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 Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:00 pm
"The Dark Knight is a 2008 American superhero film co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is a sequel to Batman Begins (2005). Christian Bale reprises the lead role. Batman's primary conflicts in the film include his fight against his arch-nemesis the Joker (Heath Ledger) and his strained friendship with district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart)."
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Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:04 pm
[PLOT]
Warning: The following is basically a description of the whole movie. Highlight the following section to read.
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The film begins with the Joker robbing a mob-owned bank, and systematically double crossing his accomplices so he can have all the money. That night, multiple Batman impersonators interrupt a meeting between mobsters and the Scarecrow. The real Batman shows up and subdues everyone, but injuries suffered during the confrontation force him to acquire a new, more versatile suit of armor. Batman and Lieutenant James Gordon contemplate bringing new district attorney Harvey Dent in on their plan to eradicate the mob, and the possibility that Dent will become the hero to the people that Batman cannot be. At the same time, Bruce Wayne and Harvey are both competing for the love of Rachel Dawes. The mob bosses meet to discuss how to handle Batman, Gordon, and Dent, while a Chinese mobster accountant, Lau, lets the gang leaders know he has taken their money to Hong Kong to prevent the police and the district attorney from seizing it in an imminent bank raid. The Joker arrives and proposes to kill Batman for them, and also tries to convince them that Lau will give them all up to the police if he is caught.
After Batman successfully abducts Lau in Hong Kong and delivers him to the Gotham City police, the mobsters agree to pay the Joker half of their money in return for killing Batman. The Joker tells all of Gotham that if the Batman does not turn himself in to the police, then he will kill people every day. When the Joker begins killing off public officials, including Commissioner Loeb, despite the best efforts of the police and Batman to stop him, Wayne decides to turn himself in to the police. Before he can do so, Dent publicly admits to being "the Batman" to draw the Joker out of hiding. The Joker attempts to kill Dent during transport, but Gordon and Batman intervene in time to stop and arrest him. With the Joker in custody, Batman interrogates the Joker until he reveals that Rachel and Dent have been taken to opposite sides of the city, far-enough apart that Batman does not have time to save both of them. Batman speeds off to save Rachel, while Gordon and the police head after Dent. Unknown to them, the Joker has switched the locations, sending Batman after Dent and Gordon after Rachel. With the help of a pre-planted phone bomb, the Joker escapes with Lau in tow. Batman arrives and rescues Dent just as both buildings explode; the left side of Dent's face is burned during the explosion. Gordon does not reach Rachel in time; she dies in the explosion. In the hospital, Dent is driven to madness over the loss of Rachel, which he blames on Batman, Gordon and the Joker. The Joker frees Harvey from the hospital and convinces him to exact revenge on the cops, mobsters, Gordon and Batman.
While "Harvey Two-Face" confronts the corrupt cops and the mobsters one by one, flipping a coin to decide their fates, the Joker burns Lau at the top of the clown's share of mob money. The Joker then declares that he will rule the streets and that anyone left in Gotham at nightfall will be subject to his rule. The Joker plants explosives on two ferries of evacuees and gives the passengers on board the chance to destroy the opposing vessel, one full of prison convicts and another with civilians, in order to save their own lives. Batman tracks the Joker to an uncompleted skyscraper. Batman prevents the Joker from blowing up the ferries when both vessels' occupants decide they would rather not sacrifice the lives of the passengers in the other vessel for their own.
Dangling from a wire, the Joker acknowledges that Batman really is incorruptible, but that Dent was not, and that he has unleashed Harvey's madness upon the city. Batman finds Gordon and his family with Dent at the building where Rachel died. Two-Face proceeds to judge Batman, himself, and Gordon's son through the chance of a coin flip, which he sees as the only fairness left in the world. Two-Face shoots Batman in the stomach, but before he can determine the boy's fate, Batman tackles him over the side of the building, saving Gordon's son. As Dent lies motionless on the ground, Batman and Gordon decide that the Joker would win if anyone found out about Dent's corruption and madness. Batman convinces Gordon to let him take all the blame for Dent's murders in order to preserve Dent's image as Gotham's hero and give the city hope. As Gordon destroys the Bat-Signal, a manhunt is issued for Batman.
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Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:11 pm
[CAST AND CHARACTERS]
***Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman: A billionaire who has dedicated himself to protecting Gotham City from the criminal underworld.
