The Dark Knight (2008)

When Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent launch an assault on the mob, they let the clown out of the box, the Joker, bent on turning Gotham on itself and bringing any heroes down to his level.

Director:

Christopher Nolan

Writers:

Jonathan Nolan (screenplay), Christopher Nolan (screenplay),

Stars:

Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart

Top 250 #7 | Won 2 Oscars. Another 93 wins & 68 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christian Bale	...	Bruce Wayne
Heath Ledger	...	Joker
Aaron Eckhart	...	Harvey Dent
Michael Caine	...	Alfred
Maggie Gyllenhaal	...	Rachel
Gary Oldman	...	Gordon
Morgan Freeman	...	Lucius Fox
Monique Gabriela Curnen	...	Ramirez
Ron Dean	...	Wuertz
Cillian Murphy	...	Scarecrow
Chin Han	...	Lau
Nestor Carbonell	...	Mayor
Eric Roberts	...	Maroni
Ritchie Coster	...	Chechen
Anthony Michael Hall	...	Mike Engel

Storyline

Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker.

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Plot Keywords:

gotham | joker | criminal | district attorney | criminal mastermind | 

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Taglines:

Out of the darkness...comes the Knight.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Citizens for Batman City of Gotham Police Department

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

18 July 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Batman Begins 2

Filming Locations:

2 International Finance Centre, Central, Hong Kong, China

Box Office

Budget:

$185,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£11,191,824 (UK) (25 July 2008)

Gross:

$533,316,061 (USA) (27 February 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Legendary Pictures, Syncopy

Technical Specs

Runtime:

152 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Gotham City license plates were directly modeled off of Illinois license plates.

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Goofs

Many cameras were used to shoot the scene where Wayne's Lamborghini blocks the pickup from ramming the SUV carrying Gordon. CGI was used to remove them in post. However, the IMAX cam that was on the chase vehicle actually hit the bed of the pickup. In the overhead shot, watch the pickup's stake pocket behind the driver's door. The dent from the camera strike suddenly appears even though the camera has been removed.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Grumpy: [with Chuckles, picks up Bozo on the street] Three of a kind, let's do this!
Chuckles: Huh, that's it? Three guys?
Grumpy: Plus 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".
Happy: [up on the roof, breaking open the alarm box with Dopey] So why do they call him "the Joker"?
Dopey: I hear he wears makeup.
Happy: Makeup?
Happy: Yeah, to scare people. You know, war ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Large blue flames dissipate in the center to form the new Batman symbol. The film title does not appear until the the closing credits.

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Connections

Referenced in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Monsters vs Aliens/The Haunting in Connecticut/12 Rounds (2009)
Ellen says the villan has 'Joker-like glee'

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Soundtracks

"Andante from String Quartet in a minor D. 804, 'Rosamunde'"
(1824) (uncredited)
Written by Franz Schubert

User Reviews

Best movie of 2008 hands down!

I had the honor of watching TDK during a screening and was completely blown away! This isn't just the best Batman movie ever made, this is one of the best movie ever made. Everything in this film is excellent, not one piece of annoyance.

Bale marvels as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Ledger has made The Joker in to an iconic movie villain. His performance belongs there at the top with Hopkins Lecter. The Joker has finally been portrait properly on film, he has earned his place between the big boys in movie villandom. This is the true Joker every Batman fan knows, loves and fears. Ledger deserves any and every movie award known to man for this brilliant display.

Nolan has made his "I will always be remembered" movie, this is the crownjewel in his portfolio. Perfect directing, perfect story, perfect balance between action and drama, everything is perfect.

Even if you hate Batman, you will love this film. If you don't, then something beez wrongz with youz!