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The Elseworld has arrived, DC fans!
There is a shadow that stalks the corners of the alleyways in Gotham City. Another one – separate but just as severe – darkens the very top of roofs. His shadow looms larger. One of those threatening shadows carries a long, steely blade and he attacks women before they even know they are being followed. The other one, high over the city, wears a cape and a cowl. Both are furious. Both are pissed. And both are striking terror in their Victorian world.
Welcome to the showdown of the century: Batman vs. Jack the Ripper. That’s right, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment are giving fans a royal treat with their adaptation of 1989’s Batman: Gotham By Gaslight, a graphic novel that gave Batman a whole new dimension along with a new time period in which to fight crime. Well, Warner Bros ups their adaptation game and makes some changes by tossing out the script and going for broke, giving Batman a sort of Steampunkesque look by way of Sherlock Holmes vibe to an original story.
Maybe these changes will disappoint the faithful. It works for DC’s new animated movie, regardless. This is not the graphic novel; it’s better. Directed by Sam Liu from a script by Jim Krieg, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight is another exciting book in the DC Universe Original Movie library.
Violent. Vulgar. And righteous as hell as it includes all of Batman’s infamous Rogues Gallery. Batman: Gotham by Gaslight is an R-rated solid adaptation of the graphic novel that is supported by some great voice work by Jennifer Carpenter as Selina Kyle, Anthony Head as Alfred, Yuri Lowenthal as Harvey Dent, Scott Patterson as James Gordon, and Tara Strong gives voice to Barbara Gordon and Tim Drake.
It is an interesting spin on the Batman legend due to the fact that all of our beloved characters – even Hugo Strange and Solomon Grundy – have been transported to another time period. Gotham, too. Everyone and everything is tangled within a repressed Victorian society plagued by the killings from an unknown skilled hunter called Jack the Ripper.
He’s not just a brawler, says Batman (voiced by Bruce Greenwood). Jack the Ripper, in this adaptation, is a trained killer. And, as Bruce Wayne gets access to the unpublished letters of Jack the Ripper’s dissection plans, we get a unique view of the violence that the real Jack the Ripper spilled out onto the streets of London. But this animated adventure is a bit different. We have our Dark Knight and a cast that includes some fan favorites doing some very unique things in the already established Batman mythology.
The gang – including Harvey Dent, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, the Gordon family, and more – are all here…in the 19th century. Bruce Wayne conducts an epic investigation and finds himself grappling onto zeppelins to hunt down a masked Jack the Ripper, who wishes nothing but death upon every citizen below.
Executive Producer Bruce Timm has designed a wondrously rich world for Batman’s unique adventure to unfold against. It feels perfectly normal for Batman to be in this time period. Any fan of the character will certainly dig what has been done to him and the cast of characters. Yes, there are changes to the established roles and that adds so much weighty interest to this movie.
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight is now available by Digital Download and on DVD and Blu-ray on February 6th. The film proves that Batman, regardless of the time period, always hears when the voiceless cry out.
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MPAA Rating: R for some violence.
Runtime: 78 mins
Director: Sam Liu
Writer: Jim Krieg
Cast: Bruce Greenwood, Jennifer Carpenter, Chris Cox
Genre: Action | Adventure | Animation
Tagline: Catching a legendary killer takes a legendary hero.
Memorable Movie Quote: "I paid Houdini three hundred dollars for that trick."
Distributor: DC Entertainment
Official Site: www.dccomics.com/
Release Date: January 23, 2018 (internet)
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: February 6, 2018
Synopsis: Batman: Gotham By Gaslight takes place at the turn of the century as America’s continued industrial revolution is to be showcased at a World’s Fair hosted by Gotham City. But while the world prepares to witness the glittery glory of Gotham’s technological advances, there is a killer loose in the city’s darkest shadows. Preying on the city’s women, this killer is as precise as he is cruel. As Police Commissioner James Gordon tries to calm the fears of Gotham’s citizens regarding the butcher called Jack the Ripper, the masked vigilante Batman enacts his own detective work – with the help of confident, capable Selina Kyle – to stop the Ripper’s murderous spree. Witness a world in flames as the notorious serial killer’s controlled savagery meets the calculated stealth of the Dark Knight.
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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
Blu-ray Details:
Home Video Distributor: Warner Bros.
Available on Blu-ray - February 6, 2018
Screen Formats: 1.78:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, German SDH, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit); French: Dolby Digital 5.1; German: Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set; Digital copy; DVD copy
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
The aesthetics of the movie are served well with this release from Warner Bros Home Entertainment. Colors are bold and unwavering. Black levels are strong throughout and the colors, while defined, are unflinching, preserving the notoriously breathtaking looks and shades of the graphic novel the film is based on. The 1080p/VC-1 release amps up the resolution and provides viewers with a very detailed look at the animation. The newly minted version supports the original16×9 aspect ratio (1.78:1) of the film’s broadcast and will include a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix as well as a lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix.
Supplements:
Commentary:
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Join Executive Producer Bruce Timm, Director Sam Liu and Writer Jim Krieg as they provide details about the scenes of Batman: Gotham by Gaslight and why this is a special project for each of them.
Special Features:
The Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital release of Batman: Gotham by Gaslight contains a bunch of extra material, including a featurette, and a commentary. Viewers also get a Sneak Peek at the next DC Universe Movie, Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay: A behind-the-scenes look at the next entry in the popular series of DC Universe Movies, featuring thoughts from the talented filmmakers. There is also two bonus episodes: “Showdown” episode from Batman: The Animated Series; “Trials of the Demon!” episode from Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
- Caped Fear: The First Elseworld
- Batman: Gotham by Gaslight Audio Commentary
- Hell to Pay Sneak Peek
- From the DC Vault
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