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

[Gothamsknight]

^^ such a beautiful thing to hear

 

[James.B]

“I think the first thing that came to mind was Heath Ledger as The Joker. I didn’t take that as inspiration, but that’s my favorite villain.” ‒ Michelle Pfeiffer

Letterboxd News — Divas. “You have to know what you’re willing to...

 

[Boom]

Queen Pfeiffer with the taste.

 

[The Joker]

Respect to Pfeiffer for having good taste.

 

[Schlosser85]

Michelle is a classy queen.

 

[Gothamsknight]

got this beautiful piece of art from Neal Adams and had it signed by him last weekend at comic con!

 

[The Joker]

POLL RESULTS: Who is the Best Movie Joker?

Still the king.

 

[Boom]

Loved Phoenix, but Ledger is still king and it's not close.

 

[Gothamsknight]

Ledger by far. Loved Phoenix, but Ledger is untouchable in every sense.

 

[The Joker]

Joker Star Joaquin Phoenix Praises Heath Ledger in SAG Award Speech

Greatness praising greatness.

 

[BaelaTargaryen]

 

[Gothamsknight]

Bought myself a resin Joker bask from the iconic Bank Robbery scene. This thing is gorgeous as well as heavy!

 

[Batmannerism]

Ledger by far. Loved Phoenix, but Ledger is untouchable in every sense.

I'm probably the only person who wasn't thrilled by Joker ( Phoenix). I vastly prefer Nolan's vision of the character , as the unreliable narrator with a multi choice past, and Ledger's performance which didn't go OTT but still showcased the menace, madness and humour of the character - easily the best Joker portrayal IMHO.

 

[shauner111]

I'm probably the only person who wasn't thrilled by Joker ( Phoenix). I vastly prefer Nolan's vision of the character , as the unreliable narrator with a multi choice past, and Ledger's performance which didn't go OTT but still showcased the menace, madness and humour of the character - easily the best Joker portrayal IMHO.

I respect that and in the end I’d probably pick Heath as well. But honestly, Joaquin’s also showed madness, humour and menace. He was an unreliable narrator with a multiple choice past because the end of that movie basically shows us it all may have been a story he was telling inside Arkham.

 

[Batmannerism]

I respect that and in the end I’d probably pick Heath as well. But honestly, Joaquin’s also showed madness, humour and menace. He was an unreliable narrator with a multiple choice past because the end of that movie basically shows us it all may have been a story he was telling inside Arkham.

Fair call.

 

[redfirebird2008]

Loved Phoenix, but Ledger is still king and it's not close.

Ledger by far. Loved Phoenix, but Ledger is untouchable in every sense.

I finally got around to seeing the new Joker movie on HBO in recent days. Not a fan of the storytelling. Phoenix did a great job with the material they gave him, but it didn't seem like the Joker to me. I think Nolan and Ledger got a lot closer to the essence of the character. He's a criminal mastermind with a wicked sense of humor. I felt like both of those elements were missing in this new version.

Heath of course knocked it out of the park. He was entertaining as hell in that Joker role. Really wish he was still able to make movies. Very, very talented person gone way too soon.

 

[hellblazer103]

I'd probably go with Heath too, but to make the case for Phoenix ; it wasn't really focused on the "mastermind " aspect and it wasn't trying to be because that all usually factors in when he already is the Joker. He's a pathetic loser before he's Joker, much like he's a pathetic loser in TKJ . It's a bit strange how most would criticize one for that aspect yet praise the other. Tbh, Phoenix's progression and "devolution" of sorts actually could arguably be a bit better than the whole "one bad day and a vat of chemicals and poof, he's a psychopathic criminal mastermind" idea, but that's another story.

As far as the "sense of humor" thing goes, it... Kinda did. Hence the "joke book" full of dark jokes and graphic imagery/drawings and other things

 

[BatLobster]

They're apples and oranges. Phoenix gave a knock-out performance, I think just for me, I much prefer utilizing The Joker in a context where he's an antagonist to Batman, as opposed to spending 2 hours with a sad sack, pre-Joker character.

Phoenix to me is more on par with Nicholson (who I still love in the role to be clear). Both of those performances are an actor cranking up the volume on their own personality to bring The Joker to life, and it works, because both are just cast very well for the part. You can recognize them behind the makeup, but it's not a bad thing per se. Heath created a whole personality and voice out of the ether and that's what I think makes it stand out.

I think one overlooked thing is that Jack definitely deserves a lot of credit for the impact he had, because by mere nature of one of the great actors of all time playing the character, he instantly brought a lot of prestige to the role and the idea of a Batman movie. It really raised the bar for the role going forward, which we've since enjoyed the results of. And by the same token, Heath deserves a ton of credit for being the actor who was brave enough to step into those shoes after 20 years of Nicholson's performance sitting as untouchable in people's minds. If you watch the The Fire Rises documentary, the casting director John Papsidera talks about how a lot of actors didn't want to touch it because of Jack's legacy.

 

[Iceman]

Joaquin was great. Jack was great. Heath was even better for me.

 

[BaelaTargaryen]

LOL

 

[Herofan]

How do you think the Joker would have gotten along with, interacted with Scarecrow? Or with Catwoman?

 

[shauner111]

Would have tried to kill Catwoman for sure.

 

[WhoMani]

How do you think the Joker would have gotten along with, interacted with Scarecrow? Or with Catwoman?

I think he would have betrayed Scarecrow by killing him.

 

[hellblazer103]

I just really wanted that Knightfall moment of Scarecrow trying to use the fear gas on Joker and it not working on him. God what a missed opportunity.

 

[BaelaTargaryen]