Batman Returns
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
by Danny Elfman
The Batman movies are more than great movies (for the most part). They’re a window into our soul.
Let me explain.
Picking your favorite Batman is like picking your favorite late night talk show host. There’s always been one we enjoy the most or can relate to the most and our choices are can tell us a lot about ourselves. The (arguably) five different Batmans are: Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, and Christian Bale. Each brought their own little flare to the role which we won’t get into here.
Personally, my Batman is Michael Keaton. An allegiance to this era is both a nod to the GenXers, and by all means, the OG. Keaton and director Tim Burton are responsible for bringing the first “proper” iteration of this superhero to the big screen and sometimes, you just gotta go old school with your preference for movies.
But there’s something more to be said about this era of Batman, which is that it’s also responsible for bringing us the best Batman movie, which is Batman Returns. Its setting, extravagance, story, casting, acting, and design are so unique that it’s almost like the perfect storm of elements. Its weirdness works almost to a shocking degree.
Then there’s the soundtrack, by Danny Elfman, which is just teeming with personality. Many soundtracks serve to compliment the images on screen and stimulate some sort of emotions from its audience, but the music Hans Zimmer has brought to the franchise, while good, all kind of blends into each other as themes are revisited over and over again. However, the music Elfman composed for Batman Returns is so heroic, emotional, erie, dark, and full of personality that is goes unmatched in the Batman canon. This is one of the few cases where the soundtrack is so splendid that the attention it garners makes it its own character in the movie. There is absolutely no doubt that Batman Returns would be a worse movie without this music.
And, Mondo does it again with their edition of this soundtrack, pressed on spooky black 180g double LP (glad they didn’t go with green bile color), on a gorgeous gatefold sleeve with perhaps the best artwork yet for a Mondo Soundtrack release courtesy of Killian Eng. Chances like these don’t come very often. This is another remarkable release from the Mondo guys.
Get your copy here.
