The Dark Knight Rises Do any behind the scenes books defend/explain Nolans changing Gotham??

[the5timechamp]

Batman Begin featured a unique filter and different cinematography than the latter 2 movies..got it.

But does it bother anyone just how obviously different Gotham is in each of these movies?? Nolan didn't even seem to try and shoot the cities in a way to provide visual consistency.

In TDKR Gotham is just an island with no logical explanation as to how it could ever possibly be linked to Wayne Manor...same for the Narrows.

The big panoramic shots were amazing throughout the movies but the inconsistency in Nolans Gotham is as jarring as the day/night differences in Batman Forever..

Why do that? why go shoot in other cities? was it an issue with securing locations? was it because he was already tired of shooting in Chicago?? whats the justification?

 

[Vader815]

JN Yeah, it’s kind of the money-laundering of those contemporary issues. But it’s true! I remember having conversations with you about Batman Begins, where we’d sit around saying, ‘Are we too close to some sort of contemporary issue? Are we too close to it?’ But you were thinking, no, it’s different. It’s through the lens of this different universe that allows you to consider it for what it is.

CN And that’s why Gotham has always been multiple cities to us in the way that we shot it. You don’t want it to be Chicago or New York. You want it to be its own place. The look of it has evolved in the three films; it’s changed, depending on what we wanted to emphasize. But we’ve always tried to make it eclectic, so whenever there’s a shot that’s too recognizable of a particular city, we tended to change it slightly – at least flop it, or something like that. I think it’s a powerful way of exploring the dynamics of a contemporary American city, particularly in The Dark Knight. I think that was a huge part of the crime epic – the idea that the great playground for these characters was this city. I think it’s used for different effect in The Dark Knight Rises. It’s more about isolation – the isolation of a community in jeopardy.


-Vader

 

[the5timechamp]

a valid explanation I suppose, they succeed in some aspects and fail in others...the close ups within the city in each film do emphasize the "look" they go for..Its the wide panoramic shots that pull you out of the illusion of Gotham being the same place in each film...
You feel the hopelessness of the Narrows in Begins, Gotham does feel like a big city eventually under siege during TDK, and Gotham does look sacked (haunting in its isolation) in TDKR. The overall "big" visual picture of Gotham is where they let me down.

 

[Vader815]

Just as the entire art-direction of each film has changed from costumes and sets to photography, the look of the city does. It's a deliberate choice not to have visual continuity from city to city in each film. It's never taken me out of the film, it's about what's best for each film as a whole which enhances my experience watching.


-Vader

 

[the_monk]

As I said on a previous thread, the landscape of the city changes based on the type of movie being made. Batman Begins was very much a graphic novel translated to the screen, so Gotham looks a bit like Blade Runner and is mostly shot on sound stages. The Dark Knight is a mafia/crime drama, so Chicago naturally serves as a good location for Gotham. The Dark Knight Rises heavily emphasizes contemporary issues, such as the financial crisis and problems of class and terrorism, so Manhattan becomes a natural inspiration.

I think it keeps things fresh and interesting. If there's one thing we've learned throughout the decades, it's that Batman is a character that can be interpreted in many different ways. I think Nolan's attempted to take the myth and overlay it onto diverse settings, wherever Batman is needed.

 

[MasterOgami]

In TDKR Gotham is just an island with no logical explanation as to how it could ever possibly be linked to Wayne Manor...same for the Narrows.

Actually the first shots of Gotham in the film explicitly show us how Wayne Manor is linked to the city (we see the city, then a bridge with the manor in the distance). Gotham's basically made up like NYC, different sections on different islands. As I recall it was a made up of islands in Begins as well (with the bridges to the Narrows being raised so no one could escape, etc).

 

[Cobblepot]

TDKR is cleary set in NY, the central park shot, the raiding at Central Park west, Wall Street, the bridges. I honestly don't know why they would do that.

 

[BlackFox]

TDKR is cleary set in NY, the central park shot, the raiding at Central Park west, Wall Street, the bridges. I honestly don't know why they would do that.

TDK is clearly shot in Chicago, but they used green screens and CGI to alter buildings to make it look like there version of Gotham that they needed. They did the same in TDKR (and I assume Begins)

In all three films a very wide shot of the city clearly shows it as an island so the overall look from a distance is very much the same throughout the trilogy.

