''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008
superhero film
A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature Action film, ac ...
directed by
Christopher Nolan
Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Cinema of the United States, Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. ...
from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother
Jonathan. Based on the
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
superhero,
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
, it is the sequel to ''
Batman Begins
''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, with Michael Caine, Liam ...
'' (2005) and the second installment in ''
The Dark Knight Trilogy
The fictional superhero Batman, who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, has appeared in various films since his inception. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, the character first starred in two serial films in the 1940 ...
''. The plot follows the vigilante
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
, police lieutenant
James Gordon, and district attorney
Harvey Dent
Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in '' Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). As one of Batma ...
, who form an alliance to dismantle
organized crime
Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
in
Gotham City
Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, the cit ...
. Their efforts are derailed by the
Joker, an anarchistic mastermind who seeks to test how far Batman will go to save the city from chaos. The
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to ...
includes
Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. He has received various accolades, including ...
,
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
,
Heath Ledger
Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...
,
Gary Oldman
Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three British Academy Fi ...
,
Aaron Eckhart
Aaron Edward Eckhart (born March 12, 1968) is an American actor. Born in Cupertino, California, Eckhart moved to the United Kingdom at an early age. He began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Australia for his hi ...
,
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Margalit Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal (; born November 16, 1977) is an American actress and filmmaker. Part of the Gyllenhaal family, she is the daughter of filmmakers Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal, Naomi Achs, and the older sister o ...
, and
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...
.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of liv ...
prioritized a sequel following the successful reinvention of the
''Batman'' film series with ''Batman Begins''. Christopher and ''Batman Begins'' co-writer
David S. Goyer
David Samuel Goyer (born December 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker, novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several superhero films, including ''Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (film), Nick Fury: Agent ...
developed the story elements, making Dent the central protagonist caught up in the battle between Batman and the Joker. In writing the screenplay, the Nolans were influenced by 1980s ''Batman'' comics and crime drama films, and sought to continue ''Batman Begins'' heightened reality tone. From April to November 2007, filming took place with a $185million budget in Chicago and Hong Kong, and on sets in England. ''The Dark Knight'' was the first major motion picture to be filmed with high-resolution
IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graeme F ...
cameras. Christopher avoided using
computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images may ...
unless necessary, insisting on practical
stunts
A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theaters, or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer generated imagery spec ...
such as flipping an
18-wheel truck and blowing up a factory.
''The Dark Knight'' was marketed with an innovative interactive
viral campaign that initially focused on countering criticism of Ledger's casting by those who believed he was a poor choice to portray the Joker. Ledger died from an accidental drug overdose in January 2008, leading to widespread interest from the press and public regarding his performance. When it was released in July, ''The Dark Knight'' received acclaim for its mature tone and themes, visual style, and performances—particularly that of Ledger, who received many posthumous awards including
Academy
An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...
,
BAFTA, and
Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
awards for Best Supporting Actor, making ''The Dark Knight'' the first comic-book film to receive major industry awards. It broke several box-office records and became the
highest-grossing 2008 film, the
fourth-highest-grossing film of its time, and the highest-grossing superhero film.
Since its release, ''The Dark Knight'' has been assessed as one of the greatest superhero films ever made, one of the best films of the 2000s, and one of the
best films ever made. It is considered the "blueprint" for modern superhero films, particularly for its rejection of a comic-book style in favor of a genre film that features comic-book characters. Many filmmakers sought to repeat its success by emulating its gritty, realistic tone to varying degrees of success. ''The Dark Knight'' has been analyzed for its themes of terrorism and the limitations of morality and ethics. The United States
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
selected it for preservation in the
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...
in 2020. A sequel, ''
The Dark Knight Rises
''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is th ...
'', concluded ''The Dark Knight Trilogy'' in 2012.
Plot
A gang of masked criminals robs a
mafia
"Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
-owned bank in
Gotham City
Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, the cit ...
, each betraying the others until the sole survivor, the
Joker, reveals himself as the mastermind and escapes with the money. The vigilante
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
, district attorney
Harvey Dent
Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in '' Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). As one of Batma ...
, and police lieutenant
Jim Gordon form an alliance to eliminate Gotham's organized crime. Batman's alter-ego, the billionaire Bruce Wayne, publicly supports Dent as Gotham's legitimate protector, believing his success will allow Batman to retire so Wayne can romantically pursue his childhood friend
Rachel Dawes
Rachel Dawes is a fictional character who first appeared in Christopher Nolan's 2005 feature film ''Batman Begins''. She was portrayed in that film by Katie Holmes, with Emma Lockhart as a younger version of the character in early scenes. Holmes a ...
, despite her relationship with Dent.
Gotham's mafia bosses gather to discuss protecting their organizations from the Joker, the police, and Batman. The Joker interrupts the meeting and offers to kill Batman for half of the fortune their accountant, Lau, concealed before fleeing to Hong Kong to avoid extradition. With the help of
Wayne Enterprises
Wayne Enterprises, Inc., also known as WayneCorp and Wayne Industries, is a wealthy fictional company appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Wayne Enterprises is a large, grow ...
CEO
Lucius Fox
Lucius Fox is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Bruce Wayne / Batman. He is Bruce Wayne's business manager at Wayne Enterprises who runs the business interests that s ...
, Batman finds Lau in Hong Kong and returns him to the custody of Gotham police, and his testimony enables Dent to apprehend the crime families. The bosses accept the Joker's offer and he kills high-profile targets involved in the trial, including the judge and police commissioner, and although Gordon saves the mayor, the Joker threatens his attacks will continue until Batman unmasks. He targets Dent at a fundraising dinner and throws Rachel out of a window, but Batman rescues her.
Wayne struggles to understand the Joker's motives, but his butler
Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman.
Pennyworth is depicted as Bruce Wayne's loyal and tireless butler, ...
says some simply relish destruction. Dent claims he is Batman to lure out the Joker, who attacks the police convoy transporting him. Batman and Gordon apprehend the Joker, and Gordon is promoted to commissioner. At the police station, Batman interrogates the Joker, who says he finds Batman entertaining and has no intention of killing him. Having deduced Batman's feelings for Rachel, the Joker reveals she and Dent are being separately held in buildings that are rigged to explode. Batman races to save Rachel while Gordon goes after Dent, but they discover the Joker has switched their positions. Rachel is killed in the explosion, while Dent's face is severely burned on one side. The Joker escapes custody, extracts the fortune's location from Lau, and burns all of it.
Wayne Enterprises accountant Coleman Reese deduces Batman's identity and attempts to expose it, but the Joker threatens to blow up a hospital unless Reese is killed. While the police evacuate hospitals and Gordon struggles to keep Reese alive, the Joker meets with a disillusioned Dent, persuading him to take justice into his own hands and avenge Rachel. Dent defers his decision-making to his half-scarred, two-headed coin, killing the corrupt officers and mafiosi who contributed to Rachel's death. As panic grips the city, the Joker reveals two evacuation ferries, one carrying civilians and the other prisoners, are rigged to explode at midnight unless one group sacrifices the other. To the Joker's disbelief, the passengers refuse to kill one another. Batman subdues the Joker but refuses to kill him. Before the police arrest the Joker, he says although Batman proved incorruptible, his plan to corrupt Dent has succeeded.
Dent takes Gordon's family hostage, blaming his negligence for Rachel's death. He flips his coin to decide their fates but Batman tackles him to save Gordon's son, and Dent falls to his death. Believing Dent is the hero the city needs, Batman takes the blame for his death and actions, and persuades Gordon to conceal the truth. Pennyworth burns an undelivered message to Wayne from Rachel, who said she chose Dent, and Fox destroys the invasive surveillance network that helped Batman find the Joker. The city mourns Dent as a hero and the police launch a manhunt for Batman.
Cast
*
Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. He has received various accolades, including ...
as Bruce Wayne / Batman: A wealthy socialite who as a child was traumatized by his parents' murder. Wayne secretly operates as the heroic vigilante Batman.
*
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
as Alfred Pennyworth: Wayne's father-figure, trusted butler, and confidant
*
Heath Ledger
Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...
as the Joker: A criminal mastermind and anarchist who is determined to sow chaos and corruption throughout Gotham
*
Gary Oldman
Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three British Academy Fi ...
as James Gordon: One of the few honest officers in the
Gotham City Police Department
Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List of Batman supporting characters#Bat-Family, allies and List of Batman fa ...
(GCPD) who assists Batman's war on crime
*
Aaron Eckhart
Aaron Edward Eckhart (born March 12, 1968) is an American actor. Born in Cupertino, California, Eckhart moved to the United Kingdom at an early age. He began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Australia for his hi ...
as Harvey Dent / Two-Face: Gotham's noble district attorney-turned-violent vigilante
*
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Margalit Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal (; born November 16, 1977) is an American actress and filmmaker. Part of the Gyllenhaal family, she is the daughter of filmmakers Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal, Naomi Achs, and the older sister o ...
as Rachel Dawes: Gotham's assistant district attorney and Wayne's childhood friend, who is divided between her feelings for him and for Dent
*
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...
as Lucius Fox: Wayne Enterprises' CEO who supplies technology and equipment for Batman's campaign
''The Dark Knight''s cast includes
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. His career began with a leading role in ''King of the Gypsies'' (1978) for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He was nominated again at the Golden Globes fo ...
,
Michael Jai White
Michael Jai White (born November 10, 1967) is an American actor, director and martial artist. He was the first African American to portray a major comic book superhero in a major motion picture, starring as Al Simmons, the protagonist in the 1997 ...
, and
Ritchie Coster
Ritchie Coster (born 1 July 1967) is an English actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Dietrich Banning in ''The Tuxedo'' (2002), the Chechen in ''The Dark Knight'' (2008), Elias Kassar in '' Blackhat'' (2015), Mayor Austin Chessani on ...
as
crime boss
A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization.
Description
A crime boss typically has absolute or nearl ...
es
Sal Maroni
Salvatore Vincent Maroni is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman. The substantial character is portrayed as an infamous gangster of Italian descent in Gotham City and a ...
, Gambol, and the Chechen respectively; and
Chin Han portrays Lau, a Chinese criminal banker. The GCPD cast includes
Colin McFarlane
Colin Andrew Ignatius Peter McFarlane (born 15 September 1961) is a British actor, narrator and voice actor. He is best known for his role as Gillian B. Loeb in two films of Christopher Nolan's ''The Dark Knight Trilogy'', Ulysses in the STARZ ...
as commissioner
Gillian B. Loeb
Gillian B. Loeb is a fictional character in the DC Universe who serves as an enemy to Batman's ally James Gordon in DC Comics publications.
