WebChristian Baleas Batman Michael Caineas Alfred Pennyworth Gary Oldmanas Commissioner Gordon Morgan Freemanas Lucius Fox Katie Holmes(Batman Begins) and Maggie Gyllenhaal(The Dark Knight) as Rachel Dawes Liam Neesonas Ra's al Ghul Heath Ledgeras Joker Tom Hardyas Bane Anne Hathawayas Catwoman Marion Cotillardas Talia al Ghul [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. In Batman vs. Robin #5, Damian and the other DC heroes still on Lazarus Island are given a major dilemma to weigh. 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. [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. It was an exhausting process. The new Joker is played by Irish actor Barry Keoghan, best known for his recent portrayal of Druig in Marvels Eternals. 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. [305][306] The Dark Knight Coaster, an indoor roller coaster, opened in May 2008 at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. [415] The Dark Knight was also voted the greatest superhero movie by readers of Rolling Stone (2014),[416] and as one of New Zealand's favorite films (2015). [81][94] To avoid attention, filming in Chicago took place under the working title Rory's First Kiss but the production's true nature was quickly uncovered by media publications. In 2008, Ebert wrote; "[The Dark Knight], and to a lesser degree Iron Man, redefine the possibilities of the 'comic-book movie'". 8. 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? [q] This made it the first major motion picture to use IMAX technology, which was generally employed for documentaries. A floor of Two Illinois Center was decorated for Wayne's fundraiser. [318] Although Batman holds to his morals and does not kill the Joker, he is forced to break his code by pushing Dent to his death to save an innocent person. that led finders to a location. Freeze) and Uma Thurman (Poison Ivy) fell [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". [10][66] Eckhart's performance was influenced by the Kennedy family, particularly Robert F. Kennedy, who fought organized crime with a similarly idealistic view of the law. [35][44][45] Christopher found writing the Joker the easiest aspect of the script. 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. 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. 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". [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. Film Scholarship and the Cultural Politics of the Dark Knight Franchise", Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt, Scooby-Doo! Dent takes Gordon's family hostage, blaming his negligence for Rachel's death. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to Batman Begins (2005) and the second installment in The Dark Knight Trilogy. [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). The pair collaborated on the final script over the next six months during pre-production for The Dark Knight. [390][391] In 2020, Time Out named it the seventy-second-best action movie ever made. 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, 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. Michael B. Jordan cited the character as an inspiration for his character Erik Killmonger in Black Panther. Caine said he forgot his lines during a scene involving one video because of Ledger's "stunning" performance. Gyllenhaal collaborated with Christopher on the character's depiction because she wanted Rachel to be important and meaningful in her relatively minor role. It allowed for more broadly popular but "respected" films to be nominated, including District 9, The Blind Side, Avatar, and Up, the first animated film to be nominated in two decades. [10], Focusing on Dent meant Bruce Wayne / Batman was written as a generally static character who did not undergo drastic character development. [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. It was directed by Bruce Timm and includes veteran Batman actor Kevin Conroy reprising his role. [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. 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. [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 so Unbiased. Since its release, The Dark Knight has been assessed as one of the greatest superhero films ever made, one of the best films of the 2000s, and one of the best films ever made. Batman subdues the Joker but refuses to kill him. [417], The Dark Knight was followed by The Dark Knight Rises (2012), the conclusion of The Dark Knight Trilogy. [ao] Zacharek, however, lamented that the performance was not in service of a better film. [311][328] McGowan considered the act heroic because Batman's sacrifice will leave him hunted and despised without recognition, indicating he has learned from the Joker the established norms must sometimes be broken. [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]. 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. Bale likened the [l] Christopher was confident in the casting because discussions between himself and Ledger had demonstrated they shared similar ideas regarding the Joker's portrayal. [310][311][318] Dent is motivated to do good because he identifies himself as good, not through trauma like Batman, and has faith in the legal system. The Joker interrupts the meeting and offers to kill Batman for half of the fortune their accountant, Lau, concealed before fleeing to Hong Kong to avoid extradition. Oscars Snub Dark Knight For Top Awards", "How Much Has Changed Since Oscar Expanded Best Picture Nominations? [315][316] This is exemplified in the covert alliance formed between Batman, Dent, and Gordon, leading to Rachel's death and Dent's corruption. [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. Wayne struggles to understand the Joker's motives, but his butler Alfred Pennyworth says some simply relish destruction. See More. [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. 