***Heath Ledger as The Joker: Heath Ledger described the Joker as a "psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy". Nolan had wanted to work with Ledger on a number of projects in the past, but had been unable to do so. When Ledger saw Batman Begins, he realized a way to make the character work consistent with that film's tone, and Nolan agreed with his anarchic interpretation. To prepare for the role, Ledger lived alone in a hotel room for a month, formulating the character's posture, voice and psychology, and kept a diary, in which he recorded the Joker's thoughts and feelings to guide himself during his performance. While he initially found it difficult, Ledger was eventually able to generate a voice that did not sound like Jack Nicholson's take on the character in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film
Before Ledger was confirmed to play the Joker in July 2006, Paul Bettany, Lachy Hulme, Adrien Brody, Steve Carell, and Robin Williams publicly expressed interest in the role.
On January 22, 2008, after he had completed filming The Dark Knight, Ledger suddenly died, leading to intense press attention and memorial tributes.
***Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent / Two-Face: The Gotham district attorney who is hailed as Gotham's "White Knight"; Dent's battle with the Joker turns Dent into a murderous, disfigured vigilante called "Two-Face". Producer Charles Roven described Dent as initially the "white knight of the city". Wayne sees Dent as his heir, which comes back to the theme of him realizing that being Batman will be a lifelong mission, and the tragedy that follows when Dent is corrupted. 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
***Gary Oldman as James Gordon: Lieutenant of the Gotham City Police Department and one of the few cops who isn't corrupt. He also forms a tenuous, unofficial alliance with Batman and Dent. When Police Commissioner Loeb is assassinated, Gordon is given the position by Mayor Garcia.
***Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes: The Gotham assistant D.A. and childhood friend of Bruce Wayne, she is one of the few people who know that he is Batman. Gyllenhaal took over the role from Katie Holmes, who had performed it in Batman Begins.
Supporting characters include:
* Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth: Bruce Wayne's trusted butler and father figure who tends to Wayne's penthouse.
* Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox: The recently-promoted CEO of Wayne Enterprises who, now fully aware of his employer's Batman activities, now serves more directly as Wayne's armorer on top of his business management duties. Fox redesigns the Batsuit to allow for head movement.
* Eric Roberts as Salvatore "Sal" Maroni: The gangster who now leads Carmine Falcone's mob family. He sides with the Joker until he realizes how dangerous the Joker is. Bob Hoskins and James Gandolfini were reported to have also auditioned for the part.
* Chin Han as Lau: A Chinese business accountant in affiliation with Sal Maroni and other gangsters, with his headquarters located in Hong Kong.
* Michael Jai White as Gambol: A gang leader at war with Maroni who opposes Joker's proposition. David Banner also auditioned for the role.
* Ritchie Coster as The Chechen: A powerful gang leader who sides with the Joker.
* Nestor Carbonell as Mayor Anthony Garcia.
* Monique Curnen as Detective Anna Ramirez: A member of the GCPD who works with Gordon and Batman. She was blackmailed by the Joker and forced to capture Rachel.
* Cillian Murphy as The Scarecrow: The former director of Arkham Asylum turned villain makes a brief appearance where he is ambushed by Batman.
* William Fichtner as Gotham National Bank Manager: A bank manager working for the mafia, confronted by the Joker in the film's opening. Fichtner's casting was "a bit of a nod" to Fichtner's role in Michael Mann's 1995 film Heat. Musician Dwight Yoakam was approached for the role, or to play a corrupt cop, but he chose to focus on his album Dwight Sings Buck.
* Colin McFarlane as Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb: The GCPD Commissioner.
* Anthony Michael Hall as Mike Engel: A news reporter for GCN (Gotham Cable News)
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Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:18 pm
[RELEASE]
The Dark Knight opened on July 16, 2008 in Australia and July 18, 2008 in the United States and Canada with midnight screenings in 3,040 theaters.
From the first midnight screenings, the film has earned $18.5 million and has set a new midnight debut record beating Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith which earned $16.9 million.
On its opening day, July 18, 2008, The Dark Knight set a single-day box office record of $67.85 million, breaking a record of $59.8 million previously held by Spider-Man 3.
The film also surpassed the $151.1 million opening weekend record of Spider-Man 3 with an opening of $158.4 million, including a record breaking IMAX opening of $6.2 million, surpassing the $4.7 million of Spider-Man 3.
The Dark Knight sold an estimated 22.37 million tickets with today's average administration of $7.08 meaning The Dark Knight sold more tickets than Spider-Man 3 which sold 21.96 million with the average price of $6.88 in 2007.
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Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:25 pm
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Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:35 pm
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Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:37 pm
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