Premium Format Batman Keaton Premium Format Figure

[iTreg]

I check back in on this forum to find everyone still focusing on the 'head-turn' when the real glaring issue is that no where in the '89 film is Batman shown descending stairs. Everyone knows this was a limitation of the suit as he could not look down at his feet!

Shame on SS for misleading collectors by not depicting Batman ascending stairs!

Ascending or fail!














LOL

 

[JAWS]

Nice piece overall. Not perfect IMO... Something seems off. If I were still a fan of 89 Batman then this would be a MUST OWN! But Batman 89 has not aged well IMO... The look of the film is cool but it begins and end there for me now. I tend to hate almost everything Burton has directed. He has great ideas and is very visual but I think he fails as a director... I liked 89 Batman back in when it first came out... But I never loved it. I always thought it was very flawed. Flaws that are more apparent then ever... I blame Burton for all of this.

But if you still love 89 Batman then I can't see how you could not get this.

 

[pturtle]

Nice piece overall. Not perfect IMO... Something seems off. If I were still a fan of 89 Batman then this would be a MUST OWN! But Batman 89 has not aged well IMO... The look of the film is cool but it begins and end there for me now. I tend to hate almost everything Burton has directed. He has great ideas and is very visual but I think he fails as a director... I liked 89 Batman back in when it first came out... But I never loved it. I always thought it was very flawed. Flaws that are more apparent then ever... I blame Burton for all of this.

But if you still love 89 Batman then I can't see how you could not get this.

I think it has aged pretty well. Batman Returns on the other hand…

 

[nemenforcer]

I am ready for the big day tomorrow...this is the Batman I have been waiting for.

 

[MagnumOpus]

Sallah!!!

1,000% agree!!! The not turning your head is more about how Keaton & film makers has issues with the restrictions a prop had after the film was released. Had nothing to do with the movie itself. The "turkey sandwich" actually is a funny, but relevant example. Plus the screen cap of him trying to turn his head. Just because it was not seen doesn't mean he couldn't do it in the story.

Restrictions from a prop doesn't have anything to do with a character, and the PF is a homage to the character himself, not restrictions to a prop / wardrobe because then every single Yoda Figure or statue should have like "puppet openings" to show he was a puppet.

Now if Batman said in 89 that "man, i cant turn my head to see you Joker", totally different story. Like he did in TDK where he asked Fox to make him a new suit. If a Begins PF came out, and Batman has turned his head to look behind him, then I would say "well, he really wasnt able to do that according to the story", then you got something...And its funny they used that in the film for a way to get a new suit because CBale had a tough time wearing it. Caused him headaches as we all know.

But 89, it was just the prop and Keaton telling the public he had difficulty with the suit. That should have no effect on what the PF pose can be.

So tell me brother did he say something about wearing NIKE shoes cause they suits better with the whole suit? Or why Sideshow does need to show a close-up photo of his shoes? Cause they try to point out that we made our statue SCREEN ACCURATE or what? If I remember correctly Peter Guber who is the producer of the movie insisted on that Batman has to wear Nike shoes and we learned that from the behind of the scenes...

 

[JAWS]

I think it has aged pretty well. Batman Returns on the other hand…

For my tastes there are Just too many plot holes, goofy ideas, bad effects, and poorly directed action scenes. It has a great score though. Without that score I don't think people would love it as much (of course the same could be said for a lot of films, JAWS being one of them).

But I understand that people still love it and that's cool. It was just a big disappointment for me back then and it has not gotten any better for me through the years. I don't hate it and I can still watch it from time to time. I have just never been in love with it like so many others have. I think if you loved it back then you probably still love it now. I was never in that "love it back then" group. I wanted to... I even tried to make myself love it I was a huge Nicholson fan so I was pumped for this film. But like I said... I blame Burton. Keaton was/is a great Batman. Probably the best. Bale has the best Wayne though.

PS - I actually find all but the last 30 min of Returns to still be enjoyable. However I have not seen it nearly as much as the original.

 

[brucecamblzchin]

I was 9 and I must've seen that flick like 6 times at the movies I love it still!

 

[sallah]

So tell me brother did he say something about wearing NIKE shoes cause they suits better with the whole suit? Or why Sideshow does need to show a close-up photo of his shoes? Cause they try to point out that we made our statue SCREEN ACCURATE or what?

You are debating a visual item with a physical ability... Not really the same thing.

