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. [210] The Atlantic wrote Iron Man's legacy in launching the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) could not have happened without the financial and critical success of The Dark Knight, which made comic book adaptations a central focus of film studios. [an] Other reviews said Ledger outshone Nicholson's "magnificent" performance with macabre humor and malevolence. [399] In 2022, Variety listed him as the best superhero film performance of the preceding 50 years (Eckhart appears at number 22). [315][316] This is exemplified in the covert alliance formed between Batman, Dent, and Gordon, leading to Rachel's death and Dent's corruption. [132][133][134], Alongside lead editor Lee Smith, Christopher took an "aggressive editorial approach" to editing The Dark Knight to achieve its 152-minute running time. [331], Before The Dark Knight, superhero films closely emulated their comic-book source material, and though the genre had seen significant successes such as Superman (1978), Batman (1989), X-Men (2000), and Spider-Man (2002), they were often considered disposable entertainment that did not garner much industry respect. [as] At the 13th Satellite Awards, The Dark Knight received one award for Sound Editing or Mixing (Richard King, Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo). [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. [108] A former Brach's candy factory on Cicero Avenue scheduled for demolition was used to film the Gotham General Hospital explosion in August 2007. ", "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! I'm just ahead of the curve. His coin is scarred on one side, introducing the risk of chance, and he submits himself to it completely. [66] Dent's desire to work outside the law is seen in his support of Batman's vigilantism to accomplish what he cannot. It is considered the "blueprint" for many modern superhero films, particularly for its rejection of a typical comic-book film style in favor of a crime film that features comic-book characters. [339][340][341] U.S. President Barack Obama used Joker to explain the growth of Islamic State (IS) military group, saying " the gang leaders of Gotham are meeting they were thugs, but there was a kind of order the Joker comes in and lights the whole city on fire. [324], Although The Dark Knight presents this as a heroic act, this "noble lie" is used to conceal and manipulate the truth for what a minority determines is the greater good. [114][142][143] The Gotham General Hospital explosion was not in the script but added during filming because Corbould believed it could be done. [ao] Zacharek, however, lamented that the performance was not in service of a better film. Christopher had deliberately obscured combat in the previous film because it was intended to portray Batman from the criminals' point of view. 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. Wayne Enterprises accountant Coleman Reese deduces Batman's identity and attempts to expose it, but the Joker threatens to blow up a hospital unless Reese is killed. Lucius Fox threatens to stop helping Batman in response, believing he has crossed an ethical boundary, and although Batman agrees these violations are unacceptable and destroys the technology, the film demonstrates he could not have stopped the Joker in time without it. [l] Christopher was confident in the casting because discussions between himself and Ledger had demonstrated they shared similar ideas regarding the Joker's portrayal. [be] The film has been referenced in a variety of media including television shows such as Robot Chicken, South Park, and The Simpsons. [138] Chris Corbould, the film's special effects supervisor,[139] oversaw the 700 effect shots Double Negative and Framestore produced; there were relatively few effects compared to equivalent films because Christopher only used computer-generated imaging where practical effects would not suffice. [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. Batman Christopher wanted the team to focus on countering the negative reaction to Ledger's casting and controlling the revelation of the Joker's appearance. But you were wrong. "[37], Although he was a fan of Batman (1989), starring Jack Nicholson as the Joker, Goyer did not consider Nicholson's portrayal scary and The Dark Knight's Joker to be an unknowable, already-formed character, similar to the shark in Jaws (1975), without a "clich" origin story. [327] Batman makes his own Christ-like sacrifice, taking on Dent's sins to preserve the city. His fighting style was designed to appear improvised and erratic. Nico Sy on Instagram: 15th anniversary of The Dark Knight (2008 [ar] Peter Travers praised Oldman's skill in making a virtuous character interesting and he, among others, described Caine's and Freeman's performances as "effortless". [97] Pfister described it as a week of patience and learning because of the four-day wait for the IMAX footage to be processed. Jonathan Crane was a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who conducted experiments on inmates under the identity of Scarecrow. He developed the character's voice by mixing a high-pitch and low-pitch, which was inspired by ventriloquist performances. [34][55] He described his interpretation as a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy", and avoided humanizing him. [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. [ad], The Dark Knight was released in Australia and Taiwan on Wednesday, July 16, 2008, and opened in twenty