The Dark Knight - Grading & Discussion

[DigificWriter]

Emh wrote:

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Not only is she someone who represents the normal life Bruce gave up (and seeks to regain), but we also see and understand why he cares so deeply about her. All previous love interests in the movies have been two-bit floozies who Bruce suddenly falls for and we're suppose to care about (although I did care about Selina Kyle, but that's because she's a great character and not having that much to do with how Batman Returns presented her). Rachel is Bruce's childhood sweetheart and understand who he is and the choices he has made (like Alfred but from a different angle). Initially I had issue with her finding out that Bruce was Batman in Batman Begins, but The Dark Knight took this knowledge and worked with it to my satisfaction.

I don't think you quite understand exactly what I'm talking about with regards to Rachel's importance as a character. Although she was a character created solely for the films, Rachel is the only person who has seen who Bruce truly is, and recognizes that the man he's become - both publicly and privately - is not the 'real' Bruce Wayne. There's not another character anywhere in the Batman mythos who epitomizes the fact that the death of Bruce Wayne's parents turned him into a wholly new person both privately and publicly.

With regards to her discovery of Bruce's double life as Batman, it's one of those things that is essential to her role in the overall Batman mythos. Because of the role she fills, the story of both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight could not have been told had she not discovered his dual life. Just like Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, and Tim Burton, Nolan and Co. have added a whole new dimension to the Batman mythos with the introduction of Rachel's character.

[Samurai8472]

Trekker4747 wrote:

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Notice how... dumb and groan-inducing the Schumacher posters are (bat... er ROBIN-nipples, Carrey's Riddler.) Ugh. Gives me the sudders just looking at them.

Its so colorful Can't give all the blame to him though.It was the marketing people reacting to "Returns" gothic approach.

Tommy lee jones as two face embracing himself ugh

Seeing these reminds me of the Mcdonalds glass cups lol

[JacksonArcher]

Samurai8472 wrote:

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Seeing these reminds me of the Mcdonalds glass cups lol

I still have those.

[S. Gomez]

JacksonArcher wrote:

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I still have those.

I have one too! I hadn't thought about it in ages, then a couple years back when we moved it got dug up from some back cupboard. Funny, I always remembered it as glass, but I'm pretty sure it's some sort of plastic.

[Worf2DS9]

Just got back from the movie a few hours ago, and I loved it, for all of the reasons gushed about on the previous 42 pages already! It did start to feel a tad long towards the end, and it did seem overly loud at times, but those are minor gripes. The movie itself though, was visionary and epic. And Heath was brilliant. Lived up to and surpassed the hype.

And the theater I went to only had about 6 people other than me, so there were no disruptions at all. I'm not sure if I'll see it again in the theater, but it'll definitely be in the DVD collection when the time comes.

[The Borgified Corpse]

Samurai8472 wrote:

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Seeing these reminds me of the Mcdonalds glass cups lol

Yeah. If they made a 1990s time capsule, I think that Batman Forever should go in there if only because its a classic example of the "four glass movies" of that period. A "four glass movie" refers to any movie who's plot can be summed up by 4 collectible glasses sold at McDonalds. (If you want to see a really weird overlap, Burger King released 4 character glasses for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Probably the 1st & last prestige blockbuster to get the four glass treatment.)

[JacksonArcher]

Since the original Dark Knight thread has seemed to evaporated, I thought this might be the most appropriate place to post this:

http://fc05.deviantart.com/fs32/f/20..._by_sonLUC.jpg

[Spaceman Spiff]

Jackson, please don't post inline images from webspace that isn't yours, and please don't drop huge inline images into a thread without warning. The limit is roughly 70 KB, and though we try to be lenient on that limit, 505 KB is a bit much. We still have lots of users on dial-up.

[Samurai8472]

A parody of Bale's Batman voice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2yv8aT0UFc

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movi....ap/index.html

NEW YORK (AP) -- Though "The Dark Knight" has been a bona fide cultural event, boasting rave reviews and boffo box office, it hasn't been immune to criticism. Some have quibbled with its political undercurrents, and others have criticized a muddled theme.

But here's the critique most widely held: Why does Batman talk like the offspring of Clint Eastwood and a grizzly bear?

