[34][36] Goyer and Christopher did not intentionally include real-world parallels to terrorism, the war on terror, and laws enacted to combat terrorists by the United States government because they believed making overtly political statements would detract from the story. [38][43] Dent was written as The Dark Knight's central character, serving as the center of the battle between Batman, who believes Dent is the hero the city needs, and the Joker, who wants to prove even the most righteous people can be corrupted. [252] Ledger won the film's only awards at the 15th Screen Actors Guild Awards, 62nd British Academy Film Awards, and 66th Golden Globe Awards, for Best Supporting Actor. [272], Despite the success of The Dark Knight, the lack of a Best Picture nomination was criticized and described as a "snub" by some publications. [33][34] Christopher, alongside his wife and longtime producer Emma Thomas, had never worked on a sequel film[35] but he and co-writer David Goyer discussed ideas for a sequel during filming. [34][148][149] The outfit consists of a purple coat, a green vest, an antique shirt, and a thin, 1960s-style tie that Ledger suggested. [303][304] A video game adaptation, Batman: The Dark Knight, was canceled due to development problems. Christopher described Rachel as the emotional connection between Wayne and Dent, ultimately serving as a further personal loss to fuel Wayne's character. The actor, who had previously rocked other demanding body changes for roles in Warrior and Bronson, had beefed up significantly to play Batman's arch-nemesis in the third installment of Christopher Nolan's trilogy.. [160] Influenced by the script and the comic books The Killing Joke, The Long Halloween, and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (1989), 42 Entertainment paced the ARG over annual events, although Warner Bros. rejected their ideas to use Jokerized Santas at Christmas, coffins filled with chattering teeth on Mother's Day (mocking Wayne's late mother), and Batman actors on rooftops due to safety concerns. When it was released in July, The Dark Knight received acclaim for its mature tone and themes, visual style, and performancesparticularly that of Ledger, who received many posthumous awards including Academy, BAFTA, and Golden Globe awards for Best Supporting Actor, making The Dark Knight the first comic-book film to receive major industry awards. Daredevil, starring in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy from 2005 to 2012. [34][55] He described his interpretation as a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy", and avoided humanizing him. [am] Dargis, among others, described Ledger as realizing the Joker so convincingly, intensely, and viscerally it made the audience forget about the actor behind the makeup. [202][207], The film had grossed $997 million worldwide by January 2009. [310][318] According to writer David Chen, this demonstrates, individually, people cannot responsibly handle power but by sharing the responsibility, there is hope for a compassionate outcome. See More. [120] Nearby residents contacted emergency services believing the explosion was a terrorist attack. [an] Other reviews said Ledger outshone Nicholson's "magnificent" performance with macabre humor and malevolence. David Wolinsky on Google+ The products discussed here were Industry professionals considered the campaign innovative and successful. HBO's Batman Spinoff Series Casts Clancy Brown As Crime Boss Warner Bros. Pictures prioritized a sequel following the successful reinvention of the Batman film series with Batman Begins. Many filmmakers sought to repeat its success by emulating its gritty, realistic tone to varying degrees of success. [35][77] Chicagoan authorities had been supportive during filming of Batman Begins, allowing the production to shut stretches of roads, freeways, and bridges. The Joker escapes custody, extracts the fortune's location from Lau, and burns all of it. This raised its total box office to $533.3million before it left theaters on March 5 after 33 weeks, making it the highest-grossing comic-book, superhero, and Batman film; the highest-grossing film of 2008; and the second-highest-grossing film ever (unadjusted for inflation), behind the 1997 romantic drama Titanic ($600.8million). [418][419][420] The Dark Knight Rises was a financial success, surpassing the box office of The Dark Knight,[421] and was generally well received by critics but proved more divisive with audiences.