The Dark Knight The Dark Knight General Discussion Thread

[Rick190293]

Almost 20 years. Damn.

 

[Sawyer]

 

[Sawyer]

 

[Kane52630]

 

[Sawyer]

Weird not to do the film hitting its 20 year anniversary, but I’m not going to complain about TDK getting its moment.

 

[J.Drangal]

Is this a new official poster for the event?
Because it looks pretty cool!

 

[Sawyer]

 

[OnLeatherWings]

I think I'm tired of reading this -

"The Dark Knight is a better movie, but X is a better BATMAN movie..."

It's always said as if it's some profound revelation, first made by the one saying it. I don't even get it - it feels like a backhanded compliment.

Batman has had so many tones and styles on paper and in media - I don't know what makes something more 'Batman', at this point. The Dark Knight is as Batman as anything else.

It just feels like a contorted way to justify having a preference, when it'd be a lot less pretentious and backhanded to just say "I like X more even though Y is great."

 

[Sawyer]

LOL they were really letting Oldman just casually spoil the finale a whole year out. Would never happen today.

 

[donuts]

I think I'm tired of reading this -

"The Dark Knight is a better movie, but X is a better BATMAN movie..."

It's always said as if it's some profound revelation, first made by the one saying it. I don't even get it - it feels like a backhanded compliment.

Batman has had so many tones and styles on paper and in media - I don't know what makes something more 'Batman', at this point. The Dark Knight is as Batman as anything else.

It just feels like a contorted way to justify having a preference, when it'd be a lot less pretentious and backhanded to just say "I like X more even though Y is great."

The part that always rubs me the wrong way is when people complain about the movie not "feeling or looking like" Batman, as if Nolan made some radical, unseen changes to the character's imagery.

But open a comic book from the 1970s, and you'll likely find Gotham City being depicted as a very regular urban city with none of the overt decay, gothic flourishes or nightmarish architecture that people pretty much associate with the character and his surroundings nowadays.

I , too, have a soft spot for Gotham City to be portrayed as more stylized, but The Dark Knight is both a great movie and Batman movie.

 

[OnLeatherWings]

As brilliant as this film is - I do lament some aspects.

The sets are so, so bright, white, and clean. Nearly everything in Batman Begins was grungy and dank - not just the Narrows scenes. A lot of warm settings from the courtrooms to the Wayne Enterprises boardroom.

And in this film, Wayne Enterprises is now a bland square building with an overlit, white/grey boardroom.

Imagine if Wayne's underground Batman bunker was an old abandoned underground brick shelter of some kind instead of a bright white, overlit room?

I also missed the cape blowing of the first film that Nolan wanted to emphasize. Little things like that make it more Batman-y, and I missed it here.

And good lord did Two-Face deserve to be a villain for a whole film. Sometimes it feels like there's a missing film between this one and Rises.

 

[OnLeatherWings]

After finishing this film again, it really occurred to me that Bruce's Batman is a bit of a psycho - and I love it.

He's calm and collected - but he has his unhinged moments. He breaks Maroni's legs like nothing, beats a captive prisoner, and the anger he shows during the interrogation and even during his chat with Maroni is almost beast-like.

His Bruce is almost an entirely different person. I can't imagine Bruce throwing Maroni to the ground and growling at him in frustration.

I love it.

 

[Kargo Warrior]

Voted as the 28th best film in NYTimes' ''100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century'' poll, a very similar position (26th) as it's ranking on WGA's ''101 Greatest Screenplays of the 21st century.''

If someone told me in 2008 that 17 years later, The Dark Knight would be widely considered as one of the greatest films of the century, that it'll still be the pinacle of the genre, and the only comic book film that isn't evaluated by the tropes of the genre, i would be crying, half from joy, half from sadness because i would assume Nolan never made a third film.

Kidding aside, what a legacy this film has had, preserved in the National Film Registry, directly responsible for the Oscars changing their Best Picture nominees from 5 to 10, after 64 years of 5-only nominees, 9/10 from 3+ million votes on IMDB, 9/10 from 3+ million votes on Letterboxd and basically a top 30 critically acclaimed film of the century.

The only regret i have, and i will always have, is that Heath never witnessed how beloved, cherished and lauded his performance and the film were to become.

