Other Releases Available:

Releases Reviewed:

There so many releases out for Batman Begins that it gets a bit annoying to sort through them all especially when there are often so few details about what sets each one apart from the others. I've pawed through the product searches and other reviews for you to help get at least some idea of what the options are.

There is a single disc DVD version that’s available in both video formats (widescreen or pan-&-scan AKA "Full Screen"). There is a 2-disc DVD version which is offered in a variety of packages and variations. The “Special Edition” is the standard 2 disc set. The “Deluxe Edition” appears to essentially be the Special Ed. with extra packaging and a special comic book added to it.

And here's where details start getting sketchy: at some point I saw a box for an edition that had a lenticular cover (it moves when tilted). I’m not sure if that is part of yet another version of the release or just a package variation. I have heard that the first printing of the Deluxe Ed. comic book had a misprint of some kind. It was about the time of the recall that I quit seeing the lenticular covers. Perhaps they decided to exclude that from the packaging when they released the corrected book. But all that is to say I don't really know for sure what the differences between the lenticular packaged version and the others might be.

There are a number of other larger packages and exclusive offers that you may be able to find with some searching. After attempting to look them all up I decided that I couldn't put together enough reliable info to advise you on them all since I couldn't find anyone currently selling most of them. The Limited Edition Gift Set, which is available as DVD or Blu-ray, is really the only one that I can say for sure is a credible, currently available release.

Now it's time to talk about the high-def versions. There's a standard Blu (with a steelbook variation) as well as a figurine edition which has a cool looking bust of Batman for your shelf. Lastly is the HD DVD release.

That's all just talking about Batman Begins by itself. When you start adding The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises you have a whole new set of options to consider. There is an “Ultimate Collection” which is the latest, greatest and is Blu only. There is a Christopher Nolan Batman Collection which includes the first 2 Dark Knight movies. Then there the Dark Knight Trilogy which includes all 3 movies. Both of these appear to be offered on DVD and Blu. And finally, there is a Christopher Nolan Director's Collection which includes the first 2 Dark Knight movies along with some others and is only available on Blu currently.

My own personal version is the 2 disc Deluxe Edition DVD. As I've said before, this is the 2-disc Special Edition with a couple of additions.

Video:

2.35 widescreen: While the image quality is strong you will not get the full impact of the IMAX prologue on DVD. Other than missing out on that I have no complaints. It's a strong image.

Audio:

5.1 Dolby: You'll get better quality by going with the Blu, but this sounds great with good bass and strong surround sound immersion.

Packaging:

The disc case itself is standard plastic and is the Special Edition packaging with the addition of an outer box large enough to store the extra book that defines the Deluxe Edition.

The interface on disc 1 is nothing special, although it does feature some movie clips, a nice music loop, and some sound FX. The one on disc 2 is so interesting that I'm going to wait and discuss it in the Extras section below.

I get annoyed at the movie previews that play when I put in my DVD. I can't even tell you what they are for this one. I refuse to watch them. Give them to me as options on the interface and I'll check them out if I'm interested. Shove them in my face every time I play my DVD, and I'll resist seeing them at all just because I can.

Extras:

-Book: The Deluxe Edition includes a book that doesn't appear to be available with any other edition. It contains 2 and a half stories. One is "The Man Who Falls" which looks at the transition of Wayne into Batman. This clearly was used in the first portion of the movie, although the movie changes the nature of the elder Wayne and expands a great deal on the events. Next is "The Bat-Man," the very first Batman story. Its inclusion was the primary reason I wanted this book since I'd never read it. It was worth the effort to get. Last is "The Longest Halloween," or a portion of it. I guess it’s worth reading to see if you might want to go out and buy the whole book. I would have preferred something more complete.

-Tankman Begins: This is a short spoof made for TV. It mixes movie footage with scenes by Jimmy Fallon, Andy Dick, and the guy that was Napoleon Dynamite. I’ve seen funnier, but it’s not bad. It’s certainly a worthy extra. I believe you'll be getting this no matter which version of the movie you buy.