[bq]. [86][87][88] Christopher particularly wanted to film the bank heist prologue in IMAX to immediately convey the difference in scope between The Dark Knight and Batman Begins. His coin is scarred on one side, introducing the risk of chance, and he submits himself to it completely. Delivery methods of film reels were randomized and copies had a chain of custody to track who had access. From April to November 2007, filming took place with a $185million budget in Chicago and Hong Kong, and on sets in England. Batman races to save Rachel while Gordon and the other officers go after Dent, but they discover the Joker has switched their positions. [31], Following the critical and financial success of Batman Begins (2005), the film studio Warner Bros. Pictures prioritized a sequel. This led people to a website where they could submit their e-mail addresses to reveal a pixel of a concealed Joker image; about 97,000 e-mail addresses and 20 hours were required to reveal the image in full, which was well-received. Like Huntress, Damian Wayne has a complicated history in the comics, dating back to 1987's Batman: Son of the Demon (Mike W. Barr, Jerry Bingham, and John WebThe Dark Knight: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 2008 film of the same name, which is a sequel to Christopher Nolan's 2005 film Batman Begins.The soundtrack was released on July 15, 2008, in three editions: CD, limited edition CD digipak, and digital download.The 2-CD Special Edition was released on December 9, Dent defers his decision-making to his half-scarred, two-headed coin, killing the corrupt officers and the mafia involved in Rachel's death. Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight trilogy) - Wikipedia [184][275][285], Retrospective analysis has focused on the way studios, eager to replicate its performance, released tonally dark, gritty, and realistic films, or reboots of existing franchises, many of which failed critically or commercially. [59], Christopher wanted to cast an actor with an all-American "heroic presence" for Harvey Dent, something he likened to Robert Redford but with an undercurrent of anger or darkness. Christopher wanted several Rottweiler dogs in the scene but locating a dog-handler willing to simultaneously manage several dogs was difficult. He has lent his voice to the Dark Knight in Gyllenhaal collaborated with Christopher on the character's depiction because she wanted Rachel to be important and meaningful in her relatively minor role. [34][52] Ledger said he had some trepidation in succeeding Nicholson in the role but that the challenge excited him. [bm] The "pencil trick" scene, in which Joker makes a pencil disappear by slamming a mobster's head on it, is considered an iconic scene and among the film's most famous. [100][101] During filming, Christopher added a set-piece of a SWAT van crashing through a concrete barricade. Predictions placed its opening-weekend take above that of Iron Man's $102.1million but below that of Spider-Man 3's (2007) record $151.1million. [y], Following Ledger's death, the campaign continued unchanged with a focus on Dent's election, which was influenced by the ongoing 2008 United States presidential election. The owners refused permission to film a stunt in which Batman suspends a SWAT team from the building, so this was filmed from the fortieth floor of a separate building site. [bp], The Dark Knight remains popular with audiences in publicly voted rankings. The Dark Knight was the first major motion picture to be filmed with high-resolution IMAX cameras. [311][328] Wayne's butler Alfred also commits a noble lie, concealing Rachel's choice of Dent over Wayne to spare him the pain of her rejection. [80], Much of The Dark Knight was filmed using Panavision's Panaflex Millennium XL and Platinum cameras but Christopher wanted to film about 40 minutes with IMAX cameras, a high-resolution technology using 70 mm film rather than the more-commonly used format 35 mm; the finished film includes 1520% IMAX footage, running for about 28 minutes. [358] The Dark Knight is included in the film-reference book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die,[389] and film critics James Berardinelli and Barry Norman included it in their individual listings of the 100 greatest films of all time. [34][35][39] The Joker was written as a purely evil psychopath and anarchist who lacks reason, logic, and fear, and could test the moral and ethical limits of Batman, Dent, and Gordon. [256] Ledger received the award for Best Villain at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards,[257] and at the 35th Saturn Awards, The Dark Knight won awards for Best Action or Adventure Film, Best Supporting Actor (Ledger), Best Writing (Christopher and Jonathan Nolan), Best Music (Howard and Zimmer), and Best Special Effects (Corbould, Nick Davis, Paul J. Franklin, Timothy Webber). He could not make it work, however, and used two notes with alternating tempos and a "punk" influence. DC Just Brought