The character was portrayed by Colin McFarlane in ''The Dark Knight'' trilogy and Peter Scolari in the ...
,
Keith Szarabajka
Keith Szarabajka (; ; born December 2, 1952) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Mickey Kostmayer on '' The Equalizer'', Daniel Holtz on ''Angel'', Gerard Stephens in '' The Dark Knight'' and Adam Engell in '' Argo''. ...
and
Ron Dean
Ron Dean (born August 15, 1938) is an American film and television actor. He appeared in films including ''Rudy'', '' Risky Business'', ''The Breakfast Club'', '' Cocktail'', ''The Babe'', '' The Fugitive'', ''The Client'', and ''The Dark Knight ...
as detectives Stephens and Wuertz,
Monique Gabriela Curnen
Monique Gabriela Curnen (born September 7, 1970) is an American actress.
Early life and education
Curnen was born on September 7, 1970. Her mother is from Puerto Rico, and her father is of German and Irish descent. She grew up in Framingham, Mas ...
as rookie detective Anna Ramirez
and
Philip Bulcock
Philip Bulcock (born 6 July 1970) is an English actor who has appeared in numerous award-winning film and theatre productions. He played the part of The Four Seasons' bassist and vocal arranger, Nick Massi in the original cast of the Olivier A ...
as Murphy.
The cast also features
Joshua Harto
Joshua Denver Harto (born January 9, 1979) is an American actor, television producer and writer.
Early life and education
Harto was born in Huntington, West Virginia. He is a graduate of the Dreyfoos School of the Arts.
Career
As an actor ...
as Wayne Enterprises employee Coleman Reese,
Anthony Michael Hall
Michael Anthony Hall (born April 14, 1968), known professionally as Anthony Michael Hall, is an American actor best known for his leading role as Johnny Smith in '' The Dead Zone'' from 2002 to 2007. He also rose to fame starring in films with ...
as news reporter Mike Engel,
Néstor Carbonell
Néstor Gastón Carbonell (; born December 1, 1967) is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. He came to prominence for his role as Luis Rivera in the NBC sitcom ''Suddenly Susan''. He is known for his roles as Richard Alpert in the ABC ...
as mayor Anthony Garcia,
William Fichtner
William Edward Fichtner (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on ''Invasion'', Alexander Mahone on ''Prison Break'', Carl Hickman on ''Crossing Lines'', and Adam Janikowski on ...
as a bank manager, Nydia Rodriguez Terracina as Judge Surrillo,
Tom "Tiny" Lister Jr. as a prisoner,
Beatrice Rosen
Beatrice Rosen (born Béatrice Rosenblatt) is a French-American actress. She is internationally known for her role in the film ''2012'' (2009).
Early life and education
Rosen was born in New York City and grew up in Paris where she started acti ...
as Wayne's Russian ballerina date, and
David Dastmalchian
David Dastmalchian (; born July 21, 1975) is an American film and stage actor. He has had supporting roles in a number of superhero franchises; he portrayed Thomas Schiff in ''The Dark Knight'', Kurt in the first two Marvel Cinematic Univers ...
as the Joker's
paranoid schizophrenic
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. ...
henchman Thomas Schiff.
Melinda McGraw
Melinda McGraw (born October 25, 1968) is an American actress. She has starred in movies such as ''The Dark Knight'' (2008), ''Wrongfully Accused'' (1998), and ''Skateland'' (2010), and is also known for her television performances on ''Mad Men'' ...
,
Nathan Gamble
Nathan Gamble (born January 12, 1998) is an American actor who made his feature film debut in '' Babel'' (2006), for which he was nominated for a 2007 Young Artist Award. He is best known for his role as Sawyer Nelson in ''Dolphin Tale'' and the ...
, and Hannah Gunn portray Gordon's wife Barbara, his son
James Jr., and his daughter, respectively.
''The Dark Knight'' features several cameo appearances, including
Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy (; born 25 May 1976) is an Irish actor. Originally the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of the rock band The Sons of Mr. Green Genes, he turned down a record deal in the late 1990s and began acting on stage and in short and ...
, who reprises his role as
Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow from ''
Batman Begins
''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, with Michael Caine, Liam ...
'';
musical performer
Matt Skiba;
as well as
United States Senator
The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
and life-long Batman fan
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who is the senior United States senator from Vermont and serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, ...
, who has appeared in or voiced characters in other ''Batman'' media.
Production
Development
Following the critical and financial success of ''Batman Begins'' (2005), the film studio
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of liv ...
prioritized a sequel. Although ''Batman Begins'' ends with a scene in which Batman is presented with a
joker playing card, teasing the introduction of his archenemy, the Joker,
Christopher Nolan
Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Cinema of the United States, Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. ...
did not intend to make a sequel and was unsure ''Batman Begins'' would be successful enough to warrant one.
Christopher, alongside his wife and longtime producer
Emma Thomas
Emma Thomas Nolan (born 9 December 1971) is an English film producer, known for frequent collaborations with her husband, filmmaker Christopher Nolan. Her producing credits include '' The Dark Knight Trilogy'' (2005–2012), ''The Prestige'' (2 ...
, had never worked on a sequel film
but he and co-writer
David Goyer
David Samuel Goyer (born December 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker, novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several superhero films, including '' Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (1998), the ''Blade'' ...
discussed ideas for a sequel during filming. Goyer developed an outline for two sequels, but Christopher remained unsure how to continue the ''Batman Begins'' narrative while keeping it consistent and relevant, though he was interested in utilizing the Joker in ''Begins'' grounded, realistic style.
Discussions between Warner Bros. Pictures and Christopher began shortly after ''Batman Begins''s theatrical release, and development began following the production of Christopher's ''
The Prestige
''The Prestige'' is a 1995 fantasy novel by British writer Christopher Priest. It tells the story of a prolonged feud between two stage magicians in late 1800s England. It is epistolary in structure; that is, it purports to be a collection of ...
'' (2006).
Writing
Goyer and Christopher collaborated for three months to develop ''The Dark Knight'' core plot points.
They wanted to explore the theme of escalation and the idea that Batman's extraordinary efforts to combat common crimes would lead to an opposing escalation by criminals, attracting the Joker, who uses terrorism as a weapon. The joker playing card scene in ''Batman Begins'' was intended to convey the fallacy of Batman's belief his war on crime would be temporary.
Goyer and Christopher did not intentionally include real-world parallels to terrorism, the
war on terror
The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...
, and laws enacted to combat terrorists by the United States government because they believed making overtly political statements would detract from the story. They wanted it to resonate with and reflect contemporary audiences.
Christopher described ''The Dark Knight'' as representative of his own "fear of anarchy" and Joker represents an "somebody who wants to just tear down the world around him."
Although he was a fan of ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
'' (1989), starring
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...
as the Joker, Goyer did not consider Nicholson's portrayal scary and ''The Dark Knight''s Joker to be an unknowable, already-formed character, similar to the shark in ''
Jaws
Jaws or Jaw may refer to:
Anatomy
* Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth
** Mandible, the lower jaw
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker''
* ...
'' (1975), without a "cliché" origin story. Christopher and Goyer did not give their Joker an origin story or a narrative arc, believing it made the character scarier; Christopher described their film as the "rise of the Joker". They felt the threat of cinematic villains such as
Hannibal Lecter
Dr. Hannibal Lecter is a Character (arts), fictional character created by the novelist Thomas Harris. Lecter is a serial killer who Human cannibalism, eats his victims. Before his capture, he was a respected Forensic psychiatry, forensic psychi ...
and
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...
had been undermined by subsequent films depicting their origins.
With Christopher's help, his brother
Jonathan spent six months developing the story into a draft screenplay. After submitting the draft to Warner Bros., Jonathan spent a further two months refining it until Christopher had finished directing ''The Prestige''. The pair collaborated on the final script over the next six months during pre-production for ''The Dark Knight''.
Jonathan found the "poignant" ending the script's most interesting aspect; it had always depicted Batman fleeing from police but was changed from him leaping across rooftops to escaping on the
Batpod
The Batcycle, Batblade, or Batpod is the fictional personal motorcycle of the DC Comics superhero Batman. In the comic book universe, Batman's personal Batcycle is a modified street-bike with a 786 cc liquid-cooled V-4 engine. It contains a comp ...
, his motorcycle-like vehicle. The dialogue Johnathan considered most important, "you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain", came late in development. Influenced by films such as ''
The Godfather
''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...
'' (1972) and ''
Heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...
'' (1995), and maintaining ''Batman Begins'' tone, their finished script bore more resemblance to a crime drama than a traditional
superhero film
A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature Action film, ac ...
.
Comic-book influences included writer
Frank Miller
Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on Daredevil (Marvel Comics ser ...
's 1980s works, which portray characters in a serious tone, and the limited series ''
Batman: The Long Halloween'' (1996–1997), which explores the relationship between Batman, Dent, and Gordon.
Dent was written as ''The Dark Knight'' central character, serving as the center of the battle between Batman, who believes Dent is the hero the city needs, and the Joker, who wants to prove even the most righteous people can be corrupted. Christopher said the title refers to Dent as equally as Batman. He considered Dent as having a duality similar to Batman's, providing interesting dramatic potential.
Focusing on Dent meant Bruce Wayne / Batman was written as a generally static character who did not undergo drastic character development.
Christopher found writing the Joker the easiest aspect of the script. The Nolans identified the traits common to his media incarnations and were influenced by the character's comic-book appearances as well as the villain
Dr. Mabuse
Dr. Mabuse is a fictional character created by Norbert Jacques in his 1921 novel ('Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler'), and his 1932 follow-up novel ''Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse'' (1932).
The character was made famous by three films about the character ...
from the films of
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...
.
Writer
Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...
's
graphic novel
A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
, ''
Batman: The Killing Joke'' (1988), did not influence the main narrative but Christopher believed his interpretation of the Joker as someone partially driven to prove anyone can become like him when pushed far enough helped the Nolans give purpose to an "inherently purposeless" character.
The Joker was written as a purely evil psychopath and anarchist who lacks reason, logic, and fear, and could test the moral and ethical limits of Batman, Dent, and Gordon. Christopher and Jonathan later realized they had inadvertently written their version similarly to Joker's first appearance in ''Batman'' #1 (1940). The final scene, in which the Joker states he and Batman are destined to battle forever, was not intended to tease a sequel but to convey the diametrically opposed pair were in an endless conflict because they will not kill each other.
