The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins. Christian Bale reprises the lead role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, with a returning cast of Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. The film introduces the character of Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Gotham's newly elected District Attorney and the cohort of Bruce Wayne's childhood friend Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who joins Batman and the police in combating the new rising threat of a criminal calling himself the "Joker" (Heath Ledger).
Nolan's inspiration for the film was the Joker's comic book debut in 1940, and the 1996 series The Long Halloween, which retold Two-Face's origin. In addition elements of Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers' Dark Detective miniseries as well as the unpublished follow-up were reportedly cannibalised along with other elements of Batman mythology for the story.[3][4] The Dark Knight was filmed primarily in Chicago, as well as in several other locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong. Nolan used an IMAX camera to film some sequences, including the Joker's first appearance in the film. On January 22, 2008, some months after he had completed filming on The Dark Knight and six months before the film's release, Heath Ledger died from a toxic combination of prescription drugs, leading to intense attention from the press and movie-going public. Warner Bros. had initially created a viral marketing campaign for The Dark Knight, developing promotional websites and trailers highlighting screen shots of Ledger as the Joker, but after Ledger's death, the studio refocused its promotional campaign.[5][6]
The Dark Knight was released on July 16, 2008 in Australia, on July 18, 2008 in North America, and on July 24, 2008 in the United Kingdom. The film received highly positive reviews and set numerous records during its theatrical run.[7] With over $1 billion in revenue worldwide, it is the eleventh highest-grossing film of all time, unadjusted for inflation.[8] The film received eight Academy Award nominations and won for Best Sound Editing and posthumous Best Supporting Actor for Ledger's performance.[9] The film will be followed by a third and final entry titled The Dark Knight Rises, with Bale, Caine, Oldman and Freeman returning in the original roles, which will be the conclusion of Christopher Nolan's Batman series.[10]
Plot
In Gotham City, the Joker and his accomplices rob a mob owned bank. After orchestrating their deaths, he escapes alone. Batman and Lieutenant Jim Gordon decide to include sincere new district attorney Harvey Dent, who is dating Rachel Dawes, in their plan to tackle the mob and Bruce offers him a fundraiser. Mob bosses Sal Maroni, Gambol, and The Chechen are informed by Lau, a Chinese accountant, that he has hidden their funds and fled to Hong Kong to escape the new pressure. The Joker interrupts the meeting warning that Batman is unhindered by jurisdiction. They laughably refuse when Joker offers to kill Batman for half the money and Gambol puts a bounty on him. Later, the Joker kills Gambol and takes control of his men, while Batman captures Lau and delivers him back to Gotham where he agrees to testify.
The Joker issues an ultimatum that people will die each day unless Batman reveals his identity; resulting in the killings of Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb and the judge of the mob trials. The Joker targets Dent at the fundraiser but Bruce hides him, while Rachel is looked after by Alfred Pennyworth. The Joker tries to assassinate Mayor Garcia during Loeb's memorial service but Gordon takes the bullet and seemingly dies. As a result Bruce plans to reveal his identity, but Dent instead names himself as Batman to protect the truth. Dent is taken into protective custody and pursued by the Joker across the city as Batman rushes to aid. Gordon, who faked his death, helps apprehend the Joker and is promoted to Commissioner. However, Dent and Rachel disappear. Batman confronts the Joker and learns each are in separate buildings filled with explosives. In the ensuing chaos, Batman finds Dent but the explosives detonate, killing Rachel and burning half of Dent's face. The Joker then uses a bomb to escape from the police department with Lau.
Coleman Reese, an accountant at Wayne Enterprises, realizes Bruce is Batman and plans to expose him. The Joker, who kills Lau and The Chechen, threatens to bomb a hospital unless Reese is killed. Gordon rescues Reese, while the Joker visits the scarred Dent in hospital, convincing him to get revenge. Dent uses his burnt lucky coin to decide the fates of those responsible for Rachel's death, killing some of the corrupt officials and mobsters involved. After blowing up the hospital and escaping with hostages, the Joker gives two explosive rigged ferries, one of citizens and the other of Arkham Asylum inmates, the choice to blow the other up until midnight otherwise both will explode. Aided by Wayne Enterprises CEO Lucius Fox using a city-wide tracking device, which on ethical grounds Lucius will resign over if it remains, Batman locates the Joker. He rescues the hostages, who are disguised as Joker's gang, by fighting off the Joker's real men and Gordon's SWAT team. The ferry passengers refuse to kill each other and are saved as Batman apprehends the Joker. Nevertheless the Joker states he has won as the citizens of Gotham will lose their hope once Dent's rampage goes public. Batman leaves for Dent as the Joker is taken into custody once again.