Batman Back to Life, With a Twist Batman and Gordon apprehend the Joker, and Gordon is promoted to commissioner. [af][ag] Rereleases have further raised its box-office take to $1.006billion. Although Gordon saves the mayor, the Joker threatens his attacks will continue until Batman reveals his identity. Kevin Conroy is an American actor and voice actor who has become synonymous with the character of Batman. Almost 10 years later, Hardy's ", "Steven Spielberg Named His 20 Favourite Movies Of All Time", "Black Panther Villain Influenced by Heath Ledger's Joker", "Best Superhero Movies of the Last 15 Years", "The Greatest Superhero Movies Of All Time", "The 25 Best Superhero Movies Of All Time, Ranked! The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. Unbiased. Talented in pickpocketing, she often help her friend in her operations as "the Cat". From, "Best Comic Book Movies and Superhero Movies", "We Ranked The 54 Best Superhero Movies Of All Time, From, "The 50 Best Superhero Movies Of All Time", "Best Superhero Movies: 30 Great Superhero Films To Watch Right Now", "The 30 Best Superhero Movies Since Blade", "The 100 Best Superhero Movies Of All Time", "The 32 Best Superhero Movies for a Movie Night ASAP", "100 Best Movies of All Time That You Should Watch Immediately", "Barry Norman's 100 Greatest Films of All Time", "The 25 Best Blockbuster Sequels Of All Time", "Revenge of the Movie: 15 Sequels That Are Way Better Than The Originals", "35 Sequels That Are Better Than The Original Movie", "17 Sequels That Are Better Than The Original, From, "Best Movies of the 2000s: 35 Best Films of the 2000s, Ranked", "Film Critics Pick The Best Movies of the Decade", "The 100 Greatest Movies of the 21st Century: 10 1", "Every Single Batman Movie, Ranked from Worst to Best", "Ranking the Batman Movies from Worst to Best", "Batman Movies Ranked from Worst to Best", "The Best of the Dark Knight: Every Batman Movie (Including, "What's The Best Batman Movie? He flips his coin to decide their fates, but Batman tackles him to save Gordon's son, and Dent falls to his death. Analysts said its success would be influenced by the lengthy running time that limited the number of screenings per day, and counter-programming from the romantic comedy Mamma Mia!which surveyed well with womenand the family comedy Space Chimps. Alfred Pennyworth Oscars Snub Dark Knight For Top Awards", "How Much Has Changed Since Oscar Expanded Best Picture Nominations? [u] Despite extensive rehearsals of Reeves jumping from the McClurg Building in Chicago, a planned stunt to depict Batman leaping from one Hong Kong skyscraper to another was canceled because local authorities refused permission for helicopter use; Pfister described the officials as a "nightmare". WebThe Joker is a fictional character in Christopher Nolan 's 2008 superhero film The Dark Knight, in which he is portrayed by Heath Ledger. [bd] The MCU is seen as a successful continuation of what made The Dark Knight a success, combining genres and tones relevant to each respective film while treating the source material seriously, unlike the DC Extended Universe, which more closely emulated the tone of The Dark Knight but failed to replicate its success. Fair."[321]. While Christian Bale started out among the youngest Batman actors, he wrapped up the character at 38, the same age as most. But before he became the Batman, Affleck played a Marvel character, Matt Murdock a.k.a. [156] It took several months to achieve Zimmer's desired result. [32][34][35] Discussions between Warner Bros. Pictures and Christopher began shortly after Batman Begins's theatrical release, and development began following the production of Christopher's The Prestige (2006). The Joker represents an ideological deviancy; he does not seek personal gain and causes chaos for its own sake, setting a towering pile of cash ablaze to prove "everything burns". Murray went through designs that were "too real and more horrifying" before settling on a more "fanciful" and detailed but less-repulsive version. During the interrogation scene, Ledger asked Bale to actually hit him, and although he declined, Ledger cracked and dented the walls by throwing himself around. WebThe Dark Knight Rises With their appearances in this movie, Christian Bale, Sir Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy, and Gary Oldman have each appeared in three Batman movies. Batman movies in order: What order should you watch Batman [305][306] The Dark Knight Coaster, an indoor roller coaster, opened in May 2008 at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. Although the event was expected to attract a few thousand people, 650,000 arrived and participated in activities that included calling a number taken from