The Dark Knight | Batman Wiki - Fandom

This article is about the film. For the Caped Crusader nicknamed "The Dark Knight", see Batman.

The Dark Knight

General Information

Directed by

Christopher Nolan

Written by

Screenplay:Jonathan NolanChristopher NolanStory:David S. Goyer

Music by

Hans ZimmerJames Newton Howard

Art Dept

Nathan Crowley (supervisor)

Duration

152 minutes

Release Date

July 18, 2008

Previous Film

Batman Begins

Next Film

The Dark Knight Rises

"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." ―Harvey Dent[src]

The Dark Knight is the 2008 sequel to Batman Begins. The film is directed by Christopher Nolan and stars Christian Bale as Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred J. Pennyworth, Heath Ledger as the Joker, Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes, Gary Oldman as James Gordon and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. The Dark Knight was released July 18, 2008 in the United States.

The Dark Knight proved to be most more commercially successful than its predecessor and any other film in the franchise before or since. The death of the young actor Heath Ledger and the media sensation that followed had a significant impact on the public's awareness of the film. Another sequel titled The Dark Knight Rises was commissioned for a 2012 release with both Nolan and Bale returning.

Contents

• 1 Plot
  • 1.1 Prologue
  • 1.2 Taking on the Mafia
  • 1.3 An Ultimatum for Gotham
  • 1.4 Giving In
  • 1.5 The Joker's Game
  • 1.6 Enter Two-Face
  • 1.7 An Ace in the Hole
  • 1.8 Harvey
  • 1.9 Epilogue
• 2 Rating
• 3 Cast
• 4 Appearances
  • 4.1 Individuals
  • 4.2 Organizations
  • 4.3 Vehicles
  • 4.4 Technology
  • 4.5 Weapons
  • 4.6 Locations
  • 4.7 Events
  • 4.8 Miscellanea
• 5 Gallery
  • 5.1 Posters
• 6 Trailers
• 7 Production
• 8 Promotion
  • 8.1 The Dark Knight Novel
  • 8.2 The Dark Knight Video Game
  • 8.3 The Dark Knight Soundtrack
  • 8.4 Taglines
• 9 Reception
  • 9.1 Box Office Performance
  • 9.2 Awards and Nominations
• 10 Home Theater
• 11 Behind The Scenes
• 12 Deleted Scenes
• 13 Quotes
• 14 External links
• 15 References

Plot

Prologue

Taking place roughly 10 months after the first film, the film begins with the psychopathic Joker (in disguise as Bozo) and 5 of his clown-masked henchmen (Grumpy, Chuckles, Happy, Dopey and a nameless-masked bus driver) robbing the mob-owned Gotham National Bank, during which each henchman systematically double-crosses and kills the other for a larger slice of money. Eventually the only survivor is the Joker, who reveals himself from under the Bozo mask to the bank manager and then takes the money for himself, driving away in a school bus (after shoving and detonating a smoke grenade into the bank manager's mouth) to join a line of other buses just as the cops arrive. 

Taking on the Mafia

That night, multiple Batman impersonators, armed with guns interrupt a drug deal/meeting involving the Chechen and his gangsters and the Scarecrow and his henchmen. The real Batman shows up and manages to subdue everyone. However, he is hit multiple times and brutally bitten in weak spots of his armor by Rottweiler dogs and the Chechen manages to get away. Sustaining such injuries suffered during the confrontation forces Bruce Wayne to make the decision of acquiring a new, more versatile suit of armor.

Harvey Dent, the new district attorney, begins to place more and more criminals behind bars, even defending himself successfully against an assassination attempt from mob boss Salvatore Maroni during the crime lord's trial. Batman and Lieutenant James Gordon contemplate bringing Harvey in on their plan to eradicate the mob, and the possibility that Harvey will become the hero to the people that Batman cannot be. Harvey is nicknamed the ‘White Knight of Gotham City,' although Harvey mentions in argument with Gordon that he had a different nickname in Internal Affairs (revealed later in the story). At the same time, Bruce Wayne and Harvey are both competing for the love of Rachel Dawes; however, Rachel and Dent are romantically involved in a relationship.

Maroni, the Chechen, Gambol, and the other mob bosses see the combined effort of Dent, Batman and Gordon as a threat and decide to meet and discuss how to handle it. Their Chinese accountant, Lau, informs that he has secretly relocated the mob's money to Hong Kong to prevent the police from seizing it with an imminent bank raid. The Joker arrives and after killing Gambol's crony by way of a "magic trick" (involving sticking a pencil into the table, and then slamming the crony's head onto the pencil, sending it through his eye socket), he proposes to kill Batman for half of their money, and also tries to convince the mob bosses that Lau will give them all up to the police if he is caught. The Joker then makes an example of the problem's anti-crime result about Gambol, who takes it as an insult and offers $500,000 for the Joker dead and $1,000,000 alive so he can "teach him some manners first." The mob bosses don't accept the Joker’s offer, who leaves his ‘card’ behind for them to contact him.

Realizing the threat and the need of taking down Lau and finding the mob money, Bruce is given highly more adjustable and maneuverable equipment for his suit by Lucius Fox. Also included in Batman’s new armor is a newly designed helmet, allowing Wayne to turn his head and arm gauntlets that are able to project the defense spikes. Meanwhile at Gambol's headquarters, three men arrive saying they've killed the Joker, laying his body wrapped in garbage bags on the pool table. Their ruse works and the Joker emerges alive from the bags, inserting a knife in Gambol's mouth and killing him. He subsequently forces Gambol's men to fight to the death for a place alongside him.

