Batman Noir

The producers of Batman films thus far have blown it, as far as I'm concerned.

Here's what my Batman film would be like:

  1. It would be shot in black and white. Much of the action would take place in shadow.
  2. It would take place in 1947.
  3. No Robin or Batgirl. There is no continuity between this film and any of the others.
  4. It would be a detective story rather than rely upon CGI, special effects and improbable action sequences.
  5. The Gotham City police would be armed thugs, with many of them not above accepting bribes.
  6. The villain would be the Scarecrow, or maybe Scarface.
  7. At some point in the movie Batman would suspect Commissioner Gordon of taking bribes, and at some point the Gotham City police would be hunting Batman.
  8. The love interest could be a not-quite reformed Selina Kyle.
  9. No swearing. The dialog between the characters would be written in such a way that the shock value in the movie would come from what they're saying, not in how they say it.
  10. Gotham City would have almost as much of a part as some of the actors. Many of the outdoor action would take place on moonlit building tops. It would look like a city of the era, not like the Goth one created by Tim Burton. There would be overhead advertising signs as in the comics.
  11. A major character would get killed at the end.
  12. The details of Batman's costume wouldn't be obvious - most of the time he would be shown in the shadows. No nipples on the batsuit. Eyes wouldn't be visible, as in the comics.
  13. The Batmobile would look like a restrained version of the late forties models depicted in the comics.
  14. All the men and women wear hats.
  15. The last scene would take place in the sewers underneath the city, or in the subway. The end of the film results in a loss of some kind for Batman.
  16. There would be a dream sequence in the film somewhere - the dream would help Batman solve the case. (In other words, he's telling himself something.)
  17. At some point in the story the female lead betrays Batman.
  18. The acting from Batman and the female lead would be restrained emotionally. The acting from the bad guys would be borderline psychotic.