BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM (1993)
4K Ultra HD + Digital
Label: WBHE
Region Code: Region-Free
Duration: 76 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 and 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 2160p UHD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Eric Radomskim, Bruce Timm
Cast: Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Dana Delany, Hart Bochner, Abe Vigoda
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) was produced between the first and second seasons of Batman: The Animated Series, originally planned as a direct-to-video release it ended up going to the theater, and has the distinction of being not just one of the greatest Dark Knight tales ever told on film, but it was the first feature-length animated film for Warner Bros. Animation studio. Combining elements of the comic storylines from Batman: Year One and Batman: Year Two as well as adding new elements, the story is one of the first theatrical Batman features to really explore the duality of Batman/Bruce Wayne, a man torn between his pursuit of justice and his passions. The non-linear story tells the tale of Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy, Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond) first starting out as a pre-Batman masked vigilante in Gotham, realizing that while he has the skills to combat crime he needs a persona that will instantly strike fear in the hearts of the criminal underworld. When he isn't fighting crime by night he's pays the part of Bruce Wayne, Gotham's spoiled playboy, and while visiting the grave of his parents he encounters the lovely Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany, Tombstone), the daughter of mob-connected businessman Carl Beaumont (Stacy Keach, Road Games). The pair fall madly in love and Bruce begins to wonder should he fulfill his secret promise to his dead parents by cleaning-up crime in Gotham as a vigilante, or pursue his own happiness by following his heart? Realizing he cannot do both he proposes to Andrea, but when her father runs into some serious trouble with mobster Salvatore "The Wheezer" Valestra (Abe Vigoda, TV's Barney Miller, The Godfather) she leaves him a "Dear Bruce..." letter and leaves town. Wayne is crushed, in the aftermath he assumes the identity of the Batman and goes down that now familiar path.
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 and 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 2160p UHD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Eric Radomskim, Bruce Timm
Cast: Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Dana Delany, Hart Bochner, Abe Vigoda
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) was produced between the first and second seasons of Batman: The Animated Series, originally planned as a direct-to-video release it ended up going to the theater, and has the distinction of being not just one of the greatest Dark Knight tales ever told on film, but it was the first feature-length animated film for Warner Bros. Animation studio. Combining elements of the comic storylines from Batman: Year One and Batman: Year Two as well as adding new elements, the story is one of the first theatrical Batman features to really explore the duality of Batman/Bruce Wayne, a man torn between his pursuit of justice and his passions. The non-linear story tells the tale of Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy, Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond) first starting out as a pre-Batman masked vigilante in Gotham, realizing that while he has the skills to combat crime he needs a persona that will instantly strike fear in the hearts of the criminal underworld. When he isn't fighting crime by night he's pays the part of Bruce Wayne, Gotham's spoiled playboy, and while visiting the grave of his parents he encounters the lovely Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany, Tombstone), the daughter of mob-connected businessman Carl Beaumont (Stacy Keach, Road Games). The pair fall madly in love and Bruce begins to wonder should he fulfill his secret promise to his dead parents by cleaning-up crime in Gotham as a vigilante, or pursue his own happiness by following his heart? Realizing he cannot do both he proposes to Andrea, but when her father runs into some serious trouble with mobster Salvatore "The Wheezer" Valestra (Abe Vigoda, TV's Barney Miller, The Godfather) she leaves him a "Dear Bruce..." letter and leaves town. Wayne is crushed, in the aftermath he assumes the identity of the Batman and goes down that now familiar path.
Years later Andrea and her father return to Gotham, and soon after a mysterious figure known as the Phantasm returns and starts killing Valestra's crime associates, but because the new Grim Reaper-themed vigilante bares an resemblance to Batman, the cops and thugs of Gotham suspect that the Dark Knight is to blame for the recent spate of deaths. Known associates of Valestra, gangsters Chuckie Sol (Dick Miller, Gremlins) and Buzz Bronski (John P. Ryan, It's Alive), end up dead with Valestra seemingly next on the list. Entering into the fray are The Joker (Mark Hamill, Body Bags) and a City councilman named Arthur Reeves (Hart Bochner, Terror Train), both of whom have their own reasons for wanting to the Phantasm unmasked and taken-out of the picture.
Audio/Video: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) arrives on 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment in 2160p UHD widescreen (1.85:1) with Wide Color Gamut and HDR10 color-grading. First off, the grain is present and well-managed, unlike WBHE's maligned handling of Max Fleischer's Superman Blu-ray release the grain and texture of the original cel animation here has been fully respected and preserved, this looks filmic and the textures are organic throughout, it's really terrific stuff. The press release includes the following blurb about the restoration process:
Special Features:
- Kevin Conroy: I Am The Knight (New Featurette) – For 30 years, Kevin Conroy defined Batman for multiple generations using only his voice, best exemplified in the landmark film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Conroy passed away in November 2022, but his legacy lives on in 15 films, nearly 400 episodes of animated television series, a dozen video games, and as a live-action Bruce Wayne in the Arrowverse’s 2019-2020 “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event. Several of Conroy’s contemporaries – including animation legend Bruce Timm, Batman producer Michael Uslan and revered voice actress Tara Strong – pay tribute to the star who remains the Dark Knight for millions of Batfans. (26 min)
The Batman: Mask of the Phantasm features Batman: The Animated Series alum Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm directing, from a screenplay by Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Martin Pasko and Michael Reaves, looking and feeling very much like a pumped-up version of the animated series with familiar character designs and art-deco Gotham cityscapes that recall not just the animated series but Tim Burton's Batman (1989) version of the dark metropolis, bolstered by a dynamic and action packed score by the late Shirley Walkers (Final Destination). The voice cast is really terrific, not only do we have Kevin Conroy doing some of his most diverse and nuanced voice work as Wayne/Batman, but we also have Mark Hamill nailing-it as the cackling The Joker, a role he obsoletely owned for years, and Dana Delany as the voice of Andrea, before she went on to a long career voicing Superman's best gal Lois Lane in quite a few DC animated properties, both feature-length and episodic. On top of that we have Batman: The Animated Series regulars Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and Bob Hastings reprising their roles as Alfred Pennyworth and Commissioner James Gordon, and old school character actors Dick Miller, Abe Vigoda and John P. Ryan voicing the mob characters, which is really just perfection. This is really animated superhero film firing on all cylinders, the story is strong and multi-dimensional, it mixed action, romance and tragedy quite nicely, the voice cast is superb, and the animation is gorgeous.