Taking the suit with him, Lucius then travels with Bruce to Hong Kong and gives him a sonar-device that can lock onto cell phones and emit a visual image of the phone’s surroundings. It will look like they've come to cancel negotiations between Lau's investment firm (which Bruce thinks is illegal based on their profits) and Wayne Enterprises. That night Batman, donning his new suit, manages to infiltrate Lau’s office, take out the protection and escape with Lau.

An Ultimatum for Gotham

After Batman successfully returns to Gotham he delivers Lau to the Gotham City police. Lau makes a deal with Dent, Rachel and Gordon to give the name of all of his clients in return for being placed on county watch. The mob bosses are all placed under arrest. However, Maroni and the Chechen manage to evade the prison system and agree to pay the Joker half of their money in return for helping them. The Joker broadcasts a message to all of Gotham stating that if the Batman does not turn himself in to the police, then he will kill innocent people every day, starting with a Batman impersonator Brian Douglas. He gives various clues as to who he plans to kill next (based on three traces of DNA found on a Joker card): Commissioner Loeb, Judge Surillo and Dent. Gordon makes emergency preparations to protect them, but in the cases of Surillo and Loeb, he fails. Surillo is seen being taken into protective custody, and the men leading her to her car hand her an envelope containing a list of instructions. As soon as Surillo gets in the car and opens the envelope, she finds only a single word: "UP." Sure enough, the car blows up. Meanwhile, Gordon is trying to convince Loeb about the seriousness of the situation, and Loeb drinks a bottle of whiskey. Gordon figures that perhaps the DNA on the Joker card in question came from someone lifting a sample from a tissue or glass in Loeb's possession. He wheels around, only to see Loeb collapse from severe poisoning.

At a fund raising party thrown for him by Bruce, Dent asks Rachel in a private area if she will marry him. Before she can give a full answer Dent is locked in a secure room by Bruce just as the Joker interrupts the party, demanding to know where Dent is. When the Joker cannot find Dent, he goes to Rachel and assumes she is Dent's romantic interest (after threatening a guest that, according to him, resembles his hated father), but she fights back. Batman eventually arrives and takes on the Joker and his henchmen. The confrontation eventually ends with the Joker escaping by dropping Rachel out of the building while Batman saves her life.

The next day, a public service memorial is held for the late Loeb. Beforehand, the Joker and his henchmen strip the Ceremonial Arms of their uniforms, tie them up, blindfold and gag them in Melvin White's apartment. At the ceremony the Joker with his henchmen, all disguised as the Ceremonial Arms, shoots at Mayor Garcia during the 21-gun salute. Gordon jumps in front of Garcia and is shot in the back, saving Garcia. The memorial breaks into a chaotic riot and the Joker and his men disappear into it. One of them is Thomas Schiff, a paranoid schizophrenic, is shot by the police and is handcuffed in an ambulance about to be arrested. Dent manages to capture Schiff by hijacking the ambulance so that he can interrogate him about the Joker. Meanwhile, Maroni is captured in a club and interrogated by Batman for the Joker's location. As Batman holds him off the side of a building on a fire escape landing, Maroni arrogantly points out that the fall would be non-fatal. Batman simply replies, "I'm counting on it" and drops him, injuring Maroni's legs. Maroni claims to not know the Joker's location, and that no one will cross him for Batman because the Joker has no rules, whereas Batman will not kill. He then tells Batman that the only way he'll find the Joker is if he gives in to his demands and lets the Joker come find him.

Giving In

Meanwhile Dent, after seeing Schiff's name tag which reads "OFFICER RACHEL DAWES", calls Rachel and tells her that the Joker has named her "next" (the Joker's next target). He tells her to go to anyone she can trust, which she claims is Bruce. Dent interrogates Schiff using his lucky coin, heads he lives, tails he dies. Dent's interrogation of Schiff is interrupted by Batman, who reprimands him for his reckless and unruly actions. Realizing what is happening, Bruce (as Batman) states to Dent that he needs to reveal who he truly is, in order to save Gotham and stop the Joker's murders. Dent holds a press conference the next day and announces that the Batman needs to be taken into custody. In the crowd, Bruce is about to step forth but before he can do so, Dent publicly claims that he is Batman, as part of a ruse to draw the Joker out of hiding. As he is arrested Dent gives his coin to Rachel, and it is revealed it is double-headed. Rachel is upset with Bruce not interfering or admitting that Dent is not Batman and that he is. She leaves Alfred a note to give to Bruce ‘when the time is right’.

Arrested and in route to re-location, Dent’s SWAT van transport is ambushed by a garbage truck and semi-trailer driven by the Joker and his thugs. The semi-truck, originally printed with the word 'LAUGHTER' on its side, is now decorated by the Joker with a spray painted 'S' before the 'L' to read 'SLAUGHTER' as well has 'HA-HA-HA' spray painted all over it. Batman arrives in the Batmobile, crashing the garbage truck and driving to the rescue. The Joker failingly attempts to kill Dent during transport with multiple firearms. Then using an RPG, he fires at Dent's van but his shot is intercepted by the Black Tumbler, causing it to crash with irreparable damage.

Here, Batman takes on his ‘secondary’ transportation, the Batpod which bursts out the front of the self-destructing Batmobile. Batman successfully stops the Joker's truck with cables by flipping it upside down. As the Joker climbs out of the flipped semi, he stands in the middle of the road yelling "HIT ME" at the fast approaching Batpod, but Batman is forced to crash in order to avoid killing the Joker (honoring his no kill policy) and lays wounded on the ground. Suddenly, Gordon, who faked his death and had actually been driving Dent's transportation van, sneaks up behind the Joker and arrests him.