-Trailer: The last video extra on Disc 1 is a trailer.

-Interactive Comic Book Interface: Now we come to disc 2. What’s interesting about it is that the interface itself can be considered an extra feature. You’re reading a comic book version of Batman’s first encounter with Scarecrow (although it must have been taken from an earlier script draft because it doesn’t follow the movie exactly). The pages feature some simple animation, music, and basic sound FX. You move around the page looking for different things to highlight – sometimes a picture, sometimes a word – in order to access the other features.

While this is fun there are 2 problems with it. The first is not having any idea how many features may be on any given page. This isn’t so bad though, because there is an index of features at the end, so if you don’t want to hunt you can just use the menu. The downside is that there are Easter Eggs hidden in the pages, less obvious things to highlight that don’t appear in the index so if you go the index route you will miss things.

The other problem is that you have to start at page one and go through the book in order to get to any particular page including the index. That gets a bit annoying if you’re not going through all the extras at once or want to watch any one particular thing. They should have put a page index, or shortcut to it, at the beginning so you could jump to a particular page.

Because of all that I will reformat my extras list differently. I will go page by page and will include all Easter Eggs instead of giving them their own section as I usually do.

-P1:

-Conceiving Batman: a behind the scenes video covering writing, casting, etc. It’s fairly long and very good. Highlight the books to access.

-P2:

-A behind the scenes clip discussing the secrecy of the script. Highlight the hole in the wall.

-P3:

-A discussion of the costume: why wear it, in-story creation, and real world creation. Highlight Batman.

-P4:

-CGI comparison of Christian and his computerized self. Highlight Scarecrow’s eyes.

-P5: Nothing

-P6:

-A behind the scenes look at the sets, building and using them. Highlight the city below gliding Batman.

-A written description of the cape and its uses in story terms. Highlight the word “cape.”

-A description of the belt in story terms. Highlight the utility belt.

-P7:

-Stunt Outtakes – interesting and sometimes funny. Highlight Batman’s reflection in the puddle.

-Description of the body armor in story terms. Highlight the leftmost phrase “body armor.”

-Description of the Tumbler. Highlight the word “Tumbler.”

-P8:

-Scarecrow dossier (written description of the character). Highlight his name.

-Ra’s Al Ghul dossier. Highlight his name.

-Carmine Falcone dossier. Highlight his name.

-A behind the scenes look at Wayne’s training and other early sequences and the locations where they take place. Highlight Ra’s.

-P9: Nothing

-P10:

-Behind the scenes look at stunts – rehearsals and demonstrations. Particularly interesting if you want to know about the actual Martial Arts styles used. Highlight leftmost Batman.

-James Gordon dossier. Highlight his name.

-Rachel Dawes dossier. Highlight her name.

-P11:

-A behind the scenes look at the influence of specific comic book stories. It’s long and very good. Highlight the words “ripped from the pages.”

-Access the galleries by highlighting the archetype paragraph. The galleries include US posters, international posters, and poster ideas. There are some great images here.

-Henri Ducard dossier. Highlight “none of it is real.”

-P12:

-Lucius Fox dossier. Highlight his name.

-P13:

-A behind the scenes look at the new Batmobile. It covers concept, design, creation, testing, and shooting. Highlight the car.

-Alfred Pennyworth dossier. Highlight his name.

-P14:

-A behind the scenes look at the finale scene. Highlight Batman.

-Access the index by highlighting the page icon.

DVD-ROM

-Game Demo: The DVD-ROM includes a demo of the mobile game based on the movie. I haven't checked it out.

-Web Links: Also on the DVD-ROM are some web links for your surfing pleasure.

Other Editions:

Standard DVD's:

In order to keep this section from being unbearably long I'm going to combine details as much as possible. All of the DVD's list the exact same specs so you can read about those in the details above. The one exception is the obvious one, the “full screen” release has the 1.33 pan-&-scan ratio instead of widescreen.

