In honor of the 10th anniversary of the BATMAN: YEAR ONE animated film (10 years already?!), Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released an upgraded, 4K/Ultra HD version of the movie. And thanks to the fine folks at WBHE, I got an early look at it for reviewing purposes here at BOF.
I’m not going to re-review the film here; so if you want to know what I thought about it back in 2011, check out my original review HERE. I’ll simply say that if you’ve read the BATMAN: YEAR ONE comic book, then you know what happens in the happened film as the latter is a straight-up adaptation of the Frank Miller-authored classic.
What I will focus on in this review will be 1) the quality of the video (the best I can as it’s not my area of expertise), 2) any “extras” that are new, and 3) whether or not it’s worth purchasing.
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1) Again, video quality is not in my wheelhouse (I recommend reading this review from Blu-ray.com as they really focus on the technical aspects of the film), but I did pull out my original 2011 Blu-ray copy and compare it to the new 2021 version. Based only on my personal eyeball test, yes, this film looks much better.
2) This new COMMEMORATIVE EDITION does include a new featurette titled “Reinventing Gordon” that’s really cool. Essentially, it’s a short documentary detailing how the character of Jim Gordon has evolved over the 80+ years since he first debuted along with “The Bat-Man” in DETECTIVE COMICS #27 back in 1939. The live-action incarnations of Gordon are touched upon here as well — including the latest big-screen Gordon in THE BATMAN as played by Jeffery Wright. There’s some behind-the-scenes stuff from THE BATMAN we’ve yet to see, so that might make it worth at least a rental.
Other than that, the same “extras” that were part of the 2011 original Blu-ray are included.
3) Last but not least, should you buy the thing?
If you’re a Batman fan who wants an upgraded version of this film for your collection, yes, buy it.
If you’re a Batman fan who is good with the original Blu-ray copy and really doesn’t care if the video quality is 4K better, no.
Again, if you only want to check out the “Reinventing Gordon” featurette, rent it.
On a related note, if you want to see where BATMAN: YEAR ONE sits on my rankings of Batman comic book animated film adaptations, you can find out HERE. – Bill “Jett” Ramey