What was the general consensus on Heath Leadger being casted as Joker and his first Joker picture ?

[Brother Jack]

I was skeptical up until the first full trailer. I wasn't a fan of the makeup early on, and I was unsure if Nolan was going to make him funny. The dissenting sentiment at the time was that it looked like he was turning what is a very funny and dynamic character into a grimdark, more cliched and "typical" serial killer without color. Once I saw it in motion in the bootleg of the theatrical trailer, I was mesmerized. I'll never forget watching that for the first time.

 

[gwynplaine]

The first promo shot of Heath's Joker, the "Death Mask" pic, got me so pumped, the reason I joined the Hype lol. I loved comic book Joker all my life and was never really a big fan of Romero or Nicholson's take on the character. Being a big fan of TKJ and AA as well as the earlier incarnations, I was looking for a less campy interpretation of the character. Not dissing, to each their own of course and Cesar and Jack were both great and paved the way. Just saying that Nolan giving the role to an amazing, "fearless" actor in his own words I believe, was the right thing to do. I love Crispin Glover which would have maybe been a more obvious choice, but Heath took it to a whole other level, like a DDL or a Brando.

 

[Gothamsknight]

When that iconic first image of heath ledgers Joker was first revealed, I was legit pumped and freaked out at the same time because there was something unsettling about it. It looked different, yet still the Joker in every way. Just the sheer simplicity of it! The image has been ingrained in my head since it was unveiled and now has reached iconic status! As for when Ledger was announced, I was actually very excited and confident! I know some people weren't, but I was so damn impressed by batman begins, I jsut knew Nolan must have made the right choice. Then the first theatrical trailer hit, and my god, it gave me chills! It through my hype into overdrive, and I knew we were in for something ******* awesome! The film ended up even exceeding my expectations, and Ledgers performance is one of the greatest in the history of cinema. Absolutely, positively stunning performance of the joker, and one that i don't ever see being topped. I truly believe phoenix will end up being a fantastic Joker, but Ledgers is something that i don't think can be topped

 

[Lead Cenobite]

When Nolan and Ledger started to mention Alex DeLarge as an influence on the character, I knew I was finally getting a more grounded, realistic Joker, and I was happy.
Nicholson's prime reference was Bugs Bunny, which is basically Groucho, but Harpo is a better starting point

I miss the days when the default expectation for a superhero movie wasn't grounded realism... whenever that was.

 

[gwynplaine]

I wasn't talking about superhero movies in general, just the Joker, after Cesar and Jack who were both a little campy, but also great and paved the way like I said before, it was good to see something that fits in The "Batman Begins Universe" and was closer to this guy:

But to each their own of course.

 

[The Batkilt]

People here saw a similarity with The Crow as a bad thing ?
Weird, I think this a fantastic movie.

It was more that people weren't keen on The Joker using face paint and making fun of that, rather than them making fun of The Crow. (Incidentally, one of those threads led me to remembering The Crow: Salvation was a thing and making the mistake of rewatching it.) The viral marketing campaign softened the tone towards Ledger's Joker, then after his death most of the vitriolic stuff seemed to die down for the most part.

 

[Nemeres]

Nothing more fun on SHH than reading mega-old threads. It's why it sucks that the search function for older content seems to be busted after the layout redesign.

Joker finally revealed! - MERGED

Sancturary for those who dislike the IBIHDT Joker Pic