Fails the Bechdel test
Batman
1989. Directed by Tim Burton, written by Bob Kane and Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
6 women characters. 5 of them speak. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
Gotham City. Crime boss Carl Grissom (Jack Palance) effectively runs the town but there's a new crime fighter in town - Batman (Michael Keaton). Grissom's right-hand man is Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson), a brutal man who is not entirely sane... After falling out between the two Grissom has Napier set up with the Police and Napier falls to his apparent death in a vat of chemicals. However, he soon reappears as The Joker and starts a reign of terror in Gotham City. Meanwhile, reporter Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) is in the city to do an article on Batman. She soon starts a relationship with Batman's everyday persona, billionaire Bruce Wayne.
- Released
- 23 Jun 1989
- Genres
- Crime
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 7.5 / 10
- Metascore
- 69 / 100
- Awards
- Won 1 Oscar. 13 wins & 30 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Vicki 131 lines, woman
- Knox 96 lines, man
- Joker 91 lines, man
- Bruce 81 lines, man
- Batman 45 lines, man
- Jack 27 lines, man
- Grissom 17 lines, man
- Dick 14 lines, man
- Eckhardt 13 lines, man
- Gordon 13 lines, man
Full cast, 62 people
- Michael Keaton as Batman / Bruce Wayne
- Jack Nicholson as Joker / Jack Napier
- Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale
- Robert Wuhl as Alexander Knox
- Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon
- Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent
- Michael Gough as Alfred
- Jack Palance as Grissom
- Jerry Hall as Alicia
- Tracey Walter as Bob the Goon
- Lee Wallace as Mayor
- William Hootkins as Eckhardt
- Richard Strange as Goon
- Carl Chase as Goon
- Mac McDonald as Goon
- George Lane Cooper as Goon
- Terence Plummer as Goon
- Philip Tan as Goon
- John Sterland as Accountant
- Edwin Craig as Rotelli
- Vincent Wong as Crimelord 1
- Joel Cutrara as Crimelord 2
- John Dair as Ricorso
- Christopher Fairbank as Nic
- George Roth as Eddie
- Kate Harper as Anchorwoman
- Bruce McGuire as Anchorman
- Richard Durden as TV Director
- Kit Hollerbach as Becky
- Lachele Carl as TV Technician
- Del Baker as Napier Hood
- Jazzer Jeyes as Napier Hood
- Wayne Michaels as Napier Hood
- Valentino Musetti as Napier Hood
- Rocky Taylor as Napier Hood
- Keith Edwards as Reporter
- Leon Herbert as Reporter
- Steve Plytas as Doctor
- Anthony Wellington as Patrolman at Party
- Amir M. Korangy as Wine Steward
- Hugo Blick as Young Jack Napier
- Charles Roskilly as Young Bruce Wayne
- Philip O'Brien as Maitre d'
- Michael Balfour as Scientist
- Liza Ross as Mom
- Garrick Hagon as Dad
- Adrian Meyers as Jimmy
- David Baxt as Dr Wayne
- Sharon Holm as Mrs Wayne
- Clyde Gatell as Other Mugger
- Jon Soresi as Medic
- Sam Douglas as Lawyer
- Elliott Stein as Man in Crowd
- Denis Lill as Bob the Cartoonist
- Paul Birchard as Another Reporter
- Paul Michael as Cop
- Carl Newman as Movement Double
- Pat Gorman as Cop at Axis Chemicals (uncredited)
- Chris Andrews as Election Ceremony Patron (uncredited)
- Stephanie English as Woman in Green Coat (uncredited)
- Albert Evansky as Crimelord #3 (uncredited)
- Fred Stroud as Party Guest at Wayne Manor (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 9% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 210
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 5 | 1 | 5 |
| 6 to 10 | 3 | 51 |
| 11 to 15 | 9 | 44 |
| 16 to 20 | 11 | 27 |
| 21 to 25 | 0 | 11 |
| 26 to 30 | 5 | 19 |
| 31 to 35 | 14 | 18 |
| 36 to 40 | 0 | 15 |
| 41 to 45 | 5 | 9 |
| 46 to 50 | 7 | 18 |
| 51 to 55 | 9 | 13 |
| 56 to 60 | 4 | 6 |
| 61 to 65 | 3 | 8 |
| 66 to 70 | 12 | 31 |
| 71 to 75 | 4 | 7 |
| 76 to 80 | 8 | 27 |
| 81 to 85 | 0 | 4 |
| 86 to 90 | 14 | 17 |
| 91 to 95 | 8 | 11 |
| 96 to 100 | 1 | 2 |
| 101 to 105 | 1 | 15 |
| 106 to 110 | 9 | 30 |
| 111 to 115 | 5 | 9 |
| 116 to 120 | 0 | 4 |
| 121 to 125 | 0 | 1 |
| 126 to 130 | 0 | 2 |
| 131 to 135 | 0 | 2 |
| 136 to 140 | 0 | 2 |
| 141 to 145 | 0 | 11 |
| 146 to 150 | 0 | 15 |
| 151 to 155 | 1 | 20 |
| 156 to 160 | 0 | 0 |
| 161 to 165 | 1 | 5 |
| 166 to 170 | 0 | 0 |
| 171 to 175 | 3 | 5 |
| 176 to 180 | 3 | 8 |
| 181 to 185 | 0 | 0 |
| 186 to 190 | 0 | 2 |
| 191 to 195 | 0 | 9 |
| 196 to 200 | 0 | 14 |
| 201 to 205 | 1 | 0 |
| 206 to 210 | 4 | 4 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 23 are women's.
146 lines from women, 501 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
6 women and 48 men in the cast. 5 women and 36 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 2 of 710.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 57 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 22% of the words (1,457), men 78% (5,191). Women have 23% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
0
Two men
39
Exhibit E: behind the camera
1 of the 13 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 15% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Tim Burton (man)
- Written by
- Warren Skaaren (man), Sam Hamm (man)
- Story by
- Sam Hamm (man)
- Produced by
- Peter Guber (man), Jon Peters (man)
- Shot by
- Roger Pratt (man)
- Edited by
- Ray Lovejoy (man)
- Music by
- Danny Elfman (man)
- Production design by
- Anton Furst (man)
- Costumes by
- Bob Ringwood (man), Tony Dunsterville (gender not listed)
- Cast by
- Marion Dougherty (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
5 women, 34 men, 8 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 9 men, 6 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 9 men, 7 not listed
-
Production
2 women, 7 men, 7 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
4 women, 3 men, 3 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 5 men, 3 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 3 men, 3 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 34 on average. Men: 53 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Jerry Hall 32, Kim Basinger 35
Men
Michael Keaton 37, Robert Wuhl 37, Tracey Walter 41, Jack Nicholson 52, Billy Dee Williams 52, Pat Hingle 64, Jack Palance 70, Michael Gough 72
Exhibit G: the money
It made 11.8 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $35 million
- Box office
- $411 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 210 scenes and 710 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
