While I couldn’t be more cynical about the ridiculously titled Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice (is it a court case exposé?), I’m here to argue that cinephile fans of Batman comics should have nothing to fear. If you dig the Caped Crusader’s adventures on the page, there are still plenty of films for you to enjoy!
Now, needless to say, over the years Batman stories have drawn inspiration from more movies than you can count. Heck, the Dynamic Duo has even – kind of – fought Charlie Chaplin:
Detective Comics #341
In fact, cinema has played a role in the Batman mythos from the start – the character’s origin has usually been tied with Bruce Wayne’s parents getting killed while coming back from the movies (although Christopher Nolan pompously changed this to an opera). There is even a memorable story in which the Dark Knight literally defeats the Joker by recalling scenes from Marx Brothers comedies (Batman #260).
A less known fact, Bruce Wayne also happens to be one hands-on movie producer:
Detective Comics #398
Detective Comics #404
Regardless, outside of movies with the words ‘Batman’ or ‘Dark Knight’ in the title – and even including those – it is not easy to find films that fully reproduce the feeling of a vintage Batman comic. There is some of the Caped Crusader in a lot of action heroes, but they tend to be more gun-toting and bloodthirsty. Psychotic villains that play games with their hunter have populated the screen for decades but post-Speed terrorists and post-S7ven serial killers tend to be merely scary, not fun. And film noir and gothic horror – two major visual cues for the comics’ look – are vast and varied genres in which not all movies equally resemble the work of the most striking Batman artists.
In drawing up the following list, for the most part I tried to think outside the box and avoid obvious trappings. It would be too easy to recommend other superhero movies, or even Sherlock Holmes material. Also, unless you live in a (non-Bat)cave, you probably already know that any fan of the globetrotting side of the Dark Knight can find a similar breed of stories – including megalomaniac villains and deathtraps galore – in movies featuring Indiana Jones or James Bond. Let me get Citizen Kane out of the way as well: yes, its cinematography has been influencing comics – and particularly Batman comics – ever since the film first came out and yes, the story is about a millionaire who lives in a huge mansion and obsesses over what he lost as a child, which should strike a familiar chord.
But what about movies you don’t know or have only heard of without ever realizing how close they may appeal to the Bat-fan in you?
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
The cops may be too bumbling and polite for the standards of the Dark Knight, but this movie’s villain – played by a seriously creepy Vincent Price – would not be at all out of place in a Batman comic. Dr. Phibes is at once tragic and camp, his origin and voice have echoes of Mr. Freeze in the ’90s animated series, he lives in bizarrely decorated headquarters surrounded by henchwomen, and his crimes are as theatrical as anything the Joker ever pulled – including hilariously impaling a victim with a unicorn’s head. The first ten minutes even feature a bunch of bats!
Accident
What if Rube Goldberg was a killer for hire? There are enough ingenious and overcomplicated deadly contraptions in this thriller to satisfy any fan of Denny O’Neil’s work. And in the best Batman tradition, under all the elaborate planning lies a story of loss and obsession.
And Then There Were None
Ten people find themselves on a mysterious, gothic-looking island getting killed one by one in eccentric ways, so the survivors have to figure out who the villain is before it’s too late. Sounds like a Batman tale to me! (And Grant Morrison agrees.)
Bad Day at Black Rock
Even if Batman were a one-armed vet kicking ass in a small town after WWII, he probably would sound nothing like Spencer Tracy… and yet, there is something about this movie that just makes it feel like it belongs next to one of those politically-charged stories that we get every once in a while.
Being John Malkovich
Here is a film that captures the kind of darkly surreal atmosphere I imagine you would find in Gotham City. There are pet monkeys, puppeteer superstars, and architectural oddities like the low-ceilinged 7 ½ floor where the protagonist works. Being John Malkovich’s plot is like a cross between a Gardner Fox comic and a Bob Dylan dream.
The Big Combo
I hear you: if we’re going with 1950s’ crime films, why not choose one of that decades’ many phenomenal thrillers about doomed heists (like The Asphalt Jungle, Kansas City Confidential, Rififi, The Killing, Odds Against Tomorrow, or even B-movie gems such as Appointment with Danger, Time Table, Plunder Road, or The Burglar)? It is true that Batman stories tend to be more about doomed heists than police detectives obsessed with a suicidal gangster moll, but if you enjoy stylish crime stories that take place almost entirely in shadowy streets and barely lit rooms, nothing can beat The Big Combo.
The Black Book
Imagine Batman getting involved in the French Revolution. Or you can just watch The Black Book (also known as Reign of Terror). Seriously, Anthony Mann directed one merciless rollercoaster of an adventure movie where each frame could be a page from the best-looking Elseworlds tale never drawn. (And if you enjoy it, check out Mann’s The Tall Target, where you can picture the Dark Knight in 1861 trying to prevent Abraham Lincoln from being assassinated during a train ride).
The Brothers Bloom
The two brothers from the title are a couple of con men who – together with a sidekick called Bang Bang that specializes in explosives– pull off zany capers around the world. A Batman crossover waiting to happen, if there ever was one.
Dead of Night
A group of guests in a country house share horror stories and, almost 70 years on, they remain more chilling than a breath full of Scarecrow fear gas. These tales are made from the same cloth as comics taking place in the haunted corners of the Batman universe such as ‘The Secret of the Waiting Graves,’ ‘Wail of the Ghost-Bride,’ or ‘A Contract With Death!’ As a special treat for Bat-fans, the most frightening story even includes a long-distance relative of Gotham’s Ventriloquist.
Delicatessen
This surrealist fantasy takes place in post-apocalyptic France, but it could just as easily have been Gotham City during the ‘No Man’s Land’ storyline. Like in Being John Malkovich, everything and everyone seem a bit off, from the deranged Frog Man (pictured above) to the vegetarian guerrilla group who live in the sewers – you know things are going to get messy if they ever bump into Killer Croc or the Ratcatcher down there! Also, there is this totally Airwolf montage.
NEXT: More films!