the very first movie i ever owned

Pop quiz!

 

What color are the eyes of the actor, Jack Nicholson?

 

Brown, brown, dark brown.

 

I guess no one thought there would be someone paying attention to eye color.

 

Whoever cast Hugo E. Blick as the young "Jack Napier" must have just looked at his eyebrows and grin.

 

Pop quiz!

 

What color are the eyes of the actor, Michael Keaton?

 

Well, they certainly are not brown, like those of Charles Roskilly.

 

Nope, they are blue.

 

I have no idea why someone thought it was a good idea to cast this child as the young "Bruce Wayne".

I guess they didn't think an analytical chemist would be sitting in the audience on the opening day of "Batman" in 1989... 

but I was!

I guess they didn't think someone who always, always, always notices people's eyes would be sitting in the audience that summer Friday in June...

but I was!

I was already a fan of all movies with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson - who, oddly, had received top billing even though he played the bad guy, a role that never, ever gets that honor - and I was ready to enjoy this one!

After all, it had music from Prince!

It was directed by Tim Burton (who had done "Beetlejuice" the previous year)!

And it had this totally awesome Batmobile!

 

But, as i watched that first time, the two mistakes on eye color were a distraction.

 

How was it that those errors had not been corrected before the film was released?

 

Such a puzzle... and I do love puzzles!

 

However, those were not the only off beats, I found.

 

After all, I saw the movie once a week for the first month it was out.

For real!

 

Then I backed down to every other week for the remaining time it was in the cinemas.

That was quite a while!

 

And I went ahead and signed up to be notified of when the video - yeah, that would be VHS - would be available for purchase.

Even though I didn't have a VCR, or even a TV - that's how much I loved this movie.

And still do!

 

Mistakes and all.

 

It became a game to me.

I remember noticing seven mistakes when I was watching it on the silver screen.

 

That art museum segment had at least two of the mistakes in editing, with paintings marked up, but then fine two scenes later.

Very funny!

 

But it was all fine by me.

Just hearing Michael Keaton say "I'm Batman", with his lovely lips, made it all okay.

 

Seeing those seriously full lips as the only sign of him beneath that cowl just made me want to see the movie again and again.

Ah, yes, sweet dreams of his 38-year-old self lying next to my 31-year-old body!

 

And the way he made that heavy cape swirl and float in the air -

that was pure magic to me!

 

I could easily imagine myself in Kim Basinger's place, being held tightly in those arms -

oh, my -

no wonder "Vicki Vale" fell into the bedroom promise of those eyes and lips on her first solo trip to the Wayne manor!

I would have done the same thing!

 

After all, why dance with the devil in the pale moonlight when there's a perfectly genteel man with kissable lips - in a black leather muscle suit, no less - there in the belfry, too?

 

Then again, she had no choice, as the villain in purple velvet had her firmly in hand, twirling her around to "Beautiful Dreamer".

 

Lucky for her, the shoe she'd slipped out of on the stairs she was being forced to climb served the same purpose as Cinderella's had - it allowed her Prince Charming to follow her trail and rescue her from those who would do her harm.

Yes, I'll be watching this multiple times this weekend, thanks to my reward from Comcast.

Oh, yes!