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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
