The Dark Knight The Dark Knight makes Hollywood's 100 Favorite Films list

[Squaremaster316]

"Who better to judge the best movies of all time than the people who make them? Studio chiefs, Oscar winners and TV royalty all were surveyed as THR publishes its first definitive entertainment-industry ranking of cinema's most superlative."



http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/list/100-greatest-films-all-time-713215


The Dark Knight (#57) was the only superhero/comic book film to make the list.

 

[The Joker]

It totally deserves it

 

[titansupes]

Excellent.

EDIT: Inception and Memento are also there, by the way.

 

[Travesty]

^those are at least deserving.

 

[BatLobster]

Mercifully, The Avengers wasn't on the list.

There can only be ONE best comic book film evah! Also, Highlander.

 

[Travesty]

There was only 6-7 comedies on there. Everything else was just some kind of drama.

Step up your comedy game, Hollywood Reporter!

 

[The Joker]

Mercifully, The Avengers wasn't on the list.

Are you trying to incur the wrath of Marvel fans?

It is awesome though that TDK is the only comic book movie there. It totally deserves it, and not just as a movie from the genre, but as a movie itself.

Great to see Memento and Inception there, too. Nolan has come a long way.

 

[BatLobster]

Are you trying to incur the wrath of Marvel fans?

What kind of hardcore Marvel fan would enter a thread like this?

But yeah, I agree with what you said. If there's only gonna be one...it's not much of a question at this point.

As you say, it continues to stand the test of time with people outside the core fanbase.

 

[The Endless]

No superhero movie should be in the top 100 films of all time. How absurd lol.

Well actually i supposed there is a difference between best and favourite.

 

[BatLobster]

Get used to it, TDK has been making a bunch of lists as of late.

It's not absurd, either. Don't sell the genre that brings us all here short. It can produce works of greatness, and it's nice to see that recognized once in a while. Why should other sci-fi films and other films that are adaptations be allowed to make the cut, while a very well-crafted, well-regarded CBM with a huge pop culture impact and a flat out iconic performance, shouldn't?

 

[The Endless]

TDK is easily in my top 5 of the genre. But i can still think of about 500 films that are better made.

 

[Travesty]

Yeah, it transcends the genre, it's Shakespearean, and captured the zeitgeist and stuff.

Or at least, that's what I read in that one review.

 

[The Endless]

It was our generations Woodstock for Christ sake!

 

[shauner111]

LOL it's not about what's better made, it's a list of "favorites".

 

[The Joker]

Empire did a public vote recently for the greatest movies of all time, and TDK came in at #3: http://www.empireonline.com/301/list.asp?page=36

It's actually gone up in the popularity polls because last time Empire did a public poll like that back in 2008/9 it came in at #15. Just goes to show the staying power of it. It wasn't just a 2008 fad.

 

[shauner111]

Exactly. I think the haters are a little bit ******** and think it's just not that good of a "batman movie" so they say "it's just a CBM, it doesn't deserve to be on a list like that". When in fact the majority see it as a good film, regardless of the genre or if it satisfies a batman geeks wishes for what they wanted to see for the character.

There are plenty of well-made films that i dont care for, but i understand the respect, what it did for the medium or why people gravitate towards it. TDK is one of those movies i think. Where we all have the option to love it, like it, or hate it...like with anything. But i think it deserves respect and acknowledgement for what it did in the box-office, the sub-genre and as a movie in general. The filmmaking, the acting, the affect it had on people, the Imax/cinematic experience at the time AND the influence it has had on blockbusters since.

 

[BatLobster]

TDK is easily in my top 5 of the genre. But i can still think of about 500 films that are better made.

That's not what this list was about though and you know it.

In terms of mainstream Hollywood films, it's one of the landmark ones of the post 2000s, and it's clearly standing the test of time hence it's constant appearances on these types of lists.

You want to list Kurosawa films that are better made? Fine. But target a good majority of the movies on that list then.

There are plenty of well-made films that i dont care for, but i understand the respect, what it did for the medium or why people gravitate towards it. TDK is one of those movies i think. Where we all have the option to love it, like it, or hate it...like with anything. But i think it deserves respect and acknowledgement for what it did in the box-office, the sub-genre and as a movie in general. The filmmaking, the acting, the affect it had on people, the Imax/cinematic experience at the time AND the influence it has had on blockbusters since.

Bingo. I really strongly dislike Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and am pretty meh on Avatar, but I understand why they're both on that list.

 

[Travesty]

Heh, I wouldn't really say 6 years is "standing the test of time".

 

[BatLobster]

What is the acceptable window of time to you?