The Joker's Game

Dent is released and applauded by the press for his bravery before being driven home by Detective Wuertz. Gordon is promoted to commissioner by Garcia for his efforts. With the Joker in custody, everything seems to be safe. Unfortunately, it is soon later revealed that Dent never made it home.

When questioned by Gordon as to what he did with Dent, the Joker hints that Wuertz was the one responsible for Dent's predicament (which later turns out to be true). Gordon, desperate to save Dent, leaves the Joker in Batman's hands. Batman then interrogates the Joker in a brutal fashion and the Joker 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. The Joker's admits his sadistic point; Batman will have to choose which one to save. Bruce 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. Rachel and Dent, tied to chairs and surrounded by oil drums, are able to communicate through an intercom that displays a timer as to when their bombs will simultaneously detonate. The two reassure each other that everything will be okay. As Dent attempts to escape, he falls over and douses the left side of his face with gasoline. Rachel tells Dent that her answer to his proposal is yes. Batman arrives at the location that was supposed to be Rachel’s location and therefore rescues Dent. Then both buildings explode; fire burns the left side of Dent's face during the explosion due to the oil he fell into earlier, severely disfiguring it. Gordon does not reach Rachel in time; she dies in the explosion.

Back at the MCU, the Joker provokes a detective into attacking him and uses him as a human shield as he walks out of his interrogation room. Then, with the help of a cell phone bomb implanted in one of his thugs, he escapes with Lau in tow.

Gordon is distraught to realize that the Joker had wanted to be captured. Alfred reads the letter Rachel left Bruce which says that was not willing to wait for him as she could not see a time when he would not be Batman and she intends to marry Harvey. Bruce is grief-stricken over the death of Rachel and for what has happened to Dent stating he is "Gotham's true hero" and Alfred tells him that Gotham will have to make do with Batman; Bruce also states he knew Rachel would have waited for him to stop being Batman and they would have been together. Alfred, who had planned to give Bruce the letter, instead keeps it from him.

Enter Two-Face

In Gotham General Hospital, Dent is driven to madness over the loss of Rachel, which he blames on Batman, Gordon and the Joker. Gordon is curious as to why Dent, despite the massive injuries, refuses to have skin grafts or medication. When Gordon asks if he knows who took him captive, Dent replies by asking "why would you listen to me now?" He then demands Gordon to say the nickname the cops gave him; Gordon reveals it to be "Harvey Two-Face." Turning his head to face the now horrified Gordon, he shows the damage to his face. The left side is blackened and charred, with an eyeball exposed. Dent replies with "why should I hide who I am?"

Maroni, realizing his mistake, tips Gordon off on the Joker's meeting with the Chechen at the Gotham Docks, and the police get ready to arrest the two of them. Coleman Reese, Wayne Enterprises' lawyer, works out that Bruce is Batman and (following a failed blackmail attempt) plans to reveal it on television. The Joker burns Lau on top of his share of the mob money and double-crosses and kills the Chechen, vowing that "This city deserves a better class of criminal and I'm going to give it to them." He then publicly states that he no longer cares about killing Batman because he is ‘too much fun’ and that if Reese not killed to prevent Batman's secret from slipping, then he will blow up a hospital. Gordon is forced to turn his back on the Joker temporarily to focus on protecting Reese and evacuating all the hospitals. All hospitals begin immediate evacuation and Gordon, with help from Bruce, manages to save Reese from getting killed by angry civilians.

At Gotham General, Joker arrives disguised as a nurse to corrupt Dent. Dent, unable to move due to bed restraints, is convinced by the Joker to exact revenge on the cops, mobsters, Gordon and Batman for killing Rachel. Dent uses his coin, which is now burnt completely on one side, to determine the Joker's fake. Joker, with a gun to his head, allows this happy that Dent is embracing chaos. The coin comes up heads, so Dent lets Joker go before escaping the hospital. Joker blows up the hospital while kidnapping a bus of hospital doctors, nurses, surgeons, security guards, and patients.

While Two-Face confronts the corrupt cops and the mobsters one by one, flipping his coin to decide their fates, resulting in the cold-blooded murders of Wuertz and Maroni's driver (Maroni's fate ends up ambigous after his car crashes), the Joker declares on television that he will rule the streets and that anyone left in Gotham at nightfall will be subject to his rule. Eventually the city attempts to leave, although, all road ways and bridges have been cut off due to the Joker's warning that they have been wired to explode. However, two ferries remain and each one becomes full. One carries prisoners and the other carries regular citizens.

At Wayne Enterprises, Lucius discovers that Batman has expanded on the sonar technology and developed an advanced surveillance system that can listen in and track the movement of anyone from the thousands of cell phones in the city; Lucius agrees to help by monitoring the sonar, but says he will resign if the machine is not destroyed after the Joker is gone since this essentially contradicts what Bruce believes in.

An Ace in the Hole

The Joker reveals that he has planted explosives on the two ferries of evacuees and gives the passengers on board the chance to destroy the opposing vessel in order to save their own lives but warns them that unless a decision is made, he will blow up both ferries at midnight. With his ‘sonar-vision’, Batman tracks the Joker to the construction site of the Prewitt Building. Elsewhere Two-Face forces Anna Ramirez into getting Gordon's family out of their home and leading them to him. After sparing her life and merely knocking her out, he then phones and tells Gordon of the situation. When Gordon demands to know where his family is, Two-Face replies "Where my family died".