Casting
![Maggie Gyllenhaal at the 82nd Academy Awards (cropped 2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Maggie_Gyllenhaal_at_the_82nd_Academy_Awards_%28cropped_2%29.jpg)
Describing how his character had evolved from ''Batman Begins'', Christian Bale said Wayne had changed from a young, naive, and angry man seeking purpose to a hero who is burdened by the realization his war against crime is seemingly endless.
Because the new Batsuit allowed him to be more agile, Bale did not increase his muscle mass as much as he had for ''Batman Begins''. Christopher had deliberately obscured combat in the previous film because it was intended to portray Batman from the criminals' point of view. The improved Batsuit design let him show more of Bale's Keysi-fighting method training.
Christopher was aware Nicholson's popular portrayal of the Joker would invite comparisons to his version, and wanted an actor who could cope with the associated scrutiny. Ledger's casting in August 2006 was criticized by some industry professionals and members of the public who considered him inappropriate for the role; executive producer
Charles Roven
Charles Roven (born August 2, 1949) is an American film producer and the president and co-founder of Atlas Entertainment. He is known for producing the superhero films ''The Dark Knight Trilogy'', ''Suicide Squad'', '' Man of Steel'', '' Batman ...
said Ledger was the only person seriously considered, and that ''Batman Begins'' positive reception would help alleviate any concerns. Christopher was confident in the casting because discussions between himself and Ledger had demonstrated they shared similar ideas regarding the Joker's portrayal.
Ledger said he had some trepidation in succeeding Nicholson in the role but that the challenge excited him.
He described his interpretation as a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy", and avoided humanizing him. He was influenced by
Alex
Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis.
People
Multiple
*Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people
* Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple pe ...
from the crime film ''
A Clockwork Orange
''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to:
* ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess
** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel
*** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...
'' (1971), and British musicians
Johnny Rotten
John Joseph Lydon (; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the late-1970s punk band the Sex Pistols, which lasted from 1975 until 1978, and agai ...
and
Sid Vicious
John Simon Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the ...
.
Ledger spent about a month secluding himself in a hotel room while reading relevant comic books. He developed the character's voice by mixing a high-pitch and low-pitch, which was inspired by ventriloquist performances. His fighting style was designed to appear improvised and erratic. Ledger spent a further four months creating a "Joker diary" containing images and elements he believed would resonate with his character, such as finding the disease
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
humorous.
Describing his performance, Ledger said: "It's the most fun I've had with a character and probably will ever have... It was an exhausting process. At the end of the day, I couldn't move. I couldn't talk. I was absolutely wrecked."
In a November 2007 interview, Ledger said when committing himself to any role, he had difficulty sleeping because he could not relax his mind, and often slept only two hours a night during filming.
Christopher wanted to cast an actor with an all-American "heroic presence" for Harvey Dent, something he likened to
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...
but with an undercurrent of anger or darkness.
Josh Lucas
Joshua Lucas Easy Dent Maurer (born June 20, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in various films, including '' American Psycho'' (2000), '' You Can Count on Me'' (2000), '' The Deep End'' (2001), '' A Beautiful Mind'' (20 ...
,
Ryan Phillippe
Matthew Ryan Phillippe (; born September 10, 1974) is an American actor. After appearing as Billy Douglas on the soap opera ''One Life to Live'', he came to fame in the late 1990s with starring roles in films including ''I Know What You Did Las ...
, and
Mark Ruffalo
Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor and producer best known for playing Bruce Banner / Hulk since 2012 in the superhero franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the television series '' She-Hulk: Attorne ...
were considered, as well as
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Americ ...
, who could not commit due to scheduling conflicts. According to Christopher, Eckhart had the all-American charm and "aura ... of a good man pushed too far".
Eckhart found portraying conflicted characters to be interesting; he said the difference between Dent and Batman is the distance they are willing to go for their causes, and that after Dent's corruption he remains a crime fighter but he takes this to an extreme because he dislikes the restrictions of the law.
Eckhart's performance was influenced by the
Kennedy family
The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy be ...
, particularly
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
, who fought organized crime with a similarly idealistic view of the law.
During discussions on the portrayal of Dent's transformation into Two-Face, Eckhart and Christopher agreed to ignore
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' The ...
's "colorful" portrayal in ''
Batman Forever
''Batman Forever'' (on-screen title is simply ''Forever'') is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton, based on the DC Comics character Batman by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The third installment of W ...
'' (1995), in which the character has pink hair and wears a split designer suit, in favor of a more realistic, slightly burnt, neutral-toned suit.
Describing his role as GCPD sergeant James Gordon, Oldman said Gordon is the "moral center" of ''The Dark Knight'', an honest and incorruptible character struggling with the limits of his morality.
Maggie Gyllenhaal replaced
Katie Holmes
Kate Noelle Holmes (born December 18, 1978) is an American actress. She first achieved fame as Joey Potter on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003).
Holmes made her feature film debut in 1997 with a supporting role in Ang Lee ...
as Rachel Dawes, as Holmes chose to star in the crime comedy ''
Mad Money
''Mad Money'' is an American finance television program hosted by Jim Cramer that began airing on CNBC on March 14, 2005. Its main focus is investment and speculation, particularly in public company stocks.
Cramer defines "mad money" as th ...
'' (2008) instead.
Gyllenhaal approached Rachel as a new character and did not reference Holmes's previous performance. Christopher described Rachel as the emotional connection between Wayne and Dent, ultimately serving as a further personal loss to fuel Wayne's character. Gyllenhaal collaborated with Christopher on the character's depiction because she wanted Rachel to be important and meaningful in her relatively minor role. Musician
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album '' Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerab ...
turned down a role as the bank manager or a corrupt police officer because he was recording his album ''
Dwight Sings Buck
''Dwight Sings Buck'' is country music artist Dwight Yoakam's 17th studio album, and a tribute album to Buck Owens. The album was released on October 23, 2007 (Yoakam's 51st birthday), by New West Records.
Background
Buck Owens and the Bakersfie ...
'' (2007).
Pre-production
In October 2006, location scouting for Gotham City took place in the UK in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
,
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, London, and parts of
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, and in several cities in the U.S.
Christopher chose Chicago because he liked the area and believed it offered interesting architectural features without being as recognizable as locations in better-known cities such as New York City.
Chicagoan authorities had been supportive during filming of ''Batman Begins'', allowing the production to shut stretches of roads, freeways, and bridges. Christopher wanted to exchange the more natural, scenic settings of ''Batman Begins'' such as the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
and caverns for a modern, structured environment the Joker could disassemble. Production designer
Nathan Crowley
Nathan Crowley (born 28 February 1966) is an English production designer and a former art director, who is best known for his collaborations with Christopher Nolan. He was nominated six times for an Academy Award for Best Production Design for ' ...
said the clean, neat lines of Chicagoan architecture enhanced the urban-crime drama they wanted to make, and that Batman had helped improve the city. The destruction of Wayne Manor in ''Batman Begins'' provided an opportunity to move Wayne to a modern, sparse penthouse, reflecting his loneliness. Sets were still used for some interiors such as the Bat Bunker, the replacement for the
Batcave
The Batcave is a subterranean location appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the headquarters of the superhero Batman, whose secret identity is Bruce Wayne and his partners, consisting of caves beneath his personal r ...
, on the outskirts of the city. The production team considered placing it in the penthouse basement but believed it was too unrealistic a solution.
Much of ''The Dark Knight'' was filmed using
Panavision's Panaflex Millennium XL and Platinum cameras but Christopher wanted to film about 40 minutes with
IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graeme F ...
cameras, a high-resolution technology using
70 mm film
70 mm film (or 65 mm film) is a wide high-resolution film gauge for motion picture photography, with a negative area nearly 3.5 times as large as the standard 35 mm motion picture film format. As used in cameras, the film is wid ...
rather than the more-commonly used format
35 mm; the finished film includes 15–20% IMAX footage, running for about 28 minutes. This made it the first major motion picture to use IMAX technology, which was generally employed for documentaries. Warner Bros. was reluctant to endorse the use of the technology because the cameras were large and unwieldy, and purchasing and processing the film stock cost up to four times as much as typical 35 mm film. Christopher said cameras that could be used on
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
could be used for ''The Dark Knight'', and had cinematographer
Wally Pfister
Walter C. Pfister (born July 8, 1961) is an American director and former cinematographer, who is best known for his work with filmmaker Christopher Nolan. Some of his collaborations with Nolan include '' Memento'' (2000), ''The Dark Knight Tril ...
and his crew begin training to use the equipment in January 2007 to test its feasibility.
Christopher particularly wanted to film the bank heist prologue in IMAX to immediately convey the difference in scope between ''The Dark Knight'' and ''Batman Begins''.
Filming in Chicago
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began on April 18, 2007, in Chicago on a $185million budget. For ''The Dark Knight'', Pfister chose to combine the "rust-style" visuals of ''Batman Begins'' with the "dusk"-like color scheme of ''The Prestige'' (cobalt blues, greens, blacks, and whites), in part to address over-dark scenes in ''Batman Begins''.
To avoid attention, filming in Chicago took place under the working title ''Rory's First Kiss'' but the production's true nature was quickly uncovered by media publications.
The Joker's homemade videos were filmed and mainly directed by Ledger. Caine said he forgot his lines during a scene involving one video because of Ledger's "stunning" performance.
The first scene filmed was the bank heist, which was shot in the
Old Chicago Main Post Office
The Old Chicago Main Post Office is a nine-story-tall building in downtown Chicago. The original building was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White and built in 1921, but the structure was expanded greatly in 1932 in order to serve Chi ...
over five days.
It was scheduled early to test the IMAX procedure, allowing it to be refilmed with traditional cameras if needed, and it was intended to be publicly released as part of the marketing campaign. Pfister described it as a week of patience and learning because of the four-day wait for the IMAX footage to be processed. Filming moved to England throughout May, returning to Chicago in June.
Filming took place in the lobby of
One Illinois Center
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit (measurement), unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment ...
, which served as Wayne's penthouse apartment; bookcases were built to hide the elevators. A floor of Two Illinois Center was decorated for Wayne's fundraiser. The crew was described as excited as this scene depicted the first meeting between Batman and the Joker. The windows in both settings were covered in
green screen
Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on colour hues ( chroma range). The technique has been used in many fields to r ...
material, allowing Gotham City visuals to be added later.
In July, three weeks were spent filming the truck chase scene, mainly on
Wacker Drive
Wacker Drive is a major multilevel street in Chicago, Illinois, running along the south side of the main branch and the east side of the south branch of the Chicago River in the Loop.Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee, ''Streetwise Chicago'', "Wacker D ...