a plane flying overhead and wearing Joker makeup to commit disruptive acts with actors. [101][106] The entire sequence was filmed in one day and involved 800 extras, who were moved through makeup and clothing departments in shifts. [35] They wanted to explore the theme of escalation and the idea that Batman's extraordinary efforts to combat common crimes would lead to an opposing escalation by criminals, attracting the Joker, who uses terrorism as a weapon. [141][142] The unwieldy, wide-tired vehicle could only be ridden by stuntman Jean Pierre Goy after months of training. [359][360] In 2012, Total Film named it the sixth-most-accomplished film of the preceding fifteen years, and a 2020 article by Empire named The Dark Knight as one of the films that defined the previous three decades. [ax] A novelization written by Dennis O'Neil was released in 2008. [bf], Since its release, The Dark Knight has been assessed as one of the greatest superhero films ever made,[bg] among the greatest films ever made,[bh] and one of the best sequel films. WebFans were exhausted by director Joel Schumacher's colorful aesthetic and the cartoonish villains played by Arnold Schwarzenegger (Mr. [140] Production designer Nathan Crowley designed the Batpod (Batcycle) because Christopher did not want to extensively re-use the Tumbler. 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WebThe Dark Knight (2008) Aaron Eckhart: Harvey Dent Showing all 76 items Jump to: Photos (46) Quotes (30) Photos 23 more photos Quotes Harvey Dent : [while having a fancy It earned about $40million combined, making it second to Hancock ($44.8million), which was playing in nearly four times as many countries. [au] This change is seen as responsible for the first Best Picture nomination of a comic book adaptation, Black Panther (2018). Believing Dent is the hero the city needs and the truth of his corruption will harm Gotham, Batman takes the blame for his death and actions and persuades Gordon to conceal the truth. A sequel, The Dark Knight Rises, concluded The Dark Knight trilogy in 2012. In the film, Batman is forced out of his self-imposed retirement following the events of The Dark Knight; he allies with Selina Kyle / Catwoman to take on Bane, a physically imposing revolutionary allied with the League of Shadows that is featured in Batman Begins. The Batman (film) - Wikipedia [78] Christopher wanted to exchange the more natural, scenic settings of Batman Begins such as the Himalayas and caverns for a modern, structured environment the Joker could disassemble. The GCPD headquarters was rebuilt in the Farmiloe Building. [ak] David Denby said The Dark Knight was a product of a "time of terror", but focused on embracing and unleashing it while cynically setting up a sequel. Who Played Batman [58] Because Christopher preferred to capture sound while filming rather than re-recording dialogue in post-production, Ledger's work had been completed before his death, and Christopher did not modify the Joker's narrative in response. Pennyworth burns an undelivered message to Wayne from Rachel, who said she chose Dent, and Fox destroys the invasive surveillance network that helped Batman find the Joker. [317], Batman and Dent resort to torture or enhanced interrogation to stop the Joker but he remains immune to their efforts because he has a strong belief in his goals. Christopher wanted the team to focus on countering the negative reaction to Ledger's casting and controlling the revelation of the Joker's appearance. [81][96] It was scheduled early to test the IMAX procedure, allowing it to be refilmed with traditional cameras if needed, and it was intended to be publicly released as part of the marketing campaign. [s][t] For The Dark Knight, Pfister chose to combine the "rust-style" visuals of Batman Begins with the "dusk"-like color scheme of The Prestige (cobalt blues, greens, blacks, and whites), in part to address over-dark scenes in Batman Begins. To the Joker's disbelief, the passengers refuse to kill one another. [x], The Dark Knight's marketing campaign was developed by alternate reality game (ARG) development company 42 Entertainment. Ledger always applied the lipstick himself, believing it was essential to his characterization. Christian Bale plays Batman in The Dark Knight Rises SEAC For our money, Christian Bale remains the greatest Batman on the silver screen. [101][113][114] The thirteen weeks of filming in Chicago was estimated to have generated $45million for the city's economy and thousands of local jobs. [h] He considered Dent as having a duality similar to Batman's, providing interesting dramatic potential. A new Batman movie, directed by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson as the Dark Knight, has