Batman (1966)

Batman (1966)

Directed by: Leslie H. Martinson

Starring: Adam West, Burt Ward, Lee Meriwether

Aww yeah, 60’s Batman movie. This movie and accompanying series are so awesome, and not even in some stupid hipster ironic way or anything. If you haven’t seen the series or this movie, stop reading this right now and go watch it. Watch the movie, an episode of the show, something. It’s amazing.

In Batman, the Dynamic Duo has to face the combined threats of the Joker (Cesar Romero), the Penguin (Burgess Meredith), the Riddler (Frank Gorshin), and Catwoman (Lee Meriwether). This involves several adventures, such as fighting off a rubber exploding shark, solving incomprehensible riddles (“What has yellow skin and writes?” “A BALLPOINT BANANA!”), and trying to dispose of a bomb (which, on some days, you just can’t seem to do). I have to say this again: This movie is awesome.

I’ve seen this movie before, but I still remember how I was cracking up the first time I saw it. It’s just one of those things like seeing your first Monty Python sketch that shows you how amazing humor can be sometimes. Well, for me, anyway.

This time I saw it, however, I managed to see a DVD copy with commentary by Adam West and Burt Ward, and it was probably the best DVD commentary track I’ve seen. Not just because Adam West gets pretty obviously drunk by the end of the movie and cracks gems like, “Look at these two idiots!” (when Batman and Robin are on the screen), but also because they have some great stories about how that guy almost died or how they didn’t get paid much, but they got to stare at Lee Meriwether in her skin-tight catsuit, so it was okay. I heartily recommend it.

And if you haven’t seen this goddamn movie yet, GO SEE IT. NOW.