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The Dark Knight (2008)
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Morgan Freeman, Michael
Caine, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Eric Roberts
Director: Christopher Nolan
U.S. Opening Date: July 18th, 2008
Forget about those embarrassing nipples on the “bat
suit” in Batman & Robin. Forget about Jack
Nicholson’s slightly portly Joker in the 1989 movie. Forget about the
noisy and overbearing Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face in
Batman Forever. Now remember 2005’s kick-ass
Batman Begins and crank up the volume to 11. That’s what audiences can
expect of The Dark Knight, the first big screen Batman movie
without the word Batman in the title . . .
For starters, the Joker is back. But this time he isn’t
played as a benign nasty clown as Jack Nicholson did back then. Instead
this “new” Joker, as portrayed by the sadly deceased Heath Ledger, is an
absolutely maniacal murderous psychopath as co-star Michael Caine said in
an interview. “You have never seen anything like it in your life,” Caine said in
an interview. “He is very, very scary.”
Ledger prepared for his role by reading all the comics
he could that were relevant to the script and “then just closing my eyes
and meditating on it.” Apparently Ledger sat around in a hotel room in
London for a month experimenting with voices. (One wonders what the
neighbours must have thought!) “It was important to try and find a
somewhat iconic voice and laugh,” he said. “I ended up landing more in the
realm of a psychopath – someone with very little to no conscience. I think
we all have that in us.”
Christian Bale is back again as Batman / Bruce Wayne,
but with even cooler toys and outfits this time. Even the “batsuit” has
been changed – not only does it look more sophisticated technology-wise,
but it actually has retractable razor claws which can be fired. Ironically
the new costume worn by Bale is about 3.6 kilograms heavier than the old
one. The actor however insists that it was a lot more comfy though, plus
there’s one added bonus: unlike all the previous bat suits worn in all the
other movies, a new design now allows the actor wearing it to actually
turn his head left and right and nod up and down – something which all the
previous actors were unable to do!
Batman also has a so-called “Batpod” – a redesigned
Batcycle that can shoot grappling hooks in addition to your standard
cannons and machine guns. The bike has huge fat 508 millimetre front and
rear tyres and the rider rides belly down on the tank, which by the way
can move up and down so that you can dodge any bullets. Perfect for
commuting then!
Throw in several helicopters and C-130 aircraft rented
by the film-makers and an explosion at London’s famed Battersea power
station that actually made several nervous local residents phone the
authorities believing that the station was under terrorist attack; and it
seems as if The Dark Knight is going to kick some serious butt when
it opens in U.S. cinemas on 18 July . . .
Continue
Photo Gallery
Dark Knight Wallpaper Downloads
Trivia
- Hugh Jackman, Ryan Phillippe, Liev Schreiber, and
Josh Lucas expressed interest in the role of District Attorney Harvey
Dent.
- As a joke, one bat suit was made with nipples. It was
presented to Christian Bale as the real bat suit, but he knew instantly
it was a joke, having seen a few design pictures during preproduction.
He did pose for some publicity photos in the "nipple" suit.
- The Dark Knight is the first Batman film to not have
"Batman" in the title.
- At the time when the Penguin was rumored to be in the
movie, Bob Hoskins appeared as a fan favorite. He stated that he would
have loved to portray the role and work with Christopher Nolan, calling
him a fantastic director. Christopher Nolan then stated he had no
intention of using the Penguin calling him a too far fetched character.
- Robin Williams, Lachy Hulme, Paul Bettany, and Adrien
Brody all expressed interest for the role of the Joker before Heath
Ledger was cast. Sean Penn was the original choice.
- When asked, "Why Heath Ledger as the Joker?"
Christopher Nolan said, "Because he's fearless."
- Turning down a salary estimated at between $1 million
and $2 million -- an increase over the roughly $1 million she was
believed to have earned for Batman Begins (2005) -- Katie Holmes chose
not to reprise her role as Rachel Dawes. This was due to what was
described as 'scheduling conflicts'.
- Jerry Robinson, who is credited as one of the
original creators of the Joker will be serving as a consultant on the
project.
- Before Maggie Gyllenhaal replaced Katie Holmes in the
role of Rachel Dawes, both Rachel McAdams and Emily Blunt were rumored
for the part.
- While filming on the streets of Chicago in April
2007, the filming was carried out under the fake movie title "Rory's
First Kiss". Fliers regarding the filming carried this fake title,
complete with a fake "RFK" logo for the movie and an address for the
film's production offices.
- One of the extra's military uniforms has the name
"Philo" on it named after Joan Philo, the extra's casting director for
the film.
Trailers
- Teaser
(QuickTime):
1080p;
720p;
480p
- Trailer
(QuickTime): High Definition
(1080p),
(720p),
(480p);
Flash trailer; High Definition
(1080p - 98
MB);
(1080p - 78 MB);
(1080p - 24 MB)
- Trailer # 2: High Definition
(1080p);
(720p);
(480p); High Definition:
1080p,
720p,
480p;
various; High Definition:
480p,720p,1080p
- TV Spots (Flash):
Spot 1,
Spot 2,
Spot 3,
Spot 4,
Spot 5,
TV Spot 6,
TV Spot 7,
TV Spot 8,
TV Spot 9
- Trailer # 3 (QuickTime):
640x480
- Trailer # 4:
Flash