At the Joker's hideout Gordon's SWAT team move in to take out the Joker's henchmen and save the hostages, but find out that the Joker has ironically disguised his henchmen as the hostages and the hostages as the henchmen, who are gagged with duct tape, and have clown masks shoved over their faces and guns taped to their bound hands(which Batman discovers first), causing great confusion. Thankfully, Batman is able to clear the air and he not only takes down the real criminals but also the SWAT team as well. Once the team realise what is actually going on, they are able to arrest the real criminals and save the real hostages.

The Joker and Batman have one final confrontation. The Joker sends Rottweiler dogs at Batman, who manages to get rid of them. However, Batman is repeatedly hit by the Joker, who uses a steel pipe. The Joker manages to subdue Batman under a column and forces him to watch as midnight approaches but nothing happens as neither the citizens or the convicts are willing to kill the other. The Joker looks on in confusion as Batman says to him "What were you trying to prove, that deep down, everyone’s as ugly as you? You’re alone."

The Joker is unphased by this remark and pulls out a detonator preparing to blow up both ships. However, he is caught off guard when Batman projects the steel spikes from his gauntlet at the Joker causing him to release his grip on Batman and the detonator. Batman then throws the cackling man off the building but, to the Joker's annoyance, Batman refuses to kill him, instead grabbing him with his grapple gun and leaves him hanging upside down. With this act, the Joker acknowledges that Batman really is incorruptible but that Dent is no longer the "White Knight"; he's unleashed the scarred man on the city and dubbed him his "Ace in the hole". Batman leaves to find Two-Face while the SWAT team moves in and arrests the Joker.

Harvey

At the place where Rachel died, Two-Face beats down Gordon and is angry to see cops outside the building closing in on him. Gordon tells him that they only know there is a situation and know nothing about what is happening. Dent then decides to kill Gordon's son and stands at the edge of the building. Batman finds Two-Face, along with Gordon's family, at the building where Rachel died. He tries to reason with Two-Face and tells him to point the gun at the people truly responsible for Rachel's death, so the former D.A. judges those people he believes are responsible, namely Batman, Gordon and himself, and judges Gordon's son to punish Gordon even more severely, all through the chance of a coin flip, which he sees as the only fairness left in the world and seeing it as that everyone will have a 50/50 chance just like Rachel.

Two-Face flips for (bad heads) Batman and shoots Batman in the stomach. He flips the coin again to decide his own fate (good heads), but before he can determine the boy's fate, Batman tackles him (survived Two-Face's shot due to his body armor) over the side of the building, saving Gordon's son (the third coin flip for Gordon's Son was shown to be the Good Heads).

Epilogue

As Two-Face lies dead from a broken neck, Batman and Gordon decide that the Joker would win if anyone found out about Dent's corruption and madness because people would lose hope. Batman convinces Gordon to tell Gotham that he, not Dent committed the murders in order to preserve Dent's image as Gotham’s ‘White Knight’ and to give the city hope.

Gordon is reluctant to do so, but Batman explains he's whatever Gotham needs him to be while future events show: Gordon destroys the Bat-Signal in-front of the police and the press, a manhunt is issued for Batman; Alfred burns the note Rachel left knowing that Bruce will be heartbroken if he reads it; while Lucius (unknowingly but pleased) destroys the 'sonar vision' using a self-destruct code as told by Batman: and Gotham has a funeral for the "White Knight".

Batman takes off into the night but Gordon’s son does not understand the reasoning for why Batman must be hunted. But Gordon explains "because he can take it. Because he's not a hero. He's a silent guardian; a watchful protector; a Dark Knight."

Rating

The Dark Knight received a PG-13 rating for intense sequences of violence and some menace by the MPAA. The film is rated 12A by the BBFC for moderate violence and sustained threat.

Cast

• Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman
• Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth
• Heath Ledger as The Joker
• Gary Oldman as James Gordon
• Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face
• Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes
• Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox
• Monique Gabriela Curnen as Detective Anna Ramirez
• Ron Dean as Detective Michael Wuertz
• Nestor Carbonell as Mayor Anthony Garcia
• Chin Han as Mr. Lau
• Eric Roberts as Sal Maroni
• Ritchie Coster as The Chechen
• Anthony Michael Hall as Mike Engel
• Keith Szarabajka as Detective Gerard Stephens
• Joshua Harto as Coleman Reese
• Melinda McGraw as Barbara Gordon
• Nathan Gamble as James Gordon, Jr.
• Michael Jai White as Gambol
• Beatrice Rosen as Natascha Patrenko
• Colin McFarlane as Gillian Loeb
• Sarah Jayne Dunn as Sal Maroni's Mistress
• William Fichtner as Manager of Gotham National Bank
• Cillian Murphy as Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow
• Danny Goldring as Grumpy
• Matthew O'Neill as Chuckles
• William Smille as Happy
• Michael Stoyonov as Dopey
• Chris Wilson as MCU Detective