Yes, they made accurate shoes... Not sure why thats a problem? The look of the suit is what it is- Including the Nikes. Nobody can debate something SEEN on screen, so not including that would be erroneous.

We didn't SEE him turn his head (unless you count the pic of him doing it that I posted), but that doesn't mean the character itself was not MEANT to, which leaves that as a gray area open to interpretation- Not like the actual look of the shoes. Everyone bases the "NO HEAD TURN" not from anything in the story or evidence in the actual film but from production stories... Which is not what this statue is based around.

Sallah

 

[sallah]

For my tastes there are Just too many plot holes, goofy ideas, bad effects, and poorly directed action scenes. It has a great score though. Without that score I don't think people would love it as much (of course the same could be said for a lot of films, JAWS being one of them).

But I understand that people still love it and that's cool. It was just a big disappointment for me back then and it has not gotten any better for me through the years. I don't hate it and I can still watch it from time to time. I have just never been in love with it like so many others have. I think if you loved it back then you probably still love it now. I was never in that "love it back then" group. I wanted to... I even tried to make myself love it I was a huge Nicholson fan so I was pumped for this film. But like I said... I blame Burton. Keaton was/is a great Batman. Probably the best. Bale has the best Wayne though.

PS - I actually find all but the last 30 min of Returns to still be enjoyable. However I have not seen it nearly as much as the original.

I couldn't disagree more... But hey- Everybody is entitled to their opinion.

Sallah

 

[morphosis]

So tell me brother did he say something about wearing NIKE shoes cause they suits better with the whole suit? Or why Sideshow does need to show a close-up photo of his shoes? Cause they try to point out that we made our statue SCREEN ACCURATE or what? If I remember correctly Peter Guber who is the producer of the movie insisted on that Batman has to wear Nike shoes and we learned that from the behind of the scenes...

the Nike shoes is not the same as "turning the head". The shoes is a real detail in the suit. turning the head was just a prop limitation. Technically the Nike shoes was just for Product Placement for the film. They were like "lets make Nike Boots" at all. Its a way they get funding for the film. Nike wanted "in" since it was going to be a big money making movie and they asked WB if they can incorporate any of their products in the film. The producers came up with the idea using the shoe as a base for the boots, and they are more hidden since they were really looking to make the movie look art deco 1940s rather than 1980s sportswear.

 

[DiFabio]

This whole "he couldn't turn his head" argument thing is obnoxious. One of the most embarrassing criticisms of a sculpt I've ever seen. Did Sideshow take creative liberties? Sure, it's a work of art, but he could turn his head.

That's one of those weird misconceptions that the fan base just loves to obsess about, the whole "bat neck" thing. "Ohhhh, he couldn't turn his head until Dark Knight", "Keaton, Bale, Kilmer, and Clooney couldn't turn their heads at all!". False. In every Batman film from '89 to Begins, he can move his head, just not well. It's not like the cowl was so stiff they couldn't look up or down or side to side. There's atleast one scene in every film where the actor tries to force his head to move to an extreme right or left . . . and succeeds. The most prominent ones are in Returns and Begins when Batman is driving in the Batmobile and Tumbler and has to look around. Even Clooney managed to do his odd head bobbing in the suit.


So hopefully we can put this to rest. That cowl wasn't some metal or wooden thing, it was pliable. They could turn their heads as far as this statue goes. The reason they didn't move it as often was because on film it didn't look natural. Some times the mouth would get all bunched up and turn with the suit. That's why it looks like the cowl doesn't even fit Keaton's face or Bale looks like he's about to burst out of that thing at times. Every cowl from Batman to Dark Knight Rises has been this cheap ***, latex rubber. Until 2008, the "bat turn" was the best option for a dramatic looking Batman.


https://youtu.be/sP9fFSc2Rx0



Just because they did that though doesn't mean they couldn't turn their head.

 

[morphosis]

exactly DiFabio! thats what I said earlier. the foam latex would bend and it wouldn't look like strong armor. it would give it away that it was soft material.

The end. not defending it anymore. No need to.

 

[Uncle Bingo]

I love the fact that since the turned head pictures have been posted the "the statue is wrong because of his turned head" people are no longer here complaining about the turned head. Now hopefully everyone can admit this is truly an amazing piece and everyone will order this masterpiece tomorrow.

 

[Cocoboloboy]

I love the fact that since the turned head pictures have been posted the "the statue is wrong because of his turned head" people are no longer here complaining about the turned head. Now hopefully everyone can admit this is truly an amazing piece and everyone will order this masterpiece tomorrow.

