Batman: Gotham Knight Created by Bob Kane.

This DVD is six interconnected (loosely) stories by six writers, and six directors. It is the first PG-13 animated Batman feature.

Have I Got a Story For You.
Written by Josh Olsen
Directed by Nishimi Shoujiro

In this segment, four skater kids are getting together, and telling their tales of what happened to them. The first kid tells his tale: he was skating down by the docks, when a mysterious figure knocked him off his board. This villain in a body suit and goggles is preparing to bean him with his own board when suddenly, out of the shadows, a figure erupts, tackling the bad guy. Batman, a figure made of shadows, emerged from the dark and began to battle the miscreant, shimmering from shadow to shadow, emerging to strike, and melting away like some Lovecraftian Horror.

The girl says she can top the story, because she got there first. Her version of Batman is very like Man-Bat, the monster with wings, a sort of werebat. He fought the same villain, but he had a jet pack. Batman flew after him, and ripped the backpack off of him, and then ripped off his head… (Her friends call her on it) okay, that was for drama, but it was SPLAM! BOOM! CHRUNCHK!

The next boy’s story moves the incident back one more step; atop a skyscraper, the villain flies in and calmly begins robbing; it’s a high tech mugging. But Batman arrives in the VTOL Bat Copter, and thuds onto the roof. Batman is a robot (an Iron Man Batman, if you will)

The fourth friend is amazed, and appalled; he missed everything.

Suddenly their skate park is broken into: it is the villain, with the Bat in hot pursuit! There is a smoke grenade, and most of the kids are driven back. Then the Villain is getting the upper hand, when the skater kid whacks him upside his head with his board. Batman says “Thanks for the hand” and disappears. Now this kid has the best story of all, and there is no one there who actually saw it.

This is the Roshoman episode. It shows how perception colours the Bat, not only in his various incarnations over the years, but in the eyes of each onlooker.

The art here is horrible; very different, very independent comics rough and stylized. The story is great. The art blows chunks. What a dilemma.

Crossfire
Written by Greg Rucka
Directed by Hidashige Futoshi

This story focuses on Crisps Allen and Ana Ramirez, two of Gordon’s hand picked members of the Major Crimes Units. They do not necessarily trust Gordon, but Allen’s distrust is born of his distrust of a man who will work so hand in glove with a vigilante.

Ramirez is less judgmental; she sees the bigger picture. Things are better in Gotham. There is no longer shame in being a police officer.

Their mission is to take a prisoner across the Narrows, into Arkham, and in doing this, they talk about their disappointments and hopes. However, the placement is unfortunate; they end up directly in the middle of a turf war between The Russian and Boss Maroni. Literally caught in the crossfire. Guess who saves them?

The art here is so much better. It is much more realistic with real anatomy and perspective. It has been described as the wedding of impressionist and anime. That is vaguely correct; I would add it is the very gothic in its use of shadow. The story is not as strong as the first, but the overall experience is better.

Fieldtest
Written by Jordan Goldberg
Directed by Morioka Hiroshi

This segments story focuses on Lucas Fox’s latest development, an Electromagnetic Field Generator that can stop bullets. Batman is pursuing a possible underworld connection to two ships in the harbor, continuing the connections of the Russian and his mob

The problem here is the device does not work perfectly, and it puts others in danger. Batman is not willing to put others in danger, not even to protect himself.

”I'm willing to put my life on the line to do what I have to. But it has to be mine, no one else's.” Bruce Wayne

The art here is the most purely anime. Bruce is indistinguishable from the pretty Seme’s in anime and yaoi. The palette is softer, with more pastels, and more of the action takes place in the daylight.

Also, if the first story was about how the world sees Batman, The Urban Legend, and the second, how cops see the Bat, vigilante or hero, then this third piece is really about how Bruce Wayne sees the Batman. Very interesting theme.

Darkness Dwells.
Written by David S. Goyer
Directed by Aoki Yasuhiro

David Goyer is the author of Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight, and it is that movie world where these stories are set.

This story takes the Bat into a new cave, the sewers under Gotham. Pursuing an urban legend (nice twist there) he is hunting a humanoid Crocodile and the people he has kidnapped. Killer Croc, a former circus freak, he was being treated by Dr. Crane to overcome his chiropteraphobia. Here, Batman is functioning as the detective, hunting, pursuing, and stalking. And worse than the Croc are in these pipes…Scarecrow is building an army! A rescue mission in the sewers with an Urban Legend on one side, an insidious madman on the other, and all while tripping on acid. What a ride!