markets by the weekend. [p] Musician Dwight Yoakam turned down a role as the bank manager or a corrupt police officer because he was recording his album Dwight Sings Buck (2007). The new Joker is played by Irish actor Barry Keoghan, best known for his recent portrayal of Druig in Marvels Eternals. Christian Bale Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Of this group, West is the only one to have also played Batman in Dark Knight A floor of Two Illinois Center was decorated for Wayne's fundraiser. Birds of Prey wasnt a famous TV show, although it gave the network a significant viewership. [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. [101] 330 North Wabash served as offices used by Dent, mayor Garcia, and commissioner Loeb; and its thirteenth floor appears as Wayne Enterprises' boardroom; Pfister enhanced its large, panoramic windows and natural light with an 80-foot (24m) glass table and reflective bulbs. [310], In The Dark Knight's final act, Batman employs an invasive surveillance network by co-opting the phones of Gotham's citizens to locate the Joker, violating their privacy. The joker playing card scene in Batman Begins was intended to convey the fallacy of Batman's belief his war on crime would be temporary. Is the Emanuel Levy and Manohla Dargis praised the depiction of the characters as possessing both positive and negative aspects, such as Batman's efforts to end crime provoking unintended consequences and a greater response from criminals; Dargis believed The Dark Knight's exploration of chaos, fear, and death, following the September 11 attacks in 2001, represented "that American movies have entered a new era of ambivalence when it comes to their heroes or maybe just superness. [95] The Joker's homemade videos were filmed and mainly directed by Ledger. He was portrayed in the Batman Nolan Film Ben Affleck Is Batman: 16 Actors Who Played the Dark Knight Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to Batman Begins (2005) and the second installment in The Dark Knight Trilogy. While Christian Bale started out among the youngest Batman actors, he wrapped up the character at 38, the same age as most. [323] The character can be considered an example of Friedrich Nietzsche's "Superman", who exists outside definitions such as good and evil, and follows his own indomitable will. [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. : 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. The Dark Knight was the first major motion picture to be filmed with high-resolution IMAX cameras. Freeze) and Uma Thurman (Poison Ivy) fell He targets Dent at a fundraising dinner and throws Rachel out of a window, but Batman rescues her. [373] In the 2010s, a poll of 177 film critics by the BBC in 2016 listed it as the 33rd-best film of the 21st century,[374] and The Guardian placed it 98th on its own list. Two-Face The Dark Knight has been analyzed for its themes of terrorism and the limitations of morality and ethics. We Ranked Them All, From The Dark Knight to the Batman", "Batman Movies Ranked From Worst To Best", "50 Best Movies Of Total Film Magazine's Lifetime", "The 30 Films That Define the Last 30 Years", "Empire's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time", "The 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years: Here's Our Full List! [v] Christopher said editing the film became "tremendously emotional, right when he passed, having to go back in and look at him every day [during editing] but the truth is, I feel very lucky to have something productive to do, to have a performance that he was very, very proud of, and that he had entrusted to me to finish". Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight trilogy) - Wikipedia Although Gordon saves the mayor, the Joker threatens his attacks will continue until Batman reveals his identity. [234] Several reviewers regarded Gyllenhaal as an improvement over Holmes, although others said they found difficulty caring about the character and that Gyllenhaal, while more talented than her predecessor, was miscast. It was directed by Bruce Timm and includes veteran Batman actor Kevin Conroy reprising his role. Caine said he forgot his lines during a scene involving one video because of Ledger's "stunning" performance. After submitting the draft to Warner Bros., Jonathan spent a further two months refining it until Christopher had finished directing The Prestige. Batman and Gordon apprehend the Joker, and Gordon is promoted to commissioner. 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, This article is about the 2008 film. Warner Bros. was concerned public knowledge of Dent's character was poor; the campaign included signs, stickers, and "Dentmobiles" visiting U.S. cities to raise his profile. 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. 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". [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. Some theater staff were given night-vision goggles to identify people recording The Dark Knight, and one person was caught in Kansas City. At the San Diego Comic-Con, 42 Entertainment modified 11,000 one-dollar bills with the Joker's image and the phrase "Why So Serious?" It broke several box-office records and became the highest-grossing 2008 film, the fourth-highest-grossing film of its time, and the highest-grossing superhero film. The world is cruel. This Time, It's Different", "Internet Meme: "Everyone Loses Their Minds" Meme (The Joker; The Dark Knight)", "Everyone Loses Their Minds The Joker Meme", "Empire's 500 Greatest Movies of All Time", "Readers' Poll: The 15 Greatest Superhero Movies", "The Flip Side Of Justice: The Two-faced Spirit Of The Dark Knight", "What Do You Believe In? [251] Howard and Zimmer were recognized for Best Motion Picture Score at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. It was an exhausting process. [j] The final scene, in which the Joker states he and Batman are destined to battle forever, was not intended to tease a sequel but to convey the diametrically opposed pair were in an endless conflict because they will not kill each other. The Batman: Everyone Who Played The Dark Knight On The Big Screen, Ranked. Joker (The Dark Knight [303][304] A video game adaptation, Batman: The Dark Knight, was canceled due to development problems. [aa] It set further records for the highest-grossing single-day ($67.2million on the Friday), Sunday ($43.6million), midnight opening ($18.5million, from 3,000 midnight screenings), and IMAX opening ($6.3million from about 94 locations), as well as the second-highest-grossing Saturday ($47.7million) behind Spider-Man 3, and contributed to the highest-grossing weekend on record ($253.6million). [35][77] Chicagoan authorities had been supportive during filming of Batman Begins, allowing the production to shut stretches of roads, freeways, and bridges. [119] By mid-October, interior and exterior scenes of Rachel being held hostage surrounded by barrels of gasoline were filmed at Battersea Power Station. [201][208] Its reissue in the run-up to the Oscars enabled the film to exceed $1billion in February,[209] and it ultimately earned $1.003billion. 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.. 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. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. Christopher and Batman Begins co-writer David S. Goyer developed the story elements, making Dent the central protagonist caught up in the battle between Batman and the Joker. Delivery methods of film reels were randomized and copies had a chain of custody to track who had access. [34][39] Writer Alan Moore's graphic novel, Batman: The Killing Joke (1988), did not influence the main narrative but Christopher believed his interpretation of the Joker as someone partially driven to prove anyone can become like him when pushed far enough helped the Nolans give purpose to an "inherently purposeless" character. The Dark Knight - Wikipedia It was so He used brass instruments for both moral ends but warped the sound as Dent is corrupted. Unprejudiced. The Batman: Everyone Who Played The Dark Knight On The Big Screen, Ranked By Mat Elfring and Mason Downey on February 28, 2022 at 12:03PM PST For Gotham Knight presents six vignettes, each of which are animated in a different artistic style, set between the events of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. He could not make it work, however, and used two notes with alternating tempos and a "punk" influence. How Old Was Christian Bale's Batman in the Dark Knight Trilogy? [74], In October 2006, location scouting for Gotham City took place in the UK in Liverpool, Glasgow, London, and parts of Yorkshire, and in several cities in the U.S.[75][76] Christopher chose Chicago because he liked the area and believed it offered interesting architectural features without being as recognizable as locations in better-known cities such as New York City. He added a "punk" influence alongside inspirations from electronic and rock music. [189][190] It retained the number-one position in its third ($42.7million) and fourth ($26.1million) weekends, before falling to second place in its fifth, with a gross of $16.4million, behind the debuting Tropic Thunder ($25.8million). Industry professionals considered the campaign innovative and successful. [n] Ledger spent a further four months creating a "Joker diary" containing images and elements he believed would resonate with his character, such as finding the disease AIDS humorous. He has lent his voice to the Dark Knight in [k] Ledger's casting in August 2006 was criticized by some industry professionals and members of the public who considered him inappropriate for the role; executive producer Charles Roven said Ledger was the only person seriously considered, and that Batman Begins's positive reception would help alleviate any concerns. Corbould's team built the Batpod, which is based on a prototype Crowley and Christopher built by combining different commercial model components. [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. Shortly after, Gunn confirmed that Ben Affleck - who had previously played the Dark Knight in Zack Snyder's films and was originally going to direct the movie that Jen (The Dark Knight Rises [aw] In 2011, it also became the first major-studio film to be released for rent via digital distribution on Facebook. [ay] Roger Ebert said the Joker forces impossible ethical decisions on each character to test the limits of their morality. [261][262][263] Ledger won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, making him only the second performer to win an award posthumously (after Peter Finch in 1977), and The Dark Knight the first comic book adaptation to win an Academy acting award. [100][101] During filming, Christopher added a set-piece of a SWAT van crashing through a concrete barricade. The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises. Adlakha described this act as a "militaristic fantasy", in which a significant violation of civil liberties is required through the means of advanced technology to capture a dangerous terrorist, reminiscent of the 2001 Patriot Act. 6 Likes, 1 Comments - Nico Sy (@cakeandsnakes) on Instagram: 15th anniversary of The Dark Knight (2008) featuring the exhibit of Batman (played by [295][296][297], Merchandise for The Dark Knight includes statuettes, action figures, radio-controlled Tumbler and Batpod models, costumes, sets of Batarangs, a limited-edition Grappling Launcher replica, board games, puzzles, clothing, and a special-edition UNO card game. In 2008, Ebert wrote; "[The Dark Knight], and to a lesser degree Iron Man, redefine the possibilities of the 'comic-book movie'". ", "Ledger's Oscar Bid From Beyond The Grave", "Posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger's Joker Performance? [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][151] John Caglione Jr designed Joker's "organic" makeup to look as though it had been worn for days; this idea was partly based on more of Bacon's works. [r] Warner Bros. was reluctant to endorse the use of the technology because the cameras were large and unwieldy, and purchasing and processing the film stock cost up to four times as much as typical 35mm film. 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. In writing the screenplay, the Nolans were influenced by 1980s Batman comics and crime drama films, and sought to continue Batman Begins' heightened sense of realism. [311], The film has been analyzed as an analog for the war on terror, the militaristic campaign the U.S. launched following the September 11 attacks. However, it was forgotten, and so was the actor who played Batman. [51], Christopher was aware Nicholson's popular portrayal of the Joker would invite comparisons to his version, and wanted an actor who could cope with the associated scrutiny. [191][192][193] The Dark Knight remained in the top-ten highest-grossing films for ten weeks, and became the film to surpass $400million soonest (18 days) and $500million (45 days). Having deduced Batman's feelings for Rachel, the Joker reveals she and Dent are being held separately in buildings rigged to explode. Burn is an actor, known for Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022), The Dark Knight Rises [52] Josh Lucas, Ryan Phillippe, and Mark Ruffalo were considered, as well as Matt Damon, who could not commit due to scheduling conflicts. 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". [210] Stephanie Zacharek and David Edelstein criticized a perceived lack of visual storytelling in favor of exposition, and aspects of the plot being difficult to follow amid the fast pace and loud score. [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). [160][161][162] Globally, fans photographed letters on signs to form a ransom note. [ab] The film benefited from repeat viewings by younger audiences and had broad appeal, with 52% of the audience being male and an equal number of those under 25 years old, and those of 25 or older. Almost 10 years later, Hardy's ", "Heath Ledger Golden Globe Nod Boosts Oscar Momentum", "No Joke: Ledger Earns Posthumous Oscar Nod", "The History Of Comic Book Movies at the Oscars", "Everyone Who Has Won A Posthumous Oscar", "Why So Serious? Batman races to save Rachel while Gordon and the other officers go after Dent, but they discover the Joker has switched their positions. [123][124] The 127-day shoot concluded on November 15, on time and under budget. [34][52] Ledger said he had some trepidation in succeeding Nicholson in the role but that the challenge excited him. To avoid damaging the power station, a listed building, a false wall was built in front of it and lined with explosives. Murray went through designs that were "too real and more horrifying" before settling on a more "fanciful" and detailed but less-repulsive version. [79] Sets were still used for some interiors such as the Bat Bunker, the replacement for the Batcave, on the outskirts of the city. [318] This can be seen in his use of a two-headed coin to make decisions involving others, eliminating the risk of chance by controlling the outcome in his favor, indicating losing is not an acceptable outcome for him. [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 ferry scene can be seen as the Joker's true defeat, demonstrating he is wrong about the residents turning on each other in an extreme scenario. [68][69] Maggie Gyllenhaal replaced Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, as Holmes chose to star in the crime comedy Mad Money (2008) instead. Michael B. Jordan cited the character as an inspiration for his character Erik Killmonger in Black Panther. [q] This made it the first major motion picture to use IMAX technology, which was generally employed for documentaries. [ap] Eckhart's performance was generally well received; reviewers praised his portrayal of Dent as charismatic, and the character's subsequent transformation into a sad, bitter "monster", although Variety considered his subplot the film's weakest. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to Batman Begins (2005) and the second installment in The Dark Knight Trilogy. [154][155] Howard and Zimmer separated their duties by character; Howard focused on Dent and Zimmer focused on Batman and the Joker. Dent represents goodness and hope; he is the city's "white knight" who is "pure" of intent and can operate within the law. [o] According to Christopher, Eckhart had the all-American charm and "aura of a good man pushed too far". [31], Following the critical and financial success of Batman Begins (2005), the film studio Warner Bros. Pictures prioritized a sequel.