Dent lures Gordon to the building where Rachel died and holds his family hostage, as Batman confronts him. Dent judges the fates of Batman, himself, and Gordon's son with three coin flips. As a result, he shoots Batman in the abdomen, spares himself and flips to determine the boy's fate. However he is tackled over the building by Batman, who was protected by his suit, resulting in Dent's death.[11] Batman convinces Gordon to hold him publicly responsible for the murders so that Dent will remain a symbol of hope for the city. A manhunt for Batman ensues, as he escapes on the Batpod. Alfred burns a letter written by Rachel to Bruce announcing her engagement to Dent, Lucius watches the signal tracker self-destruct and Gordon destroys the Bat-Signal before delivering a eulogy at Dent's funeral.
Cast
Cast and crew of The Dark Knight at the European premiere in London. From left to right: Director Christopher Nolan, producers Emma Thomas and Charles Roven, actors Monique Gabriela Curnen, Michael Caine, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Christian Bale.
Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, a billionaire dedicated to protecting Gotham City from the criminal underworld by night. Bale said he was confident in his choice to return in the role because of the positive response to his portrayal in Batman Begins.[12] He continued training in the Keysi Fighting Method and performed many of his own stunts,[12][13] but did not gain as much muscle as in the previous film because the new Batsuit allowed him to move with greater agility.[14] Bale described Batman's dilemma as whether "[his crusade is] something that has an end. Can he quit and have an ordinary life? The kind of manic intensity someone has to have to maintain the passion and the anger that they felt as a child, takes an effort after a while, to keep doing that. At some point, you have to exorcise your demons."[15] He added, "Now you have not just a young man in pain attempting to find some kind of an answer, you have somebody who actually has power, who is burdened by that power, and is having to recognize the difference between attaining that power and holding on to it."[16] Bale felt Batman's personality had been strongly established in the first film, so it was unlikely his character would be overshadowed by the villains, stating: "I have no problem with competing with someone else. And that's going to make a better movie."[17]
Heath Ledger as The Joker. Before Ledger was confirmed to play the Joker in July 2006, Paul Bettany,[18] Lachy Hulme,[19] Adrien Brody,[20] Steve Carell,[21] and Robin Williams[22] publicly expressed interest in the role. However Nolan had wanted to work with Ledger on a number of projects in the past (though he had been unable to do so), and was agreeable to Ledger's chaotic interpretation of the character.[23] When Ledger saw Batman Begins, he had realized a way to make the character work that was consistent with the film's tone:[24] he described his Joker as a "psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy."[25] Throughout the film, the Joker states his desire to upset social order through crime, and comes to define himself by his conflict with Batman. To prepare for the role, Ledger lived alone in a hotel room for a month, formulating the character's posture, voice, and personality, and kept a diary, in which he recorded the Joker's thoughts and feelings.[17][26] While he initially found it difficult, Ledger eventually generated a voice unlike Jack Nicholson's character in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film.[25][26] He was also given Batman: The Killing Joke and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, which he "really tried to read and put it down."[24] Ledger also cited A Clockwork Orange and Sid Vicious as "a very early starting point for Christian [Bale] and I. But we kind of flew far away from that pretty quickly and into another world altogether."[27][28] "There's a bit of everything in him. There's nothing that consistent," Ledger said, and added, "There are a few more surprises to him."[27] Ledger was allowed to shoot and mostly direct the videos the Joker sends out as warnings. Each take Ledger made was different from the last. Nolan was impressed enough with the first video shoot that he chose to not be present when Ledger shot the video with a kidnapped reporter (Anthony Michael Hall).[29] On January 22, 2008, after he had completed filming The Dark Knight, Ledger died of an accidental prescription drug overdose, leading to intense press attention and memorial tributes. "It was tremendously emotional, right when he passed, having to go back in and look at him every day [during editing]," Nolan recalled. "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."[28] All of Ledger's scenes appear as he completed them in the filming; in editing the film, Nolan added no "digital effects" to alter Ledger's actual performance posthumously.[30] Nolan has dedicated the film in part to Ledger's memory.[31][32]
Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, the district attorney who is hailed as Gotham's "White Knight". His battle with the criminal underworld leaves him disfigured, transforming him into a bloodthirsty madman.[33][34] Wayne sees Dent as his heir, recognizing that Batman's war on crime will be a lifelong mission, which heightens the tragedy of Dent's downfall.[32] Nolan and David S. Goyer had originally considered using Dent in Batman Begins, but they replaced him with the new character Rachel Dawes when they realized they "couldn't do him justice."[35] Before Eckhart was cast in February 2007, Liev Schreiber,[36] Josh Lucas,[37] and Ryan Phillippe[38] had expressed interest in the role,[39] while Mark Ruffalo auditioned.[40] Hugh Jackman was also considered for the part. Nolan chose Eckhart, whom he had considered for the lead role in Memento, citing his "extraordinary" ability as an actor, his embodiment of "that kind of chiselled, American hero quality" projected by Robert Redford, and his subtextual "edge."[41] Eckhart was "interested in good guys gone wrong," and had played corrupt men in films such as The Black Dahlia, Thank You for Smoking, and In the Company of Men. Whereas Two-Face is an evil villain in the comics, Nolan chose to portray him as a twisted vigilante to emphasize his role as Batman's counterpart. Eckhart explained, "[He] is still true to himself. He's a crime fighter, he's not killing good people. He's not a bad guy, not purely."[33][34] For Dent, Eckhart "kept on thinking about the Kennedys," particularly Robert F. Kennedy, who was "idealistic, held a grudge and took on the Mob." He had his hair lightened and styled to make him appear more dashing. Nolan told Eckhart to not make Two-Face "jokey with slurping sounds or ticks."[42]
Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce's trusted butler and confidante. His supply of useful advice to Bruce and his likeness as a father figure has led to him being labeled "Batman's batman."[43][44]
Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes, the Gotham assistant district attorney and Wayne's childhood friend. Before the events of the film, she told Wayne that if he ever decided to stop being Batman, they would be together. She is one of the few people to know Batman's identity. Gyllenhaal took over the role from Katie Holmes, who played it in Batman Begins. In August 2005, Holmes was reportedly planning to reprise the role,[45] but she eventually turned it down to do Mad Money with Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah.[46] By March 2007, Gyllenhaal was in "final talks" for the part.[47] Gyllenhaal has acknowledged her character is a damsel in distress to an extent, but says Nolan sought ways to empower her character, so "Rachel's really clear about what's important to her and unwilling to compromise her morals, which made a nice change" from the many conflicted characters whom she has previously portrayed.[48]
Gary Oldman as James Gordon, a lieutenant in the Gotham City Police Department and one of the city's few honest police officers. He forms a tenuous, unofficial alliance with Batman and Dent. When the Joker assassinates Police Commissioner Loeb, Mayor Garcia gives Gordon the position. Oldman described his character as "incorruptible, virtuous, strong, heroic, but understated."[49] Nolan explained that "The Long Halloween has a great, triangular relationship between Harvey Dent and Gordon and Batman, and that's something we very much drew from."[50] Oldman added that "Gordon has a great deal of admiration for him at the end, but [Batman] is more than ever now the dark knight, the outsider. I'm intrigued now to see: If there is a third one, what he's going to do?"[50] On the possibility of another sequel, he said that "returning to [the role] is not dependent on whether the role was bigger than the one before."[51]
Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, the recently promoted chief executive officer of Wayne Enterprises who, now fully aware of his employer's double life, serves more directly as Bruce's armorer in addition to his corporate duties.[52]
Ng Chin Han as Lau, the accountant who handles the money for the mobs.
Eric Roberts as Sal Maroni, a gangster who has taken over Carmine Falcone's mob. Bob Hoskins and James Gandolfini auditioned for the role.[53]
Colin McFarlane as Gillian B. Loeb, the Police Commissioner of Gotham until his murder at the hands of the Joker.[54]
The film's Gotham officials and authorities include Nestor Carbonell as Mayor Anthony Garcia, Keith Szarabajka as Detective Gerard Stephens, Monique Gabriela Curnen as Anna Ramirez, and Ron Dean as Detective Michael Wuertz. While Stephens is an honest and good cop, the latter two are two corrupt officers who betray Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes to the Joker. The film also cast Anthony Michael Hall as Gotham Cable News reporter Mike Engel, Nydia Rodriguez Terracina as Judge Janet Surrillo, Joshua Harto as Coleman Reese, Melinda McGraw and Nathan Gamble as Gordon's wife and son, and Tom "Tiny" Lister, Jr. as a prison inmate on one of the bomb-rigged ferries. The film's criminals include Michael Jai White as gang leader Gambol and Ritchie Coster as The Chechen. William Fichtner features as the Gotham National Bank manager. David Banner originally auditioned for the role of Gambol.[55] Cillian Murphy returns in a cameo as Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow, who is captured early on in the film by Batman.[56]
Musician Dwight Yoakam was approached for the roles of either the manager or a corrupt cop, but he chose to focus on his album Dwight Sings Buck.[57] Another cameo was made by United States Senator Patrick Leahy, a Batman fan who was previously an extra in the 1997 film Batman & Robin and also was a guest voice actor on Batman: The Animated Series. Leahy appears as a guest who defies the Joker when he and his henchmen attack Bruce's fundraiser, saying "We are not intimidated by thugs."[58] Matt Skiba, lead singer of Chicago punk band Alkaline Trio made a small appearance in the movie.[59]