Appearances

Individuals

• Bruce Wayne/Batman
• Alfred Pennyworth
• The Joker
• Lt. James Gordon
• Harvey Dent/Two-Face
• Rachel Dawes
• Lucius Fox
• Det. Anna Ramirez
• Det. Michael Wuertz
• Mayor Anthony Garcia
• Lau
• Sal Maroni
• The Chechen
• Mike Engel
• Det. Gerard Stephens
• Coleman Reese
• Barbara Gordon
• James Gordon, Jr.
• Gambol
• Natascha Patrenko
• Commissioner Gillian Loeb
• Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow
• Wilmer Rossi
• Dopey
• Happy
• Grumpy
• Chuckles
• Manager of Gotham National Bank
• Drug Dealer
• Drug Buyer
• Fear Toxin Junkie
• Italian Crime Boss at summit
• LSI VP
• Judge Janet Surillo
• Brian Douglas
• Surrillo's Killers
• The Joker's bus driver
• The Joker's truck driver
• The Joker's black bounty hunter
• The Joker's white bounty hunter
• The Joker's second white bounty hunter
• Judge Freel
• Sal Maroni's Mistress
• Thomas Schiff
• Kilson
• Det. Murphy
• Gordons' Daughter
• Anton
• Ginty
• Sgt. Raphael Mayer
• Berg
• Jeremy Polk
• Willy Davis
• Grogan
• McFarland
• Kirk Packer
• Ronald Coburgh
• Matilda
• John Stone
• Kelly Peck
• Sam
• Grace
• Richard Patterson
• Raymond Patterson
• Gentleman at Party
• Passionate Woman at fundraising party
• Passionate Man at fundraising party
• Pencil Trick Thug
• Black Crime Boss at summit
• Teller of Gotham National Bank
• LSI Security Guard
• Hong Kong Detective
• Patrick Harvey
• Richard Dent
• Thomas Wayne (mentioned only)
• Martha Wayne (mentioned only)
• Principal of Mark Twain High School (mentioned only)
• Wayne Family Physician (mentioned only)
• Zachary Dabb (mentioned only)
• North Korean Master (mentioned only)
• South Korean Smugglers (mentioned only)
• Ra's al Ghul (mentioned only)
• Burmese Bandit (mentioned only)
• The Joker's Father (mentioned only)
• The Joker's Mother (mentioned only)
• The Joker's Wife (mentioned only)
• Harry Dent (mentioned only)
• Lucy Dent (mentioned only)
• William Earle (mentioned only)
• Carmine Falcone (mentioned only)
• The Chechen's Father (mentioned only)
• The Chechen's Mother (mentioned only)
• Gambol's Grandma (mentioned only)
• Titus V. Blaney (mentioned only)
• Melvin White (mentioned only)
• O'Brien (mentioned only)
• Richards (mentioned only)
• Burns (mentioned only)
• Zachary (mentioned only)

Organizations

• Wayne Enterprises
• Gotham City Police Department
• Major Crimes Unit
• The Joker's Thugs
• Sal Maroni's Thugs
• The Chechen's Thugs
• Gambol's Thugs
• Lau's Thugs
• The Scarecrow's Thugs
• Batmen
• Moscow Ballet
• Falcone Crime Family (mentioned only)

Vehicles

• Black Tumbler
  • Batpod
• Bruce Wayne's MV Agusta F4 1078
• Bruce Wayne's Lamborghini Murciélago LP640
• Spirit
• Liberty
• Korean Smugglers' C-130 cargo plane
• Moscow Ballet Yacht
• The Joker's Semi Truck
• International 4300 (Armored truck)

Technology

• Batsuit
• Plated Batsuit
• Bat-Sonar Lenses
• Grapple Gun
• Memory Cloth Cape
• Bat-Signal
• Secret Computer System

Weapons

• Batarang
• Sticky Bomb Launcher
• Pneumatic Mangler
• Ceramic .28 Caliber
• Flick Knife
• Smith & Wesson M76

Locations

• Gotham
  • Gotham City
    • Uptown Gotham City
      • Thomasina Arms
        • Mob Hideout
      • Lou's
    • Midtown Gotham City
      • Bruce Wayne's Penthouse
      • Gotham City Police Headquarters
        • Major Crimes Unit
      • Gotham General Hospital
      • The Ocelot
      • Prewitt Building
    • Downtown Gotham City
      • Wayne Enterprises
      • Gotham National Bank
      • Bruce Wayne's Warehouse
      • Gotham City Hall
      • Gotham City Courthouse
      • 250 52nd St
    • The Narrows (mentioned only)
      • Arkham Asylum (mentioned only)
    • The Palisades (mentioned only)
      • Wayne Manor (mentioned only)
• China
  • Hong Kong
    • LSI Holdings Building

Events

• The Joker's Robbery of Gotham National Bank
• Mob Summit
• Capturing Lau
• The Joker's Video Threat
• Attempted Assassination of Harvey Dent
• Attempted Assassination of Mayor Garcia
• Stand-off Near Wayne Tower
• Failed Rescue of Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes
• Coleman Reese Ransom
• Ferry Threat and Prewitt Building Rescue

Miscellanea

• Two-Face's Coin
• The Chechen's Rottweilers
• GCTV
• The Gotham Times
• Skyhook
• Scatterin' Monkey
• 4 A Moment of Silence

Gallery

Posters

Teaser posterThe Joker teaserThe Joker teaser #2Batman teaserThe JokerBatman (theatrical poster)Batman rides the Bat-podThe JokerBatmanHarvey DentFull bannerBanner 1 (Batman rides the Bat-pod)Banner 2 (The Joker)Banner 3 (Batman)Jokerized posterJokerized teaser posterJokerized Batman posterJokerized Joker posterJokerized Batman posterJokerized Batman posterJokerized posterJokerized Batman posterJokerized Harvey Dent posterJokerized Dark Knight Banner

