Considered to be one of Nolan’s best works, The Dark Knight has gained notoriety over the years to become the most revered and adored Batman cinematic film to date.
The Dark Knight trilogy has become synonymous with the one and only Christopher Nolan, directing, co-writing and producing, if not some of the best Batman films in recent years but moreover some of the most beautifully shot high octane action films ever since. Released in 2008 The Dark Knight was a follow on from the origin story in the comparatively successful Batman Begins. With the original taking 2.5 times its budget in box office, it was enough for Warner Bros to ask Nolan for a sequel.
The first cinematic release to utilise 70mm IMAX cameras for certain scenes, including the thrilling opening heist to instantly create a much larger spectacle than Batman Begins. And it shows. The opening of the film was shot over five days and the size and detail even in the far off Chicago skyscraper buildings, portrays the scale of what we would come to expect in both intensity and also a beautifully detailed script. Using IMAX cameras however came at a price with the early groundbreaking hardware being heavy and extremely loud, it required much of the dialogue to be re-recorded in post production, but the end result pays off to create something quite special.
The Batman: Christina Bale was far from the first choice of writer David S. Goyer. With screen tests from other well known A-listers including Cillian Murphy, Jake Gyllenhaal and even Billy Crudup. They were screen tested though Nolan felt none had the defining ability to be not only Batman but also the billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. Cue the American Psycho, Patrick Bateman. Charming by day, ruthless by night. Coming straight from his crippling weight loss for his role in The Machinist, Bale was asked to put weight back on for his multiple, intricate suit fittings. Going to the extreme he almost became Bane-like in ‘thickness’ and was required to revert back whilst training in the close combat street art of the Keysi Fighting Method (KFM). Bale’s suave presence created a dominant, dark take on Batman, remaining many people’s favourite big screen portrayal of the The Caped Crusader.
The Joker: Joaquin Phoenix was approached though turned it down citing the fact ‘he wasn’t ready for it at the time.’ Of course we come to talk about possibly the greatest comic character role brought to the big screen in the embodiment of the as yet unknown frenetic acting hidden talent of the late Heath Ledger. Approached by Nolan to be their new villain, Ledger was and is arguably the best Joker of any Batman film, he also initially turned the role down stating he thought he couldn’t follow on from Jack Nicholson (How wrong he was).
A gritty character co-created with costume designer Lindy Hemming from the boots up there was a tendency to go too dark on the purple suit. Bringing it back from a colour clash with Gotham’s hero, his positively psychotic character however was as dark as night. Describing his persona as a “psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy”, the Joker sparked not only a primal fear within Gotham but also within the audience who up to that point had not witnessed someone or something with quite that intensity within the comic book film genre. Grounded in mayhem, Ledger created something simply terrifying. Applying his own rough and ready makeup, his presence prompted Michael Caine to forget his lines on their first shoot together, and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes giving a worried glance to the camera (as you can see in the final cut) wondering whether his knife should be so close in her mouth. Quite rightly nominated for and winning a posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, Heath Ledger will remain in cinematic history for quite simply being… THE Joker.
Rachel Dawes: With Katie Holmes politely declining to reprise her role as Dawes, Nolan brought in Maggie Gyllenhaal, feeling he needed to add weight to a role in a film series that was becoming more intense in its psychological undertones. The actor change upset nothing and in fact gave us a film with arguably more depth because of Maggie’s wider acting range.
The Film: Once in a while a director, Nolan, producer Emma Thomas (Nolan’s long term partner and wife) and casting director John Papsidera (who has worked on most of Nolan’s films since Memento) bring together what can only be described as a perfect storm of an ‘A-list script and actor casting’. With many revered names only being on screen for a small amount of time we have an event that far exceeds its large starring parts. Nolan now knew a third film would be in the offering. Although the Dark Knight being the first comic book adaptation to take over $1 billion worldwide: it has quite rightly become one of the highest grossing comic book big screen cinematic adaptations of all time.
With too many amazing actors to mention here, The Dark Knight film surpasses any previous comic book adaptations, even dare I say it, the also amazing Tim Burton super stylish and stylised Batman offerings with another great Bruce Wayne in the form of Michael Keaton. The difference here though is as out there as Gotham’s far off reality seems; there is still a large element of realism that grounds not only this film but the whole formidable trilogy. Keeping the filming almost entirely ‘in camera’, Nolan gave us the realistic thrill of an 18-wheeler truck being flipped in real time using precise calculations to avoid bank vaults and a sewage system in Chicago being damaged in the process.
Alongside the stunning visuals, we of course had Hans Zimmer, who created a score both masterful and thrilling with such tracks as, ‘The Joker’s Theme’ and ‘Batman’s Motif’. Set within an overall runtime of just over 2 hours 30 minutes, we had the joy of witnessing the intensity of the man in purple causing absolute chaos, the vigilante in black using all of his toys and weapons. All wrapped up in a script that flows from one scene to the next with very little fat, but somehow leaves you pondering the deeper themes that the film challenges you face.
Some people want to watch the world burn. We just want to watch more sublime Nolan films that don’t require the jolt of massive time shifts. Although we would all love to turn the clock back to the beginning of January 2008 when Heath was still with us.
Author: Piers, Maidstone Store
