Monday, September 22, 2014

Original Batman Begins movie costumes and props on display...

Just as Tim Burton's Batman redefined superhero movies in 1989, so too did Christopher Nolan's revival of the Bat franchise with Batman Begins in 2005, with Christian Bale as the gruff Dark Knight and his billionaire alter-ego 'Bruce Wayne'.

Batman Begins film costume and prop exhibit
Batman Begins League of Shadows costumes
Christian Bale Batman Begins Batsuit costume
Batman Begins movie costumes
Batman Begins League of Shadows costumes props
These fantastic costumes and props from the movie were photographed on display at the 75th Anniversary Batman exhibit at Warner Bros. Studios VIP Tour Museum on July 29, 2014 and in addition to the Bat-suit from the film, the exhibit also featured a wonderful collection of League of Shadows costumes that I'd never seen on display before.

Batman Begins movie poster
Batman Begins movie poster
Whereas Joel Schumacher's Batman movies embraced gaudy colours and a light-hearted approach to storytelling, Christopher Nolan's Gotham City and its Caped Crusader was much darker and grittier in tone, which is also reflected in the costume design by Lindy Hemming.

Bat-suit worn by Christian Bale in Batman Begins
Christian Bale Batman Begins Batsuit
Original Batman Begins Batsuit
For a closer look at this Batman Begins Bat-suit worn by Christian Bale be sure to take a look when it was previously on display at the London Film Museum.

Costume worn by Morgan Freeman as 
Lucius Fox in Batman Begins
Morgan Freeman Lucius Fox Batman Begins costume
Batman Begins Grapple Gun movie prop
The exhibit also had the wardrobe worn by Morgan Freeman as 'Lucius Fox', an employee at Wayne Enterprises who works in the Applied Science Division and helps equip Batman with his Batmobile and high-tech gadgets, like this Grapple Gun.

Costume worn by Cillian Murphy as
Scarecrow in Batman Begins
Scarecrow burlap mask Batman Begins
Batman Begins Scarecrow costume
Cillian Murphy Batman Begins Scarecrow costume
Rachel Dawes Scarecrow costumes Batman Begins
Batman Begins was a breath of fresh air as it didn't recycle previously seen Bat-villains like 'The Riddler', 'The Penguin', 'Poison Ivy' or 'Mr. Freeze' and kept the threats of 'The Joker', 'Two-Face', 'Bane' and 'Catwoman' for later installments in The Dark Knight Trilogy.

Cillian Murphy starred as Arkham Asylum's 'Dr. Jonathan Crane' and his psychotic alter-ego, 'Scarecrow', wearing this tatty burlap mask and ripped straightjacket ensemble looking like it was straight out of a horror movie.

Meanwhile Katie Holmes starred as 'Rachel Dawes', Bruce Wayne's childhood friend and Gotham City's assistant district attorney.

Costume worn by Ken Watanabe as 
Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins
Ken Watanabe Ra's Al Ghul Batman Begins costume
Ra's al Ghul Batman Begins costume
Batman Begins League of Shadows costumes
Ra's al Ghul Batman Begins costume throne
In this Batman origin story, when traveling the world Liam Neeson's 'Henri Ducard' finds an imprisoned and disillusioned 'Bruce Wayne' and offers to train him in the art of stealth and fear as part of the League of Shadows, run by 'Ra's al Ghul' in China.

Ken Watanabe wears this impressive and rather regal Ra's al Ghul costume and sits atop this throne (with Production Design by Nathan Crowley), but he is in fact a decoy and Henri Ducard is the real Ra's and leader of the League.

Costume worn by Liam Neeson as 
Henri Ducard in Batman Begins
Liam Neeson Henri Ducard League of Shadows costume Batman Begins
Liam Neeson Henri Ducard Batman Begins costume
Henri Ducard Batman Begins costume detail
When Bruce discovers the League's true intentions to destroy Gotham City, who they view as being too corrupted by crime to save, he turns on his mentor and becomes the protector of home city.

Bruce Wayne League of Shadows costume 
worn by Christian Bale in Batman Begins
Bruce Wayne League of Shadows Batman Begins costume
Bruce Wayne League of Shadows Batman Begins costume
Bruce Wayne League of Shadows Batman Begins costume glove
Bruce Wayne League of Shadows Batman Begins costume
After seeing many similar Bat-suits from all seven Batman movies, it was a refreshing change to see this selection of League of Shadows costumes up close, like the one worn by Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, and enjoy the detailed costume design.

Screen-used film props from Batman Begins
Screen-used Batman Begins movie props
Original Batman Begins film props
Batman Begins throwing dart props
Batman Begins Bruce Wayne credit cards
Batman Begins Gotham license plate prop
In addition to all the cool costumes the exhibit also had a great array of props on display, like Bat-shaped throwing darts, Gotham City car license plates, swords and even Bruce Wayne's wallet and credit cards, which were a favourite of mine.

If you like these original costumes and props, stay tuned in the days to come for even more authentic pieces from The Dark Knight Trilogy.

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