Lest anyone forget, Michelle Pfeiffer is a total badass.
Over the weekend, Twitter was reminded of this fact when a video taken during filming of 1992’s Batman Returns started going viral.
Pfeiffer famously plays Catwoman in the Tim Burton-directed superhero film, delivering arguably the best cinematic take on the comic-book character (sorry Halle Berry).
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Now she’s getting more praise thanks to a behind-the-scenes clip of her whipping off the heads of four department store mannequins before jump roping away.
The crew can’t help but applaud after the director calls “cut,” and we can’t blame them.
Watch:
Reminder: Michelle Pfeiffer whipped the heads off those four mannequins IN ONE TAKE to thunderous applause from the Batman Returns crew! pic.twitter.com/wVqyH4qw6A
— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) February 19, 2021
And judging by this video she posted last year, she’s still got it:
Pfeiffer is currently nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in French Exit.
Cam
Why the hell did Tim Burton cut that scene so it looked like they had to edit in each head being whipped off?
Bad choice. Pfiefer should have been the only villain in that movie.
jayceecook
Maybe because he didn’t. Looks like somebody needs a re-watch of the film.
The shot is unedited for the first 3 mannequins. Then it cuts to a medium shot of MP working the whip for the 4th. Then it cuts back to a wide shot of her whipping, then a closeup of the head falling off the 4th. Having that medium shot of MP working the whip is there so you can see her impressive skill with it. Plus the look on her face is purrfection. While this BTS shot is fun to see it’s not very cinematic. Fortunately, as I said, the majority of it is still in the film (from a different angle).
Cam
@jayceecook
If I remember, it cuts back and forth to closeups of Pfeifer making it look like it was edited.
jayceecook
@Cam Well you’re remembering it wrong. I’ve seen the film so many times since I was a child I’ve lost count. The scene is on YouTube for your viewing pleasure. Even in HDR.
cuteguy
Michelle Pfeifer made that movie. She stole it from everyone, sorry Michael Keaton. I’m surprised they didn’t make a stand alone film with her
amanwithanedge
somebody feed her.
jayceecook
Far and away the very best live-action performance of Catwoman to date. Nobody has been able to duplicate all the various elements of the character from the comic book onscreen as well as Batman Returns and MP.
dhmonarch89
I like Pfieffer, but whjat’s Queer about this?
missvamp
i can crack 2-4′ whips at the same time. we call it florentine. i can do it with floggers as well. what she’s using is at least a 6′, maybe 8′. those are much harder to learn & master. it’s also leather, mine not.
barryaksarben
She was amazing in that movie. The amount of perverse sexuality she gave to the character is what makes it interesting to many gay people dhmonarch as most people are told to fear their sexuality esp if not the sanctioned. I didnt even bother to see the Halle Berry one because KNEW no one could have caught the character like Michelle did. Yes, she was too skinny but that catsuit on her made me question (not very seriously) my gayness. I think she is often underappreciated as an actress but you can see here and in dangerous liasons here range and she was and is so beautiful
wjhboy73
I generally like Halle….But her Catwoman was no competition for Michelle’s version. The movie was awful. You didn’t miss a thing by skipping it.
Cam
They could have spun off Pfeifer so easily into her own movies, but they probably were afraid they would be better than the next Batman movie. Which I have no doubt it would have been.