Greetings! ScoreKeeper here to announce the winners of the BATMAN: THE MOVIE (1966) CD soundtrack giveaway. All of these entries were especially fun to read. There are hordes of passionate Batman fans around the world who owe their allegiance to Adam West, Burt Ward, and all the other major players of the 60's BATMAN universe.



So many entries. So few CDs. I wish I had more to give. If you recall I instructed each entrant to make their case stating why BATMAN: THE MOVIE (1966) is better than THE DARK KNIGHT (2008). I picked out my favorite which will automatically be awarded one of the CDs I have in my possession. The other four have been chosen randomly. First of all the winning entry. It comes from somebody in Boston, Massachusetts, who wishes to remain anonymous (hmm...how alter-ego superhero-y of you). Here are his statements:

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, my closing statements in defense of "Batman: The Movie":   - The Dark Knight: Political fundraisers.   Batman:  Foam rubber mattress conventions.   - The Dark Knight: Sonic-mapping cell phones.   Batman: Bat-shark repellant.   - The Dark Knight: Noble district attorneys.   Batman: Noble porpoises.   - The Dark Knight: Hospital patients in danger.    Batman: Ducklings in danger.   - The Dark Knight: Felons in danger.   Batman: Nuns in danger.   - The Dark Knight: Commuters in danger.   Batman: Seedy dive bar patrons in danger.   - The Dark Knight: Copious audio and visual effects.    Batman: Pop!  Bam!  Pow!   - The Dark Knight: Maggie Gyllenhaal   Batman: Lee Meriwether.   - The Dark Knight: Salient social commentary on human nature expressed in grim dialogues.   Batman: Salient political commentary on international affairs expressed via colored sand.   - The Dark Knight: Batcycle with big wheels.   Batman: Batcycle with a side car which rockets off on its own...and a penguin submarine.   - The Dark Knight: Cryptic warnings via videotaped messages and letters.   Batman: Cryptic warnings via Intercontinental Ballistic Riddle-Making Missiles.     - The Dark Knight: Running off in advance of the police.    Batman: Choosing to rappel down the outside of a building instead of just taking the elevator.    - The Dark Knight: Two composers required to create score.   Batman: Just one composer required - Nelson Riddle.   I rest my case.

Very well done. Although in the case of Maggie Gyllenhaal vs. Lee Meriwether, it's a push. Next the four winners who were chosen randomly:

Nick Phillips of Duluth, Georgia

Eric Frank of Nashua, New Hampshire

Bradford Clark of Bowling Green, Ohio

Brian McKevitt of Babylon, New York

Finally, I'm going to do something I haven't done before on one of these giveaways. I'm going to award a sixth CD! There was one entrant who really didn't follow my instructions as well as others. When asked to scribe a few sentences stating their case why BATMAN: THE MOVIE is better than THE DARK KNIGHT, he negated brevity for accuracy and handed in a two-page document! I'm an over-achiever myself so I obliged him my time. It's really an impassioned read. He makes a solid argument while utilizing my love of alliteration to express his views. However, let me warn everybody right now. Don't think you can follow in his footsteps and send in your latest novel the next time I have a CD to give away. I almost didn't read this one and am likely not to in the future. I didn't think he should take a chance away from the others who wrote more concise arguments so I'm awarding him an extra sixth CD that I had lying around. His name is Michael Padgett from Brooklyn, New York, and here is his tome...

