Before Tim Burton and Michael Keaton took up the Batman franchise, there was the television show in the 60's, then the movie based on the series. Fox has done a great job putting together the original film, along with Burt Ward and Adam West for commentary for this special Batman DVD.

The DVD was especially prepared for DVD release with animated menus and comments from the dynamic duo in each section. During the television shows run, many guest stars appeared as villains and this film features four of the most popular, including Burgess Meredith as Penguin, Lee Meriwether as Cat Woman, Cesar Romero as Joker and Frank Gorshin as Riddler. For the film, all four villains are working together on a sinister plot to (what else?) overthrow the world. The film is filled with tongue in cheek humor, as Batman fights off a rubber shark, he and Robin do their trademark "wall walk", and they answer some of Riddler's riddles; "What weighs 6 oz., sits in a tree and is very dangerous?"-Answer- "A sparrow with a machine gun!" The most memorable and humorous scene involves Batman on the Santa Monica Pier, trying to get rid of a large bomb, while trying to not hurt anyone in the process. "Somedays you just can't get rid of a bomb!" Batman exasperates as he avoids nuns, lovers in a boat, baby ducks, a mom and baby carriage and a Salvation Army Band. Production values were a bit higher for the film than the television show, with bigger props including a Bat Copter, Bat Boat and Bat Motor Cycle. Penguin also gets a very cleverly designed submarine, and the villains all ride jet propelled umbrellas.

Picture-An excellent print was obtained for the DVD, and the anamorphic transfer is in fantastic shape, with sharp images and bright colors. So clear in fact that the wrinkled sky curtain can be seen quite clearly in the submarine fight scene. You can also see clearly Cesar Romero's mustache under his Joker makeup, as he refused to shave it off. The film has been preserved well and looks very clean. Sound-A new, stereo soundtrack has been added to the audio selections, along with the original mono soundtrack and a French mono extra. All the cheesy music, sound effects and explosions are crystal clear with decent fidelity.

The DVD includes many extras on this Special Edition including an audio commentary track with Adam West and Burt Ward, a brand new 30 minute featurette with interviews from Ward and West, in which they relate personal stories about the film and television series, a 10 minute tour of the Batmobile by the builder, who explains how many of the features were developed. The DVD also contains a large stills gallery of archived photos and from the personal collection of Adam West.

You'll have a good time with this DVD, as the film is pure fun from start to finish. The villains put in dynamic performances (Burgess Meredith was always my favorite); the humor is satirical and at times, just plain weird, and the DVD technical specs are very good. The extras show very clearly what a good time they had making the film and series and look back on it with great fondness.