Audio/Video: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) arrives on 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment in 2160p UHD widescreen (1.85:1) with Wide Color Gamut and HDR10 color-grading. First off, the grain is present and well-managed, unlike WBHE's maligned handling of Max Fleischer's Superman Blu-ray release the grain and texture of the original cel animation here has been fully respected and preserved, this looks filmic and the textures are organic throughout, it's really terrific stuff. The press release includes the following blurb about the restoration process:
"The 4K HDR/SDR remaster of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was sourced from the 1993 Original Cut Camera Negative and was scanned at 4K resolution. Digital restoration was applied to the 4K scans to remove dirt, scratches and additional anomalies, but special care was given to not touch the film grain or the animation cel dirt that was part of the original artwork. This is the first time since its theatrical release that it is presented in its 1.85 aspect ratio."
Truly, this animated Batman adventure wows on 4K with deep inky blacks, excellent contrast, and gorgeous color-depth, the WCG HDR color-grading infusing the original colors with a depth and vibrancy never before seen on home video. Primaries have a nice blush to them which is not overdone, but offers vivid reds and blues that look marvelous, the neon signs looking quite luminous. Worth noting, the previous Warner Archive Blu-ray also offered the 1.37:1 open-matte version of the film, which is not carried over here. The open-matte does offer a bit more image on the top and bottom, so you might want to hang onto that disc, but this gorgeous 1.85:1 widescreen version will certainly be my go-to version to watch going forward. Also worth noting, this is the first time the film has been presented in the proper theatrical 1.85:1 aspect ratio, the WAC Blu-ray is framed 1.78:1.
Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 and 5.1 with optional English subtitles, like the video this has also been meticulously restored, described in the press release as such, "The original 2.0 mix and the 5.1 tracks were remastered to remove or improve defects such as pops, ticks, dropouts and distortion.". Both tracks are clean with excellent fidelity, the stereo sounds terrific, but I was surprised how buoyant the 5.1 was with some nice use of the surrounds to build atmosphere. The eerie sound of Phantasm's voice really fills the rooms, and the orchestral score from Shirley Walker (Final Destination 1-3) is full-bodied and impactful, when the opening theme kicks in it's pretty impressive.
There is only one extra on this 4K UHD release, aside from a digital copy of the movies, the 26-min Kevin Conroy: I Am The Knight tribute to the late-great voice actor Kevin Conroy who voiced Bruce Wayne/Batman for over thirty years! Utilizing an archival interview with the late Conroy and new tributes from Bruce Timm, Batman producer Michael Uslan and voice actress Tara Strong among others it's a touching tribute to the late star and his impressive legacy; which includes over 400 episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, The Batman, Batman Beyond, and Justice League Unlimited, in addition to numerous feature-length animated films, video games, as well as portraying a live-action Bruce Wayne in CW’s Arrowverse crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths". For many Conroy was their Batman of choice, and while I do wish this was a feature-length doc it still is quite a loving tribute. There's no Blu-ray as part of this release, even if they didn't offer the remastered version they could have at least recycled the previous WAC disc which would have given fans a more complete package with the open-matte version and the trailer, it's a bit of a missed opportunity there.
The single-disc release arrives in a black keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring a new illustration that I quite like, though I do wish we still has a reversible artwork option with the original move poster artwork. That artwork is also duplicated on the glossy/metallic finish Slipcover.
Special Features:
- Kevin Conroy: I Am The Knight (New Featurette) – For 30 years, Kevin Conroy defined Batman for multiple generations using only his voice, best exemplified in the landmark film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Conroy passed away in November 2022, but his legacy lives on in 15 films, nearly 400 episodes of animated television series, a dozen video games, and as a live-action Bruce Wayne in the Arrowverse’s 2019-2020 “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event. Several of Conroy’s contemporaries – including animation legend Bruce Timm, Batman producer Michael Uslan and revered voice actress Tara Strong – pay tribute to the star who remains the Dark Knight for millions of Batfans. (26 min)
- Slipcover
- Digital Copy
While this was rushed into theaters and didn't do big business at the cinema (well, I loved it!) it went onto have quite a life on home video and beyond, growing a rabid cult fan base through the years, and now we get it on 4K UHD looking and sounding better than ever. Sure, there are a few nitpicky things like not having the trailer, more extras and the open-matte version included, but I'm still pretty ga-ga about how great it looks with the 4K restoration and HDR10 color-grade, and the restored audio - it's totally worth the upgrade!
While this was rushed into theaters and didn't do big business at the cinema (well, I loved it!) it went onto have quite a life on home video and beyond, growing a rabid cult fan base through the years, and now we get it on 4K UHD looking and sounding better than ever. Sure, there are a few nitpicky things like not having the trailer, more extras and the open-matte version included, but I'm still pretty ga-ga about how great it looks with the 4K restoration and HDR10 color-grade, and the restored audio - it's totally worth the upgrade!
