When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.
Check out our gallery of the 2021 Golden Globe nominees in the leading and supporting acting categories, as the characters they so brilliantly played and in real life
Set within a year after the events of Batman Begins (2005), Batman, Lieutenant James Gordon, and new District Attorney Harvey Dent successfully begin to round up the criminals that plague Gotham City, until a mysterious and sadistic criminal mastermind known only as "The Joker" appears in Gotham, creating a new wave of chaos. Batman's struggle against The Joker becomes deeply personal, forcing him to "confront everything he believes" and improve his technology to stop him. A love triangle develops between Bruce Wayne, Dent, and Rachel Dawes.Written by
Leon Lombardi
The famous pencil scene was shot in 2 days and 22 takes. Nolan decided to stage the stunt for real, with the stuntman swiping the pencil away at the last minute and apparently had "three knockouts" while filming the scene. See more »
Goofs
(at around 1h 17 mins) During the chase scene when the tumbler collides with the garbage truck and immediately turns around, the road is completely empty. Not only should the armored truck be visible, but also the other cars which the truck must pass. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Grumpy:
[with Chuckles, picks up Bozo on the street]
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?
Dopey:
[up on the roof]
I know why they call him "The Joker".
Happy:
[breaking open the alarm box with Dopey]
So why do they call him "the Joker"?
Dopey:
I hear he wears makeup.
Happy:
Makeup?
[...] See more »
Crazy Credits
The DC logo contains two comic-book images: a shot of the Riddler, and picture of Batman punching him out. See more »
Alternate Versions
The Blu-ray version of the movie has several of the big action scenes and high altitude photography scenes in ordinary 16:9 (1.78:1) widescreen ratio while the rest of the movie preserves the "scope" format (2.39:1). This is because these scenes were filmed in IMAX, whose format is 1.43:1, thus attempting to recreate the effect witnessed in IMAX theaters, as well as preserving as much of these shots as possible. See more »
Dark, yes, complex, ambitious. Christopher Nolan and his co-writer Jonathan Nolan deserve a standing ovation. I don't usually go for loud movies filled with mindless gore and violence. "The Dark Knight" is certainly loud and violent but it's not mindless. It has depth and soul. Even the Joker, in an extraordinary creation by Heath Ledger, is deeply human. The natural petulance of Christian Bale makes his ego and alter ego the most fascinating and complex of all film superheroes. Part of the genius of this movie is that Batman himself, in screen time, is not really the lead. My attention was captivated by Heath Ledger and he determines and inspires the breathtaking atmosphere that envelopes Gotham as well as us. The aplomb of Christopher Nolan as a director is mind blowing and his secret, I believe, is his obvious respect for his audience. What he's done is to elevate a popular genre into Shakesperean proportions. Bravo!
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Dark, yes, complex, ambitious. Christopher Nolan and his co-writer Jonathan Nolan deserve a standing ovation. I don't usually go for loud movies filled with mindless gore and violence. "The Dark Knight" is certainly loud and violent but it's not mindless. It has depth and soul. Even the Joker, in an extraordinary creation by Heath Ledger, is deeply human. The natural petulance of Christian Bale makes his ego and alter ego the most fascinating and complex of all film superheroes. Part of the genius of this movie is that Batman himself, in screen time, is not really the lead. My attention was captivated by Heath Ledger and he determines and inspires the breathtaking atmosphere that envelopes Gotham as well as us. The aplomb of Christopher Nolan as a director is mind blowing and his secret, I believe, is his obvious respect for his audience. What he's done is to elevate a popular genre into Shakesperean proportions. Bravo!