HELLO THERE
directed by Tim Burton
directed by Tim Burton
Once upon a time, when Tim Burton actually brought in originality with his movies, he made terrific Batman Returns. I really enjoy the film, its naughty humour and grotesque scenes, but my favorite aspect of it is Michelle Pfeiffer's splendid performance as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. As good as Anne Hathaway was in The Dark Knight Rises - she is no Pfeiffer.
The film has many brilliant scenes featuring her but perhaps the most memorable is her transformation. After Selina is thrown out of the building by her boss, she awakes when cats appear to have breathed life back to her. She goes home and she looks as if she was catatonic. There is something very strange about her and suddenly she erupts with rage and destroys all the girly and sweet things in her pink walled apartment.
Then, as all the neighborhood cats gather around, she makes her famous costume with fury and passion in her eyes. The scene is filled with brilliant little details, such as Selina knocking down two letters from Hello There sign making it into Hell Here as well as her painting the cute cats on he pajamas black with the spray.
Previously in the series:
This has to be one of my most favourite scenes ever. As you know, this is my favourite female performance ever and this scene is a huge reason for that. So funny and scary at the same time, not to mention sexy.
ReplyDeleteIs it weird that I would like to have a breakdown like this?
Same here, it's just so cool! My room already looks as if I had 3 of such breakdowns so let's hope it won't happen to me ^^
Delete"Once upon a time, when Tim Burton actually brought in originality with his movies" - YES! I don't know what happened but when I think back to Sleepy Hollow I smile because I remember that Burton was good. Then I remember Alice in Wonderland and I want to slap the man.. oh well, but at least we can always go back to those original scenes and movies !
ReplyDeleteNice post as usual and no reminders on Twitter needed, I was here within a second! :D
Greed happened, I think. And laziness. He just follows the formula now, when he finally stopped with Frankenweenie he actually managed to make a good movie again.
DeleteThank you! :)
"It's so much easier when you've got people who are on the edge of crazy" says Tim Burton in the DVD commentary of this film, and Michelle Pfeiffer's a mercurial performer who can morph through emotions very quickly, changing on a dime.
ReplyDeleteYou capture that beautifully in this post....Great job Sati!
Thank you, glad you liked it! She was just fabulous in this movie.
DeleteI love Batman Returns. I really hope the franchise goes back to something along these lines next time they reboot it.
ReplyDeleteI would prefer they wouldn't reboot it, but I guess it's inevitable.
DeleteBest... scene... in... Batman Returns. Bar none. In fact, Michelle steals every scene in the film. There are some excesses and inane stuff in Burton's follow-up to BATMAN, but "Michelle Pfeiffer's splendid performance as Selina Kyle/Catwoman" wasn't one of them. Great spotlight, Margaret.
ReplyDeleteThank you! She is by far the most memorable thing in any Batman movie for me.
DeleteI LOVE Pfeiffer as Catwoman, and this is a GREAT scene, Sati. I LOVE the scene of Selina and Bruce Wayne, so much chemistry between Pfeiffer and Keaton. Pfeiffer's breathy voice is just perfect for this role.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they had good chemistry! I always thought Keaton was a bit stiff as Batman but in his scenes with Pfeiffer he was clearly enchanted so it worked out well in the end.
DeleteI've always felt Batman Returns was the most underrated of the original series. That is a pretty great scene.
ReplyDeleteI like it much more than first Batman movie.
DeleteI only have word to describe Michelle Pfeiffer's performance in that film: MEOW... BOOM!!!
ReplyDeleteExactly! :P
DeleteYay! It's my favorite scene in the film, and Pfeiffer, for me, is the main reason to watch BR in the first place. Great work!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, the cast is pretty great here but her performance is better than all of them combined.
DeletePfeiffer's scenes are easily some of the best in the film, Burton may have misfired on The Penguin, but he really nailed Catwoman.
ReplyDeleteI didn't mind the way The Penguin was handled, it went well with grotesque and ridiculous tone of the movie.
DeleteGod damn Michelle Pfeiffer is a good looking woman!! :)
ReplyDeleteShe is so beautiful, isn't she? I always say she is one of the most stunning movie stars.
DeleteLove it! Great gifs too! So much more iconic and exciting than Anne Hathaway and Nolan's version.
ReplyDeleteI really liked Hathaway's interpretation but yeah Pfeiffer is more iconic for sure.
Delete:D You made this scene look really cool. It actually is, but I think you increased its coolness by a factor of 4. :D
ReplyDeleteOh, no. That would require magic skills and I don't have any. That scene is already so cool to begin with ^^
DeleteBy far my favorite Catwoman. I love this scene like as Norma Jeane said because it's funny, sexy, and a bit deranged. Michelle's Catwoman is what I would have liked to see more of in Anne's version.
ReplyDeleteI like both versions but Michelle's suits me more because of all the craziness :) Anne's was cool in an elegant, subtle kind of way.
DeleteSad that Burton's Batman films get sort of lost in the shuffle these days. That was a great scene you selected.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I so hope he would get the proper credit for those.
DeleteNice Work, just popped in from Fogs link Bomb, hope to make it back sometime.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant choice, I love Batman Begins!
ReplyDeleteThank you! :P
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