AceShowbiz -

While it hasn't even played in cinemas, "The Dark Knight Rises" already received praises from many reviewers and filmmakers, including director Tim Burton. The "Sweeney Todd" helmer, who also had his own Batman trilogy, implicitly admitted that Christopher Nolan's take on the Caped Crusader story has outdone his versions.

Speaking to Cinemax magazine, Burton confessed that he always thought his Batman movies were the darkest until he saw Nolan's incarnation. "I always get told that my material is dark," the British filmmaker said, "but nowadays my version of Batman looks like a lighthearted romp in comparison to Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight."

During the interview, Burton also compared Michelle Pfeiffer to Anne Hathaway in their portrayals of Catwoman. The longtime partner to Helena Bonham Carter admitted that she prefers Pfeiffer's performance as the alter ego of Selina Kyle in "Batman Returns".

"For me, her version of Catwoman was one of my favorite performances on any movie I had worked on," Burton stated. "I remember how she impressed me by letting a live bird fly out of her mouth, learning how to use a whip and dancing around on rooftops with high-heeled shoes on. She did all that stuff for real."

Burton had directed 1989's "Batman" and 1992's "Batman Returns", as well as produced 1995's "Batman Forever". Nolan, meanwhile, had helmed critically acclaimed "Batman Begins" in 2005 and "The Dark Knight" in 2008. His final Batman film, "The Dark Knight Rises", will open wide in the U.S. on July 20.

The Caped Crusader talk aside, Burton shared to Cinemax about how he reunites with Pfeiffer in upcoming supernatural comedy movie "Dark Shadows". He gushed, "I hadn't really talked to her for about 20 years, and she called before I had started working on Dark Shadows, and she told me how much she loved the old TV series and she wanted to be involved." Burton's "Dark Shadows" will hit cinemas nationwide on May 11.