6 years isn't nothing. A ton of movies have come out in those 6 years, and not too many have made the same type of impression. It'll be a decade old before we know it, and it'll still be just as popular. And as The Joker said, it actually seems to be increasing in the esteem it gets.

Nostalgia tends to propel these types of things even further. Just look at all the love Batman 89 got on its 25th anniversary. If you think something similar won't happen for TDK, 5 bucks says you're dead wrong.

 

[Travesty]

No, I'm not saying people will hate this movie, but you can't tell how long the perspective will last as a "best of all time" kind of movie. And seeing as this is a CBM, where there will be remakes and reboots, I can't see it lasting in lists like this for that much longer than 15 years.

I mean, where is STM in all of these lists? Where is B89? Those were movies that also "broke the mold", that broke box office records, etc. Those movies had a HUGE affect on people, but over time, it's not regarded as "genre defying"....but it was at the time.

The trilogy just ended. Wait until there's more Batman movies within the next 15-20 years, and lets see how people perceive it. I've seen perspectives change pretty quickly over B89, once TDK came out. Again, 6 years is hardly enough time to say it has "clearly stood the test of time".

But every time I see someone post another best-of list, and TDK is in it, I see the same reaction. "See, this proves its the best movie ever/it truly does stand the test of time/no other CBM movie comes close/it's not even a CBM, it's a movie-movie/it's the best movie to ever be ever, ever!".

 

[The Endless]

If it still makes these lists 40 years from now like your Godfathers and your Star Wars and your Once Upon a Time in the Wests... we'll see if it stands the test of time.

 

[BatLobster]

No, I'm not saying people will hate this movie, but you can't tell how long the perspective will last as a "best of all time" kind of movie. And seeing as this is a CBM, where there will be remakes and reboots, I can't see it lasting in lists like this for that much longer than 15 years.

I mean, where is STM in all of these lists? Where is B89? Those were movies that also "broke the mold", that broke box office records, etc. Those movies had a HUGE affect on people, but over time, it's not regarded as "genre defying"....but it was at the time.

The trilogy just ended. Wait until there's more Batman movies within the next 15-20 years, and lets see how people perceive it. I've seen perspectives change pretty quickly over B89, once TDK came out. Again, 6 years is hardly enough time to say it has "clearly stood the test of time".

But every time I see someone post another best-of list, and TDK is in it, I see the same reaction. "See, this proves its the best movie ever/it truly does stand the test of time/no other CBM movie comes close/it's not even a CBM, it's a movie-movie/it's the best movie to ever be ever, ever!".

Hey IMO, STM and B'89 deserve that recognition too. I wouldn't cry foul whatsoever if they were included on this list, but TDK does tend to get included in more of these general pop culture things cause...yeah, it is more like a "movie-movie" than most CBMs.

And you're right, there is some of what you're referring to, but there's also a lot of "TDK IS OVERRATED!" anger too when it gets this kind of recognition. If anything, I think that constant back and forth and debate about just how good TDK is could keep it a hot topic of conversation for a long time to come. And if you're merely debating how good something is, well, definitely worse problems out there to have. The way I see the comic book movie genre going forward, I think TDK will probably still be unique 20+ years from now. Fans may even prefer the Batfleck/Snyder-verse for instance, but I don't think there are going to be too many movies like TDK made in the genre for the time being. Everything is going in the complete opposite direction of more fantastical and comic-booky and as long as Marvel is leading the charge, this could be the norm for a pretty long time.

Unless everyone collectively says, "man, what a silly idea it was to portray Batman in a more realistic light", I think it will always have appeal because crime films can have a timeless appeal, and Batman/Joker conflicts have that as well. So it's got a pretty strong recipe for staying power IMO.

Btw, I appreciate the genuine response Trav. Caught me a bit off guard there.

 

[JackWhite]

They messed up Alfred's quote, lol. It's not people but men.

 

[The Joker]

Heh, I wouldn't really say 6 years is "standing the test of time".

I agree it's not proof yet that it is definitely going to stand the test of time. But it is proof it wasn't just a 2008 fad. That's what I was saying. Sometimes you see people put the popularity of it down to the hype frenzy of 2008, Ledger's death etc.

Well it's 6 years later, the dust has well and truly settled, and it keeps getting voted on lists like this, the Empire lists etc that are all voted for by thousands of people, as well as notable people in the movie industry. I say at this point in time that it wasn't just a 2008 hype thing. If it was it's popularity would have dwindled long ago. People are obviously still loving it every bit as much as they did back when it was released.

If it's still making lists like this, and still as revered as it is now in say 10 years time, then we can say it's standing the test of time.

 

[Keehar]

http://www.empireonline.com/features/greatest-superhero-movies/p1

The good reading public of Empire voted TDK numero uno of comic book flicks. Which is what it deserves.