The Dark Knight Vs. The Dynamic Duo -or- Why I Would Gladly Trade My Stark & Depressing Adulthood for My Wam-Zow Childhood by Michael Padgett What a desperately disparate duo these demonstrably different but decidedly decadent films be!! They could not be more strange to each other, the black rubber vigilante dolling out hard justice in the darkest and dreariest of nights, and the silk-wearing, fully deputized agent of the law, trading quips and fisticuffs with colorful rogues in the sunny City. I cannot choose but to love Adam West’s wholesome super-sleuth over Christian Bale’s disturbed, armored ninja brute for the sad reason that what we really lack today are heroes. Good men who do good for the simple reason that it is right. Goodness for it’s own sake is lost in the national identification with the revenge tragedy. Audiences can no longer accept a hero who fights for truth, justice, and the American Way. We hardly know what those things mean today. But in the world of the ‘60’s Batman, not only are those ideals palpable, they are lovingly portrayed in technicolour majesty. I prefer the civic-minded Batman who runs his ass off to keep a family of duckies from getting all blowed up by a cheesy bomb to the Batman who rides roughshod over police cars in his tank. In the ‘60’s, it wasn’t his gear that set Batman apart, it was his heart. Adam West and Burt Ward had marvelous, non-creepy chemistry together that certainly could not be reproduced today. A man and a boy in silky underwear and tights running around on screen take on lurid and evil undertones today, but when I was a kid, they were icons of manly righteousness and honesty. They were a terrific team, a feat that no film since has even attempted. Look at the “heroic duos” we’re treated to now. Anakin and Obi-Wan do nothing but argue. Frodo almost kills Sam, and tries to send him home more than once. Indiana and Mutt snipe at each other continuously. Even the Batman films of the ‘90’s resorted to Batman and Robin always trying to one-up each other. The Dark Knight? He works alone. It’s easier that way. Oh, he’s got little minions, but no one helps him do the heavy lifting. Which brings me to another major factor in the original Batman’s favor: the way multiple characters are handled with ease. Everyone gets their time. Two heroes, four villains, and a goodly handful of supporting players, and all have their opportunity for character development. Even without the precedent TV show, we know exactly who everyone is, and what they’re about. One of the things that undid the ‘90’s Batman movies was that the writers had no idea how to handle the steadily growing gallery of characters. A problem initially solved in Batman Begins, subjugating major characters like The Scarecrow to mere supporting roles, the writers got into a bit of trouble when they decided to bring in two villains for The Dark Knight. There can be no question whom the star of The Dark Knight is. One of the continual issues with this new, dark, brooding, and stoic Batman, is that there is little the writers can do to keep him interesting. Batman’s saving grace, in the ‘60’s, in the ‘90’s and now, is his marvelous Rogues Gallery. But in The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger’s Joker loomed large over the film, almost totally obscuring the secondary villain, Two-Face. By accident or by design, the Two-Face character ends up as a footnote, and The Scarecrow doesn’t even register. By the time the credits role, we don’t even remember he was in the movie at all. In brilliant contrast, all four of Batman’s greatest baddies get ample screen time and interaction with each other and the Dynamic Duo! We all spent time as kids picking our favorite villains (mine was and is The Penguin)! Well, in the 1st great Batman film, none of us are left wanting. We don’t have to wait till the next film to hope that our particular favorite would get seen. No, every villain has his place, and every villain has something to bring to the dastardly scheme for world domination! I prefer the simplicity of villains with a palpable objective to the chaotic machinations of a psychotic madman. I’ll take my rehydrated cronies over your Magic Pencil Trick any day! In the same way that I prefer playing video games with a good friend sitting on the couch next to me instead of some stranger thousands of miles away, I love and miss the innocence, the adventure, the swashbuckling of the original Batman. You have to remember that Bob Kane’s inspiration for Batman came from Zorro, from Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood! Between Adam West and Christian Bale, who do you think carries that mantle better? On my toy shelf, I have both Ledger’s and Nicholson’s Jokers in places of honor. I only wish I could add Romero to the fold. As the penultimate Joker of his time, he deserves that honor, as does everyone in this amazingly trippy film (which is a lot more fun than The Dark Knight while high, or so I’m told.) In the end, we are fortunate that we have both these worlds to play in. They are both deserving of our time, love, and admiration. But I’ll always hold the original campy Batman closer to my childish heart. “Of what use is a dream, but as a blueprint for courageous action!”

Congratulations winners! All six of you will be receiving the BATMAN: THE MOVIE soundtrack CD courtesy of La-La Land Records. For more information including audio samples and order placement please visit La-La Land Records.

ScoreKeeper!!!