Batman: Gotham by Gaslight is a solid entry into the vaunted DC Animated Universe line that excels with some great Victorian-style animation and two top-notch voice acting by Bruce Greenwood and Jennifer Carpenter.
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight
(2018)
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller, Crime
Warner Bros. | R – 78 min. – $39.99 | February 6, 2018
Date Published: 02/02/2018 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 3.75/5 |
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Admittedly, as much of a fan as I’ve been of the DC Animated movies, the last crop haven’t been terribly impressive, albeit entertaining in some respects, so it’s fun to see them take a sharp left turn and bringing something different and delving into Elseworlds territory with Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, based on the graphic novel of the same name (which I never read nor really ever head of to be honest).
The plot unfolds in turn of the century Gotham City where Jack the Ripper is on the loose targeting the low class women, including one Pamela Isley, butchered in the streets, her screams ignored by the citizenry except for one: the masked vigilante, Batman (BRUCE GREENWOOD). Batman, more or less, teams up with high-end prostitute Selina Kyle (JENNIFER CARPENTER) who had her own encounter with Jack and has attempted to take him down to protect others. Now it’s on to discover the killer’s identity and the list is, well, a bit short from Harvey Dent to Harvey Bullock who has it out to capture Batman to Dr. Hugo Strange who is obsessed with the Dark Knight, amongst a few others.
I really had a lot of fun watching Batman: Gotham by Gaslight from the beautiful animation, one of the better of these DC Animated Universe flicks, as well as an engaging story and solid voice performances by Bruce Greenwood, marking his return to the DCAU where he voiced the same role in Batman: Under the Red Hood, and Jennifer Carpenter, of Dexter fame, makes for a fine Selina Kyle. I can only hope that we get more of these Elseworlds stories, makes for a good break from the others in the DC Animated Universe line. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.0/5 |
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This release comes with a glossy slip cover and inside a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. All features are on the Blu-ray disc. Audio Commentary – In a nice change-up, there’s an actual commentary this one with Executive Producer Bruce Timm, Writer Jim Krieg and Producer/Director Sam Liu. It’s a bit technical of course but still worth a listen. Caped Fear: The First Elseworld (20:45; HD) is a featurette on this film delving into Elseworld territory. A Sneak Peek at Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay (8:33; HD) gives a glimpse at the next DC Universe’s Animated movie including the voice casting (Christian Slater as Deadshot, Billy Brown as Bronze Tiger) and going Grindhouse in terms of visuals. Also included are 2 Bonus Cartoons for Batman: The Brave and the Bold (Trials of the Demon) and Batman: The Animated Series (Showdown) as well as the Sneak Peeks for Justice League Dark and Batman: Bad Blood and the trailer for Batman vs. Two-Face. |
4K VIDEO – 4.75/5, BD VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Warner Brothers Home Entertainment releases Batman: Gotham by Gaslight onto the 4K format and is presented with a 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 2160p high-definition transfer which absolutely looks brilliant with nice balancing between the darker tones to the brighter elements at least for the daytime shots. The Blu-ray is no slouch either with good detail for the close-up shots (the more distant ones, in both the 4K and BD, do look a tad cheap) and colors still were bright. |
4K/BD AUDIO – 4.5/5 |
| Both the 4K and Blu-rays come with a standard but still effective DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which showcases both clear dialogue but also some surprising strong bass with crashing items (won’t reveal what as it would spoil the finale), so there was some good depth even in an animated film. |
OVERALL – 3.75/5 |
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Overall, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight is a solid entry into the vaunted DC Animated Universe line that excels with some great Victorian-style animation and two top-notch voice acting by Bruce Greenwood and Jennifer Carpenter. This 4K/Blu-ray combo pack offers up excellent video/audio transfers and an okay selection of bonus features. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.