Fails the Bechdel test
Batman Returns
1992. Directed by Tim Burton, written by Bob Kane and Daniel Waters and Sam Hamm.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
10 women characters. 2 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 0 out of 3.
The film
In the sewers of Gotham City to the rooftops of the Gotham City, the Penguin (Danny DeVito) wants to know from where he came. Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer) plans to kill rich man of Gotham Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) but as he battles with millionaire Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) both ladies' men have their own secrets. Bruce Wayne is back as Batman trying to stop the penguin; Max is helping Penguin steal Gotham City while Selina Kyle/Catwoman tries to help Penguin not knowing her man murder target also her murder is helping him but all four men have their goals taking Gotham from crime-winning Gotham City assassination for two men and more money to be Gotham City's number one rich man.
- Released
- 19 Jun 1992
- Genres
- Action, Crime, Fantasy
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 7.1 / 10
- Metascore
- 68 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 2 Oscars. 2 wins & 29 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Bruce 119 lines, man
- Selina 83 lines, woman
- Penguin 67 lines, man
- Vicki 51 lines
- Alfred 49 lines, man
- Tiptree 29 lines, man
- Catwoman 25 lines, woman
- Gordon 25 lines, man
- Provost 17 lines, man
- Shaw 13 lines
Full cast, 49 people
- Michael Keaton as Batman / Bruce Wayne
- Danny DeVito as Penguin
- Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman / Selina
- Christopher Walken as Max Shreck
- Michael Gough as Alfred
- Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon
- Michael Murphy as Mayor
- Cristi Conaway as Ice Princess
- Andrew Bryniarski as Chip
- Vincent Schiavelli as Organ Grinder
- Steve Witting as Josh
- Jan Hooks as Jen
- John Strong as Sword Swallower
- Rick Zumwalt as Tattooed Strongman
- Anna Katarina as Poodle Lady
- Gregory Scott Cummins as Acrobat Thug One
- Erika Andersch as Knifethrower Dame
- Travis McKenna as Fat Clown
- Doug Jones as Thin Clown
- Branscombe Richmond as Terrifying Clown 1
- Paul Reubens as Penguin's Father
- Diane Salinger as Penguin's Mother
- Stuart Lancaster as Penguin's Doctor
- Cal Hoffman as Happy Man
- Joan Jurige as Happy Woman
- Rosie O'Connor as Adorable Little Girl
- Sean Whalen as Paperboy
- Erik Onate as Aggressive Reporter
- Joey DePinto as Shreck Security Guard
- Steven Brill as Gothamite 1
- Neal Lerner as Gothamite 2
- Ashley Tillman as Gothamite 3
- Elizabeth Sanders as Gothamite 4
- Henry Kingi as Mugger
- Joan Giammarco as Female Victim
- Lisa Guerrero as Volunteer Bimbo
- Frank DiElsi as Security 1
- Biff Yeager as Security 2
- Robert Gossett as TV Anchorman
- Adam Drescher as Crowd Member
- Bobby Bell as Emperor Penguin
- Niki Botelho as Emperor Penguin / Baby Penguin
- Susan Rossitto as Emperor Penguin
- Margarita Farrell as Emperor Penguin
- Denise Killpack as Emperor Penguin
- Felix Silla as Emperor Penguin
- Debbie Lee Carrington as Emperor Penguin
- Anthony De Longis as Terrifying Clown #2 (uncredited)
- Desi Singh as Clown with Flaming Crossbow (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 6 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 20% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 251
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 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 to 12 | 0 | 4 |
| 13 to 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 to 24 | 1 | 25 |
| 25 to 30 | 0 | 21 |
| 31 to 36 | 0 | 12 |
| 37 to 42 | 6 | 16 |
| 43 to 48 | 3 | 20 |
| 49 to 54 | 0 | 6 |
| 55 to 60 | 0 | 2 |
| 61 to 66 | 7 | 1 |
| 67 to 72 | 0 | 1 |
| 73 to 78 | 5 | 8 |
| 79 to 84 | 0 | 21 |
| 85 to 90 | 17 | 35 |
| 91 to 96 | 16 | 17 |
| 97 to 102 | 0 | 4 |
| 103 to 108 | 0 | 4 |
| 109 to 114 | 0 | 8 |
| 115 to 120 | 0 | 7 |
| 121 to 126 | 0 | 2 |
| 127 to 132 | 6 | 1 |
| 133 to 138 | 1 | 1 |
| 139 to 144 | 8 | 5 |
| 145 to 150 | 0 | 4 |
| 151 to 156 | 0 | 12 |
| 157 to 162 | 7 | 15 |
| 163 to 168 | 4 | 46 |
| 169 to 174 | 0 | 7 |
| 175 to 180 | 0 | 5 |
| 181 to 186 | 0 | 15 |
| 187 to 192 | 3 | 2 |
| 193 to 198 | 3 | 5 |
| 199 to 204 | 2 | 16 |
| 205 to 210 | 10 | 11 |
| 211 to 216 | 1 | 5 |
| 217 to 222 | 4 | 14 |
| 223 to 228 | 0 | 12 |
| 229 to 234 | 0 | 3 |
| 235 to 240 | 8 | 3 |
| 241 to 246 | 0 | 6 |
| 247 to 251 | 6 | 16 |
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, 22 are women's.
118 lines from women, 418 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
10 women and 29 men in the cast. 2 women and 13 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 13 of 667.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 95 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 25% of the words (1,475), men 75% (4,476). Women have 22% of the lines, so their lines run longer 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
49
Exhibit E: behind the camera
3 of the 14 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 23% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Tim Burton (man)
- Written by
- Daniel Waters (man)
- Story by
- Daniel Waters (man), Sam Hamm (man)
- Produced by
- Tim Burton (man), Denise Di Novi (woman)
- Shot by
- Stefan Czapsky (man)
- Edited by
- Bob Badami (man), Chris Lebenzon (man)
- Music by
- Danny Elfman (man)
- Production design by
- Bo Welch (man)
- Costumes by
- Bob Ringwood (man), Mary E. Vogt (woman)
- Cast by
- Marion Dougherty (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
14 women, 49 men, 8 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
9 women, 10 men, 1 not listed
-
Production
2 women, 8 men
-
Sound
1 women, 6 men, 1 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 3 men
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 4 men
-
Writing
0 women, 4 men
-
Editing
0 women, 2 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 31 on average. Men: 50 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Cristi Conaway 27, Michelle Pfeiffer 34
Men
Andrew Bryniarski 23, Michael Keaton 40, Vincent Schiavelli 43, Danny DeVito 47, Christopher Walken 49, Michael Murphy 54, Pat Hingle 67, Michael Gough 75
Exhibit G: the money
It made 3.5 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $80 million
- Box office
- $280 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 251 scenes and 667 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