I posted my reply to sallah's head turn pic. Guess you missed it. I joked around a bit and left it alone. Maybe if you do the same the debate will die off and everyone can talk about how amazing this piece is.

 

[Josh-A-Tron]

Now that we're past all that...

Sent from my LG-MS770 using Tapatalk

 

[brucecamblzchin]

This whole "he couldn't turn his head" argument thing is obnoxious. One of the most embarrassing criticisms of a sculpt I've ever seen.

Thank you difabio, spot on.

 

[chrisdeeds]

This whole "he couldn't turn his head" argument thing is obnoxious. One of the most embarrassing criticisms of a sculpt I've ever seen. Did Sideshow take creative liberties? Sure, it's a work of art, but he could turn his head.



Well Said! Either you like the movie and can appreciate the statue or you pass on it. Bottom line I'm ordering it tomorrow! Any idea on the time it will go up for PO?

 

[DiFabio]

exactly DiFabio! thats what I said earlier. the foam latex would bend and it wouldn't look like strong armor. it would give it away that it was soft material.

The end. not defending it anymore. No need to.

Yup. You're exactly right.


I'm not sure what the naysayers of this piece were expecting. It's a statue first and foremost, what should they have done instead? It's not an action figure. This is a classic contrapposto pose with weight distribution and implied movement down the steps. The weight going on in the pose from him walking, the torso's slight movement and the head turn, is all appropriate for a statue. It would have been boring as hell if they just had him in some stiff looking pose doing nothing OR, on the flip side, had some crazy looking thing with movement that he never did in the film. This one strikes the right balance in my opinion.

Those steps really make the piece in my opinion. Had it been something else, I don't think I would have been fond of the pose. What we got though, Batman walking down the metal steps of his lair with rock formations and little bats, is just fantastic. I didn't really expect anything visually interesting on this one from the preview but the Batcave is unique and the alternate exclusive look with his unholstered grapple gun in hand really sells the whole thing.

If I'm going to nitpick something, it'd be the face and ab armor. Judging by the preview pics, the face doesn't look as good as Hot Toys or NECA. Then the sculpt of the armor is no where on the level of what NECA did with theirs (which looked like a 3D scan of the real deal). That's the PREVIEW pics though. Those pre-production, in progress shots of the full Keaton head and Batman portrait look spot on. The sculptor at Sideshow did a fantastic job. If that's the one we get on our production versions, plus great paint apps, I don't see who could refuse this one. The look of the face and the belt in the preview pics concern me and have me on the fence, but no way am I passing on this tomorrow. I'm not a huge statue nut (I prefer dolls personally), but the few I do own/display are of characters that really mean a lot to me. I have Batman Animated Series Maquettes from WB and DC that I love, no way would I forfeit the first film Batman.

Worst case scenario, I buy it, don't like it, and resell it. No big deal. Exclusive PF's are always in high demand, this being a Keaton Batman should make it even more desirable. I'm not worried though. Those progress shots of the unpainted proto makes me think we're in for a real treat. The fact that it has a cool exclusive and is the first film Batman PF makes it a no brainer. The last good statue of this character was back in 1989 from Kent Milton,

And those were almost $500 back in the day and go for even more now.

 

[Cocoboloboy]

I like the steps too. Really adds to the piece. I didn't notice anything to nitpick about the abs but I do agree the sculpt, or maybe it's mostly the paint apps, isn't as good as the HT figure. I'd have loved for SS to have him looking forward though. I don't think doing that would have detracted from it at all.

 

[DiFabio]

I like the steps too. Really adds to the piece. I didn't notice anything to nitpick about the abs but I do agree the sculpt, or maybe it's mostly the paint apps, isn't as good as the HT figure.

The abs look really weird to me in the preview pics. Like they're just lumpy potatoes or something with exaggerated definition. That was something I noticed that NECA nailed right from the start. Their armor looked identical to the film source, only inaccuracy was that the bat symbol wasn't attached to the chest.


Then again, the torso looks GREAT in the actual Sideshow product preview video so I dunno.

As for the head, while I don't really dig how it looks in all the photo pics, if we get this (with paint applications that bring out the best of all the great sculpted features),

I'll be happy. That's an excellent portrait (pity the eye brows, nose, and other facial features are going to waste like the NECA headsculpt. Never to be seen under that cowl).