Batman: Year One - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Batman: Year One



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
Wheeeee!! one of the better graphic novel adaptations gets a nice upgrade from the mediocre Blu-ray release a good decade after it came out. Based off of the Frank Miller graphic novel of the same name, 2011’s Batman: Year One was a fantastic origins story about the first year of Batman and his reign of terror over Gotham’s underworld. Adding in some great voice acting by Bryan Cranston and Ben McKenzie (who ironically would play Gordon in the TV show Gotham), it is probably one of the single best Batman stories in the whole DCAU.

Frank Miller’s graphic novel is a grim and gritty detective affair, and the animated movie follows it almost religiously. The story starts as Bruce Wayne (Ben McKenzie) comes back form a 2 year vacation where he is honing his fighting skills in order to take on the criminal underworld of Gotham. Officer Jim Gordon Bryan Cranston) has just come to Gotham after being laid out by Internal Affairs for taking down a corrupt police officer. Now he’s trying to keep his head down in a department of cops who are all on the take, and acting as mob enforcers for Falcone. Desperate to keep out of sight and away from the hullabaloo, Jim struggles with the desire to do what’s right, but doesn’t want to jeopardize his wife Barbara and their unborn son in any way. That is until a glimmer of hope comes in the form of a mysterious vigilante dubbed as the Batman.

Bruce is troubled and raw in this story. He knows what he needs to do, but not how to do it. His ethics are still a bit raw and bloody, as his infamous Batman code hasn’t been solidified with. All he knows is that he wants to put the fear of god into the criminals of his city, and the only way he can think of doing it is with brute force. Until he figures out that he needs to become something more than a man. He needs to become a symbol of fear and justice, and that means taking on the mantle of something that he’s not to do so.

The story is told with voice over by Batman and Gordon, mimicking the old 1950s detective stories ala Sam Spade and the like. It gives equal time to our titular hero as well as the cynical Gordon, who’s also a bit raw around the edges right now. Neither of the main characters have reached their full potential, but this one year of brutal reckoning forges them into the heroes that they will eventually come.

It’s been almost 35 years since the titular comic book run, and it’s still one of the best graphic novels of the Batman universe. Frank Miller infamously made the statement that he never though of Batman as funny, and putting humor and comedy into the story was something he loathed. As such he made a very gritty and dark detective story that leaves out all the comic book wisecracking that the ear was known for. There is one caveat to this near masterpiece. Ben McKenzie’s voice acting. He plays Bruce Wayne with such boring indifference and blase vocals that Batman comes across as flat and uninspired. Bryan Cranston is INCREDIBLE as Gordon, but compared to McKenzie he looks even better. I liked McKenzie in Gotham, but his voice acting pulls the story down a bit as you have a hard time empathizing or connecting with Bruce and Batman at all.




Rated PG-13 for violence and some sexual material




4K Video: Video:

2011’s Blu-ray release was back in the day when Warner Brothers animated DCAU films were known for rather “meh” video encodes on single layer discs. The new 4K UHD blows it straight out of the water, fixes the obvious bitrate and banding issues and showcasing some great use of HDR color grading. The second the opening scene rolls you can see a massive improvement in clarity. Even though the aging animation style isn’t known for massive detail levels, the increase in clarity and sharpness is staggering. The Blu-ray was artifact wridden to the core, and the heavy banding is gone with sharp delineation. Now, there IS still banding there in the disc (I think it’s baked into the master to a certain degree), but it’s very slight and you can only catch it out of the corner of your eye (many times I swore I saw it , but couldn’t tell until I paused the disc and went through the scene frame by fame and isolated it the banding was minute). HDR color grading adds some pop the muted monochromatic colors of Gotham, and the black levels look fantastic. As mentioned above, there is a bit of banding, but it’s not in the same ballpark as the old Blu-ray. Especially with the low 60s bitrate that the 66 GB 4K UHD offers for the 64 minute movie.








Audio:

The one recycled piece of the whole package is the 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix from the Blu-ray (which is to be expected, as Warner doesn’t really do Atmos tracks for their DCAU films anyways). Luckily said mix was stellar back then and is still fantastic today. The mix is punchy and powerful, with a ton of low end support for the explosions and fisticuffs (the explosion with the helicopter bomb is incredible). Surrounds are very kinetic and fast paced as Gordon and Batman traverse Gotham in high pursuit, and the dialog is above reproach (well, except for Ben McKenzie’s lackluster voice acting). Great mix, and real treat among the DCAU films as it’s more bassy and punchy than most of the rest of their film repertoire






Extras:

• Featurette – Reinventing Gordon (New) – An examination of the history of James Gordon through comics, animation, and feature films.
• Featurette – Conversations with DC Comics – The Batman creative team at DC discusses the personal influence of Batman: Year One on their careers. Batman producer Michael Uslan leads the chat amongst well-known writers, editors, and artists of Batman lore, focusing on the darker, realistic interpretation of Batman's origins by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.
• Audio Commentary – Featuring co-producer Alan Burnett, co-director Sam Liu, DC creative director Mike Carlin and casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano.
• Featurette – Heart of Vengeance: Returning Batman to His Roots – "The Dark Knight Returns" provided the denouement of Batman's life. Frank Miller's next seminal work would provide his near-mythic origin in "Batman: Year One." This documentary spotlights the contemporary genius of Miller and the audience that was poised to appreciate the depths of his work.
• DC Showcase – Catwoman (2011 Animated Short) – The felonious feline's adventure takes her through the seedy streets of Gotham City. Eliza Dushku reprises her Batman: Year One role as the voice of Catwoman. The short is directed by Lauren Montgomery (Batman: Year One) from a script by Paul Dini (Batman: The Animated Series).
• DC Universe Movies Flashbacks
-- Batman: Soul of the Dragon
-- Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One
-- Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two

Final Score:
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Sam Liu has been a long time director for the DCAU, and Batman: Year One is probably his finest work. The Blu-ray has always been a bit sub par due to the mediocre video encode that Warner was known for in it’s Blu-ray release, but this 4K UHD disc definitely remedies this with a MUCH better encode in 2160p. The movie itself has much higher bitrate and while it recycles the same 5.1 DTS-HDMA track, said mix was stellar back then, and still is today. Definitely one worthy of an upgrade. Highly Recommended.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Bryan Cranston, Katee Sackhoff, Ben McKenzie, Eliza Dushku, Jon Polito
Directed by: Sam Liu, Lauren Montgomery
Written by: Bob Kane (Comics), Tab Muphy (Screenplay), Frank Miller (Graphic Novel)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, French DD 5.1, Spanish DD 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 64 minutes
Blu-Ray Release November 9th, 2021

Recommendation: Highly Recommended