Fans of camp rejoice! Batman: The Movie has arrived on Blu-ray in all of its Technicolor glory, loaded with extras, and ready to pounce on evildoers everywhere. This 1966 cult-classic pits the dynamic duo (Adam West and Burt Ward) against a rogues gallery of Bat-foes, including The Riddler (Frank Gorshin), The Penguin (Burgess Meredith), The Joker (Cesar Romero), and Catwoman (Lee Meriwether). This fearsome foursome have kidnapped an inventor and plan to use his creation to take over the world, but know that to do so means they must first get past the superior detective skills of Batman and Robin, who are hot on their trail.

While fans of the Dark Knight may balk at the somewhat silly and bizarre adventures of this Day-glo variation of Batman, those of us who were raised on this television staple will love every minute as all of the humor, innuendo, and just plain lunacy of the show is on display here, with everything from exploding sharks and Penguin submarines, to The Riddler’s ridiculous puzzles that only Batman and Robin seem to understand (“What has yellow skin and writes? Well a ballpoint banana of course!).

As a kid I loved this colorful film, but only now, after seeing it again as an adult, do I realize how amusing, clever, and delightfully subversive this movie (and the series as a whole) is. This is hysterically funny stuff, and not because it’s one of those “so stupid it’s funny” swingin’ sixties relics, but because Batman: The Movie is a genuinely hilarious, straight-faced absurdist comedy that fans of anything from ‘Austin Powers’ to ‘The Venture Brothers’ will relish.

Simply put, this film is a total blast.

Fox brings Batman: The Movie to Blu-ray with a stunning 1080p transfer that looks so damned good I found myself saying “wow” out loud at least a half-a-dozen times while watching it. Sure, there’s grain, and there’s some occasional softness and an artifact here and there, but this is a forty three year old movie that otherwise looks as sharp, vivid, and three-dimensional as many films a fraction of its age. Kudos to Fox for a job well done.

Nearly as impressive is the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, which sports crystal clear dialogue, a robust bass response, and a well-balanced mix. While most of the action is primarily in the “front of the house”, so to speak, one listen to the film’s original mono soundtrack will show you just how much of a difference this new Master Audio mix makes!

Bonus features include two commentary tracks – a very entertaining track featuring Adam West and Burt Ward, and an informative offering from screenwriter, Lorenzo Semple Jr – as well as an “Isolated Score” option, and loads of featurettes, interviews, and retrospectives, with many of them presented in HD!! Blu-ray exclusives include three BD-J authored interactive features including:

The Batmobile Interactive Tour – My personal favorite of the three BD-J features, this
“hands on” tour of what is, in my opinion, still the coolest Batmobile, offers viewers a fully zoom-able 360 degree HD view of the vehicle, along with nuggets of history and trivia about the car and its creation.

Batman on Location: Mapping the Movie – Kind of like a Google Maps for Batman, this feature highlights locations used during the shoot of the film and even provides driving directions to them, as well as photos, information, and assorted trivia.

And, speaking of trivia, Holy Trivia Track, Batman!, is a BD-J pop-up trivia track that you can play throughout the film. It’s exceptionally well-done, and actually quite a bit more fun than the usual “trivia” tracks we get with BD’s.

Fox really went above and beyond when it came to bringing Batman: The Movie to Blu-ray. This kooky, cult-classic has gotten a hero’s welcome to HD, with a truly fantastic transfer, and loads of great extra features that truly take advantage of the medium. This is easily one of my favorite BD’s yet, and one I’ll be sure to revisit again and again.