Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (4K Ultra HD)

Description

When the city’s most feared gangsters are systematically eliminated, the Caped Crusader is blamed. But prowling the Gotham night is a shadowy new villain, the Phantasm, a sinister figure with some link to Batman’s past. Can the Dark Knight elude the police, capture the Phantasm and clear his own name? Unmasking the Phantasm is just one of the twists in this dazzling animated feature. Discover revelations about Batman’s past, his archrival the Joker and Batman’s most grueling battle ever — the choice between his love for a beautiful woman and his vow to be the defender of right. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is “a mystery that is genuinely absorbing, suspenseful and moving” (Cincinnati Enquirer). Review: The BEST Batman animated feature finally lands on Blu ray... - 11 years after the Blu ray format was launched, Batman: The Animated Series FINALLY makes it debut in high-definition format with this release of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993), the first and only animated feature spin-off of the classic 1992-1995 Batman animated series. This is arguably the best that series ever looked AND for many fans it IS the best Batman film produced to date. It is certainly the finest animated/action/adventure theatrical spin-off of a MAJOR superhero, if not the most popular superhero in the world. I'll continue this review with a few negative notes. One, this Blu ray is VERY basic with a static menu (not a big deal, it means the disc loads faster!) and only the original theatrical trailer as an extra. Yep, after 24 years, WB has not deigned it practical or desirable (yet!) to do any sort of extras for this film despite its cult status. You think they would have gotten key production personnel to talk about the making of the film in a documentary or commentary track but it didn't happen. Also, there WAS a mini-featurette tie-in about the making of this film produced for HBO that aired around the time of the original theatrical release back in 1993 but that wasn't on the disc, either! My second pet peeve is aimed at the film itself. It is NOT an original story. This is an uncredited adaptation of a 4-part storyline, "Batman: Year Two," that was published in Detective Comics in 1987! Don't believe me, read the comic yourself and you'll see -- the major plotline of a grim-reaper antagonist, lost love, etc -- it's all there. They made some changes for the feature film but it is still basically "Batman: Year Two" in the main. This has never been acknowledged even though more recent animated films and TV series are doing a better job of crediting the original storyline writers and character creators. Now, back to the disc... The video quality is excellent, by far the best this film has looked on home video. The original film grain is evident but not overdone. It gives the film a nice, organic look that is lacking in digitally produced animation made for direct-to-video (which ironically was the original intent for the film until a studio executive saw the storyboards, liked them, and ordered the film be retooled for theatrical release). It looks like a THEATRICAL movie, not a sterile home video. The audio quality is serviceable but it's not extraordinary. I think it's basic stereo, not 5.1... Would have been nice to hear another language track had one been made for this film. My guess is that there are probably vocal audio tracks recorded in other languages considering the animated Batman TV series was redubbed in French, Spanish, and Japanese for sure! One of the best qualities of this film aside from the visual aesthetics is the symphonic soundtrack which is among the best of any Batman film. It's a rousing re-invention of the themes first heard in the 1989 Batman movie and reinvented and elaborated on in the later 1992-1995 Batman animated series. This film has a beautiful score and even an excellent throw-away pop song played over the end credits. The vocal performances in this film are excellent and never over the top. This is not campy Batman but it's also not the dreary, bleak, depressing mess that so many recent Batman projects have devolved into, either. (And it's WAY better than the recent Batman and Harley Quinn movie.) That's a credit to both the actors and the voice director who I believe was Andrea Romano who just announced her retirement. You'll hear not only Kevin Conroy and Dana Delany (in her first major animation voiceover prior to being cast as Lois Lane for Superman: The Animated Series) but also character actors Dick Miller, Abe Vigoda, and of course, Mark Hamill as The Joker. Stacy Keach voices the title villain, the Phantasm, who has one of the major plot twists of the film and one of the big departures from the original comic mini-series this film was based on. Today was the first time in a while I've seen the film... I was just checking out the Blu ray to see how well it was done. It's an A-1 high-definition remastering job and a credit to a film that has withstood the test of time 24 years later... Review: An Excellent Film Finally Given A Proper Release - I think it's no secret among Batman fans that Mask of the Phantasm (and The Animated Series, in general) is one of the best yet also most under-appreciated films in the franchise. It's dark, serious, and stylish with a tight story told with great pacing. Even though it is often viewed as a "kids movie," it is most definitely not. In fact, I wouldn't even call it a "family film" (at least no more than Batman from 1989). If you're reading this, however, you probably know all that already, so let's get to this new Blu-ray release. What you get here is a very basic set. The disc contains two versions of the film (more on that in just a second), the option to turn English subtitles on or off, and the theatrical trailer. That's it, no bells and whistles at all, not even a scene selection screen! The two versions of the film are labeled in the Main Menu as the "Theatrical presentation" and the "Television presentation." The only difference between the two is that the Television presentation is in a 4:3 aspect ratio (the then normal ratio of a TV screen), while the Theatrical presentation zooms into the frame to fill a widescreen TV. It's sort of like a modern day version of those widescreen vs fullscreen DVDs you used to see, except in this case it's more like full screen vs tall screen. I highly recommend watching the film in the Television presentation, as that is how it was originally animated and meant to be viewed. Unfortunately the Blu-ray only points this out if you choose the Television format; if you choose the Theatrical it just plays the movie without warning you that the image is cropped and missing the full picture. As for the picture and audio quality, it's as good as I expected it to be. Remember that this is an animation from 1993 which wasn't even originally intended to be given a theatrical release, so the quality isn't going to be super sharp or clear. The soft look of the animation has always been the style of the show, and it is both respected here while also cleaned up enough to look great on a big modern HDTV, a definite improvement over the DVD version of the show that I have. The audio is a 2.0 mix, which some might find disappointing instead of a 5.1. Yet again though, this isn't the fault of the Blu-ray, it's just how the source material is. Channels aside, the audio is crisp and clear and sounds great through my home theater sound system. Over all, I highly recommend this Blu-ray release. It's the best that the film is ever going to look or sound, and definitely deserves a spot in any movie library, kid or adult alike.