Batman - Gotham Knight (DVD)

...set I the year between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and tells the story of how Gotham City is changing and the Police are starting to win the street war that is still taking place between the organised crime syndicates and the Gotham City Police Department.

What we have is a number of Batman stories that are set in the Christopher Nolan universe that Nolan created for the two most recent Batman movies. Very dark and very moody ...
...the Anime look adjusts to Batman very well. Each story has its own take on the Batman legacy and involves the story being told from different perspective and angles that would not normally be seen.

As I said before the Anime style works well with Batman and the animation is short and sharp which allows the story to be told in a minimalist fashion yet giving maximum impact to the viewer. This really does show in scenes as the details ... more

So with the release of The Dark Knight, Warner Brothers have decided that what has worked for The Matrix could easily work again for The Dark Knight.

Batman: Gotham Knight consists of six animations, all 12 to 15 minutes in length that interlocks with each other and tell a story. It is set I the year between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and tells the story of how Gotham City is changing and the Police are starting to win the street war that is still taking place between the organised crime syndicates and the Gotham City Police Department.

What we have is a number of Batman stories that are set in the Christopher Nolan universe that Nolan created for the two most recent Batman movies. Very dark and very moody in nature of the way the surroundings are portrayed. The style of the way the animations are presented has a Japanese feel to it. This is mainly because the five well known Anime directors and the Anime look adjusts to Batman very well. Each story has its own take on the Batman legacy and involves the story being told from different perspective and angles that would not normally be seen.

As I said before the Anime style works well with Batman and the animation is short and sharp which allows the story to be told in a minimalist fashion yet giving maximum impact to the viewer. This really does show in scenes as the details that have been placed into one shot whether the background is stationary of in motion is truly amazing. The episodes that showcases this the best would be 'Have I got a story for you' as the detail throughout looks like it has just been transferred from a graphic novel, that is the quality of these stories. In other stories there is very little dialogue said and the animation speaks for itself due to what is happening on screen, so we have various means of effectively communicating via different mediums within the animation itself.

Okay so this has been done before with The Animatrix, but that was a few years ago and was meant to be an introduction to the Matrix Trilogy as well as an origin story as well. What Batman: Gotham Knight does is to bridge the gap between Begins and The Dark Knight so you have some idea of where the film will be starting from and how the story has evolved without playing catch up or being confused as to the changes and introductions of any new characters.

The plot in each story is also a major variable as some concentrate on an issue and can be quite closed off and static in terms of where the story goes and other can be wise open and energised. In the case of 'Field Test' the story end abruptly as the point of the story has been reached and it's on to the next one. This is completely different 'Working through Pain' where Batman is being trained in India and we see violence in a remote village rather than in a City.

One of the best things about are the voice actors who have participated, first up is Kevin Conroy who has been the voice of the animated Batman since 1995, his deep, rough voice really does bring out the dark and moody personality to the hero himself. Naturally he also plays Bruce Wayne as well and changes his voice ever so slightly to play the millionaire business man.

Within the story we are introduced to a number of new characters, these include members of the Gotham Crime Unit, set up by a newly promoted Lt Jim Gordon. In fact they have a complete story to themselves that only feature Batman towards the end of it. This character is voiced by Gary Dourdan, Warwick from CSI. I was surprised to see his name in the credits, but I was even more surprised to see David McCallum playing Batman's trusty Butler Alfred.

All the main characters from the films are included in the episodes. From Batman and Alfred to Jim Gordon, even Scarecrow makes an appearance as well in one story, a story called 'In Darkness Dwells' where Batman is underground and comes up against Killer Croc whilst on the trail of Scarecrow. This episode along with 'Deadshot' and Crossfire are quite violent in nature as there is a lot of gunfire and an amount of gore, so for younger fans this wouldn't be suitable to watch. In fact 'Crossfire' deals with a number of questions surrounding Batman, such as trust, beliefs and methods he uses which all adds up to the story being told.

The first story 'Have I got a story for you' is told from the point of view of teenagers who have witnessed Batman in action. This was an interesting aspect to watch as the story unfolds as all have a different perception of the main character and tell the others what they saw. By the end of the story there is only one person out of the gang that hasn't seen Batman in action until the Skate Park, in which they all meet up, becomes the location for the final showdown between Batman and the criminal he is chasing. It is actually refreshing to see this one and the fact that it is placed at the beginning of the DVD allows the basic premise to be set up for the following stories.

Batman is shown in different variations of costume and build throughout each story yet continuity is not so much an issue as you are watching the story being told by different people anyway, so this is their chance to tell a story in their own unique way, so if we did see continuity being upheld then we might as well just have had one film without it being broken down at all. This is mainly down to the fact that each story has a different Director and have given it their personal touch, but I do have to admit seeing what we know as the normal character appearance changed to an appearance with a light Asian twist was quite strange. Typically intriguing are the individual stances that have been placed on how Gotham City looks, while in some the skyline looks like a normal metropolitan city, in others it resemble something out of Blade Runner, seeing Batman perched on status in this scene was just incredible.

Executive produced by Bruce Timm, who has been responsible for the character design on most of the DC Animated universe such as Justice League and Batman Beyond, this is a high quality animation. The fact that this is directed by six well noted Japanase directors has allowed the normal boundaries to be quashed with a veritable free for all in the style and manner of the story telling. The Directors involved in this project are Yasuhiro Aoki, Futoshi Higashide, Toshiyuki Kubooka , Hiroshi Morioka, Jong-Sik Nam and Shoujirou Nishimi. I have heard of a few of these, but found that if you Google the names then you get a better idea of who they actually are and what they have been involved in previously.

One thing that watching this has pointed out to me again is that Anime is a strong method of emphasising something in an animation and I think that this has just revitalised my interest in this type of animation.

Its interesting to note as to how this has been marketed, yes it has come out at the sae time as the second film, but it is available with Batman Begins in a Double Pack as well as in Blu-Ray as well. Price wise this starts at £7.99, not a bad price for the DVD to become part of your collection. 

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