, a multi-level street that had to be closed overnight.
During filming, Christopher added a set-piece of a SWAT van crashing through a concrete barricade. The sequence continued on
LaSalle Street
LaSalle Street is a major north-south street in Chicago named for Robert de La Salle, a 17th century French explorer of the Illinois Country. The portion that runs through the Chicago Loop is considered to be Chicago's financial district.
Sout ...
, which was also used for the GCPD funeral procession, for a practical truck-flip stunt and helicopter sequence. Additional segments were filmed on Monroe Street and
Randolph Street
Randolph Street is a street in Chicago. It runs east–west through the Chicago Loop, carrying westbound traffic west from Michigan Avenue across the Chicago River on the Randolph Street Bridge, interchanging with the Kennedy Expressway (I-90/ I- ...
, and at
Randolph Street Station
Millennium Station (formerly Randolph Street Terminal; sometimes called Randolph Street station or Randolph/South Water Street station) is a major commuter rail terminal in the Loop (downtown), Chicago. It is the northern terminus of the Metra ...
.
Navy Pier
Navy Pier is a pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Navy Pier encompasses over of parks, gardens, shops, restaurants, famil ...
, along the shore of
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
, served as Gotham Harbor in a climactic ferry scene. Scouts spent over a month searching for suitable vessels but were unsuccessful, so construction coordinator Joe Ondrejko and his team built ferry facades atop barges.
The entire sequence was filmed in one day and involved 800
extra
Extra or Xtra may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film
* ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film
* ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film
Literature
* ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper
* ''Extra!'', an American me ...
s, who were moved through makeup and clothing departments in shifts. Exterior footage of the Gotham Prewitt Building, the site of Batman's and the Joker's final confrontation, was filmed at the in-construction
Trump International Hotel and Tower Trump International Hotel may refer to:
Current
Five buildings are named Trump Hotels with four owned/operated by the Trump organization:
* Trump International Hotel and Tower (Chicago)
* Trump International Hotel and Tower (New York City)
* Tru ...
. The owners refused permission to film a stunt in which Batman suspends a SWAT team from the building, so this was filmed from the fortieth floor of a separate building site. A former
Brach's
Brach's () is a candy and sweets brand of Ferrara Candy Company.
History
In 1904, Emil J. Brach invested his $1,000 life savings in a storefront candy store. He named it "Brach's Palace of Sweets" and it was located at the corner of North Avenu ...
candy factory on
Cicero Avenue
Cicero Avenue, also known as Skokie Boulevard in Skokie and Wilmette, is a major north-south street in Chicago and its suburbs in Cook and Will Counties. It carries Illinois Route 50 from its south end to Skokie, and U.S. Route 41 from Skokie ...
scheduled for demolition was used to film the Gotham General Hospital explosion in August 2007.
Filming in Chicago concluded on September 1, ending with scenes of Wayne driving and crashing his car, before the production returned to England.
''The Dark Knight'' includes Chicago locations such as Lake Michigan, which doubled as the
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
where Wayne boards a seaplane;
Richard J. Daley Center
The Richard J. Daley Center, also known by its open courtyard Daley Plaza and named after longtime mayor Richard J. Daley, is the premier civic center of the City of Chicago in Illinois. The Center's modernist skyscraper primarily houses of ...
(Wayne Enterprises exteriors and a courtroom);
The Berghoff restaurant (GCPD arresting mobsters);
Twin Anchors restaurant; the Sound Bar;
McCormick Place
McCormick Place is the largest convention center in North America. It consists of four interconnected buildings and one indoor arena sited on and near the shore of Lake Michigan, about south of downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States. McCor ...
(Wayne Enterprises interiors); and
Chicago Theatre
The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark theater located on North State Street in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 1921, the Chicago Theatre was the flagship for the Balaban an ...
.
330 North Wabash served as offices used by Dent, mayor Garcia, and commissioner Loeb; and its thirteenth floor appears as Wayne Enterprises' boardroom; Pfister enhanced its large, panoramic windows and natural light with an glass table and reflective bulbs. A Randolph Street parking garage is where Batman captures Scarecrow and Batman impersonators. Christopher wanted several
Rottweiler
The Rottweiler (, ) is a breed of domestic dog, regarded as medium-to-large or large. The dogs were known in German as , meaning Rottweil butchers' dogs, because their main use was to herd livestock and pull carts laden with butchered mea ...
dogs in the scene but locating a dog-handler willing to simultaneously manage several dogs was difficult.
A scene of Batman surveying the city from a rooftop edge was filmed atop
Willis Tower
The Willis Tower (originally the Sears Tower) is a 108-story, skyscraper in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), ...
, Chicago's tallest building. Stuntman Buster Reeves was due to double as Batman, but Bale persuaded the filmmakers to let him perform the scene himself.
The thirteen weeks of filming in Chicago was estimated to have generated $45million for the city's economy and thousands of local jobs.
Filming in England and Hong Kong
![RAF-Cardington01-full](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/RAF-Cardington01-full.jpg)
Many interior locations for ''The Dark Knight'' were filmed on sets at
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London.
The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...
,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
, and
Cardington Airfield
Cardington Airfield, previously RAF Cardington, is a former Royal Air Force station in Bedfordshire, England, with a long and varied history, particularly in relation to airships and balloons.
Most of the former RAF station is in the parish o ...
,
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...
; these locations include the Bat Bunker, which took six weeks to build in a Cardington hangar. The Bat Bunker was based on 1960s Chicago building designs, and was integrated into existing concrete floor, and used the long, tall ceiling to create a broad perspective. The tall hangar was unsuitable for suspending the bunker roof, and an encompassing gantry was built to hold it and the lighting.
After moving from Chicago in May, scenes filmed in the UK also include
Criterion Restaurant
The Criterion Restaurant is an opulent restaurant complex facing Piccadilly Circus in the heart of London. It was built by architect Thomas Verity in '' Neo-Byzantine'' style for the partnership Spiers and Pond, which opened it in 1873. Apar ...
, where Rachel, Dent, and Wayne share dinner, and a Gotham News scene that was filmed at the
University of Westminster
, mottoeng = The Lord is our Strength
, type = Public
, established = 1838: Royal Polytechnic Institution 1891: Polytechnic-Regent Street 1970: Polytechnic of Central London 1992: University of Westminster
, endowment = £5.1 million ...
. The GCPD headquarters was rebuilt in the
Farmiloe Building
The Farmiloe Building is a Grade II listed building in Clerkenwell, London, in the London Borough of Islington.
History
The Farmiloe Building, of Victorian architecture, was completed by Browne & Robinson in 1868. The architect for the building ...
. During the interrogation scene, Ledger asked Bale to actually hit him, and although he declined, Ledger cracked and dented the walls by throwing himself around.
After returning to England in the middle of September, scenes were filmed for the ferry, hospital, and Gotham Prewitt building interiors. By mid-October, interior and exterior scenes of Rachel being held hostage surrounded by barrels of gasoline were filmed at
Battersea Power Station
Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned Grade II* listed coal-fired power station, located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Nine Elms, Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power Company (LPC) ...
. To avoid damaging the power station, a
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, a false wall was built in front of it and lined with explosives. Nearby residents contacted emergency services believing the explosion was a terrorist attack. Filming in England concluded at the end of October with a variety of green-screen shots for the truck-chase sequence, and shots of Rachel being thrown from a window were filmed on a set at Cardington.
The final nine days of production took place in Hong Kong and included aerial footage from atop the
International Finance Centre, as well as filming at
Central to Mid-Levels escalator,
The Center
The Center () is the fifth tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong, after International Commerce Centre, Two International Finance Centre (88 storeys), Central Plaza and Bank of China Tower. With a height of , it comprises 73 storeys. The center is ...
,
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
,
The Peninsula Hong Kong
The Peninsula Hong Kong is a colonial-style luxury hotel located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is the flagship property of The Peninsula Hotels group, part of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Group. The hotel opened in 1928 and w ...
, and
Queen's Road; and a stunt involving Batman catching an in-flight
C-130
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...
aircraft. Despite extensive rehearsals of Reeves jumping from the
McClurg Building in Chicago, a planned stunt to depict Batman leaping from one Hong Kong skyscraper to another was canceled because local authorities refused permission for helicopter use; Pfister described the officials as a "nightmare".
Christopher disputed a report that said a scene of Batman leaping into
Victoria Harbour
Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental i ...
was canceled because of pollution concerns, saying it was a script decision.
The 127-day shoot concluded on November 15, on time and under budget.
Post-production
Editing was underway in January 2008 when Ledger, aged 28, died from an accidental overdose of a prescription drug. A rumor his commitment to his performance as the Joker had affected his mental state circulated, but this was later refuted. Christopher said editing the film became "tremendously emotional, right when he passed, having to go back in and look at him every day
uring editing.. but the truth is, I feel very lucky to have something productive to do, to have a performance that he was very, very proud of, and that he had entrusted to me to finish".
Because Christopher preferred to capture sound while filming rather than
re-recording dialogue in post-production, Ledger's work had been completed before his death, and Christopher did not modify the Joker's narrative in response.
Christopher added a dedication to Ledger and stuntman Conway Wickliffe, who died during rehearsals for a Tumbler (
Batmobile
The Batmobile is the fictional car driven by the superhero Batman. Housed in the Batcave, which it accesses through a hidden entrance, the Batmobile is both a heavily armored tactical assault vehicle and a personalized custom-built pursuit a ...
) stunt.
Alongside lead editor
Lee Smith Lee Smith is the name of:
Arts, entertainment and media
*Lee Smith (fiction author) (born 1944), American author of fiction
*Lee Smith (film editor) (born 1960), Australian film editor
*Lee Smith (musician) (born 1983), American drummer
*Lee Smith ...
, Christopher took an "aggressive editorial approach" to editing ''The Dark Knight'' to achieve its 152-minute running time. Christopher said no scenes were deleted because he believed every scene was essential, and that unnecessary material had been cut before filming. The Nolans had difficulties refining the script to reduce the running time but after removing so much material they believed it had become incomprehensible, they had added more scenes.
Special effects and design
Unlike the design process of ''Batman Begins'', which was restrained by a need to represent Batman iconography, audience acceptance of its realistic setting gave ''The Dark Knight'' more design freedom.
Chris Corbould
Christopher Charles Corbould, (; born 1958) is a British special effects coordinator best known for his work on major blockbuster films and the action scenes on 15 ''James Bond'' films since The Spy Who Loved Me. He has also worked extensivel ...