This piece has art somewhere between Mike Mignolia, Edward Gorey, and Neal Adams. It is dark, brooding and not entirely realistic. Faces are overly craggy, overly shadowed, and very grim. It fits the mood and energy. Earthy and rich, the palette is appropriate to the setting.

This story in many ways is the purest. It could have been pulled right out of the pages of Detective Comics. It is very well done.

Working Through Pain
Written by Brian Azzarello
Directed by Kubooka Toshiyuki

What Batman comic would be complete without a flashback to his time becoming the Batman?

In the Sewers, where he freed the priest held by Scarecrow, Batman goes back. He is shot by a man whacked out on fear gas, and as he examines his wound, his mind goes back to where he received his medical training…in a war zone, helping assist in surgery without anesthesia. Back in the sewer, crawling toward the exit, a rat hisses at him, and his mind travels back to a fight between a mongoose (the rat) and a cobra. That was the day the Indian Fakirs informed him they would not teach him, because he lied about his motivations…he does not seek illumination or enlightenment. But he is led to another who might help him. There is a woman, trained by the Fakirs, but later rejected. Living as an outcast, she agrees to help him with his pain, both external, being managed, and internal, being faced. So the outcast is being trained by an outcast. And he learns much about the manipulation of his body, but perhaps less about the manipulation of his spirit.

But when the local teenagers come to taunt and harass Cassandra, his teacher, Bruce intervenes. Six thugs are no match for him. However, his training is now over. He has learned what he came to know, and she realizes his pain is beyond her ability to heal. And so he has to go.

Back in the sewer, he calls Alfred to meet him. But as he sits in a stack of refuse, he comes across a gun. Horrified, he searches and uncovers a whole arms cache, discarded in the trash. When Alfred arrives, his arms are full of assault rifles and pistols. Alfred extends a hand…”Sir, take my hand.” and Batman, burdened by the weapons, can not take it. Fade to black.

The art in this piece in a little like a Nagels poster. Clean line, not much detail, low on shadow. It is clean and crisp in contrast to many of the other pieces. But it is excellent, and the depictions of India are wondrous.

And the look on Batman’s face when he finds the gun…brilliant. And the look on his face when he can’t climb out of the garbage because he is burdened with the guns…heartbreaking.

Deadshot
Written by Alan Burnett
Directed by Jong Sik Ham

The story opens with Bruce’s memory of the gun that killed his parents. Alfred is rather put out with the arsenal that Master Bruce has drug home; they keep getting in his way.

Alfred asks him how he can stand to have them around, and Bruce talks about the allure of the gun.

The villain of the piece is Deadshot. He has been hired to kill a few prominent Gothamites. His first kill tells us exactly what level of skill Deadshot has.

A captured PDA from earlier in the show leads them to believe Commissioner Gordon is the target. Using him in a moving motorcade as bait, Batman follows through the city.

Watching via satellite Alfred mentions that the motorcade will pass under a bridge as a train goes over. And Batman knows where Deadshot will be trying to make his move.

There is a visually stunning battle on a moving train between the ultimate gunman versus the man who will not use one. In the end, Deadshot is shown for the man he is, and ultimately, because he does not give in to his anger, so is Batman.

The art, much like the art in Crossfire, is a combination of realism and stylization, gothic anime. I don’t know why, but there is an element to the art that reminds me of men’s clothing ads (drawn) from the sixties. It is subtly sexy and clean and handsome.

Through all of these stories, tied together by the voices, and the storylines of Boss Maroni and his classic mafia, versus
The Russian, and his punk organization, and the suave business men who make their businesses possible, there is another character…Gotham. The art in each piece also serves to highlight the city that is Batman’s home. Dark and dingy up close, it is also beautiful in the long panoramic view. Art Deco, gargoyles and industrial touches all blend to make the mean streets and steel cliffs that are the home of heroes.

It has been said Metropolis is New York in June at three in the afternoon. Gotham is New York below 14th Street, on the coldest night in November, when you are all alone, and then you hear footsteps.

This DVD was a bold experiment, meant to bridge the time between Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight. It gives us a look at several villains who won’t get screen time in the near future, and introduces us to some important characters for the upcoming movie.

When all is said and done, I have to say that as an overall piece of art, this story worked. There were elements that were disharmonic, or even just butt ugly, but on the whole, it did what it set out to do; it gave us a view of Batman and his world from several different points of view. If you loved the first movie, and are planning to see the Dark Knight, I highly recommend this.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older