Gotham, Illinois

Well, a group of us went to the River East mega movie complex downtown on Saturday night and saw Batman Begins,  which as you probably have already heard by now is surprisingly excellent for a summer blockbuster.   First, the 8:30 was sold out.  Then, the 9pm was full (we came back in at the last moment).  Finally, we got into the 9:45 (in the largest movie stadium seating auditorium I've seen) and sat through 20 minutes of trailers before the show began. 

It was worth the wait (though, I am far from qualified to review movies, so take my comments with a grain of salt).  While the experts are divided (the Chicago Reader hated it) I had a great time.  I was very impressed by the level of realism achieved in the movie, and story was terrific.  Last year I remember hearing about filming in Chicago, so I was curious to see which, if any, scenes included Chicago back drops.   There were plenty - it seems Chicago is more Gotham than New York, which of course is the "real" Gotham City.  There is even an architectural tour of Chicago buildings appearing in Batman Begins.  Last night, with the bats still fresh in my mind, I decided to take a few snaps of places appearing in the movie.   Hope you enjoy the pics (all taken 6/26/05).

This is a view looking down Wells, from Upper Wacker.

This one is from the south side of the Chicago river, looking west towards the Merchandise Mart.  In one scene batman is perched on one of these buildings, overlooking his beloved Gotham.

Here is a view of lower-Michigan Ave, looking south.  May have been used for the early underground scenes showing decline of Gotham.

The Billy Goat Tavern, below Michigan Ave.

I went in and purchased a "cheeseborger" and caught the end of the Mets-Yankees game.

Lower Wacker drive, where chase scenes were filmed.

Below Wells, heading south.

Chicago river looking east. Marina towers, the Mies Van der Rohe IBM promient on the left, the Jewellers building on the right, a stunning and inspiring sight no matter the day or time.  (These buildings will accompanied by the Trump Tower Chicago, now under construction, that will make this view one of the most stunning anywhere.)   On the right (south) side is where the "Narrows" would have been (brought in as miniature or CGI), and the "raising of the bridges" cut off the (low-life) inhabitants.

Comments

[Regan]

These photos are great! Your description of getting into a popular movie on Saturday night is the exact reason I find it difficult to travel in groups. For some reason when we travel in groups no sensible plan is devised and we waste a lot of time and energy in aimlessville. This is a bad thing for a natural-born neurotic scheduler.

If you look at the top of the NBC Tower at night you can sometimes see real bats circling the lights.

[manuel visaya]

taken, pictures are very liquid. (NS-77)

[Barb]

Awesome pictures, now I want to see the movie again.

[Rob]

Hi Barb - you found it. Yeah, me too.