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Rating: Everything that came after this film, as far as the cinematic Batman is concerned, is as if it never happened.
Batman Returns was the pinnacle, never again reached by the sequels.
The previous one was already a great film (thanks mainly to the amazing Jack Nicholson), but in this chapter, Burton truly outdid himself. Let me just recall the excellent performances of the three protagonists (with DeVito at the forefront), the special effects, and also the soundtrack by Danny Elfman (who collaborated on several other Burton films as well).
The CD (21 tracks) opens with "Birth Of A Penguin", divided into two parts, with the Batman theme inserted in the second. In "The Lair" (also two parts), an atmosphere is created that shows the Penguin's tragedy along with his perversion, the theme repeats like an obsessive music box that truly manages to showcase his inner self without the need for images. And here comes "Selina Transforms"... this music is truly grand. Selina's character is that of a depressed, hysterical (albeit honest) secretary who, with her resurrection, finds herself battling with herself, with an inner anguish that forces her to act and become Catwoman. She also rebels against a world that despises her. "The Cemetery" is a piece with strong dramatic content; it's the moment when the Penguin visits his deceased parents, exploited by himself as a media moment... but to what extent? The Penguin's is not just fiction; he had a torn and shocking childhood. It's up to you to find the moment when the artifice ends and the painful realization begins.
The tracks that immediately follow are good, but I don't find them particularly noteworthy. In "The Children's Hour", the Penguin's theme is revisited, in a rather macabre way: it's the moment when he seeks revenge against a world that rejected him because he's a "monster". In "The Final Confrontation" and "The Finale", there's really everything that, at this point, you would expect. Significant is the music that underlies the closing credits, where the themes of the film's three characters: Batman, Penguin, and Catwoman, are masterfully united. Thus, we reach the last track. The final piece serves as the backdrop to the meeting between Wayne and Selina at Schreck's party, for the encounter between two incredible characters, "different" from all the others, who finally reveal themselves to one another, a song (aptly called "Face To Face", by Siouxsie & The Banshees, rich in exotic atmospheres, from synths to percussion) that ideally closed the Batman chapter.
Just think of the unanswered question left at the end. Everything that came after this film... is as if it never happened.
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