The Dark Knight (2008)

User Rating:

8.9/10   

Director:

Christopher Nolan

Writers (WGA):

Jonathan Nolan (screenplay) and
Christopher Nolan (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 July 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Why So Serious?

Plot:

Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent are forced to deal with the chaos unleashed by an anarchist mastermind known only as the Joker, as it drives each of them to their limits.

Plot Keywords:

Batman | Joker | Gotham | Criminal | Chaos

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 76 wins & 58 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 9	3:00 PM	HBO
Tue. Nov. 10	3:35 AM	HBO

Cast

Christian Bale	...	Bruce Wayne / Batman
Heath Ledger	...	The Joker
Aaron Eckhart	...	Harvey Dent / Two-Face
Michael Caine	...	Alfred Pennyworth
Maggie Gyllenhaal	...	Rachel Dawes
Gary Oldman	...	James Gordon
Morgan Freeman	...	Lucius Fox
Monique Gabriela Curnen	...	Det. Anna Ramirez
Ron Dean	...	Det. Michael Wuertz
Cillian Murphy	...	Jonathan Crane / The Scarecrow
Chin Han	...	Lau
Nestor Carbonell	...	Mayor Anthony Garcia
Eric Roberts	...	Salvatore Maroni
Ritchie Coster	...	The Chechen
Anthony Michael Hall	...	Mike Engel

Also Known As:

Batman Begins 2 (USA) (working title)
Batman: The Dark Knight (USA) (informal title)
Rory's First Kiss (USA) (fake working title)
The Dark Knight: The IMAX Experience (USA) (IMAX version)
Untitled Batman Begins Sequel (USA) (working title)
Winter Green (USA) (fake working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and some menace.

Runtime:

152 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.44 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS | Sonics-DDP (IMAX version)

Certification:

Ireland:15A | UK:12A | Australia:M | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Brazil:12 | Netherlands:16 | Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Iceland:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Peru:14 | Canada:14A (British Columbia/Ontario) | Sweden:15 | Canada:PG (Alberta/Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #44427) | Portugal:M/12 | South Africa:13V | Denmark:15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Finland:K-13 | India:UA | Mexico:B | France:U | Italy:T | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Germany:16 | Greece:K-13 | Austria:14 | Taiwan:PG-12 | Spain:13 | Australia:MA (original DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Atwood Cafe - 1 W Washington St, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The actor who plays the older gentleman that confronts the Joker at the party thrown by Bruce Wayne for Harvey Dent is Vermont senior senator Patrick Leahy. Mr. Leahy is a huge Batman fan and arranged an early showing of the movie on July 12th as a fund-raiser for the children's section of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier, Vermont, the state's capital. He has also appeared in Batman & Robin (1997) and on an episode of "Batman" (1992).

Goofs:

Factual errors: The set designers created the hospital Emergency Room entrance with no means of rolling a gurney in. Also, the "Emergency" sign should be red, not blue.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Grumpy: [before a bank heist] Three of a kind, let's do this.
Chuckles: That's it, three guys?
Grumpy: Two guys on the roof. Every guy gets a share. Five shares is plenty.
Chuckles: Six shares, don't forget the guy who planned the job.
Grumpy: He thinks he can sit it out and still take a slice? I know why they call him "The Joker."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Soundtrack:

Scatterin' Monkey

Batman at his best and beyond

Batman has always been my favourite superhero ever since the first time I heard about him because he his human with no powers, also he is much more questionable than any other superhero. The story of the film is about Batman, Lieutenant James Gordon, and new district attorney Harvey Dent beginning to succeed in rounding up the criminals that plague Gotham City. They are unexpectedly challenged when a mysterious criminal mastermind known as the Joker appears in Gotham. Batman's struggle against the Joker becomes deeply personal, forcing him to "confront everything he believes" and to improve his technology (which introduces the recreation of the Batcycle, known as the Batpod and the Batsuit was redesigned) to stop the madman's campaign of destruction. During the course of the film, a love triangle develops between Bruce Wayne, Dent and Rachel Dawes.

There are now six Batman films and I must say that The Dark Knight is the best out of all of them. The title is good because that is what Batman actually is. It has been 3 years for the adventure to continue from Batman Begins but that entire wait was worth it. Gotham city is very Gothic looking and is very haunting and visionary. The whole movie is charged with pulse-pounding suspense, ingenious special effects and riveting performances from a first-rate cast especially from Heath Ledger who gave an Oscar nomination performance for best supporting-actor. It is a shame that he can't see his terrific work on-screen. The cinematography is excellent which is made so dark & sinister that really did suit the mood for the film. Usually sequels don't turn out to be better than the original but The Dark Knight is one of those rare sequels that surpasses the original like The Godfather 2. I also really liked the poster where the building is on fire in a Bat symbol & Batman is standing in front of it. Christopher Nolan is a brilliant director and his film Memento is one of my most favourite films. He hasn't made 10 movies yet and 3 of them are already on the IMDb top 250. Overall The Dark Knight is the kind of movie that will make the audience cheer in the end instead of throwing fruit & vegetables on the screen.