, the film's
special effects supervisor
A special effects supervisor, also referred to as a special effects director, special effects coordinator or SFX supervisor, is an individual who works on a commercial, theater, television or film set creating special effects. They are generally th ...
, oversaw the 700 effect shots
Double Negative
A double negative is a construction occurring when two forms of grammatical negation are used in the same sentence. Multiple negation is the more general term referring to the occurrence of more than one negative in a clause. In some languages, ...
and
Framestore
Framestore is a British animation, visual effects company and creative studio based on Chancery Lane in London. Formed in 1986, it acquired (and subsequently merged with) the Computer Film Company in 1997. It works on feature films and tele ...
produced; there were relatively few effects compared to equivalent films because Christopher only used
computer-generated imaging
Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images may ...
where practical effects would not suffice. Production designer
Nathan Crowley
Nathan Crowley (born 28 February 1966) is an English production designer and a former art director, who is best known for his collaborations with Christopher Nolan. He was nominated six times for an Academy Award for Best Production Design for ' ...
designed the Batpod (
Batcycle
The Batcycle, Batblade, or Batpod is the fictional personal motorcycle of the DC Comics superhero Batman. In the comic book universe, Batman's personal Batcycle is a modified street-bike with a 786 cc liquid-cooled V4 engine, V-4 engine. It conta ...
) because Christopher did not want to extensively re-use the Tumbler. Corbould's team built the Batpod, which is based on a prototype Crowley and Christopher built by
combining different commercial model components.
The unwieldy, wide-tired vehicle could only be ridden by stuntman Jean Pierre Goy after months of training.
The Gotham General Hospital explosion was not in the script but added during filming because Corbould believed it could be done.
Hemming, Crowley, Christopher, and Jamie Rama re-designed the Batsuit to make it more comfortable and flexible, developing a costume made from a stretchy material covered in over 100 urethane armor pieces.
Sculptor Julian Murray developed Dent's burnt-facial design, which is based on Christopher's request for a skeletal appearance. Murray went through designs that were "too real and more horrifying" before settling on a more "fanciful" and detailed but less-repulsive version.
Hemming designed Joker's overall appearance, which he based on fashion-and-music celebrities to create a modern and trendy look. Influence also came from the 1953 painting ''
Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X'' by
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...
—suggested by Christopher— and the character's comic-book appearances.
The outfit consists of a purple coat, a green vest, an antique shirt, and a thin, 1960s-style tie that Ledger suggested. Prosthetics supervisor
Conor O'Sullivan created Joker's scars, which he partly based on a scarred delivery man he met, and used his own technique to create and apply the supple, skin-like prosthesis.
John Caglione Jr
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
designed Joker's "organic" makeup to look as though it had been worn for days; this idea was partly based on more of Bacon's works. Caglione Jr used a theatrical makeup technique for the application; he instructed Ledger to scrunch up his face so different cracks and textures were created once the makeup was applied and Ledger relaxed. Ledger always applied the lipstick himself, believing it was essential to his characterization.
Music
Composers
James Newton Howard
James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...
and
Hans Zimmer
Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, Oscars and four Grammy Awards, Grammys, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Tony Awar ...
, who had also worked on ''Batman Begins'', scored ''The Dark Knight'' because Christopher believed it was important to bridge the musical-narrative gap between the films. The score was recorded at
Air Studios
Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producer Sir George Martin and his business partner John Burgess, after their departure from Parlophone. The studio complex was founded ...
, London. Howard and Zimmer composed the score without seeing the film because Christopher wanted them to be influenced by the characters and story rather than fitting specific on-screen elements.
Howard and Zimmer separated their duties by character; Howard focused on Dent and Zimmer focused on Batman and the Joker. Zimmer did not consider Batman to be strictly noble and wrote the theme to not seem "super".
Howard wrote about ten minutes of music for Dent, wanting to portray him as an American who represents hope, but undergoes an emotional extreme and moral corruption. He used brass instruments for both moral ends but warped the sound as Dent is corrupted.
Zimmer wanted to use a single note for the Joker's theme; he said, "imagine one note that starts off slightly agitated and then goes to serious aggravation and finally rips your head off at the end". He could not make it work, however, and used two notes with alternating tempos and a "
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
" influence.
The theme was influenced by
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
innovators
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...
and Zimmer's work with rock band
The Damned. He wanted to convey elements of the Joker's corrosion, recklessness, and "otherworldliness" by combining electronic and orchestral music, and modifying almost every note after recording to emulate sounds including thunder and razors.
He attempted to develop original sounds with synthesizers, trying to create an "offputting" result by instructing musicians to start with a single note and gradually shift to the second over a three-minute period; the musicians found this difficult because it was the opposite of their training. It took several months to achieve Zimmer's desired result.
Following Ledger's death, Zimmer considered discarding the theme for a more traditional one but he and Howard believed they should honor Ledger's performance.
Release
Marketing and anti-piracy
''The Dark Knight''s marketing campaign was developed by
alternate reality game
An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players' ideas or actions.
The form is defined by inten ...
(ARG) development company
42 Entertainment
42 Entertainment is an American company based in Burbank which specializes in creating and producing alternate reality games (ARGs). The company was founded in 2003 as an independently owned, creative content and interactive agency under the nam ...
. Christopher wanted the team to focus on countering the negative reaction to Ledger's casting and controlling the revelation of the Joker's appearance.
Influenced by the script and the comic books ''The Killing Joke'', ''The Long Halloween'', and ''
Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth'' (1989), 42 Entertainment paced the ARG over annual events, although Warner Bros. rejected their ideas to use Jokerized Santas at Christmas, coffins filled with chattering teeth on Mother's Day (mocking Wayne's late mother), and Batman actors on rooftops due to safety concerns.
The ARG began in May 2007 with campaign posters for Dent and Joker playing cards bearing the phrase "I believe in Harvey Dent" were hidden inside comic books at stores around the U.S. This led people to a website where they could submit their e-mail addresses to reveal a pixel of a concealed Joker image; about 97,000 e-mail addresses and 20 hours were required to reveal the image in full, which was well-received. At the
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
, 42 Entertainment modified 11,000 one-dollar bills with the Joker's image and the phrase "Why So Serious?" that led finders to a location. 42 Entertainment's initial plan to throw the bills from a balcony was canceled due to safety concerns, so the bills were covertly distributed to attendees. Although the event was expected to attract a few thousand people, 650,000 arrived and participated in activities that included calling a number taken from a plane flying overhead and wearing Joker makeup to commit disruptive acts with actors.
Globally, fans photographed letters on signs to form a
ransom note
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice.
When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...
. A U.S.-centric effort involved people recovering cellphones made by
Nokia
Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...
—a brand partner to the film—from a cake, which led to an early screening of the film's bank-heist prologue before its public release in December. Ledger's appearance in the prologue was well-received and positively changed the discourse around his casting.
Following Ledger's death, the campaign continued unchanged with a focus on Dent's election, which was influenced by the ongoing
2008 United States presidential election
The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from ...
. Warner Bros. was concerned public knowledge of Dent's character was poor; the campaign included signs, stickers, and "Dentmobiles" visiting U.S. cities to raise his profile. The campaign concluded in July with displays of the
Bat-Signal
The Bat-Signal is a distress signal device appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, as a means to summon the superhero, Batman. It is a specially modified searchlight with a stylized emblem of a bat affixed to the light, allowi ...
in Chicago and New York City that were eventually defaced by the Joker. Industry professionals considered the campaign innovative and successful.
Warner Bros. dedicated six months to
anti-piracy methods; the film industry lost an estimated $6.1billion to piracy in 2005. Delivery methods of film reels were randomized and copies had a
chain of custody
Chain of custody (CoC), in legal contexts, is the chronological documentation or paper trail that records the sequence of custody, control, transfer, analysis, and disposition of materials, including physical or electronic evidence. Of particular ...
to track who had access. Some theater staff were given night-vision goggles to identify people recording ''The Dark Knight'', and one person was caught in
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
. Warner Bros. considered its strategy a success, delaying the appearance of the first "poorly-lit"
camcorder
A camcorder is a self-contained portable electronic device with video and recording as its primary function. It is typically equipped with an articulating screen mounted on the left side, a belt to facilitate holding on the right side, hot-swa ...
version until 38–48 hours after its earliest global release in Australia.
Context
![The Dark Knight European Premier - Leicester square](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/The_Dark_Knight_European_Premier_-_Leicester_square.jpg)
Compared to 2007's $9.7billion box-office take, in 2008, lower revenues were expected due to the large number of comedies competing against each other and the release of films with dark tones, such as ''The Dark Knight'', during a period of rising living costs and election fatigue in the U.S. Fewer sequels, which generally performed well, were scheduled and only four—''The Dark Knight'', ''
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'', ''
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'', and ''
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' is a 2008 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and the fourth installment in the ''Indiana Jones'' series. Released and taking place 19 years after the previous ...
''—were predicted to be
blockbuster
Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to:
*Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived.
Corporations
* Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain
** Bl ...
s. ''Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' was the only film expected to easily earn over $300million.
''The Dark Knight'' was expected to sell well based on high audience anticipation, positive pre-release reviews, and a record $3.5million in IMAX pre-sales. Predictions placed its opening-weekend take above that of ''
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
''s $102.1million but below that of ''
Spider-Man 3
''Spider-Man 3'' is a 2007 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi from a screenplay by Raimi, his older brother Ivan and Alvin Sargent. It is the final installment in Raimi's ...
''s (2007) record $151.1million. Analysts said its success would be influenced by the lengthy running time that limited the number of screenings per day, and
counter-programming from the romantic comedy ''
Mamma Mia!''—which surveyed well with females—and the family comedy ''
Space Chimps
''Space Chimps'' is a 2008 computer-animated science fiction comedy film directed by Kirk DeMicco in his directional debut, and written by DeMicco and Rob Moreland. It features the voices of Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Patrick W ...
''. There was also a perceived limit on financial success for ''Batman'' films; the 1989 installment remained the franchise's highest-grossing release.
''The Dark Knight''s premiere took place on July 14, in IMAX in New York City. A block in
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
was closed for the event, which included a live performance of the film score by Howard and Zimmer. ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' said Ledger received several ovations, and that during the after-party, Warner Bros. executives struggled to maintain a balance between celebrating the successful response and commemorating Ledger.
