Inspired by the iconic mid-1990s DC story from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One begins as a brutal murder on Halloween prompts Gotham’s young vigilante, the Batman, to form a pact with the city’s only two uncorrupt lawmen (Police Captain James Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent) in order to take down The Roman, head of the notorious and powerful Falcone Crime Family. But when more deaths occur on Thanksgiving and Christmas, it becomes clear that, instead of ordinary gang violence, they’re also dealing with a serial killer – the identity of whom, with each conflicting clue, grows harder to discern. Few cases have ever tested the wits of the World’s Greatest Detective like the mystery behind the Holiday Killer.
For in-depth thoughts on Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One, please see my colleague Mike Vaughn’s review of the film here.
Video Quality
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One comes to Blu-Ray with a vibrant but flawed 1080p transfer. This may be a darker tale, but the colors present in this transfer are practically leaping off the screen with the wide range of hues permeating the frame. Black levels are incredibly strong, but this transfer does give way to some compression artifacts and other digital anomalies. The most prevalent flaw with this disc is the banding that plagues much of the film, showcasing a striping appearance that is in incongruous with the animate style. The textures, from the character designs to the environments, are extremely impressive and give the film a real sense of depth. One of the areas where the film really shines is the fluidity of the character designs. The subtle touches that are added to each individual is quite striking. The level of detail these animators put into each environment shines through really well here. There is much to love about this Blu-Ray presentation, but there are some technical issues that should be alleviated once the full story is given a 4K UHD Blu-Ray release.
Audio Quality
This release boasts a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that really shines in this film that serves as the calm before the storm. There is a pleasing amount of activity in the low-end even though this is not a film that has the big action set pieces that come with other stories in this line. Dialogue is often accompanied by a moody score from Michael Gatt or all manner of sound effects, but all of the information comes through clearly without getting muddied. The track engages all of the channels with panning effects and the sounds of more than one explosion that really keeps you engaged. One of the more effective moments is a visit to Arkham where the echoing hallways provide a nice sense of space. One cannot find fault in some of the chaos Joker brings about near the end of this feature, as well. Warner Bros. almost always knocks it out of the park with their audio track, so those with a good surround sound setup will be more than pleased.
Special Features
- DC Showcase Animated Short – The Losers: A new 16-minute short that features the characters from the comic series created by Robert Kanigher in 1969 that was later re-launched as a Vertigo title in 2004. In this short, a ragtag group of WWII outcasts including Captain Storm, Henry “Mile-a-Minute” Jones, Gunner, Sarge, Pooch, Johnny Cloud, and Chinese Special Agent Fan Long find themselves on a mysterious island where they must try to survive an onslaught on ancient beasts. This one sets up for a continuation that really needs to happen as soon as possible.
- Sneak Peek of Batman – The Long Halloween, Part Two: A nine-minute tease of the conclusion of this story in which the cast and crew gives tiny insights into what developments are in store for the upcoming feature. The next installment is due out on Blu-Ray on August 10th and will be rated R.
- Preview of Batman – The Dark Knight Returns, Part One: A nearly 13-minute featurette which explores the feature that was released in 2012. Nothing substantial to add if you have already seen what it is promoting.
- Preview of Batman – Gotham By Gaslight: A nearly 9-minute featurette that does the same for the 2018 feature.
- From The Vault: Two classic episodes from Batman: The Animated Series are provided in full here. These are in HD and provide a nice sample of what you will get if you spring for the Complete Series set on Blu-Ray that no Batman fan should be without.
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- Christmas with the Joker
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- It’s Never Too Late
Final Thoughts
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One is the perfect type of slow burn that you want to set up what appears to be an exciting conclusion of this beloved storyline. The DC Animated Films have been very good as of late, but for my money this one has been the most satisfying in some time. This particular adaptation really delves into the detective aspect that makes Batman stand apart from other super-powered heroes. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray that sports a decent A/V presentation and a fine assortment of supplemental features. Fans of the Caped Crusader should find a lot to love in this newest tale. Highly Recommended
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
