I see why they wanted Jack Nicholson to play the Joker. In his role in The Shining he acts really unhinged and crazy, but honestly he's even more like that in that movie than he is in Batman. It's still good, don't get me wrong, but he feels more toned down, and that felt really disappointing.
he looks extremely wall-eyed in the thumbnail
Batman's script was written on the fly in some parts. They didn't even have a proper ending; Tim and the gang went out on the town while filming in England and saw 'Phantom of the Opera'. The ending of the play saw the characters ascending stairs which clicked for him to add to the movie but not with a proper conclusion. As Jack was going up some stairs, he kept asking, "What am I doing? Where am I going?" to which Tim replied, "I'll tell you when you get there." He was of coure, given incredible leeway and freedom in this movie the likes of which he never had before and hasn't since. The notion of being able to dress how you want, say what you want under all that makeup and do as you please while getting paid an insane amount of money to do so. You didn't just see unhingement in his performance; you saw Jack Nicholson celebrating that he finally got 'fuck you' money.
>>219211845 This is basically it. 1989 Joker isn’t “crazy,” he’s indulgent. Shining Jack feels like a man deteriorating in real time. Batman Joker feels like a bored movie star having the time of his life being a ham.Burton’s Gotham is theatrical and operatic, so Nicholson leans into the vaudeville gangster bit instead of the axe-murderer schizo meltdown. It’s more Cesar Romero with a coke budget than “Here’s Johnny.” Different flavors.Also you can tell the movie low-key worships him. Keaton disappears for stretches while Jack gets music cues, museum scenes, parade setpieces. He’s not toned down, he’s curated. The insanity is filtered through studio blockbuster polish and Prince songs.The “I’ll tell you when you get there” anecdote is peak Burton though. Vibes > structure. Somehow it works anyway.
>>219212110Thanks AI.
>>219211845>>219212110You're both AI
>>219212335Nigga, what?
>>219212335second post is AIfirst one isn'tlearn to spot the signs, you've had long enough by now
It really makes you wonder as to why the role is revered so much. I understand that its Batman's most well known arch-nemesis, but there have been some absolute heavyweight actors in their field undertake it.
>>219213790Sort of wish it was Tim Curry's lively eyes in the role, but Jack is great as a bored vaudevillian boomer gangster. I always thought Batman 1989 was more influenced by Vertigo than Phantom of the Opera since it seems like a doomed Romance at times, but they detail the Joker's rectification of various 'wrongs' that were done to him in the earlier parts of the movie and that feels influenced by the Phantom. I just wish Nicholson's Joker had a better lair than some random apartment or corporate boardroom.
