Deutscher Kinostart: 21. August 2008

im Verleih von Warner Bros. Pictures Germany

a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment GmbH

www.thedarkknight-derfilm.de

Regie Christopher Nolan

Produzenten Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan

Drehbuch Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan

Story Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer

erschienen bei DC COMICS

nach den Batman-Charakteren von BOB KANE

Executive Producers Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan,

Kevin De La Noy, Thomas Tull

Kamera Wally Pfister, A.S.C.

Produktionsdesign Nathan Crowley

Schnitt Lee Smith, A.C.E.

Kostümdesign Lindy Hemming

Musik Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard

THE DARK KNIGHT      www.thedarkknight-derfilm.de                        start D- german CH    21.08.08

previews  by Matthew Haumschild and dalia "gryphon_spirit" di giacomo____   

A SILENT GUARDIAN, A DARK KNIGHT

            review by Matthew Haumschild

           The Batman I’ve been waiting to see for years

 I must say, I only watched the first installment of this series of Batman movies, the day before I watched Dark Knight. And from what I saw, I liked! A nice, dark, Batman; the Batman I’ve been waiting to see for years. I was just happy that they got the actor from American Psycho (Bale) to play the main role. 

            For Dark Knight, one would have to be living under a rock to not be affected by the hype that was generated by Heath Ledger’s passing. So I knew going in that The Joker character was part of this storyline.

           I’ll be perfectly honest; I went to the movie to see how The Joker would be portrayed.  In my view, Heath Ledger was competing with Jack Nicholson where as I knew just by watching the first movie, Bale’s version of Batman pummeled his predecessors. Heath Ledger’s performance of The Joker was spectacular to say the least. His was the darkest of version I’ve ever seen. However, case in point, the Batman movie that Nicholson was in was a different style and type of movie all together. Could Nicholson play the same type of Joker that Ledger played? Now he could not, back when he played The Joker originally in 1989? No. Could Nicholson play The Joker at 26, the same age as Ledger? Yes!  Would he have played him better? Yes. My answer is based on the fact that Nicholson is crazy in the first place when he’s not acting and based on his performance in “One That Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.” Not to say Ledger was bad or anything, he wasn’t, matter of fact, I can’t think of an actor now who could have played that role. The Joker is much darker than any incarnation that has appeared on a silver screen. Without giving away any of the movie, The Joker character is trying to instill chaos amongst the population of Gotham City and testing the city’s morality by implementing various crimes.

            The other thing I noticed about the movie that was much different from the other Batmans, was the deep-threatening voice. Whenever Batman gets angry when he’s questioning The Joker or one of the mob henchmen, Bale’s (with assistance from post-production) voice would be much darker sounding, deeper with an added rasp to it. Well, it might have sounded darker but in my opinion, it was a little comical. I didn’t sound natural to me so I didn’t find that it added anything to Batman’s character or to the movie it self.

            Most importantly, the story was well done. It dragged in parts, but the Joker brings up a lot of philosophical points in regards to morality which I thought was unique. His point was that anyone could become someone like him given the circumstances. There were other parts of the story that made it exciting such as the promotion of Commissioner Gordon, the assignation attempt on the mayor, and other goodies that make an action movie and action movie.

            So yeah, see the movie. Its well worth it, you might not want to get up during the movie though.

8.5/10

review by dalia di giacomo

       The Joker, able to give pain as well as to receive it.

            This is a true event in the Batman iconography. Sequel and even better than "Batman begins", "The Dark Knight" is a film full of action, full of care in details, full of spectacular camera sequences and with a Joker whose representation goes beyond any expectations, so wonderfully interpreted by Heath Ledger. Of course we deal basically with a "comic book superhero", nonetheless the movie gets the characteristic of a dark work that goes further, trespassing the common "comic book" boundaries. Bruce Wayne/Batman Christian Bale is often blessed by that cold impressive aura that was typical in Equilibrium. Needless to say, the reconfirmed presence of Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox and of Michael Caine as Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred Pennyworth give renewed value to the whole work. But the most astounding qualities are the fantastic aerial filming, the ponderous futuristic enormous architecture of Chicago, the many sequences recorded with IMAX camera (as the very beginning with the brutal bank rob), and , least but not last, the superb Joker. There is also a bit of Italy in this "cursed" film, considering that  Bruce Wayne was dressed by Armani and the new hero , the "white knight" district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) by Ermenegildo Zegna.

            The plot is interesting enough, because Gotham City must fight a complex  union of villains - mobsters, The Joker and corrupted police - whose interests violently intertwine and converge. From Gotham City to Hong Kong and back to Gotham City again, Bruce Wayne/Batman will develop his fight against the criminals. White Knight Harvey Dent (the hero that Gotham city needs, a hero without mask), lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and assistant Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) are Batman's companions in the protection of Gotham City. There will be sacrifice, from the moment that Rachel Dawes will perish and Harvey Dent will be disfigured, tragic factors that together will transform Dent into the desperate downfallen Two-Face, who enterprises personal vendetta through coin tosses. However Gotham City needs a figure like Harvey Dent, and when Two-Face will appear dead, the only thing to do is the one to remind him as he was before, preserving his image, hiding his murderous decadence. Dent is the hero that Gotham city needs and Batman will become the dark hero that Gotham City deserves. Gordon will be convinced by Batman himself that the image of Batman must be sacrificed holding him responsible for Two-Face's action. Anyway, although destroying the bat -signal and officialy  hunting Batman, Gotham City's police will not lose  the silent protection of the Dark Knight.

Memorable moments of action are following:  the initial rob, done by The Joker in a mob-owned bank; the Joker discussing with the mob bosses; the confrontation between Batman and The Joker at the police station, The Joker's escape from that same police station, the episode of the bombs on the ferries and how finally Bruce Wayne/Batman locates The Joker with a brilliant (technological) method with the help of Lucius Fox.
The only minus point is the figure of Two-Face that , often , appears quite pathetic as well as his disfiguration has been realized...

            And yes, of course the film is soaked with new "Bat-technology" : some examples are a more dynamic batsuit, the Batpod (bat -cycle) and the sonar detection. 

One of the most remarkable characteristic of the movie is that many important scenes are free from redundant musical comment. The coldness and the geometry of the futuristic buildings and of Bruce Wayne's new "bunker" find a twin mirror in music too (mainly composed by Hans Zimmer). It's true, this movie is long, and, all in all, paradoxally, enough claustrophobic and/or tiring, yet the tension and the fun will never be missed.

But the whole portrait of The Joker is the real big attraction: the agent of chaos, the crazy, the psychopatic, is, in my opinion, a very lucid connoisseur of the human weakness. He is able to give pain as well as to receive it, and, although he deprecates the habit of making plans, to me he seems the biggest naturally-born plan-maker.
The Joker is here less clown and more rotten electricity. Director and co-writer Christopher Nolan has dedicated the movie to the memory of Heath Ledger (and technician Conway Wickliffe) but Ledger's interpretation will be remembered beyond any dedication.

rating: 8,9