Donning the costume for the second time, Christian Bale has delved deeper into the lower registers. As Bruce Wayne, his voice is as smooth as his finely pressed suits. But once he puts the cape on, the transformation of his vocal chords is just as dramatic as his costume change.

Particularly when his rage boils over, Bale's Batman growls in an almost beastly fashion, reflecting how close he teeters between do-gooder and vengeance-crazed crusader.

"The Dark Knight" hauled in $43.8 million to rank as Hollywood's top movie for the third straight weekend, fending off "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," which opened a close second with $42.5 million. It has earned $394.9 million in just 17 days, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Though much of the voice effect is Bale's own doing, under the guidance of director Christopher Nolan and supervising sound editor Richard King, the frequency of his Batman voice was modulated to exaggerate the effect.

Critics and fans have noticed.

"His Batman rasps his lines in a voice that's deeper and hammier than ever," said NPR's David Edelstein.

The New Yorker's David Denby praised the urgency of Bale's Batman, but lamented that he "delivers his lines in a hoarse voice with an unvarying inflection."

Reviewing the film for MSNBC, Alonso Duralde wrote that Bale's Batman in "Batman Begins" "sounded absurdly deep, like a 10-year-old putting on an 'adult' voice to make prank phone calls. This time, Bale affects an eerie rasp, somewhat akin to Brenda Vaccaro doing a Miles Davis impression."

Before the similes run too far afield, it's worth considering where the concept of a throaty Batman comes from.

In his portrayal on the '60s "Batman" TV series, Adam West didn't alter his voice between Bruce Wayne and Batman. Decades later when Tim Burton brought "Batman" to the big screen in a much darker incarnation, Michael Keaton's inflection was notably -- but not considerably -- different from one to the other.

But it was a lesser-known actor who, a few years after Burton's film, made perhaps the most distinct imprint on Batman's voice. Kevin Conroy, as the voice of the animated Batman in various projects from 1992's "Batman: The Animated Series" right up until this year's "Batman: Gotham Knight," brought a darker, raspier vocalization to Batman.

Conroy has inhabited the role longer than anyone else and though animated voice-over work doesn't have the same cachet as feature film acting, there are quarters where Conroy is viewed as the best Batman of them all -- certainly superior to Val Kilmer or George Clooney.

The animated series are notable because they drew on the DC Comics of Batman as envisioned by Frank Miller, whose work heavily informs "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight." (Bale and Nolan were unavailable to comment for this story.)

As Batman has gotten darker, his voice has gotten deeper. As some critics suggest, Bale and "The Dark Knight" may have reached a threshold, at least audibly.

Morgan Freedman got into a car accident last night. His condition is unknown.
http://www.tmz.com/2008/08/04/morgan...-car-accident/

[Harvey]

So, my initial evaluation that Bale's voice had been modulated in post was correct. Wish they hadn't done that.

[Agent Richard07]

Samurai8472 wrote:

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A parody of Bale's Batman voice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2yv8aT0UFc

[Aragorn]

So some rumors about the next Batman movie were debunk, including one I never heard of before. Who the hell said Maggie Gyllenhaal was up for Catwoman???

[RAMA]

Just wanted to chime in here...I looked at the box office for this movie for the first time yesterday, its simply unprecedented. $400 million in 18 days. The previous record was 42 days! We might be seeing the biggest movie of all time!

RAMA

[Harvey]

The box office take IS impressive, but The Dark Knight has already peaked, so don't expect it to get anywhere near record box office numbers of Titanic (nonadjusted) or Gone With the Wind (adjusted).

[1001001]

My wife and I saw this movie today.

I thought it was good. Some excellent character moments, and some great stunts. It actually had a meaningful theme and explored it thoroughly, so that was good too.

Ledger's Joker was very different, of course. Not very funny and not really even over-the-top. I loved his speech to Harvey in the hospital about the "schemers" and how he's just a "dog chasing cars". That was a great scene.

I thought they could have cut it down and streamlined it a bit. There were points where I felt it was too scattered and somewhat random. Some of the mob bank/money stuff wasn't pulled together tightly enough for my taste.

And add me to the list of people who thought Bale's voice was distracting.

Overall: Above average.