STORY

In a corrupted city,...only two men will step forth...and confront the evil.

Batman: Year One is a story about Batman's dark past. Before Bruce Wayne became the Dark Knight, there was a struggle to find an answer. Bruce fights a psychological battle with himself to avenge the tragic death of his parents. He trains himself in martial arts and studies criminology to become evil's only fear. The movie is also about a young James Gordon who is transferred to Gotham City to solve a disturbing murder case. Gordon, a future father, will do anything in his power to clean up the streets and find this serial killer to make Gotham a safer place for his family, but he knows he can not do it alone. He needs a partner...a man with great skill and courage. A man that has yet to discover himself.

The film is VERY loosely based on the Batman: Year One comics by Frank Miller. I thought of Bruce being more of a spiritual character. He's searching for his innerself as he tries to solve a case that has stumped the cops. I also wanted to give Bruce an Asian feel, because he pratices in a lot of eastern fighting techniques. I also wanted Gordon's life to be almost parallel to Bruce's because he is also searching for the serial killer, but at the same time he is trying to adapt to a city of darkness. In the comics, there is no murder case and there is no ultimate antagonist. I added a classic villain from the Batman world and I've added a lot of scenes to the film that weren't in the comic. There are some scenes that were in the comic, but they have been altered at least in some way. I also added a love interest in Bruce's young life because I feel it is very necassary. It adds emotion to the film and it shows the audience Bruce's human and lighter side. The whole idea about Bruce being a millionare and not being satisfied with himself is something I always found intriguing. It may be cliche but, money is not everything because it can't buy you happiness. There is also a twist in the film that I don't want to reveal, but its an important message about the decisions we make in everyday life. Anyway, I'm not dissing the comic book, I think it's very good, but I'm more interested in the messages that we can learn from Batman. This is not Bob Kane's Batman, this is MY interpretation of the character. I wanted something very film noir and spiritual. I see Bruce/Batman as a character who is very atypical and one who is more concerned with his relationship with himself. He is not a typical superhero like Superman or Spiderman. He is very different.

Cinematography

My goal was to shoot 90% of the movie at night, because the overall tone of the film is DARK. Gordon is depressed, angry at himself, and worried, while Bruce is confused, worried, and anxious...but at the same time they are both perservering and determined. So it's not like everything is very happy and full of bright colors. But a dark movie doesn't mean there is an exception of light. There are some day shots, but we tried to keep the colors very cool to make things atmospheric (like the use of lens flares). There also a number of scenes where there are a lot of shadows, especially around the serial killer, and that's just a part of making things disturbing for the audience.
Cinematographers for this film are Jehanzeb Dar and Arion Doerr.