Trailers

The Dark Knight Teaser TrailerTeaser TrailerThe Dark Knight TrailerTrailer IThe Dark Knight Movie TrailerTrailer IIThe Dark Knight IMAX FeaturetteIMAX FeaturetteThe Dark Knight TV Spot 1"Out Of The Darkness"The Dark Knight TV Spot 2"Tonight's Entertainment"The Dark Knight TV Spot 3"Descent"The Dark Knight TV Spot 4"Explosive"The Dark Knight TV Spot 5"Normality"The Dark Knight TV Spot 6"Escalation"The Dark Knight - TV Spot 36"Chaos"The Dark Knight TV Spot 8"Freak"The Dark Knight TV Spot 9"Limits"The Dark Knight TV Spot 10"Subtlety"The Dark Knight TV Spot 11"Alter-Ego"The Dark Knight TV Spot 12"Good Cop/Bad Cop"The Dark Knight TV Spot 13"Joker's Resume!"The Dark Knight TV Spot 14"Famous"The Dark Knight TV Spot 15"Laughter"The Dark Knight TV Spot 16"Rolling Stones"The Dark Knight TV Spot - Tomorrow"Tomorrow"The Dark Knight TV Spot - Today"Today"The Dark Knight TV Spot - Boom Cackle Review - HD 720P"Critical Acclaim"

Production

Before the release of Batman Begins, screenwriter David S. Goyer had written a treatment for two sequels, introducing the Joker and Harvey Dent.[1] On July 31, 2006, Warner Bros. Pictures officially announced the initiation of production for the sequel, titled The Dark Knight.[2] The title makes The Dark Knight the first live-action Batman film without the word Batman in its title. Christian Bale noted, "This take on Batman of mine and Chris' is very different from any of the others and everything else always had Batman in the title."[3] Christopher Nolan described the sequel's theme as escalation, continuing how Batman Begins ended, with "things having to get worse before they get better."[4] Nolan indicated that The Dark Knight would also continue the themes that Batman Begins had, such as justice vs. revenge and Bruce Wayne's father issues,[5] while Jonathan Nolan has indicated that the film will show more of Batman as a detective.[6] The Dark Knight is also based on The Long Halloween and Dark Victory.

The story was co-written by Christopher Nolan and screenwriter David S. Goyer,[7] while the Nolan brothers took turns each month to revise the screenplay.[8][9] The Dark Knight's interpretation of the Joker is based primarily on the character's first two appearances in the Batman comics, as well as Alan Moore's one-shot comic book Batman: The Killing Joke,[4] which was given to Heath Ledger in order to prepare for his role.[10] Jerry Robinson, one of the co-creators of the basic concept for the Joker in the comics, is involved as a consultant on the portrayal of the character.[11] The Nolan brothers were highly secretive, with Christopher Nolan refusing to let Ledger leave his house with a copy of the script.[12]

In October 2006, film location manager Robin Higgs visited Liverpool to scout locations, mainly along the city's waterfront, for filming The Dark Knight. Other scouted locations included Yorkshire, Glasgow, and parts of London.[13] Producer Charles Roven originally stated in August 2006 that principal photography would begin in March 2007,[14] but filming was pushed back to start in April.[15] For its IMAX release, Nolan had four major action sequences, including the Joker's introduction, shot in the format. Nolan admitted he wished he could have shot the entire film in IMAX, and felt, "I figured if you could take an IMAX camera to Mount Everest or outer space, you could use it in a feature movie."[16]

Warner Bros. chose Chicago as a filming location with a plan to film there for 13 weeks,[17] due to Nolan having had a "truly remarkable experience" filming there for part of Batman Begins.[9] The crew shot there from April 18–24, 2007[18] for the film's prologue involving the Joker.[19] The crew returned to shoot there from June 9, 2007 to early September. Production of The Dark Knight in Chicago will generate $45 million in the city's economy and create thousands of jobs.[20] According to actor Michael Caine, the film will also be shot in London, Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Hong Kong.[21] Hong Kong's walled city of Kowloon had been an influence on the Narrows in Batman Begins.[22]

In an October 2006 interview, composer Hans Zimmer confirmed he and James Newton Howard would be returning to score The Dark Knight, teaming up as they did on Batman Begins.[23] Zimmer said that the main Batman theme was purposely introduced at the end of Batman Begins and be fleshed out in the sequel as the character develops.[24] On January 22, 2008, Heath Ledger, who played the Joker, died of an accidental overdose.

Promotion

In May 2007, the studio launched a teaser page for The Dark Knight.[25] Later in the month, a second teaser page was launched, featuring an image from the fictional political campaign of Harvey Dent, portrayed in the film by Aaron Eckhart, that was captioned, "I Believe in Harvey Dent".[26] Soon after, a mimmick site appeared called IBelieveinHarveyDentToo. It showed a Jokerized version of Harvey Dent's campaign poster. Little by little, the pixels diminished into the first official photo of the Joker. Joker then set up a website called WhySoSerious.com, where he left updates on his recent criminal activity and interactive games.

The Dark Knight Novel

Main article: The Dark Knight (novelization)

The Dark Knight Video Game

Main article: The Dark Knight (Video Game)

The Dark Knight Soundtrack

Main article: The Dark Knight (Soundtrack)

Taglines

• "Why So Serious?
• "Welcome to a world without rules."
• "Out of the darkness...comes the Knight."
• "What doesn't kill you makes you stranger!"
• "The night is darkest before the dawn."
• "I Believe In Harvey Dent."

Reception

The Dark Knight was open to universal acclaim among critics, audiences, and culture alike. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 94% overall approval of 277. The film also rated 82% on Metacritic. Roger Ebert describes The Dark Knight as a "haunted film that leaps beyond it origins and becomes an engrossing tragedy." He praises the performances, direction, and writing, and says that the film "redefines the possibilites of the comic book movie." Ebert states that the key performance is by Heath Ledger, and pondered whether he would become the first posthumous Academy Award-winning actor since Peter Finch in 1976. Ledger ultimately won the Oscar. Ebert named it one of his twenty favourite films of 2008. The Dark Knight was ranked the 15th greatest film in history on Empire's 2008 list of the "500 Greatest Movies of All Time", based upon the weighted votes of 10,000 readers, 150 film directors, and 50 key film critics. Heath Ledger's interpretation of the Joker was also ranked 3rd on Empire's 2008 list of the "100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time."

