[66][147] Hemming designed Joker's overall appearance, which he based on fashion-and-music celebrities to create a modern and trendy look. Over 17,000 people voted the film into the top ten of American Cinematographer's "Best-Shot Film of 19982008" list,[411] and listeners of BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra named it their eighth-favorite film. 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. [120] Nearby residents contacted emergency services believing the explosion was a terrorist attack. Nezha got his hooks into Batman when Black [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. Ben Affleck. [48][49][50] Because the new Batsuit allowed him to be more agile, Bale did not increase his muscle mass as much as he had for Batman Begins. [253][254][255] At the 14th Empire Awards, The Dark Knight received awards for Best Film, Best Director (Christopher Nolan), and Best Actor (Bale). [103] Additional segments were filmed on Monroe Street and Randolph Street, and at Randolph Street Station. [bl] In 2017, The Hollywood Reporter named Ledger's Joker the second-best cinematic superhero performance ever, behind Hugh Jackman as Wolverine,[398] and Collider listed him as the greatest villain of the 21st century. [121] Filming in England concluded at the end of October with a variety of green-screen shots for the truck-chase sequence, and shots of Rachel being thrown from a window were filmed on a set at Cardington. 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?" 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. The Batman: Everyone Who Played The Dark Knight On The Big Screen, Ranked. [67] During discussions on the portrayal of Dent's transformation into Two-Face, Eckhart and Christopher agreed to ignore Tommy Lee Jones's "colorful" portrayal in Batman Forever (1995), in which the character has pink hair and wears a split designer suit, in favor of a more realistic, slightly burnt, neutral-toned suit. Anthony Ruivivar: The "Southland" star is the latest actor to voice Batman in the newest animated series, "Beware the Batman," which began airing on Cartoon 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 [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. 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 Dent claims he is Batman to lure out the Joker, who attacks the police convoy transporting him. The Hollywood Reporter said Ledger received several ovations, and that during the after-party, Warner Bros. executives struggled to maintain a balance between celebrating the successful response and commemorating Ledger. [34], The first scene filmed was the bank heist, which was shot in the Old Chicago Main Post Office over five days. Christian Bale | Nolans The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2010) [392], Ledger's Joker is considered one of the greatest cinematic villains; several publications placed his portrayal second only to Darth Vader. [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. He developed the character's voice by mixing a high-pitch and low-pitch, which was inspired by ventriloquist performances. Their efforts are derailed by the Joker, an anarchistic mastermind who seeks to test how far Batman will go to save the city from chaos. Once Dent experiences a significant traumatic event in the loss of Rachel and his own disfigurement, he quickly abandons his noble former self to seek his own form of justice. Christopher wanted the team to focus on countering the negative reaction to Ledger's casting and controlling the revelation of the Joker's appearance. The destruction of Wayne Manor in Batman Begins provided an opportunity to move Wayne to a modern, sparse penthouse, reflecting his loneliness. And the only morality in a cruel world is chance. [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. Warner Bros. By Damion Damaske / Feb. 10, 2023 9:40 am EST. [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. [160][161][162] Globally, fans photographed letters on signs to form a ransom note. Gyllenhaal collaborated with Christopher on the character's depiction because she wanted Rachel to be important and meaningful in her relatively minor role. [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. [10], Focusing on Dent meant Bruce Wayne / Batman was written as a generally static character who did not undergo drastic character development. The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. [100][101] During filming, Christopher added a set-piece of a SWAT van crashing through a concrete barricade. [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. Christian Bale, Batman Begins. [115][116], Many interior locations for The Dark Knight were filmed on sets at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, and Cardington Airfield, Bedfordshire; these locations include the Bat Bunker, which took six weeks to build in a Cardington hangar. [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. that led finders to a location. [g], Comic-book influences included writer Frank Miller's 1980s works, which portray characters in a serious tone, and the limited series Batman: The Long Halloween (19961997), which explores the relationship between Batman, Dent, and Gordon. [66] Dent's desire to work outside the law is seen in his support of Batman's vigilantism to accomplish what he cannot. [av] A separate, limited-edition Blu-ray disc set came with a Batpod figurine. [329][335], Directors including Sam Mendes (Skyfall), Ryan Coogler (Black Panther), and David Ayer (Suicide Squad), have cited it as an influence on their work, and Steven Spielberg listed it among his favorite films. [q] This made it the first major motion picture to use IMAX technology, which was generally employed for documentaries. Christian Bale plays Batman in The Dark Knight Rises SEAC For our money, Christian Bale remains the greatest Batman on the silver screen. [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. [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. [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". Christopher wanted several Rottweiler dogs in the scene but locating a dog-handler willing to simultaneously manage several dogs was difficult. [34][52] Ledger said he had some trepidation in succeeding Nicholson in the role but that the challenge excited him. Unprejudiced. For other uses, see, Zimmer based Joker's theme around two notes that would become increasingly "agitated as the track progressed. WebFans were exhausted by director Joel Schumacher's colorful aesthetic and the cartoonish villains played by Arnold Schwarzenegger (Mr. [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. [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. [119] By mid-October, interior and exterior scenes of Rachel being held hostage surrounded by barrels of gasoline were filmed at Battersea Power Station. [68][69] Maggie Gyllenhaal replaced Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, as Holmes chose to star in the crime comedy Mad Money (2008) instead. [101][109] Filming in Chicago concluded on September 1, ending with scenes of Wayne driving and crashing his car, before the production returned to England. [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. 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 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. [222][235][239] Reviews generally agreed the Joker was the best-written character, and that Ledger commanded scenes from the entire cast to create one of the most mesmerizing cinematic villains. [135][35], Unlike the design process of Batman Begins, which was restrained by a need to represent Batman iconography, audience acceptance of its realistic setting gave The Dark Knight more design freedom. [412] Readers of Empire have alternatively voted it the fifteenth (2008),[413] third (2014),[414] and the fourth-greatest film ever made (2020). They're only as good as the world allows them to be. [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. [IS] is the Joker. [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. [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. [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. Birds of Prey wasnt a famous TV show, although it gave the network a significant viewership. [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. 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. In 2012, Tom Hardy's metamorphosis into Gotham juggernaut Bane was the stuff of legend. [as] At the 13th Satellite Awards, The Dark Knight received one award for Sound Editing or Mixing (Richard King, Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo). The response was seen as the culmination of several years of criticism toward the Academy ignoring high-performing, broadly popular films. The dialogue Johnathan considered most important, "you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain", came late in development. While Christian Bale started out among the youngest Batman actors, he wrapped up the character at 38, the same age as most. The crew was described as excited as this scene depicted the first meeting between Batman and the Joker. [52] Josh Lucas, Ryan Phillippe, and Mark Ruffalo were considered, as well as Matt Damon, who could not commit due to scheduling conflicts. [310][311][318] Critic David Crow wrote Batman's true test is not defeating the Joker but saving Dent, a task at which he fails. "[aj] Others criticized the dark, grim, intense, and self-serious tone as lacking any elements of fun or fantasy. 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[285], The Dark Knight was released on DVD and Blu-ray in December 2008. 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. 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!