Box office
![The Dark Knight Tumbler at European Premiere (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/The_Dark_Knight_Tumbler_at_European_Premiere_%28cropped%29.jpg)
On July 18, 2008, ''The Dark Knight'' was widely released in the U.S. and Canada in a record 4,366 theaters on an estimated 9,200 screens. It earned $158.4million during the weekend, a per-theater average of $36,282, breaking ''Spider-Man 3''s record and making it the number-one film ahead of ''Mamma Mia!'' ($27.8million) and ''
Hancock Hancock may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Hancock, Iowa
* Hancock, Maine
* Hancock, Maryland
* Hancock, Massachusetts
* Hancock, Michigan
* Hancock, Minnesota
* Hancock, Missouri
* Hancock, New Hampshire
** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshir ...
'' ($14million) in its third weekend. It set further records for the highest-grossing single-day ($67.2million on the Friday), Sunday ($43.6million), midnight opening ($18.5million, from 3,000 midnight screenings), and IMAX opening ($6.3million from about 94 locations), as well as the second-highest-grossing Saturday ($47.7million) behind ''Spider-Man 3'', and contributed to the highest-grossing weekend on record ($253.6million). The film benefited from repeat viewings by younger audiences and had broad appeal, with 52% of the audience being male and an equal number of those under 25 years old, and those of 25 or older.
''The Dark Knight'' broke more records, including for the highest-grossing opening week ($238.6million), and for three-, four-, five-, six-, seven-, eight-, nine-, and ten-day cumulative grosses, including the highest-grossing non-holiday Monday ($24.5million) and non-opening Tuesday ($20.9million, as well as the second-highest-grossing non-opening Wednesday ($18.4million), behind ''
Transformers
''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...
'' ($29.1million). It retained the number-one position in its second weekend with a total gross of $75.2million, ahead of the debuting ''
Step Brothers'' ($31million), giving it the highest-grossing second weekend.
It retained the number-one position in its third ($42.7million) and fourth ($26.1million) weekends, before falling to second place in its fifth, with a gross of $16.4million, behind the debuting ''
Tropic Thunder
''Tropic Thunder'' is a 2008 satirical action comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, who wrote the screenplay with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen. The film stars Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Jay Baruchel, and Brandon T. Jackson as a gro ...
'' ($25.8million).
''The Dark Knight'' remained in the top-ten highest-grossing films for ten weeks, and became the film to surpass $400million soonest (18 days) and $500million (45 days).
The film was playing in fewer than 100 theaters when it received a 300-theater relaunch in late January 2009 to raise its profile during nominations for the
81st Academy Awards
The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2008 and took place on February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30  ...
. This raised its total box office to $533.3million before it left theaters on March 5 after 33 weeks, making it the highest-grossing comic-book, superhero, and ''Batman'' film; the highest-grossing film of 2008; and the second-highest-grossing film ever (unadjusted for inflation), behind the 1997 romantic drama ''
Titanic
RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...
'' ($600.8million).
''The Dark Knight'' was released in Australia and Taiwan on Wednesday, July 16, 2008, and opened in twenty markets by the weekend. It earned about $40million combined, making it second to ''Hancock'' ($44.8million), which was playing in nearly four times as many countries. ''The Dark Knight'' was available in sixty-two countries by the end of August, although Warner Bros. decided not to release it in China, blaming "a number of pre-release conditions... as well as cultural sensitivities to some elements of the film".
''The Dark Knight'' earned about $469.7million outside the U.S. and Canada, its highest grosses coming from the United Kingdom ($89.1million), Australia ($39.9million), Germany ($29.7million), France ($27.5million), Mexico ($25million), South Korea ($24.7million), and Brazil ($20.2million). This made it the second-highest-grossing film of the year behind ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull''.
The film had grossed $997 million worldwide by January 2009.
Its reissue in the run-up to the Oscars enabled the film to exceed $1billion in February,
and it ultimately earned $1.003billion. It was the first superhero film to gross over $1billion, the highest-grossing film of 2008 worldwide, the fourth film to earn more than $1billion, and the fourth-highest-grossing film of its time behind ''
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' ($1.066billion), ''
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' ($1.119billion), and ''Titanic'' ($1.842billion). Rereleases have further raised its box-office take to $1.006 billion.
Reception
Critical response
![Heath Ledger (Berlin Film Festival 2006) revised](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Heath_Ledger_%28Berlin_Film_Festival_2006%29_revised.jpg)
''The Dark Knight'' received critical acclaim. On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film holds a approval rating from the aggregated reviews of critics, with an average score of . The consensus reads; "Dark, complex and unforgettable, ''The Dark Knight'' succeeds not just as an entertaining comic book film, but as a richly thrilling crime saga".
The film has a score of 84 out of 100 on
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
based on 39 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+-to-F scale.
Several publications called ''The Dark Knight'' the best comic-book hero adaptation ever made.
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
said it, alongside ''Iron Man'', had redefined the potential of superhero films by combining comic-book tropes with real world events. Some appreciated its complex moral tale about the effects of vigilantism and terrorism on contemporary society.
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy is an American film critic and professor who has taught at Columbia University, New School for Social Research, Wellesley College, Arizona State University and UCLA Film School. Levy currently teaches in the department of cinem ...
and
Manohla Dargis
Manohla June Dargis () is an American film critic. She is one of the chief film critics for ''The New York Times''. She is a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.
Career
Before being a film critic for ''The New York Times'', ...
praised the depiction of the characters as possessing both positive and negative aspects, such as Batman's efforts to end crime provoking unintended consequences and a greater response from criminals; Dargis believed ''The Dark Knight''s exploration of chaos, fear, and death, following the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
in 2001, represented "that American movies have entered a new era of ambivalence when it comes to their heroes or maybe just superness." Others criticized the dark, grim, intense, and self-serious tone as lacking any elements of fun or fantasy.
David Denby
David Denby (born 1943) is an American journalist. He served as film critic for ''The New Yorker'' until December 2014.
Early life and education
Denby grew up in New York City. He received a B. A. from Columbia University in 1965, and a master' ...
said ''The Dark Knight'' was a product of a "time of terror", but focused on embracing and unleashing it while cynically setting up a sequel.
Stephanie Zacharek
Stephanie Zacharek is an American film critic at ''Time'', based in New York City. From 2013 to 2015, she was the principal film critic for ''The Village Voice''. She was a 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist in criticism.
Early life
Stephanie Zachare ...
and
David Edelstein
David Edelstein (born 1959) is a freelance American film critic who has been the principal film critic for ''Slate'' and ''New York'' magazine, among others, and has appeared regularly on NPR's ''Fresh Air'' and ''CBS Sunday Morning'' programs. O ...
criticized a perceived lack of visual storytelling in favor of exposition, and aspects of the plot being difficult to follow amid the fast pace and loud score.
Christopher's action direction was criticized, especially during fight scenes where it could be difficult to see things clearly,
although the prologue bank heist was praised as among the film's best.
Ledger's performance received near-unanimous praise with the caveat that his death made the role both highly-anticipated and difficult to watch. Dargis, among others, described Ledger as realizing the Joker so convincingly, intensely, and viscerally it made the audience forget about the actor behind the makeup. ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'' wrote the performance would have made Ledger a legend even if he had lived. Other reviews said Ledger outshone Nicholson's "magnificent" performance with macabre humor and malevolence.
Reviews generally agreed the Joker was the best-written character, and that Ledger commanded scenes from the entire cast to create one of the most mesmerizing cinematic villains. Zacharek, however, lamented that the performance was not in service of a better film.
Bale's reception was mixed; his performance was considered to be alternately "captivating" or serviceable, but ultimately uninteresting and undermined by portraying an immovable and generally unchanged character who delivers Batman's dialog in a hoarse, unvarying tone. Eckhart's performance was generally well received; reviewers praised his portrayal of Dent as charismatic, and the character's subsequent transformation into a sad, bitter "monster", although ''Variety'' considered his subplot the film's weakest.
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter (born March 25, 1946, Kansas City, Missouri) is an American novelist, essayist, and film critic.
Life and career
Hunter was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. His father was Charles Francis Hunter, ...
said the Dent character was underwritten and that Eckhart was incapable of portraying the role as intended.
Several reviewers regarded Gyllenhaal as an improvement over Holmes, although others said they found difficulty caring about the character and that Gyllenhaal, while more talented than her predecessor, was miscast.
Peter Travers
Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
praised Oldman's skill in making a virtuous character interesting and he, among others, described Caine's and Freeman's performances as "effortless".
Ebert surmised the entire cast provided "powerful" performances that engage the audience, such that "we're surprised how deeply the drama affects us".
Accolades
![Heath Ledger](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Heath_Ledger.jpg)
''The Dark Knight'' appeared on several lists recognizing the best films of 2008, includes those compiled by Ebert, ''The Hollywood Reporter'', and the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
. At the
13th Satellite Awards
The 13th Satellite Awards, honoring the best in film and television of 2008, were given on December 14, 2008.
Special achievement awards
Auteur Award (for his signature scope and style of filmmaking) – Baz Luhrmann
Mary Pickford Award (for ou ...
, ''The Dark Knight'' received one award for Sound Editing or Mixing (
Richard King,
Lora Hirschberg
Lora Hirschberg (born 1963) is an American sound engineer. She has won an Academy Award for Best Sound and has been nominated for another in the same category. She has worked on more than 110 films since 1990. Hirschberg is lesbian.
Selected f ...
,
Gary Rizzo).
A further four wins came at the
35th People's Choice Awards: Favorite Movie, Favorite Cast, Favorite Action Movie, and Favorite On-Screen Match-Up (Bale and Ledger),
as well as Best Action Movie and Best Supporting Actor (Ledger) at the
14th Critics' Choice Awards
The 14th Critics' Choice Awards were presented on January 8, 2009 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, honoring the finest achievements of 2008 filmmaking. The nominees were announced on December 9, 2008.
Winners and nominees
Best Pi ...
.
Howard and Zimmer were recognized for Best Motion Picture Score at the
51st Annual Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 8, 2009, honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2008. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the b ...
.
Ledger won the film's only awards at the
15th Screen Actors Guild Awards
The 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, honoring the best achievements in film and television performances for the year 2008, were presented on January 25, 2009. The ceremony was held at the Shrine Auditorium, Shrine Exposition Center in Los ...
,
62nd British Academy Film Awards
The 62nd British Academy Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, took place on 8 February 2009 and honoured the best films of 2008.
Winners and nominees
Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema
* Pinewood ...
, and
66th Golden Globe Awards
The 66th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television of 2008, was broadcast on January 11, 2009, from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, United States on the NBC TV network. The broadcast was watched by approx ...
, for Best Supporting Actor.
At the
14th Empire Awards, ''The Dark Knight'' received awards for
Best Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
(Christopher Nolan), and
Best Actor (Bale).