The film also received a welcome from comic book fans and writers. Emanuel Levy wrote Heath Ledger "throws himself completely" into the role, and that the film represents Christopher Nolan's "most accomplished and mature" work, and the most technically impressive and resonant of all Batman films.

Box Office Performance

The Dark Knight opened on July 14, 2008 in the United States in 9,200 screens at a then-record 4,366 theatres, accumulating $158.4 million over its opening weekend. The film went on to gross $1,001,921,825 worldwide. The Dark Knight is the highest grossing Batman film ahead of the 1989 Batman and 2005 Batman Begins. The Dark Knight was the highest grossing film of 2008 in the US.

Awards and Nominations

Just months after its release, The Dark Knight was voted by Empire readers as the 15th greatest film of all time. The Dark Knight was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won two:

• Best Supporting Actor - Heath Ledger
• Best Art Direction
• Best Cinematography
• Best Film Editing
• Best Makeup
• Best Sound Editing
• Best Sound Mixing
• Best Visual Effects

Note: Awards in bold are the awards The Dark Knight won.

Home Theater

The Dark Knight DVD and Blu-ray was put out on December 9, 2008.

Various Versions include:

• DVD Single Disc.
• DVD 2-Disc Steelbook.
• Blu-ray.
• Blu-ray with the Joker cover.
• Blu-ray 2-Disc set with Bat-Pod stand.
• Blu-ray with clown bobble-head
• A special DVD package will come with a graphic novel of the film.
• The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector's Edition Blu-ray

The Dark Knight (Single Disc)The Dark Knight (2 Disc Special Edition DVD)The Dark Knight (2 disc Blu-ray limited edition)The Dark Knight (2-Disc set with clown bobble-headThe Dark Knight (Blu-ray Batman Edition)The Dark Knight (Blu-ray Joker edition)The Dark Knight Trilogy DVD boxsetThe Dark Knight Trilogy Blu-ray boxsetThe Dark Knight promo ad featuring The Joker.The Dark Knight promo ad featuring Batman.The Dark Knight Trilogy ad.

Behind The Scenes

• According to court documents on Judge Surrillo's desk, Gotham City is located in the fictional US state of Gotham, a homage to New York, New York.
• These documents also reveal that the RICO case was held on July 25, 2008, likely placing the film's events between the beginning of July and the end of August 2008, setting the events in the immediate present based on when the film was released.
• During the events of this film, the population of Gotham City is roughly 30 million.
• The Bat symbol rising through a fire ball in the film's opening seems to indicate a running theme throughout the story. The Joker blows up a hospital, Judge Surillo, Lau, and Rachel are all destroyed by fire. Harvey Dent is transformed by fire burns. The Burmese Bandit was successfully captured by Alfred's unit burning the forest down. Alfred indicates that the Joker just wants to watch the world burn. The Joker lights Lau's money on fire. Before he announces that he will blow up a hospital, he says "Everything burns".

Deleted Scenes

Following rumors that as with the DVD release for Batman Begins, The Dark Knight will not include any deleted scenes, which scenes may have been in the shooting script but unfilmed, filmed but cut, or developed by the novelization's author, Denny O'Neil, will remain ambiguous and left to speculation until official word comes from the film makers. The following are just a few of the known examples:

• Numerous alternate takes, notably differences of Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker between the film and its trailers.
• A great deal of backstory for Harvey Dent, including his parents, Harry and Lucy, and how Harvey came to meet Rachel.
• The Joker, while posing as Bozo before his robbery of Gotham National Bank, stood on the sidewalk waiting for his men to pick him up. An elderly woman stood near him and he slipped her a hundred dollar bill, either to walk away or keep silent about seeing him there.
• The Chechen had a lackey named Burton who told him about Scarecrow, and set up the meeting for them.
• Scarecrow sold his drug to a junkie for little money, then after he took the drug was killed by Scarecrow, with the intention of learning its effects.
• Apparently originally a knife held the note to Brian Douglas' chest, but an alternate scene was filmed showing the note held by a pin.
• Following the charity event in Bruce's penthouse, the following scene takes place: The Joker looks back toward the penthouse as his getaway car speeds away. He breathes hard, exhilarated even as a stream of blood runs down his face. He smacks the back of the driver's seat. Driver: "What do we do about Dent?" The Joker: "I'm a man of my word."
• Instead of saying he's going after Rachel, Batman says "Dent knew the risks."
• Rachel's last words before dying: "Bruce. Harvey. I love you."
• Gordon makes it clear that the Joker switched the locations of Rachel and Harvey in his directions.
• After blowing up the hospital and getting in the bus, a small excised scene takes place in the bus as it escapes, with particular attention going towards the fact that the Joker doesn't look back at the exploding hospital.

