[311] Adlakha wrote Dent is framed as a religious icon, his campaign slogan being "I believe in Harvey Dent", and his eventual death leaves his arms spread wide like Jesus on the Cross. The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises. 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. The Dark Knight was the first major motion picture to be filmed with high-resolution IMAX cameras. For other uses, see, Zimmer based Joker's theme around two notes that would become increasingly "agitated as the track progressed. I couldn't talk. [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. Warner Bros. considered its strategy a success, delaying the appearance of the first "poorly-lit" camcorder version until 3848 hours after its earliest global release in Australia. Christopher had deliberately obscured combat in the previous film because it was intended to portray Batman from the criminals' point of view. [32] Although Batman Begins ends with a scene in which Batman is presented with a joker playing card, teasing the introduction of his archenemy, the Joker, Christopher Nolan did not intend to make a sequel and was unsure Batman Begins would be successful enough to warrant one. [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. 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. Batman in the Dark Knight [219], Several publications called The Dark Knight the best comic-book hero adaptation ever made. And the only morality in a cruel world is chance. Many actors have played Batman on the big screen, but only one gets to be the greatest of all time. [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). His fighting style was designed to appear improvised and erratic. [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. [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). [277][285][329] Some publications said studios took the wrong lessons from The Dark Knight, treating source material too seriously and mistaking a dark, gritty tone for narrative depth and intelligent writing. 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. [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. [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. [392], Ledger's Joker is considered one of the greatest cinematic villains; several publications placed his portrayal second only to Darth Vader. 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. Dark Knight: The Actors Who Almost Played Batman In Nolan's & Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Bat-Manga! Before the police arrest the Joker, he says although Batman proved incorruptible, his plan to corrupt Dent has succeeded. [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. Kevin Conroy is an American actor and voice actor who has become synonymous with the character of Batman. Corbould's team built the Batpod, which is based on a prototype Crowley and Christopher built by combining different commercial model components. [120] Nearby residents contacted emergency services believing the explosion was a terrorist attack. WebBruce Wayne / Batman: Gary Oldman Commissioner Gordon: Tom Hardy Bane: Joseph Gordon-Levitt Blake: Anne Hathaway Selina: Marion Cotillard Miranda: Morgan [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. 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. Scarecrow (The Dark Knight Trilogy) | Batman Wiki | Fandom [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. I was absolutely wrecked. A floor of Two Illinois Center was decorated for Wayne's fundraiser. [66] Dent's desire to work outside the law is seen in his support of Batman's vigilantism to accomplish what he cannot. [ai] Some appreciated its complex moral tale about the effects of vigilantism and terrorism on contemporary society. Top 10 Batman actors in the order they were casted Jonathan Crane was a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who conducted experiments on inmates under the identity of Scarecrow. 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. [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. Batman chooses to become a symbol of criminality by taking the blame for Dent's crimes and preserving him as a symbol of good, maintaining the hope of Gotham's residents. [2][25][26] Melinda McGraw, Nathan Gamble, and Hannah Gunn portray Gordon's wife Barbara, his son James Jr., and his daughter, respectively. [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. [10], Focusing on Dent meant Bruce Wayne / Batman was written as a generally static character who did not undergo drastic character development. [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. [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. [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. [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. 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. Dent represents goodness and hope; he is the city's "white knight" who is "pure" of intent and can operate within the law. [61][127] Christopher disputed a report that said a scene of Batman leaping into Victoria Harbour was canceled because of pollution concerns, saying it was a script decision. [289] The Dark Knight sold 3million copies across both formats on its launch day in the U.S., Canada, and the UK; Blu-ray discs comprised about 25%30% of the salesaround 600,000 units. ", "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!!! [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. [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. [302], A direct-to-DVD animated film, Batman: Gotham Knight, was released in July 2008. Batman movies in order: What order should you watch Batman 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. Christopher wanted several Rottweiler dogs in the scene but locating a dog-handler willing to simultaneously manage several dogs was difficult. [34], The first scene filmed was the bank heist, which was shot in the Old Chicago Main Post Office over five days. 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. The 160-foot (49m) tall hangar was unsuitable for suspending the bunker roof, and an encompassing gantry was built to hold it and the lighting. He flips his coin to decide their fates, but Batman tackles him to save Gordon's son, and Dent falls to his death. Unbiased. [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. 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. WebBatman Portrayed by: Aaron Eckhart Appearances: The Dark Knight The Dark Knight Rises (archive footage and picture only) "It's not about what I want, it's about what's fair! [310][318] Eckhart described Dent as someone who loves the law but feels constrained by it and his inability to do what he believes is right because the rules he must follow do not allow it. The Joker escapes custody, extracts the fortune's location from Lau, and burns all of it.