Ledger received the award for
Best Villain
Best or The Best may refer to:
People
* Best (surname), people with the surname Best
* Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer
Companies and organizations
* Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain
* Best Lock Corporation ...
at the
2009 MTV Movie Awards,
and at the
35th Saturn Awards, ''The Dark Knight'' won awards for
Best Action or Adventure Film,
Best Supporting Actor (Ledger),
Best Writing (Christopher and Jonathan Nolan),
Best Music
Best or The Best may refer to:
People
* Best (surname), people with the surname Best
* Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer
Companies and organizations
* Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain
* Best Lock Corporatio ...
(Howard and Zimmer), and
Best Special Effects (Corbould,
Nick Davis,
Paul J. Franklin,
Timothy Webber
Timothy Webber is a Canadians, Canadian television, film, and stage actor best known for his performance as Djordje in the film ''My Father's Angel'', for which he was a Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor nominee at the 21s ...
).
Before ''The Dark Knight''s release, film industry discourse focused on Ledger potentially earning an Academy Award nomination at the 81st Academy Awards in 2009, making him only the seventh person to be nominated posthumously, and if the decision would be influenced by his passing or performance. Genre films such as those based on comic books were also generally ignored by Academy voters.
Even so, Ledger was considered a favorite to earn the award based on praise from critic groups and his posthumous Golden Globe award.
Ledger won the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while worki ...
, making him only the second performer to win an award posthumously (after
Peter Finch
Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio.
Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville ...
in 1977), and ''The Dark Knight'' the first comic book adaptation to win a major Academy award.
''The Dark Knight'' also won an award for
Best Sound Editing
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow List of film awards, film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awa ...
(King), and received six nominations for
Best Art Direction (Crowley and
Peter Lando),
Best Cinematography (Pfister),
Best Film Editing (Smith),
Best Makeup (Caglione Jr. and O'Sullivan),
Best Sound Mixing (Hirschberg, Rizzo, and
Ed Novick), and
Best Visual Effects (Davis, Corbould, Webber, and Franklin).
Despite the success of ''The Dark Knight'', the lack of a
Best Picture
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
nomination was criticized and described as a "snub" by some publications. The response was seen as the culmination of several years of criticism toward the Academy ignoring high-performing, broadly popular films.
The backlash was such that, for the
82nd Academy Awards
The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2009 and took place on March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m ...
awards in 2010, the Academy increased the limit for Best Picture nominees from five to ten, a change known as "The Dark Knight Rule". It allowed for more broadly popular but "respected" films to be nominated, including ''
District 9
''District 9'' is a 2009 science fiction mockumentary film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zeala ...
'', ''
The Blind Side'', ''
Avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...
'', and ''
Up'', the first animated film to be nominated in two decades. This change is seen as responsible for the first Best Picture nomination of a comic book adaptation, ''
Black Panther
A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
'' (2018).
Even so, ''The Hollwood Reporter'' argued the Academy mistook the appeals to recognize important, "generation-defining" genre films with just nominating more films.
Other releases
Home media
''The Dark Knight'' was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
and
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
in December 2008. The release has a
slipcover
A slipcover (also called loose cover) is a fitted protective cover that may be slipped off and on a piece of upholstered furniture. Slipcovers are usually made of cloth. Slipcovers slip on and off, they come fresh, and may be removed for season ...
box-art that revealed a "Jokerized" version underneath, and contains featurettes on Batman's equipment, the psychology used in the film, six episodes of the fictional news program ''Gotham Tonight'', and a gallery of concept art, posters, and Joker cards. The Blu-ray disc version additionally offers interactive elements describing the production of some scenes. A separate, limited-edition Blu-ray disc set came with a Batpod figurine.
''The Dark Knight'' sold 3million copies across both formats on its launch day in the U.S., Canada, and the UK; Blu-ray discs comprised about 25%–30% of the sales—around 600,000 units. The film was released at the beginning of the Blu-ray disc format; it was considered a success, breaking ''
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
''s record of 250,000 units sold and indicating the format was growing in popularity. In 2011, it also became the first major-studio film to be released for rent via digital distribution on
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
.
A
4K resolution
4K resolution refers to a horizontal display resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels. Digital television and digital cinematography commonly use several different 4K resolutions. In television and consumer media, 38402160 (4K Ultra-high-definitio ...
remaster, which was overseen by Christopher, was released in December 2017 as a set containing a 4K
Ultra HD Blu-ray
Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Bl ...
, Blu-ray disc, and digital download, as well as special features from earlier releases.
Merchandise and spin-offs
![The Dark Knight Coaster entrance - Six Flags Great America](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/The_Dark_Knight_Coaster_entrance_-_Six_Flags_Great_America.JPG)
Merchandise for ''The Dark Knight'' includes statuettes, action figures, radio-controlled Tumbler and Batpod models, costumes, sets of Batarangs, a limited-edition Grappling Launcher replica, board games, puzzles, clothing, and a special-edition
UNO card game. A novelization written by
Dennis O'Neil
Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...
was released in 2008.
A
direct-to-DVD
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
animated film, ''
Batman: Gotham Knight'', was released in July 2008. It was directed by
Bruce Timm
Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, and producer. He has contributed to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) and the subseque ...
and includes veteran Batman actor
Kevin Conroy
Kevin Conroy (November 30, 1955 – November 10, 2022) was an American actor. He appeared in a variety of stage performances, television series, and television films, but earned worldwide fame for his voice portrayal of the DC Comics superhero ...
reprising his role. ''Gotham Knight'' presents six vignettes, each of which are animated in a different artistic style, set between the events of ''Batman Begins'' and ''The Dark Knight''.
A video game adaptation, ''
Batman: The Dark Knight'', was canceled due to development problems.
''
The Dark Knight Coaster'', an indoor roller coaster, opened in May 2008 at
Six Flags Great Adventure
Six Flags Great Adventure is an amusement park located in Jackson, New Jersey. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park complex is situated between New York City and Philadelphia and includes a water park named Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, Hu ...
in
Jackson Township, New Jersey
Jackson Township is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the township population was 58,544. A portion of the township is located within the New Jersey Pine Barrens.
Roughly equidistant be ...
. Costing $7.5million, the long attraction places riders in an imitation of Wayne Central Station in Gotham City as they move through areas that are vandalized or controlled by the Joker.
Themes and analysis
Terrorism and escalation
A central theme of ''The Dark Knight'' is escalation, particularly the rise of the Joker in response to Batman's vigilantism.
Batman's vigilante operation arms him with high-tech military equipment against common criminals, and the Joker is the inevitable response and escalation of lawlessness to counter Batman. Critic Siddhant Adlakha considered the Joker an analog for countries such as Iraq, Somalia, and Lebanon, which were targeted by U.S. military campaigns and responded with escalation using terrorism.
Batman also inspires copycat vigilantes, further escalating lawlessness. Film studies professor Todd McGowan said Batman asserts authority over these copycats, telling them to stop because they do not have the same defensive equipment as himself, reaffirming his self-given authority to act as a vigilante.
The film has been analyzed as an analog for the war on terror, the militaristic campaign the U.S. launched following the September 11 attacks.
The scene in which Batman stands in the ruins of a destroyed building, having failed to prevent the Joker's plot, is reminiscent of the
World Trade Center site
The World Trade Center site, often referred to as "Ground zero#World Trade Center, Ground Zero" or "the Pile" immediately after the September 11 attacks, is a 14.6-acre (5.9 ha) area in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The site is bounde ...
after September 11.
According to historian
Stephen Prince, ''The Dark Knight'' is about the consequences of civil and government authorities abandoning rules in the fight against terrorism. Several publications criticized ''The Dark Knight'' for a perceived endorsement of "necessary evils" such as torture and
rendition. Author
Andrew Klavan
Andrew Klavan (; born July 13, 1954) is an American writer of crime and suspense novels. Klavan has been nominated for the Edgar Award five times and has won twice.
Klavan has also worked in film and as an essayist and video satirist. He is also ...
said Batman is a stand-in for then-U.S. president
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
and justified the breaching of "boundaries of civil rights to deal with an emergency, certain that
atman Atman or Ātman may refer to:
Film
* ''Ātman'' (1975 film), a Japanese experimental short film directed by Toshio Matsumoto
* ''Atman'' (1997 film), a documentary film directed by Pirjo Honkasalo
People
* Pavel Atman (born 1987), Russian hand ...
will re-establish those boundaries when the emergency is past".
Klavan's interpretation was criticized by some publications that considered ''The Dark Knight'' anti-war, proposing society must not abandon the rule of law to combat lawlessness or risk creating the conditions for escalation.
This is exemplified in the covert alliance formed between Batman, Dent, and Gordon, leading to Rachel's death and Dent's corruption. Writer Benjamin Kerstein said both viewpoints are valid, and that "''The Dark Knight'' is a perfect mirror of the society which is watching it: a society so divided on the issues of terror and how to fight it that, for the first time in decades, an American mainstream no longer exists".
Batman and Dent resort to torture or
enhanced interrogation
"Enhanced interrogation techniques" or "enhanced interrogation" is a euphemism for the program of systematic torture of detainees by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and various components of the U.S. Ar ...
to stop the Joker but he remains immune to their efforts because he has a strong belief in his goals. When Dent ineffectually attempts to torture Joker's henchman, Batman does not condemn the act, only being concerned about public perception if people discover the truth. This conveys the protagonists' gradual abandonment of their principles when faced with an extreme foe.
The Joker meets Dent in a hospital to explain how expected atrocities, such as the deaths of several soldiers, and societal failings are tolerated but when norms are unexpectedly disrupted, people panic and descend into chaos.
Although the Joker wears disguising makeup, he is not hiding behind a mask and is the same person with or without makeup. He lacks any identity or origin, representing the uncertainty, unknowability, and fear of terrorism, although he does not follow any political ideology.
Dent represents the fulfillment of American idealism, a noble person who can work within the confines of the law and allow Batman to retire, but the fear and chaos embodied by the Joker taints that idealism and corrupts Dent absolutely.
In ''The Dark Knight''s final act, Batman employs an invasive surveillance network by co-opting the phones of Gotham's citizens to locate the Joker, violating their privacy. Adlakha described this act as a "militaristic fantasy", in which a significant violation of civil liberties is required through the means of advanced technology to capture a dangerous terrorist, reminiscent of the
2001 Patriot Act. Lucius Fox threatens to stop helping Batman in response, believing he has crossed an ethical boundary, and although Batman agrees these violations are unacceptable and destroys the technology, the film demonstrates he could not have stopped the Joker in time without it.