Quotes

• "He thinks he can sit out and still take a slice? I know why they call him "the Joker"." - Grumpy
• "I believe whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you... stranger." - the Joker
• "I told you my compound would take you places. I never said they'd be places you wanted to go." - Scarecrow
• "Aha ha ho hee hee a-ha a-ha ho hee ha ha. And I thought my jokes were bad." - the Joker
• "How 'bout a magic trick?" - the Joker
• "You wanna know how I got these scars?" - the Joker
• "Why so serious?" - the Joker
• "You think you can steal from us and just walk away?" - Gambol

"Yeah..." - the Joker

• "Let's put a smile on that face!" - the Joker
• "I make my own luck." - Dent
• "Heads, you keep yours. Tails - not so lucky." - Dent
• "Endure. You could be the outcast, you could make the choice that no one else will face. The right choice. Gotham needs you." - Alfred Pennyworth
• "You remind me of my father. And I hated my father." - the Joker
• "Let me get this straight: You think that your client, one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the world, is secretly a vigilante who spends his nights beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands. And your plan is to blackmail this person? Good luck." - Lucius Fox
• "A little fight in ya, I like that." "Then you're gonna love me." - the Joker and Batman
• "You know that day you once told me about, when Gotham would no longer need Batman? It's coming." - Bruce Wayne
• "Come on, I want you to do it, I want you to do it. Come on, hit me. Hit me!" - the Joker
• "To them you're just a freak...like me." - the Joker
• "You wanna know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick. You can't... savor all the little emotions. Yo-You see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are. So in a way, I knew your friends better than you ever did. Would you like to know which of them were cowards?" - the Joker
• "It's all a part of the plan." - the Joker
• "This town deserves a better class of criminal. And I'm gonna give it to 'em." - the Joker
• "It's a funny world we live in. Speaking of which, do you know how I got these scars?" "No, but I know how you got these!" - the Joker and Batman
• "You just couldn't let me go, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible aren't you? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness, and I won't kill you, because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever." "You'll be in a padded cell forever." "Maybe we can share one. They'll be doubling up, the rate this city's inhabitants are losing their minds." - the Joker and Batman
• "I took Gotham's white knight, and brought him down to our level. It wasn't hard. See, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little...push. Ahahahaha!" - the Joker
• "Sometimes, truth isn't good enough, sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded." - Batman
• "Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now... and so we'll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he's not a hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector... a dark knight." - Gordon
• "Well, according to the time, he could be in one place or several!" - The Joker
• "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." - Dent
• "The night is always darker just before the dawn, and I promise you, the dawn is coming."- Dent
• "We're going to find him, and we're going to make him squeal." - The Joker

External links

• Production Notes
• Official Teaser Page
• The Joker Why So Serious? Page
• Harvey Dent Political Campaign
• Gotham City Police Department site
• Gotham City Police Department Major Crimes Unit site
• Gotham City Police Department Internal Affairs Division site
• Gotham City National Bank site
• The Gotham Times newspaper site
• Gotham City Cable TV site
• Blog against corruption and political abuse
• Concerned Citizens for A Better Gotham site
• Gotham City Rail site
• Gotham City Ferry System site

References

1. ↑ "Premiere Features Batman Begins", SuperHeroHype.com (2005-05-09). Retrieved on 2006-11-022006-11-02. 
2. ↑ Warner Bros. Pictures (2006-07-31). "Batman Sequel Title & Casting Confirmed!", ComingSoon.net. Retrieved on 2006-07-312006-07-31. 
3. ↑ Stax (2006-08-04). "Dark Knight Talks Dark Knight", IGN. Retrieved on 2006-10-032006-10-03. 
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Josh Horowitz (2006-08-23). "Exclusive! Dirt on The Dark Knight!", Better Than Fudge. Retrieved on 2006-08-232006-08-23. 
5. ↑ Stax (2006-10-03). "Exclusive: Nolan's Dark Knight Revelations", IGN. Retrieved on 2006-10-232006-10-23. 
6. ↑ Robert Sanchez (2007-04-19). "Interview: IESB Gets the Skinny On All Things Comic Book from David Goyer!", IESB. Retrieved on 2007-04-192007-04-19. 
7. ↑ Stax (2006-09-25). "Nolans Talk Dark Knight", IGN. Retrieved on 2006-10-032006-10-03. 
8. ↑ Jonah Weiland (2006-09-06). "1-on-1: David Goyer Talks "Blade" The TV Series", Comic Book Resources. Retrieved on 2006-09-102006-09-10. 
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Cindy Pearlman (2006-10-25). "Caped Crusader may alight here next year", Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on 2006-10-252006-10-25. 
10. ↑ Daniel Robert Epstein (2006-11-07). "Heath Ledger Talks Joker", Newsarama. Retrieved on 2006-11-082006-11-08. 
11. ↑ "Updates On The Dark Knight Plus Our Own Exclusive On The Involvement Of Joker Creator Jerry Robinson In The Batman Sequel!", InsomniacMania.com (2006-08-24). Retrieved on 2006-08-282006-08-28. 
12. ↑ "Heath Ledger Knows Little About 'Batman Begins' Sequel", Starpulse (2006-11-09). Retrieved on 2006-11-092006-11-09. 
13. ↑ Catherine Jones (2006-10-13). "Batman film may swoop into Liverpool", icLiverpool. Retrieved on 2006-10-132006-10-13. 
14. ↑ Heather Newgen (2006-08-12). "Producer Chuck Roven on The Dark Knight", SuperHeroHype.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-232006-08-23. 
15. ↑ Rob Lowman (2007-02-19). "TRICKS OF THE TRADE (second article)", LA Daily News. Retrieved on 2007-02-202007-02-20. 
16. ↑ Scott Bowles (2007-05-29). "First look: Enter the Joker — in the IMAX format", USA Today. Retrieved on 2007-05-292007-05-29. 
17. ↑ Terry Armour (2007-01-28). "Quiet on the set? Not in this town", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-01-302007-01-30. 
18. ