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. ", Films listed as number-one by in-year release, This figure represents the cumulative total accounting for the initial worldwide 2008 gross of $997, combining different commercial model components, Study after Velzquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, List of accolades received by The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Dark Knight Trilogy: The Complete Story Of Christopher Nolan's Batman Films", "An Ode To James Gordon, The True Hero Of 'The Dark Knight', "Aaron Eckhart: Not Just Another Pretty Face In, "Michael Jai White Explains Gambol's Bizarre Death Scene In, "The Dark Knight Had A Sneaky Reference to the Riddler", "Why Scarecrow Is The Only Batman Villain in All 3 Dark Knight Trilogy Movies", "The Man Third in the Line Of Presidential Succession Has Been in Five 'Batman' Movies", "Christopher Nolan: The Movies. 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. [310] The scene in which Batman stands in the ruins of a destroyed building, having failed to prevent the Joker's plot, is reminiscent of the World Trade Center site after September 11. [302], A direct-to-DVD animated film, Batman: Gotham Knight, was released in July 2008. Who played Batman in Batman (1943)? [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. [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. Before the police arrest the Joker, he says although Batman proved incorruptible, his plan to corrupt Dent has succeeded. [273][274][275] The backlash was such that, for the 82nd Academy Awards awards in 2010, the Academy increased the limit for Best Picture nominees from five to ten, a change known as "The Dark Knight Rule". [160][161][162] Globally, fans photographed letters on signs to form a ransom note. The Dark Knight Scenes That Mean More Than You Think. [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. [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. 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, This article is about the 2008 film. [210], The Dark Knight appeared on several lists recognizing the best films of 2008, includes those compiled by Ebert, The Hollywood Reporter, and the American Film Institute. 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 Christopher avoided using computer-generated imagery unless necessary, insisting on practical stunts such as flipping an 18-wheel truck and blowing up a factory. [79] Sets were still used for some interiors such as the Bat Bunker, the replacement for the Batcave, on the outskirts of the city. According to English professor Daniel Boscaljon, Dent is not broken; he believes in a different form of justice in a seemingly unjust world, flipping a coin because it is "Unbiased. Christian Bale plays Batman in The Dark Knight Rises SEAC For our money, Christian Bale remains the greatest Batman on the silver screen. Based on the DC Comics supervillain of the same name, the Joker is depicted as a psychopathic criminal mastermind with a warped, sadistic sense of humor. Gotham's mafia bosses gather to discuss protecting their organizations from the Joker, the police, and Batman. The city mourns Dent as a hero, and the police launch a manhunt for Batman. Many actors have played Batman on the big screen, but only one gets to be the greatest of all time. And the only morality in a cruel world is chance. [ba] In 2020, the United States Library of Congress selected The Dark Knight to be preserved in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". 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). [122], The final nine days of production took place in Hong Kong and included aerial footage from atop the International Finance Centre, as well as filming at Central to Mid-Levels escalator, The Center, Central, The Peninsula Hong Kong, and Queen's Road; and a stunt involving Batman catching an in-flight C-130 aircraft. Caglione Jr used a theatrical makeup technique for the application; he instructed Ledger to scrunch up his face so different cracks and textures were created once the makeup was applied and Ledger relaxed. The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. It was so They're only as good as the world allows them to be. [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. [2][25][26] Melinda McGraw, Nathan Gamble, and Hannah Gunn portray Gordon's wife Barbara, his son James Jr., and his daughter, respectively. [61][131] Christopher added a dedication to Ledger and stuntman Conway Wickliffe, who died during rehearsals for a Tumbler (Batmobile) stunt. It is often said that history repeats itself, and so it did when Ben [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. Kevin Conroy is an American actor and voice actor who has become synonymous with the character of Batman. 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. Jonathan Crane was a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who conducted experiments on inmates under the identity of Scarecrow. [315][316] This is exemplified in the covert alliance formed between Batman, Dent, and Gordon, leading to Rachel's death and Dent's corruption. [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. [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. ", "Critics Pick The Best And Worst Films Of 2008", "Dark Knight Honoured in AFI Best-of-year List", "Critics' Choice Movie Awards Winners (Archive)", "The 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards", "British Academy Film Television Award (BAFTA)", British Academy of Film and Television Arts, "Exactly 1 Year After Death, Ledger's Legacy Grows", "Heath Ledger Wins Best Supporting Actor Oscar", "Would Heath Ledger Win If He Were Alive? [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). [35] Christopher described The Dark Knight as representative of his own "fear of anarchy" and Joker represents an "somebody who wants to just tear down the world around him. [67], Describing his role as GCPD sergeant James Gordon, Oldman said Gordon is the "moral center" of The Dark Knight, an honest and incorruptible character struggling with the limits of his morality. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. I couldn't talk. [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. [220][223][233] Ebert surmised the entire cast provided "powerful" performances that engage the audience, such that "we're surprised how deeply the drama affects us". At the police station, Batman interrogates the Joker, who says he finds Batman entertaining and has no intention of killing him. While the police evacuate hospitals and Gordon struggles to keep Reese alive, the Joker meets with a disillusioned Dent, persuading him to take justice into his own hands and avenge Rachel. [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. He could not make it work, however, and used two notes with alternating tempos and a "punk" influence. Unbiased. [325] The Joker aims to corrupt Dent to prove anyone, even symbols, can be broken. ", "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? The crew was described as excited as this scene depicted the first meeting between Batman and the Joker. [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. WebChristian Bale, who played Batman in The Dark Knight Trilogy (20052012), supported Pattinson, encouraging him to "make [the role] his own" and ignore critics. After submitting the draft to Warner Bros., Jonathan spent a further two months refining it until Christopher had finished directing The Prestige. [89], Principal photography began on April 18, 2007, in Chicago on a $185million budget. [av] A separate, limited-edition Blu-ray disc set came with a Batpod figurine. [219], Several publications called The Dark Knight the best comic-book hero adaptation ever made. [141][142] The unwieldy, wide-tired vehicle could only be ridden by stuntman Jean Pierre Goy after months of training. [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. The Dark Knight was marketed with an innovative interactive viral campaign that initially focused on countering criticism of Ledger's casting by those who believed he was a poor choice to portray the Joker. [206] The Dark Knight earned about $469.7million outside the U.S. and Canada, its highest grosses coming from the United Kingdom ($89.1million), Australia ($39.9million), Germany ($29.7million), France ($27.5million), Mexico ($25million), South Korea ($24.7million), and Brazil ($20.2million). Corbould's team built the Batpod, which is based on a prototype Crowley and Christopher built by combining different commercial model components. [294] A 4K resolution remaster, which was overseen by Christopher, was released in December 2017 as a set containing a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray disc, and digital download, as well as special features from earlier releases. 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. Although Gordon saves the mayor, the Joker threatens his attacks will continue until Batman reveals his identity. He targets Dent at a fundraising dinner and throws Rachel out of a window, but Batman rescues her. [156] It took several months to achieve Zimmer's desired result. While Christian Bale started out among the youngest Batman actors, he wrapped up the character at 38, the same age as most. [bb] A 2018 retrospective by The Hollywood Reporter said The Dark Knight taught filmmakers "comic book characters are malleable. [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. [120] Nearby residents contacted emergency services believing the explosion was a terrorist attack. [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. [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. From April to November 2007, filming took place with a $185million budget in Chicago and Hong Kong, and on sets in England. [81][98], Filming took place in the lobby of One Illinois Center, which served as Wayne's penthouse apartment; bookcases were built to hide the elevators. ", "Huge Bat-Signals Projected Over NYC + Chicago", "Warner Bros. Moves Against Web Copies Of, "For Movies, A Summer That's Shy On Sequels", "Top Single Day Grosses By Day of the Week", "Top Single Day Non-opening Grosses By Day of the Week (Tuesday)", "Top Single Day Non-opening Grosses By Day of the Week (Wednesday)", "Warner Bros. Entertainment Wraps Record-Breaking Year", "Review: Heath Ledger's Joker Inflames A Despairing, "The Best Films Of 2008 And There Were A Lot Of Them", "Film Critics' Top 10 Lists All Over The Map", "Editor's Picks: The Ten Best Movies Of 2008", "Harry's Picks for the Top Ten Films Of 2008!!! "[57] In a November 2007 interview, Ledger said when committing himself to any role, he had difficulty sleeping because he could not relax his mind, and often slept only two hours a night during filming. This, paired with the gritty realism not usually seen in superhero movies, is why many fans regard the Dark Knight trilogy as their favorite Batman movie adaptation. The new Joker is played by Irish actor Barry Keoghan, best known for his recent portrayal of Druig in Marvels Eternals. [95] The Joker's homemade videos were filmed and mainly directed by Ledger. Costing $7.5million, the 1,213-foot (370m) long attraction places riders in an imitation of Wayne Central Station in Gotham City as they move through areas that are vandalized or controlled by the Joker. ", "Ledger's Oscar Bid From Beyond The Grave", "Posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger's Joker Performance? [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. [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. Christopher wanted several Rottweiler dogs in the scene but locating a dog-handler willing to simultaneously manage several dogs was difficult. Scouts spent over a month searching for suitable vessels but were unsuccessful, so construction coordinator Joe Ondrejko and his team built ferry facades atop barges. 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! The plot follows the vigilante Batman, police lieutenant James Gordon, and district attorney Harvey Dent, who form an alliance to dismantle organized crime in Gotham City. Rachel is killed in the explosion, while Dent's face is severely burned on one side. 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. It was an exhausting process. The response was seen as the culmination of several years of criticism toward the Academy ignoring high-performing, broadly popular films. [311][314] Klavan's interpretation was criticized by some publications that considered The Dark Knight anti-war, proposing society must not abandon the rule of law to combat lawlessness or risk creating the conditions for escalation. [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. [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. The Dark Knight's cast includes Eric Roberts, Michael Jai White, and Ritchie Coster as crime bosses Sal Maroni, Gambol, and the Chechen respectively; and Chin Han portrays Lau, a Chinese criminal banker. [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). 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. [ao] Zacharek, however, lamented that the performance was not in service of a better film. [253][254][255] At the 14th Empire Awards, The Dark Knight received awards for Best Film, Best Director (Christopher Nolan), and Best Actor (Bale). [81][117] After moving from Chicago in May, scenes filmed in the UK also include Criterion Restaurant, where Rachel, Dent, and Wayne share dinner, and a Gotham News scene that was filmed at the University of Westminster. Ledger died from an accidental drug overdose in January 2008, leading to widespread interest from the press and public regarding his performance. [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. The pair collaborated on the final script over the next six months during pre-production for The Dark Knight.