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 While Christian Bale started out among the youngest Batman actors, he wrapped up the character at 38, the same age as most. The Bat Bunker was based on 1960s Chicago building designs, and was integrated into existing concrete floor, and used the 200-foot (61m) long, 8ft (2.4m) tall ceiling to create a broad perspective. 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 But you were wrong. At the police station, Batman interrogates the Joker, who says he finds Batman entertaining and has no intention of killing him. [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. [10][52] Eckhart found portraying conflicted characters to be interesting; he said the difference between Dent and Batman is the distance they are willing to go for their causes, and that after Dent's corruption he remains a crime fighter but he takes this to an extreme because he dislikes the restrictions of the law. Production designer Nathan Crowley said the clean, neat lines of Chicagoan architecture enhanced the urban-crime drama they wanted to make, and that Batman had helped improve the city. 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). He flips his coin to decide their fates, but Batman tackles him to save Gordon's son, and Dent falls to his death. For other uses, see, Zimmer based Joker's theme around two notes that would become increasingly "agitated as the track progressed. ", "Why So Seriously Good? After submitting the draft to Warner Bros., Jonathan spent a further two months refining it until Christopher had finished directing The Prestige. [325] The Joker aims to corrupt Dent to prove anyone, even symbols, can be broken. The campaign concluded in July with displays of the Bat-Signal in Chicago and New York City that were eventually defaced by the Joker. [35][41] Jonathan found the "poignant" ending the script's most interesting aspect; it had always depicted Batman fleeing from police but was changed from him leaping across rooftops to escaping on the Batpod, his motorcycle-like vehicle. 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! 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. [219], Several publications called The Dark Knight the best comic-book hero adaptation ever made. The Dark Knight Scenes That Mean More Than You Think. Fewer sequels, which generally performed well, were scheduled and only fourThe Dark Knight, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skullwere predicted to be blockbusters. Although Gordon saves the mayor, the Joker threatens his attacks will continue until Batman reveals his identity. [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. 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. [95] The Joker's homemade videos were filmed and mainly directed by Ledger. [217] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+-to-F scale. You thought we could be decent men in an indecent time. 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, This article is about the 2008 film. Christian Bale, Batman Begins. [302], A direct-to-DVD animated film, Batman: Gotham Knight, was released in July 2008. [261][270][271] The Dark Knight also won an award for Best Sound Editing (King), and received six nominations for Best Art Direction (Crowley and Peter Lando), Best Cinematography (Pfister), Best Film Editing (Smith), Best Makeup (Caglione Jr. and O'Sullivan), Best Sound Mixing (Hirschberg, Rizzo, and Ed Novick), and Best Visual Effects (Davis, Corbould, Webber, and Franklin). 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". They are able to be grounded or fantastic, able to be prestigious or pure blockbuster entertainment, to be dark and gritty or light, to be character-driven or action-packed, or any variation in-between. [w] Christopher said no scenes were deleted because he believed every scene was essential, and that unnecessary material had been cut before filming. [35][77] Chicagoan authorities had been supportive during filming of Batman Begins, allowing the production to shut stretches of roads, freeways, and bridges. [101][112] A scene of Batman surveying the city from a rooftop edge was filmed atop Willis Tower, Chicago's tallest building. Gotham's mafia bosses gather to discuss protecting their organizations from the Joker, the police, and Batman. [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. The film was released at the beginning of the Blu-ray disc format; it was considered a success, breaking Iron Man's record of 250,000 units sold and indicating the format was growing in popularity. ", "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! 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 [154][155] Howard and Zimmer separated their duties by character; Howard focused on Dent and Zimmer focused on Batman and the Joker. 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 [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). 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". The windows in both settings were covered in green screen material, allowing Gotham City visuals to be added later. [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". A new Batman movie, directed by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson as the Dark Knight, has finally hit theatres after multiple delays. [ah] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 94% approval rating from the aggregated reviews of 345 critics, with an average score of 8.6/10. & Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Bat-Manga! 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. Birds of Prey wasnt a famous TV show, although it gave the network a significant viewership. The United States Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2020. [174], The Dark Knight was expected to sell well based on high audience anticipation, positive pre-release reviews, and a record $3.5million in IMAX pre-sales. Ben Affleck. [2][25][26] Melinda McGraw, Nathan Gamble, and Hannah Gunn portray Gordon's wife Barbara, his son James Jr., and his daughter, respectively. [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. 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. 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 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.