The single-disc DVD appears to contain everything that is on disc 1 of the 2-disc release. You may be able to get this with a digital copy of the movie now as well.

The Special Edition is the exact same product as the Deluxe Edition (which I've covered above) except for not including the book and the extra box.

Blus:

The Blus vary a bit more, at least when it comes to what is listed. The stand-alone Blu lists 2.40 widescreen while all of the others list 1.77. The actual ratio may vary a bit between the standard widescreen and the IMAX portions so it's entirely possible that the listings are just confused and there actually is no difference between the releases at all. Count on a 1080p presentation no matter which one you get. Audio is 5.1 Dolby True HD, and while I can't confirm it based on what I found I would bet it's the same across the board. I have read that the high-def quality is stunning especially with the IMAX prologue.

The extras in the Blu releases are exactly the same as the DVD except for an additional HD look at the sequel, The Dark Knight, and a feature called the “In-Movie Experience” which sounds a lot like a high-tech commentary. I don't know if the comic book style interface will still be in place for the Blu, but if not that's probably an unimportant loss compared to the HD quality of the movie itself.

The HD DVD appears to be virtually the same as the standard Blu package.

Special and Limited Editions:

One version of the steelbook Blu is said to be a limited release. It lists a preview of the documentary “The Dark Knight Reborn” that I have not seen listed anywhere else and includes an Ultraviolet copy of the movie. Judging from one image I saw this may have been a Best Buy exclusive. There is a different steelbook that lists nothing that the regular Blu doesn't.

The Limited Edition Gift Set varies slightly between the DVD and Blu versions. The set will include either the 2 disc Special Edition DVD or the Blu (depending on your chosen format). Among the additional goodies listed are a bonus disc with a preview of The Dark Knight, a few postcard lithographs and a lenticular card, and a 128 MB flash drive with some high resolution Dark Knight promo images stored on it (it originally contained a ticket to see the sequel in theaters but even if it's still included it will be useless to buyers at this point unless they update it to cover newer releases). One review mentions that the flash drive is missing from the Blu version of the package. As best as I can tell these come with 2 books, both covering the first portion of The Dark Knight from different approaches. A couple of reviews have expressed disappointment over the content of the gift set saying that the package is overpriced for the quality it offers.

As for the various combo packages one is the Dark Knight Trilogy set. The Blu version appears to contain all the extras from the standard releases. The DVD version is only 3 discs and lacks many of the extras (though I have yet to find enough detail listed to say for sure). Your main perk for buying the set, besides saving money, is a book which is an abridged version of The Art and Making of the Dark Knight Trilogy.

The Christopher Nolan Collection appears to include the standard Blu release in a set with 4 other movies. It includes 10 art cards and a book with info about the movies that are included. While I haven't see all of the art cards, the Batman related ones I've seen look really sharp.

The Ultimate Collector's Edition trilogy appears to include everything that has come before it as far as extras plus about 90 minutes worth of new material including new interviews and a documentary on the trilogy. Most interesting are the 3 Hot Wheels replicas of vehicles from the films. There are also some art cards and a hardback book. Reviews suggest that the package is interesting but probably not worth the cost if you already own the movies.

You can find more variations and exclusive editions if you look hard enough. Somewhere out there is the misprinted book and other goodies, but these are your clearest, most readily available options.

Final Thoughts:

Decision time. What to get? What to get? It really depends on where you put your priorities. There are options with and without extras, inclusion of the comic book (which I thought was well worth getting) or just the movie, trilogy sets and individual releases, and HD or standard definition. Decide which options are more important to you and check the price. The Ultimate Collector's Edition trilogy is going to give you the most, but you're going to pay for it. The 2-disc DVD is satisfying, and I have enjoyed having the Deluxe Edition book. Happy hunting, batfans.