Batman Begins: Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents' murder, disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect and an array of high tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city. The Dark Knight: The follow-up to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in his continuing war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves effective, but soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker, who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces Batman closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante. Heath Ledger stars as archvillain The Joker, and Aaron Eckhart plays Dent. Maggie Gyllenhaal joins the cast as Rachel Dawes. Returning from Batman Begins are Gary Oldman as Gordon, Michael Caine as Alfred and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. The Dark Knight Rises: It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane.
]]>Disregard all the naysayers claiming this is a money grab. No, it's called having a choice. Not everyone wants the Super Duper Ultra Rare Limited Collector's Edition, that's often filled with a bunch of useless physical items. Some people just want to have the trilogy and nothing more. For $30 (currently), you get just that, and even a little bit more.
You get the following in the Blu-ray edition:
Disc 1: Batman Begins Feature Film
Disc 2: The Dark Knight Feature Film
Disc 3: The Dark Knight Special Features
Disc 4: The Dark Knight Rises Feature Film
Disc 5: The Dark Knight Rises Special Features
PLUS you get a 64 Page excerpted (i.e. shortened) version of the wonderful book: "
The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Trilogy"
That is tremendous bang for your buck! Not only with the movies, but there are hours and hours of special features included too, including a documentary about the Batmobile. The Ultimate Collector's Edition, which won't be released for another year will no doubt cost at least twice as much. The only thing I have a problem with here is the cover art. It just doesn't look anything like Nolan's Batman.
The DVD version of the Trilogy is a 3-disc set and lacks many of the extras found in the Blu-ray set, but it does look nicer. It has a lenticular cover featuring the Batman sign from all 3 movies. It looks really cool compared to the cover used for the Blu-ray edition.
All in all, this is a wonderful set to get if you don't own any of the movies yet. Heck, even if you do, it's still a great value if you just want The Dark Knight Rises. Consider TDKR sells for around $20-25, for just a few bucks more you get the 2 preceding films, and a book. You really can't go wrong here!
Here is a list of the Special Features that included. The list may not be all-inclusive. The set has no exclusive features, but rather, the same ones that come with the individual releases
BATMAN BEGINS SPECIAL FEATURES
■ In-Movie Experience: Christopher Nolan, David S. Goyer, and others reveal the movie's backstory as you watch
■ The Dark Knight IMAX Prologue (in high definition)
■ Tankman Begins: A Batman Begins spoof
■ Batman: The Journey Begins: Concept, design, and development of the film as well as the casting of Batman himself
■ Shaping Mind and Body: Observe Christian Bale's transformation into Batman
■ Gotham City Rises: Witness the creation of Gotham City the Batcave, Wayne Manor, and more
■ Cape and Cowl: The development of the new Batsuit
■ Batman: The Tumbler: The reinvention of the Batmobile
■ Path to Discovery: A look at the first week filming on rugged and remote Iceland locations
■ Saving Gotham City: The development of miniatures, CGI, and effects for the Monorail chase scene
■ Genesis of the Bat: A look at the Dark Knight's incarnation and influences on the film
■ Reflections on Writing Batman Begins: with David S. Goyer
■ Digital Batman: The effects you might have missed
■ Batman Begins Stunts: Confidential Files: Discover facts and story points not in the film
■ Stills gallery
■ Theatrical trailer
THE DARK KNIGHT SPECIAL FEATURES
■ Movie with Focus Points (picture in picture)
■ Explore your favorite movies through BD-Live(tm), an interactive gateway to exclusive content-
■ Gotham Uncovered: Creation of a Scene: Director Christopher Nolan and creative collaborators unmask the incredible detail and planning behind the film, including stunt staging, filming in IMAX®, and the new Bat-suit and Bat-pod
■ Batman Tech: The incredible gadgets and tools (in high-def)
■ Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of The Dark Knight: Delve into the psyche of Bruce Wayne and the world of Batman through real-world psychotherapy (in high-def)-
■ Gotham Tonight: 6 episodes of Gotham Cable's premier news program
■ The Galleries: The Joker cards, concept art, poster art, production stills, trailers and TV spots
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES SPECIAL FEATURES
■ THE BATMOBILE" DOCUMENTARY: Witness all five Batmobiles together for the first time in history. Dive deep into every aspect of the most awe-inspiring weapon in Batman's arsenal as you journey through the birth and evolution of this technological marvel and cultural icon. (01:00)
■ ENDING THE KNIGHT: A comprehensive look into how Director Christopher Nolan and his production team made "The Dark Knight Rises" the epic conclusion to the Dark Knight legend.
- The Prologue: High-Altitude Hijacking
- Return to the Batcave
- Beneath Gotham
- The Bat
- Batman vs Bane
- Armory Accepted
- Gameday Destruction
- Demolishing a City Street
- The Pit
- The Chant
- The War on Wall Street
- Race to the Reactor
- The Journey of Bruce Wayne
- Gotham's Reckoning
- A Girls Gotta Eat
- Shadows & Light in Large Format
- The End of A Legend
■ Trailers
■ Art Galleries
Or you can buy the Original Bluray
Price: $89.42