Morality and ethics
''The Dark Knight'' focuses on the moral and ethical battles faced by the central characters, and the compromises they make to defeat the Joker under extraordinary circumstances. Roger Ebert said the Joker forces impossible ethical decisions on each character to test the limits of their morality.
Batman represents order to the Joker's chaos and is brought to his own limit but avoids completely compromising himself. Dent represents goodness and hope; he is the city's "white knight" who is "pure" of intent and can operate within the law.
Dent is motivated to do good because he identifies himself as good, not through trauma like Batman, and has faith in the legal system.
Adlakha wrote Dent is framed as a religious icon, his campaign slogan being "I believe in Harvey Dent", and his eventual death leaves his arms spread wide like
Jesus on the Cross.
Eckhart described Dent as someone who loves the law but feels constrained by it and his inability to do what he believes is right because the rules he must follow do not allow it.
Dent's desire to work outside the law is seen in his support of Batman's vigilantism to accomplish what he cannot.
Dent's corruption suggests he is a proxy for those looking for hope because he is as fallible and susceptible to darkness as anyone else.
This can be seen in his use of a two-headed coin to make decisions involving others, eliminating the risk of chance by controlling the outcome in his favor, indicating losing is not an acceptable outcome for him. Once Dent experiences a significant traumatic event in the loss of Rachel and his own disfigurement, he quickly abandons his noble former self to seek his own form of justice. His coin is scarred on one side, introducing the risk of chance, and he submits himself to it completely. According to English professor Daniel Boscaljon, Dent is not broken; he believes in a different form of justice in a seemingly unjust world, flipping a coin because it is "Unbiased. Unprejudiced. Fair."
The Joker represents an ideological deviancy; he does not seek personal gain and causes chaos for its own sake, setting a towering pile of cash ablaze to prove "everything burns". Unlike Batman, the Joker is the same with or without makeup, having no identity to conceal and nothing to lose. Boscaljon wrote the residents and criminals believe in a form of order and rules that must be obeyed; the Joker deliberately upends this belief because he has no rules or limitations. The character can be considered an example of
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
's "
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
", who exists outside definitions such as good and evil, and follows his own indomitable will. The film, however, leaves open the option to dismiss his insights because his chaos ultimately leads to tragedy and injustice. Christopher described the Joker as an unadulterated evil, and professor Charles Bellinger considered him a satanic figure who repels people from goodness and tempts them with things they supposedly lack, such as forcing Batman to choose between saving Dent—who is best for the city—and Rachel, who is best for Wayne. The Joker aims to corrupt Dent to prove anyone, even symbols, can be broken. In their desperation, Dent and Batman are forced to question their own limitations. As the Joker states to Batman:
The ferry scene can be seen as the Joker's true defeat, demonstrating he is wrong about the residents turning on each other in an extreme scenario.
According to writer David Chen, this demonstrates, individually, people cannot responsibly handle power but by sharing the responsibility, there is hope for a compassionate outcome.
Although Batman holds to his morals and does not kill the Joker, he is forced to break his code by pushing Dent to his death to save an innocent person. Batman chooses to become a symbol of criminality by taking the blame for Dent's crimes and preserving him as a symbol of good, maintaining the hope of Gotham's residents.
Critic David Crow wrote Batman's true test is not defeating the Joker but saving Dent, a task at which he fails.
Batman makes his own Christ-like sacrifice, taking on Dent's sins to preserve the city.
Although ''The Dark Knight'' presents this as a heroic act, this "noble lie" is used to conceal and manipulate the truth for what a minority determines is the greater good.
McGowan considered the act heroic because Batman's sacrifice will leave him hunted and despised without recognition, indicating he has learned from the Joker the established norms must sometimes be broken.
According to professor Martin Fradley, among others, Batman's "noble lie" and Gordon's support of it is a cynical endorsement of deception and totalitarianism.
Wayne's butler Alfred also commits a noble lie, concealing Rachel's choice of Dent over Wayne to spare him the pain of her rejection.
Legacy
Cultural influence
''The Dark Knight'' is considered an influential and often-imitated work that redefined the superhero/comic-book film genre, and filmmaking in general. In 2020, the United States
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
selected ''The Dark Knight'' to be preserved in the
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...
for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Before ''The Dark Knight'', superhero films closely emulated their comic-book source material, and though the genre had seen significant successes such as ''
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
'' (1978), ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
'' (1989), ''
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
'' (2000), and ''
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
'' (2002), they were often considered disposable entertainment that did not garner much industry respect. Building on ''Batman Begins'' heightened realism and presentation of a mature tone with contemporary themes and complex characters, ''The Dark Knight'' proved the genre could produce films with a distinct vision, artistic merit, and social commentary. A 2018 retrospective by ''The Hollywood Reporter'' said ''The Dark Knight'' taught filmmakers "comic book characters are malleable. They are able to be grounded or fantastic, able to be prestigious or pure blockbuster entertainment, to be dark and gritty or light, to be character-driven or action-packed, or any variation in-between."
''The Dark Knight'' is considered a blueprint for the modern superhero film that productions either attempt to closely emulate or deliberately counter. Its financial, critical, and cultural successes legitimized the genre with film studios at a time when recent films, such as ''
Daredevil'', ''
Hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...
'' (both 2003), ''
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
'' (2005), and ''
Superman Returns
''Superman Returns'' is a 2006 American superhero film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris (screenwriter), Dan Harris from a story by Singer, Dougherty and Harris based on the DC Comics character Superman. I ...
'' (2006) had failed to meet expectations.
The genre became a focus of annual studio strategies rather than a relatively niche project, and a surge of comic-book adaptations followed, in part because of their broad franchising potential. In 2008, Ebert wrote; "
'The Dark Knight'' and to a lesser degree ''Iron Man'', redefine the possibilities of the 'comic-book movie'".
''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' wrote ''Iron Man''s legacy in launching the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
(MCU) could not have happened without ''The Dark Knight'' success.
Retrospective analysis has focused on the way studios, eager to replicate its performance, released tonally dark, gritty, and realistic films, or reboots of existing franchises, many of which failed critically or commercially.
Some publications said studios took the wrong lessons from ''The Dark Knight'', treating source material too seriously and mistaking a dark, gritty tone for narrative depth and intelligent writing. The MCU is seen as a successful continuation of what made ''The Dark Knight'' a success, combining genres and tones relevant to each respective film while treating the source material seriously, unlike the
DC Extended Universe
The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films and television series produced by DC Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that ...
, which more closely emulated the tone of ''The Dark Knight'' but failed to replicate its success.
Directors including
Sam Mendes
Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes (born 1 August 1965) is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was Knight Bachelor, knighted in the 2020 New Year Honour ...
(''
Skyfall
''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the villai ...
''),
Ryan Coogler
Ryan Kyle Coogler (born May 23, 1986) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a recipient of four NAACP Image Awards, four Black Reel Awards, a Golden Globe Award nomination and an Academy Award nomination for Best Pictu ...
(''Black Panther''), and
David Ayer
David Ayer (born January 18 , 1968) is an American filmmaker known for making crime films that are set in Los Angeles and deal with gangs and police corruption. His screenplays include ''Training Day'' (2001), ''The Fast and the Furious'' (2001 ...
(''
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...
''). The film has been referenced in a variety of media including television shows such as ''
Robot Chicken
''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, ...
'', ''
South Park
''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
'', and ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
''.
U.S. President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
used Joker to explain the growth of
Islamic State
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
(IS) military group, saying "... the gang leaders of Gotham are meeting... they were thugs, but there was a kind of order... the Joker comes in and lights the whole city on fire.
Sis the Joker."
Joker's appearance became a popular Halloween costume and also influenced the 2009
Barack Obama "Joker" poster.
Retrospective assessments
Since its release, ''The Dark Knight'' has been assessed as one of the greatest superhero films ever made, among the
greatest films ever made
This is a list of films considered the best in national and international surveys of critics and the public.
Some surveys focus on all films, while others focus on a particular genre or country. Voting systems differ, and some surveys suffe ...
, and one of the best sequel films.
It is also considered among the best films of the 2000s, and in a 2010 poll of thirty-seven critics by Metacritic regarding the decade's top films, ''The Dark Knight'' received the eighth most mentions, appearing on 7 lists.
In the 2010s, a poll of 177 film critics by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'' placed it 98th on its own list.
'' (2015).
As of 2022, it remains the highest critically rated Batman film according to Rotten Tomatoes, and is often ranked as the best film featuring the character.
''The Dark Knight'' remains popular with entertainment industry professionals, including directors, actors, critics, and stunt actors, being ranked 57th on ''The Hollywood Reporter''s poll of the best films ever made,
and 96th on the BBC's list of the 100 Greatest American Films.
included it in their individual listings of the 100 greatest films of all time.
'' named it the sixth-most-accomplished film of the preceding fifteen years, and a 2020 article by ''Empire'' named ''The Dark Knight'' as one of the films that defined the previous three decades.
In 2020, ''Time Out'' named it the seventy-second-best action movie ever made.
Ledger's Joker is considered one of the greatest cinematic villains; several publications placed his portrayal second only to Darth Vader. In 2017, ''The Hollywood Reporter'' named Ledger's Joker the second-best cinematic superhero performance ever, behind
'' listed him as the greatest villain of the 21st century.
In 2022, ''Variety'' listed him as the best superhero film performance of the preceding 50 years (Eckhart appears at number 22).
''Entertainment Weekly'' wrote there had not been another villain as interesting or "perversely entertaining" as Joker, and Ledger's performance was considered so defining that future interpretations would be compared against it.
in ''Black Panther''. The "pencil trick" scene, in which Joker makes a pencil disappear by slamming a mobster's head on it, is considered an iconic scene and among the film's most famous. Similarly, the character's line "why so serious?" is among the film's most famous and oft-quoted pieces of dialog, alongside Dent's line "you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain", and Pennyworth's line "some men just want to watch the world burn". The lines became popular
s.
''The Dark Knight'' remains popular with audiences in publicly voted rankings. Over 17,000 people voted the film into the top ten of ''
named it their eighth-favorite film.
and the fourth-greatest film ever made (2020).
''The Dark Knight'' was also voted the greatest superhero movie by readers of ''
and as one of New Zealand's favorite films (2015).
''. In the film, Batman is forced out of his self-imposed retirement following the events of ''The Dark Knight''; he allies with
that is featured in ''Batman Begins''.
''The Dark Knight Rises'' was a financial success, surpassing the box office of ''The Dark Knight'',
and was generally well received by critics but proved more divisive with audiences.