finally hit theatres after multiple delays. Michael B. Jordan cited the character as an inspiration for his character Erik Killmonger in Black Panther. And the only morality in a cruel world is chance. In Batman vs. Robin #5, Damian and the other DC heroes still on Lazarus Island are given a major dilemma to weigh. The consensus reads; "Dark, complex and unforgettable, The Dark Knight succeeds not just as an entertaining comic book film, but as a richly thrilling crime saga". is among the film's most famous and oft-quoted pieces of dialog,[bo] alongside "everyone loses their minds," and Dent's line "you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain", as well as Pennyworth's line "some men just want to watch the world burn". [276][284] Even so, The Hollwood Reporter argued the Academy mistook the appeals to recognize important, "generation-defining" genre films with just nominating more films. [61][131] Christopher added a dedication to Ledger and stuntman Conway Wickliffe, who died during rehearsals for a Tumbler (Batmobile) stunt. Dent claims he is Batman to lure out the Joker, who attacks the police convoy transporting him. [233], Bale's reception was mixed; his performance was considered to be alternately "captivating" or serviceable, but ultimately uninteresting and undermined by portraying an immovable and generally unchanged character who delivers Batman's dialog in a hoarse, unvarying tone. The Dark Knight (2008) - Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent [175][176][184], The Dark Knight broke more records, including for the highest-grossing opening week ($238.6million), and for three-, four-, five-, six-, seven-, eight-, nine-, and ten-day cumulative grosses, including the highest-grossing non-holiday Monday ($24.5million) and non-opening Tuesday ($20.9million, as well as the second-highest-grossing non-opening Wednesday ($18.4million), behind Transformers ($29.1million). It was an exhausting process. Freeze) and Uma Thurman (Poison Ivy) fell Batman [217] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+-to-F scale. The DCU's Batman Is Breaking a Dark Knight Movie Trend On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. As panic grips the city, the Joker reveals two evacuation ferries, one carrying civilians and the other prisoners, are rigged to explode at midnight unless one group sacrifices the other. [114][142][143] The Gotham General Hospital explosion was not in the script but added during filming because Corbould believed it could be done. [32], Goyer and Christopher collaborated for three months to develop The Dark Knight's core plot points. The Dark Knight Trilogy [249] A further four wins came at the 35th People's Choice Awards: Favorite Movie, Favorite Cast, Favorite Action Movie, and Favorite On-Screen Match-Up (Bale and Ledger),[250] as well as Best Action Movie and Best Supporting Actor (Ledger) at the 14th Critics' Choice Awards. : The Secret History of Batman in Japan, List of Batman television series cast members, Yearly highest-grossing films in the United States, Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, List of highest-grossing films in the United States and Canada, Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Action Movie, Mainichi Film Award for Foreign Film Best One Award, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Saturn Award for Best Action or Adventure Film, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Dark_Knight&oldid=1142591448, Films about kidnapping in the United States, Films about organized crime in the United States, Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award-winning performance, Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe winning performance, Films that won the Best Sound Editing Academy Award, Films with screenplays by Christopher Nolan, United States National Film Registry films, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Pages using Sister project links with wikidata mismatch, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Characters appearing in comic books published, This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 07:57. [315][316] This is exemplified in the covert alliance formed between Batman, Dent, and Gordon, leading to Rachel's death and Dent's corruption. [107] Exterior footage of the Gotham Prewitt Building, the site of Batman's and the Joker's final confrontation, was filmed at the in-construction Trump International Hotel and Tower. The release has a slipcover box-art that revealed a "Jokerized" version underneath, and contains featurettes on Batman's equipment, the psychology used in the film, six episodes of the fictional news program Gotham Tonight, and a gallery of concept art, posters, and Joker cards.