Nicholson vs Romero: The Joker Movie Thread

[Tangled Web]

I totaly agree with you Kevin. Romero captured what Joker truly was. If he were aive today he could play a homicidal joker in a future movie.


Romero Rules!

 

[mattymatt]

No contest. Romero's zombies would eat Nicholson alive. I mean, they're the freakin' living dead.

 

[JokerFish]

Romero pissed me off with the whole not shaving my moustache thing.

I voted for jack.

Though my favcorite episode was when romero was driving his jokercar or mobile thingy.

 

[Silent Storm]

No contest. Romero's zombies would eat Nicholson alive. I mean, they're the freakin' living dead.

Wait, I'm confused. Is Romero known for anything else besides playing Joker? I hear that name discussed about a lot when horror movies are on topic.

 

[WhiteRat]

Romero all the way.

 

[cryptic name]

I'm fully aware of the Joker's history. But the character was only a killer for a short period. By the time the TV show was in production, the Joker (and all the Batman characters) were bright and cheerful and the violence had been limited to thwaks and whams for many years.

I realise now how pointless this debate is, as most of the people on these boards are either a) not very familiar with Cesar Romeros Joker or b) not very familiar with the history of the character - Batman & co weren't created by Frank Miller in the 80's.

the comic in the sixties was changed to be similar in tone to the show because it was popular.

 

[cryptic name]

Wait, I'm confused. Is Romero known for anything else besides playing Joker? I hear that name discussed about a lot when horror movies are on topic.

cesar romero played the joker
george romero created the living dead series
night of the living dead
dawn of the dead
day of the dead

 

[DocLathropBrown]

the comic in the sixties was changed to be similar in tone to the show because it was popular.

No, the comics had been that bad before then. There were Batman stories from the 50's where Batman fought aliens and became Bat-Baby! However, the show did go above and beyond the camp of the comics at the time.

As for my choice of Joker? I voted for Jack, but I love them all!

Ceaser Romero is still an excellent Joker. Because Romero got to portray the part of the Joker's character that really hasn't changed over the years. He was a complete laughing lunatic. And he was hilarious because of it. I also got a huge kick out of watching him on re-runs when I was really young. Hell, I still do. He's just fun to watch. And he had fun doing it. That's important, isn't it?

In the years before I started first grade however, Jack Nicholson haunted my nightmares. With a vengeance. The guy scared the holy crap outta me. And hell, that picture at the beginning of the thread, with his tounge out, is scaring the **** out of me right now. I've never seen that picture before! That picture is just...... whoa. I think I need a fresh pair of pants! The best part about Nicholson is, of course, his eccentricity. His performance was electrifying. It still is. He best emcompassed the merderousness and psychotic nature of the Joker. Brilliant.

Mark Hamill is, too, an excellent Joker. He perfectly performs the laugh-a-minute nature of the Clown Prince of Crime. However, he didn't really become the perfect Joker until the uncut version of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, particularly the flashback seqence. It had been a long time before a cartoon chilled me. His flashback performance in the uncut version of ROTJ truly, truly frightened me. He had always been a great Joker. But that was, and still is, his best performance. When the censors had no say, and he was told to be truly evil, which he never quite reached on the show.

I love them all. So it was hard to pick. Each one is a perfect Joker in their own right. But for the one that still pops up when I have a nightmare..... here's to you, Jack. *Pops open a Bud*

 

[GLfan]

the thing that bothered me about romero's joker is that he was never made into the major villain he should have been, i mean i think i saw egg-head more than him.

What are you talking about, have you seen every episode? Joker, Penguin, Riddler, and Catwoman were the main villains who made the most guest appearances.

As for me I'll always prefer Ceasar Romero's Joker best, he had the laugh down perfectly.

 

[cryptic name]

they even added the yellow oval because the tv show wanted to lighten him up

 

[blackbird]

i voted for jack, i liked him better..

But i still gotta say that my FAVORITE Joker onscreen is Mark Hamill! He's the perfect Joker.

 

[TheGhostRider]

NICHOLSON IS JOKER. He was perfect

 

[CLARKY]

I think the *ultimate* Joker is Mark Hamill from the animated shows/movies myself.

But my *favourite* is Nicholson...god I just love that guy.

blindly agreed

 

[kathryn]

Romero was great for his time but the whole campiness of the show broguht him down. Plus the whole not shaving the beard thing.. really lame
Jack was awesome, he didn't really have the laugh but other then that he got everything down so Jack all the way!

 

[Skipper]

Cesar was great... but gotta hand it to the great Jack Nicholson...

 

[Cobblepot]

U think?

 

[Batman Maximus]

Romero was the best.......but as Jack said: "Just wait till they get a load of ME!"
It will have to be someone VERY good to beat out Jack. Jack is The Joker!
Now if you were to add Mark to the list..............

that is just too close for me to say!

 

[Superhobo]

Eight words for my choice friends.

"Wait till they get a load of me..."

 

[ab38416]

That doesn't make sense. The Joker in the comics rarely killed people until the 1980's. Cesar Romero's Joker is exactly like the comic version at the time.

Didn't he start killing again in 1973's "The Joker's Five Way Revenge" by O'Neil and Adams?

 

[El Payaso]

Jack Nicholson.

 

[DocLathropBrown]

Nicholson was the perfect Joker. Would have been nice if he'd been a bit thinner, but I won't complain. Probably what's most impressive about is that he is an admitted fan of the Batman comics, he took the role seriously. People want to claim he just acted campy or over-the-top, but it's plain to see on the B89 SE that he took the role as seriously as any other performance.

I love his interviews on the SE DVD. He knows the comics, the history. He knows what the Joker is all about. exactly what he's all about. He describes his acting process for the role as in-depth as one would approach a Shakesperian one. It's amazing. And every time he talks about it, he starts grinning like crazy, he almost can't talk, he gets so giddy. He loved playing the Joker. He wasn't just in it for the money. Where others (such as Heath Ledger, I fear) would just have treated the role as a chance to act goofy or just a paycheck, or even just "Oh, it's a kiddie comic book film", Nicholson took it as we would. As holy, as a role worthy or comparison on the level of anything the mainstream considers "important."

Romero was accurate to his comics of the time, and as such, is equally enjoyable. But I would never be afraid of him. Every once in a rare blue moon, I have a nightmare with Nicholson's Joker. Dead serious. Ever since I was three or four, Nicholson's Joker has been the "face of evil" in my mind's eye.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

But i still gotta say that my FAVORITE Joker onscreen is Mark Hamill! He's the perfect Joker.

He's NOT ONSCREEN, he just does the voice-!

 

[Kevin Roegele]

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Didn't he start killing again in 1973's "The Joker's Five Way Revenge" by O'Neil and Adams?

Yes, indeed. One of the quintessential Batman comics of all-time.

 

[Bruce_Wayne29]

Nicholson.