The Dark Knight In Heath We Trust: A Ledgerbration: The TDK Joker Appreciation Thread - Part 1

[BatLobster]

I'm still gutted I never got a chance to see this in IMAX. Maybe there will be a re-release someday.

I really hope there is too. I'd love if they did something for the 10th anniversary, but I won't hold my breath.

And while we're at it, I'd love if they ran a trilogy marathon in IMAX at some point. I'm lucky enough to have seen all the films individually in IMAX (even though it's just a blown up print for Begins), but looking back I kind of regret not doing the trilogy marathon on opening night. I thought it'd be too much and wear me out, but from what I've heard it really added to the experience.

 

[shauner111]

I regret it too. I was a stupid idiot.

 

[Tvar10]

just a thing i've never thought of...did Heath Ledger have a stunt double? either for a fight scene or the scene of him driving?

 

[antsman41]

just a thing i've never thought of...did Heath Ledger have a stunt double? either for a fight scene or the scene of him driving?

Yeah... I have over 100 photos of that guy from filming back in the day.

 

[Tvar10]

Yeah... I have over 100 photos of that guy from filming back in the day.

oh cool, ive never seen or heard anything about him

 

[Boom]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVtM1f8W2lM

 

[The Joker]

I can't watch it because it says the content was blocked in my country based on copyright grounds

 

[Travesty]

That guy in the hat can do a spot on Ledger-Joker impression.

 

[Boom]

I can't watch it because it says the content was blocked in my country based on copyright grounds

Oh you know, just the usual heart-breaking stuff. How The Joker was the most fun he ever had playing a character, how he never had so much confidence in a role before, how crew members would go out of their way to watch what he was doing on set.

Also, because the lip prosthetic went into Heath's mouth, the glue would often come loose. Instead of having to go get it re-applied and wasting twenty minutes at a time, Heath wet the prosthetic back down with his tongue, which he turned into a character quirk with the lip-licking.

 

[shauner111]

Just watch the doc.

 

[The Joker]

Another reason to love Heath; http://collider.com/heath-ledger-joker-hit-the-dark-knight/

 

[BaelaTargaryen]

Another reason to love Heath; http://collider.com/heath-ledger-joker-hit-the-dark-knight/

This book also has an interview with Nolan. Here's what he said:

Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious, these kinds of punk influences were some of the things we talked about. We also talked about the character of Alex in A Clockwork Orange. He’s very anarchic and yet somehow has great charisma, both in the book and in the film. We talked about a lot of different influences, and he talked about an extraordinarily diverse set of influences like ventriloquist dummies. The way they would talk and the way they would move and all kinds of peculiar ideas that I wasn’t really able to get a handle on until I saw him start to perform the scenes, and start to show how the character moved and how the character gestured and how the character spoke, with this extraordinarily unpredictable voice. The range of the voice, from its highest pitch to its lowest pitch, is very extreme, and where it shifts is unpredictable and sudden. The thing with the tongue was…he had this prosthetic that was covering his lower lip and it would come unglued sometimes. I’d seen him sort of sticking it back with his tongue, and it was only after a few weeks of shooting that I realized that wasn’t what he was doing, that he had started to adopt that actually as part of the character. It was an interesting balance, editing the performance, because he has all kinds of interesting facets, all kinds of mannerisms and things. What I like about them all is they all feel that they come from the character. They don’t feel like actorly touches. I read them as genuinely part of the fabric of a real human being.

http://www.film89.co.uk/christopher...heath-ledgers-iconic-performance-in-new-book/

 

[The Joker]

Ledger's Joker can still pull in the votes;

http://www.ladbible.com/entertainme...dgers-joker-voted-best-movie-villain-20171102

 

[antsman41]

The Ringer just ranked all villains in comic films;

Ledger’s Joker #1, and everyone one else #2-_______.

So wonderful and true.

 

[Boom]

It still breaks my heart that he never got a chance to see the response to his work in this film.

 

[BaelaTargaryen]

https://***********/OnePerfectShot/status/937279001869127680

 

[Angelus_Darko]

Ten years today... unbelievable.

 

[The Joker]

And it still holds up as a piece of brilliance.

 

[Boom]

An all-timer performance, to be sure.

 

[Tvar10]

it’s crazy to think it’s been 10 years already. RIP Heath

 

[James.B]

New interview with Nolan where he talks about Heath at the beginning.
[YT]69EbDD4_f6k[/YT]

 

[BaelaTargaryen]

https://screenrant.com/christopher-nolan-heath-ledger-joker/

In an interview with BBC Radio 1 that published on the 10th anniversary of Heath Ledger’s death, Christopher Nolan briefly looked back on Ledger’s iconic portrayal of the Joker, starting with Ledger’s proclivity for improvising on set.

“…He would sort of give me hints about what he was going to do. We would talk about it a bit. And I would try and be an audience for him and sort of engage with him, what he was doing. But a lot of it was about unpredictability, and I think he wanted to play his cards close to the chest. He would very gradually reveal to me the ‘voice’ and the way he was going to do things – but not in one go, like, ‘Here’s the Joker.’

“We watched him sort of develop it, with the wardrobe and the makeup, and I kind of got to be a part of that creative process, which was great fun, but on-set, there were always moments like that clapping or things he would do with his voice. His voice was so unpredictable. He created this bizarre pitch. I’ve seen a lot of people try and imitate it since. But we never quite knew if he was going to go high or if he was going to go low. You never knew what that guy was going to do, and that’s what was terrifying about him.”

Ledger’s outstanding performance as the Joker garnered him a nomination and win for Best Supporting Actor at the 2009 Academy Awards. It was the first (and so far only) time a cast member of a superhero movie had won in an acting category at the Oscars. It’s a performance that Hollywood has tried to replicate many times over, and it’s something that Nolan believes was important for film history.

“I took huge pride in having been in any way involved with this great performer and his legacy. He was an extraordinary person and an extraordinary actor. And for him to be recognized in that way, I think, was very meaningful for his family and meaningful, I think, for film history. What he contributed, and he contributed in many different ways to film history, but that it be marked in that way, I was very proud to be a part of it.”

The Dark Knight, and Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy as a whole, is frequently considered the gold standard of superhero filmmaking. And even though the movie turns 10 years old this year, its impact on the industry hasn’t waned, despite an influx of superhero movies having debuted since its release in 2008.

 

[Boom]

Please give me an IMAX re-release this summer, Warner Brothers.

 

[Spider-Fan]

This film was amazing in IMAX. I still remember the day I went to see it back when I lived in NYC

 

[IndyFlash2121]