As with the previous movies the Special Edition DVD is extremely well done. It is a 2 disc set and is the same whether you get it by itself or in the 4 movie Anthology box set.

 

Video:

1.85 widescreen: This is a new transfer and really looks good.

 

Audio:

5.1 Dolby and 5.1 DTS: The sound is clean, clear, and rich. Again, it's not HD quality, but stacked up against other DVD's it sounds quite good.

 

Packaging:

There's a unity to the look of the Special Edition movies' art which is great although I like the Blu's cover art better.

 

The case itself is standard plastic.

 

Unfortunately, like the others, there is no insert which also means no chapters list or other printed info.

 

The interface isn’t particularly creative, but it does have animation and audio which is better than a plain page.

 

Extras:

-Commentary: Joel Schumacher speaks. The best thing about the commentary is that Joel does not attempt to defend and justify his work. He recognizes the movie was a failure and bucks up to it admirably. He even goes so far as to apologize. He gets a pat on the back for doing this commentary and being honest about it. He talks about what went wrong which makes the commentary interesting.

 

-Trailer: The only other extra on disc 1.

 

-Shadows of the Bat: The Shadows of the Bat behind the scenes series wraps up. This time it deals a lot with the over-hyping of Batman & Robin and how that strangled the production.

 

-Behind the Scenes: This one has its own set of technical behind the scenes clips. They deal with the design, the new Batmobile and other vehicles, costumes, make-up, and effects. There is a play all option for the group.

 

-Character Profiles: The character profiles are back, and once again the ones that were in the last movie are recreated to be unique. They look at the way the characters were interpreted this go around. There is a play all option for the group. They include Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Bane.

 

-Deleted Scene: One deleted scene this time. It’s a short scene that looks at Alfred’s life.

 

-Music Videos: There are a whopping 4 music videos this time. I’m not terribly fond of any of them, but I’m sure many people disagree since at least one or two did well on the radio.

-First is “The End Is the Beginning Is the End” by Smashing Pumpkins. There are some interesting visuals with it. That's the best I can say about it.

-Next is “Look Into My Eyes” by Bone Thugs N Harmony. The video carries a story that has nothing to do with Batman and features few Batman images.

-“Gotham City” by R Kelly does a better job with working in the Batman visuals. I never liked the song, though, too mellow for me I guess.

-Finally is “Foolish Games” by Jewel. The song and video have nothing at all to do with Batman. It seems too mellow to belong with a super hero action movie.

Other Editions:

The Original Print:

The older DVD is mostly bare-bones though it may offer some production notes as an extra. The video is 1.85 widescreen with 5.1 surround sound. I have read that the quality is awful. The combo DVD that offers this version is a 2 disc set and therefore probably includes double-sided DVD's (1 movie per side).

 

The Remaster:

The Blu-rays list everything that I described with the Special Edition DVD counterparts (no Blu-ray exclusive features, in other words). The main difference, of course, is the HD quality: 1.85 16x9 widescreen presentation at 1080p with 5.1 Dolby True HD sound. I have to caution you, though, several reviews have said that the actual quality is not as impressive as one might think. Even if that's true the new transfer already looks good just on DVD.

 

The Anthology box set would, as I'm sure you can surmise, look like you bought all 4 movies on Blu and put them in a Batman box.

 

The Blu combo repackages everything but appears to include the same specs and extras as the regular Blus. Assuming the info listed is correct you'll only miss out on some of the nicer original packaging but get all of the same content.

Final Thoughts:

I would have been hesitant to get this movie had it not come in the Anthology box set, but regardless of how I feel about the movie itself, the DVD extras fascinated me. I enjoyed the honest look at what made Batman & Robin stink up the theaters rather than everyone pretending like it was a great production. The Blu video quality might not be a huge improvement over the DVD, but the new transfer already looks quite good. There's a lot here for your money. Avoid the bare-bones DVD at all costs. The only reason to own this movie at all is for the bonus features.

Review