They did it this way because Nolan wanted to make it look more like it was set in our world and make it more familiar to us rather than past Batman films which were shot on a set which ends up looking a bit fake

 

[scifiwolf]

It has been stated by the filmmakers that enough of Chicago had been shown, and they wanted to change cities to sublimate the vastness of Gotham. This is also why in TDK things like the monorail and the Narrows aren't really shown.

 

[TruerToTheCore]

Batman Begins Gotham looked the best IMO. The Joker running around there would have been better than the Joker running around in Chicago.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

TDKR is cleary set in NY, the central park shot, the raiding at Central Park west, Wall Street, the bridges. I honestly don't know why they would do that.

No it isn't. Parts of it look like New York, but half the time it looks like Pittsburgh.

 

[Zatanna]

Batman Begins Gotham looked the best IMO.

I was thinking about this the other day. I loved the look of Gotham in BB. I wish it had stayed the same in all three films.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Actually the first shots of Gotham in the film explicitly show us how Wayne Manor is linked to the city (we see the city, then a bridge with the manor in the distance). Gotham's basically made up like NYC, different sections on different islands. As I recall it was a made up of islands in Begins as well (with the bridges to the Narrows being raised so no one could escape, etc).

It is like that in TDK too. That's why they are using the ferries.

 

[the amazing fro]

I personally find BB Gotham to be far more aesthetically pleasing. It's dark, grungy and dirty. It looks and feels like a modern Gotham would do. I read an interview by Nathan Crowley where he implied that this almost otherworldly look was sort of forced upon them by the studio and that the TDK and TDKR Gotham was what Nolan really wanted.

However I think the progression works somewhat with the notion that the presence of Batman is improving the city on a vast scale. So the Blade Runner esque hell-hole of Begins is transformed into the cleaner, more modern American city of TDK.

 

[jmc]

I actually like the fact the city looks different in each film. I've never seen it as a big deal.

 

[BlackFox]

I personally find BB Gotham to be far more aesthetically pleasing. It's dark, grungy and dirty. It looks and feels like a modern Gotham would do. I read an interview by Nathan Crowley where he implied that this almost otherworldly look was sort of forced upon them by the studio and that the TDK and TDKR Gotham was what Nolan really wanted.

However I think the progression works somewhat with the notion that the presence of Batman is improving the city on a vast scale. So the Blade Runner esque hell-hole of Begins is transformed into the cleaner, more modern American city of TDK.

Yeah it works with the progress of the films, didn't really like the look of it in BB as it looked too much like a set built for the purpose of the film, much prefer the look of it in TDK and TDKR which are much more similar and make it look bigger in scale.

 

[Ant-LOX]

Each movie expanded it's view on Gotham. BB was very much focused on the Narrows, TDK moved to more locations and TDKR blew half the city to hell.

Although, being a huge fan of NY's skyline, I love's Nolans treatment of it in TDKR. The Citigroup building (The roof Looks like a triangle) has more screen-time than Liam Neeson.

 

[BlackFox]

Begins:

TDK:

Rises:

 

[Tacit Ronin]

It's a fictional city. It can and will look like whatever the story demands it to be. People forget that BR Gotham looks different from B89 Gotham too. It was a deliberate choice.

Batman Begins Gotham looked the best IMO. The Joker running around there would have been better than the Joker running around in Chicago.

Joker was an agent of chaos and anarchy fighting against moral conformity; the modern, contemporary architecture was a visual representation of that structure.

 

[TDKR2012]

Begins: Gotham City/Fictional/A few occasional shots of Chicago Landmarks
(used aerial CGI shot showing the islands of the city. first and last time Nolan did this)

The Dark Knight: CHICAGO (though no full skyline shots, so it's a little less obvious to the general audience)

The Dark Knight Rises: mostly NEW YORK CITY (little CGI used, some scenes were flipped to make it less noticeable that it was manhattan), LOS ANGELES (bat/cats rooftop scene when they get away on The Bat, skyline of los angeles clearly seen, bank of america tower)

- Pittsburgh was really only seen in street shots, the exception being the quick pre- football gam aerial shot of the stadium.



ya, the shift from Chicago in the first 2 movies is kinda noticeable since it was pretty fluid from begins to TDK

 

[Just_Human]

I think the city is evolving as its well being and socio-economic landscape are being influenced by Batman's actions