 

[OnLeatherWings]

It amazes me that - to this day - there are huge swathes of people who believe that Nolan had planned a third film with Joker as the villain again, and it had to all be thrown out due to Ledger's death. No way that they'd reuse the villain twice and Nolan is not one to write a sequel before the film is even finished. No way.

Ledger's death has become something of a myth and legend, and I find it kinda gross. The whole "he turned to drugs because he got too disturbed and into character!" to the misconception I mentioned above and then the idea that this film is only beloved because he died...it all just feels like twisting a genuine tragedy into some sort of 'fun' myth.

I find it icky.

 

[Kargo Warrior]

It amazes me that - to this day - there are huge swathes of people who believe that Nolan had planned a third film with Joker as the villain again, and it had to all be thrown out due to Ledger's death. No way that they'd reuse the villain twice and Nolan is not one to write a sequel before the film is even finished. No way.

Ledger's death has become something of a myth and legend, and I find it kinda gross. The whole "he turned to drugs because he got too disturbed and into character!" to the misconception I mentioned above and then the idea that this film is only beloved because he died...it all just feels like twisting a genuine tragedy into some sort of 'fun' myth.

I find it icky.

''Let me get this straight, you think that this film, one of the most critically acclaimed films of the century, one of the most acclaimed sequels of all time, with 8.6/10 average rating on RT, and 85 on Metacritic, the film that topped the most critics lists in 2008, the film that made the Academy change their rules, the film that has 9/10 on IMDB, 9/10 on Letterboxd, 9.2/10 on Douban, 9/10 on Allocine, 9,1/10 on Metacritic, from literallly 10+ million combined votes, is only beloved because it's star died 17 years ago, and your plan is to argue that theory? Good luck.''

Seriously, that's one of the dumbest things i've read in my life.

 

[Gothamsknight]

This is not just the best comic book movie ever made, but also the greatest movie of all time (for me). And it always will be.

 

[Kargo Warrior]

This is not just the best comic book movie ever made, but also the greatest movie of all time (for me). And it always will be.

I was 22 when i saw the film in 2008, and it was better than i could possibly have imagined, but i was still very green as far as cinema as an art form was concerned. I've seen between 4000-5000 films since then, from the most obscure films, to all the classics, and the more films i've watched, the more i got interested in cinematography, writing, directing, the more i came to appreciate and love the film even more with each subsequent rewatch, which is basically the opposite for every other comic book film.

It's the only film in the genre that i watch and i can feel all the talent behind and in front of the camera being unshackled by the conventions of the genre, every scene is written, acted and directed as if it's the pinacle of the film. Rewatching the film often feels like listening to a greatest hits compilation by your favorite band, ''damn the prologue is so good'', ''oh, i forgot how much i love hospital bed scene'', ''the dialogue and the acting in the meeting between Joker and the mob is unparalleled'', ''the interrogation scene is an all-time classic'', ''the Hong Kong sequence is the most epic Batman sequence on tape'', and of course, what a way to close out the album, but with one of the greatest, most stirring endings in cinema.

Even after all these years, i'm still in disbelief that this film exists, and that it's as good as it is. The only downside of it's existence, is that it forever changed my expectations for what a comic book film could be, and nothing has come within a mile to meet them, and i doubt anything ever will.

 

[OnLeatherWings]

''Let me get this straight, you think that this film, one of the most critically acclaimed films of the century, one of the most acclaimed sequels of all time, with 8.6/10 average rating on RT, and 85 on Metacritic, the film that topped the most critics lists in 2008, the film that made the Academy change their rules, the film that has 9/10 on IMDB, 9/10 on Letterboxd, 9.2/10 on Douban, 9/10 on Allocine, 9,1/10 on Metacritic, from literallly 10+ million combined votes, is only beloved because it's star died 17 years ago, and your plan is to argue that theory? Good luck.''

Seriously, that's one of the dumbest things i've read in my life.

And if only Heath had survived, his presence could've saved the critically acclaimed, audience and fan loved third film in the series from being totally panned as one of the worst Batman films of all time in The Dark Knight Rises.

 

[Kargo Warrior]

BTW, if anyone is interested, there are still two days of voting left in the NYTimes reader's choice Best Films of the 21st Century, you can post your top 10 favorite films since 2000 if you'd like.

