
3) Does Bob Teleport?
When Bob and Joker’s mimes begin the approach to Gotham City Hall, we see Bob take some pictures. Those pictures come in later, when he’s showing them to Joker. But only one of those photos interests Joker, and that’s the image of Vicki Vale. The issue is, while Bob is to Vale’s right, the photo was clearly taken to Vale’s left.
4) Joker’s Bloodshot Eyes
The Gotham Cathedral fight is one of the best Batman movie action scenes, with great music, Joker forcing Vicki Vale to dance only to pull out a fake gun with a little “BANG!” flag, and, of course, a suitably gothic setting. It also has one of Joker’s goons foolishly jumping from a balcony about six feet in the air knowing full well that what is below him is a bunch of aged, creaky wood, apparently thinking it will go well. It doesn’t…he goes right through that aged, creaky wood.
But that’s not the gaffe in this scene. Instead, it has to do with Joker’s eyes. When the gargoyle statue has broken off Gotham Cathedral and is dragging Joker down to his demise, we get a few close-up shots of his eyes. In those shots, his eyes are bloodshot red. When he’s on the ground, however, with the little laughing mouth toy by his side, his eyes are white. Alongside allergies and infections, one of the causes of bloodshot eyes are trauma, which is likely how Joker got them after battling Batman. Admittedly, once you die, there is an initial physiological response where your muscles relax, causing the pupils to dilate. In other words, Joker’s eyes wouldn’t have stayed bloodshot, but the shot we get of him dead on the ground was right after his fall, so there still would have been red in them.
5) A Gas-Proof Open Window?
Vicki manages to escape Joker’s fatal laughing gas several times throughout the film. First is in the art museum, then the last time is in the third act. In the third act, she both holds a mask up to her face and evades the gas via getting into a car. When she gets in the car, however, she still would have been susceptible to the gas.
This isn’t because it would have weeded its way into the grill, but rather because of an open window. We get a few shots of the car speeding through the streets of Gotham and in at least one of them it is readily apparent that the passenger side rear window is wide open.
6) That Is Not Michael Keaton
One of the more well-known secrets of the first Batman is that the suit, while iconic, was extremely restrictive. Was that the reason why Michael Keaton himself wasn’t wearing it during a few shots of the alleyway fight between Batman and Joker’s goons?
That’s unclear, though likely. What is clear is that it’s a stunt double in the suit. It’s very much apparent when we get a shot of Batman from the front. The jaw is wider than Keaton’s, and in 4K it’s pretty glaring that someone stepped into the cape and cowl for the Beetlejuice actor.
7) You Actually Need to Inhale That First
There are a few logic leaps in the famous museum sequence of the film. For instance, no matter what type of gas, one must actually inhale it to feel its effects.
When Vicki Vale gets the note to put on the mask we first see a member of the kitchen staff look over at a vent then fall over. He doesn’t breathe it in. It hasn’t even reached head level yet. Then we see three museum restaurant guests at the table next to Vale. They too more see the gas than actually breathe it in. The same goes for the waiter, who takes a painful-looking tumble down the museum staircase.
8) “Vicky” Vale?
Very early in the film, when Alexander Knox first meets Vicki Vale, there’s a quick but massive character error. Vale has made a career taking some pretty grim photographs. It seems as though she’s put her life on the line to get those photos.
Most notably, she’s done this for Time Magazine. And yet, Time couldn’t even get her name right. They spell it “Vicky” Vale as opposed to the correct “Vicki” Vale. It’s right there on the cover. It’s also weird to see the shortened version of the word “Pictures” on a publication as reputable as Time, but perhaps that’s not a gaffe.
9) Knox Would Know Who Bruce Wayne Is
Towards the beginning of Batman, Bruce Wayne hosts a party. Yet it seems very few of his guests actually have any idea who he is. Bruce is a secretive guy, so it’s not the furthest stretch of logic. Though, even still, there are limits. Wayne is something of a celebrity in Gotham, both in terms of his tragic past and his philanthropic efforts.
However, while Vicki Vale has an excuse for not knowing who he is, Alexander Knox does not. She has been all over the globe taking pictures, but at the end of the day Vale is brand-new to Gotham. Knox has been in Gotham, one assumes, most of his life. Perhaps even all of it. He’s also been in the journalism game for a while, predominately focusing on the innerworkings of Gotham City. How he could look right at its most prominent billionaire and philanthropist in his face and not immediately recognize him is a bit of a mystery.
10) The Untouched Painting
When Joker and his goons enter the museum, turn on Prince, and start destroying the art, there is arguably the film’s biggest continuity error. It’s obvious because what is done in one shot is undone in the very next.
Specifically, Joker has one of the goons put paint-soaked handprints all over a painting. In the very next shot, Joker is dancing around a statue and begins imitating the pose seen on that statue. Just behind him, to the left of the frame, we see the same goon standing in front of what should be a tainted painting but is now completely clean.
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Image courtesy of Marvel Studios.
