Batman Returns/Cold Heaven/Housesitter/Cousin Bobby/The Hairdresser's Husband

Roger Ebert - Host: "Batman Returns" is once again directed by Tim Burton, whose credits also include "Beetlejuice" and "Edward Scissorhands". And Burton is one of the most interesting stylists at work in the movies today. His movies are always terrific to look at. "Batman Returns" is consistently fascinating as a visual experience. But it's sort of hard to care about this movie. The storyline is confusing, the characters are only sketchily developed, and it's impossible to get involved in the fantastical story. I always felt like I was watching from the outside. There are some strange contradictions here: "Batman" is not a successful movie, but it IS, visually, at least, an inspired one.

Gene Siskel - Host: Well, y'know, Roger, I think that there ARE elements to get involved in the story. I did, and I enjoyed the picture. And the two that I, the parts that I enjoyed, are The Penguin and the Catwoman characters. I think Michelle Pfeiffer is a good comedienne and doing good light comedy, we see her as the office woman who's gonna be turned into, after she's abused, into Catwoman. And then Danny DeVito, I thought was actually pretty threatening and sad, as this little baby, this ill-formed baby abandoned, and I thought... I, this is what Tim Burton does: He gives us characters, including Batman himself, who all have this private pain that they then work out publicly.

Roger Ebert - Host: Yeah, but see, the thing is, with Catwoman and with The Penguin, is that they emerge, they are developed as characters, we get the backstory, and then, they don't go anywhere. There is no engine pulling this train. There is no story to really get us from the beginning to the end. In a sense, what you have are set pieces: Set design, character design, costume design, even personality design, but NO narrative.

Gene Siskel - Host: The problem in the picture, it's not a perfect picture, the problem is the Max Schreck character. Frankly, he isn't very interesting. And his story, and what he wants to do, and how these other two characters fit in, I agree with you, that isn't worked out. The point is, that in seeing this story, I just saw this as a personal story, rather than an action story.

Roger Ebert - Host: Yeah, but the thing is, maybe if The Penguin had wanted to do what the Schreck character wanted to do...

Gene Siskel - Host: Yes.

Roger Ebert - Host: That would've given him some kind of an agenda.

Gene Siskel - Host: I agree with you.

Roger Ebert - Host: Because you have the two most interesting characters basically standing around as participants in somebody else's story.

Gene Siskel - Host: That would've, there's NO need for Max Schreck's character, Christopher Walken, in this picture at all.

Roger Ebert - Host: And yet, I would say once again, Burton makes great-looking pictures.