The Best Movies of the 21st Century: You Decide

More than 500 directors, actors and other notable movie fans submitted their ballots for the Best Movies of the 21st Century. Now it’s your turn to vote.

www.nytimes.com

 

[The Joker]

I think its a no brainer that the Joker would have been in Rises had Heath not passed away. The fact he survived and knew the truth about Dent would have guaranteed he would be back. Batman covering up the truth about his "ace in the hole" meant unfinished business. They're just lucky that he was captured at the end of TDK and not still at large like Crane was at the end of Begins because he would have been a huge elephant in the room otherwise.

I remember his family even said he had plans to do another Batman movie with Nolan;

In an interview with news.com.au, Kate Ledger shared details of her final conversation with him before his death as she promoted the I Am Heath Ledger documentary. “I spoke to him the night before [he died] and we were laughing and joking. He was so proud of what he had done in Batman. And I know he had plans for another Batman," she revealed.

"He loved working with Chris Nolan and Christian Bale and Gary Oldman. He just had the best time ever doing that film," she added. "When he came home at Christmas he couldn’t wait to tell us all about it and he was doing the voice and laughing, showing me all the rushes. We had a great time.”

Dark Knight's Heath Ledger 'Had Plans' to Return as Joker

According to his sister, Heath Ledger was looking forward to reprising his critically acclaimed role as the Joker after The Dark Knight.

www.cbr.com

 

[Kargo Warrior]

Results from NYTimes ''Greatest Films of the 21st Century'' Readers poll (more than 200,000 votes were submitted):

1) Parasite
2) Mulholland Drive
3) No Country For Old Men
4) There Will Be Blood
5) Interstellar
6) The Dark Knight
7) Mad Max: Fury Road
8) Spirited Away
9) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
10) The Social Network

Readers Choose Their Top Movies of the 21st Century

The people have spoken. Here are the movies they voted for.

www.nytimes.com

Seeing The Dark Knight standing shoulder-to-shoulder among the greats will never get boring.

 

[The Joker]

Well deserved. It really does stand as both a great movie and CBM.

 

[BatLobster]

I gotta say, I know it’s petty to dig up old comments and I know Gunn seems like he’s changed a lot from the days he was constantly sh**posting online especially post-cancellation, but I can’t lie it does kinda bum me out a bit to know that the new architect of DC film has such low opinions of all bunch of my favorite DC films (and is so tragically incorrect ). The above NYT list shows that TDK is still to this day very commonly considered a classic, so yeah.

I do think DC needs a fresh voice badly, so maybe in a way it’s a good thing that he views things so differently, but I also hope he at least now recognizes the importance and significance of those films given that he’s inheriting a legacy that they helped build, at least cinematically. It’s subjective at the end of the day and I know both Burton and Nolan are miles away from his sensibilities, but you can still recognize and respect them without them being your favorites.

 

[Gothamsknight]

As a big fan of both TSS and his new Superman film, it does sting a little to know that he thinks so low of those films. But at the same time, it was so long ago, and he does seem to have changed as a person overall. I doubt anybody will run the risk of being the one to bring that up to him lol, but maybe he'll get a question about the films again at some point.

 

[RokMeAmadeus]

I gotta say, I know it’s petty to dig up old comments and I know Gunn seems like he’s changed a lot from the days he was constantly sh**posting online especially post-cancellation, but I can’t lie it does kinda bum me out a bit to know that the new architect of DC film has such low opinions of all bunch of my favorite DC films (and is so tragically incorrect ). The above NYT list shows that TDK is still to this day very commonly considered a classic, so yeah.

I do think DC needs a fresh voice badly, so maybe in a way it’s a good thing that he views things so differently, but I also hope he at least now recognizes the importance and significance of those films given that he’s inheriting a legacy that they helped build, at least cinematically. It’s subjective at the end of the day and I know both Burton and Nolan are miles away from his sensibilities, but you can still recognize and respect them without them being your favorites.

For those who've seen Superman (or who don't care about spoilers for it) :

Spoiler

Joker killing the Waynes is a "spit in the face" to Batman's origin? Oh, I'm sorry, but making Jor El friggin Omniman isnt spitting in the face of Superman's origin?? Thats rich coming from him. Rules for thee, not for me is the motto I guess

If he was just roasting Returns that'd be fine by me, but of course its weird and kooky enough to be right up Gunn's alley. God, like yeah okay he can make a good movie but he's so insufferable at times.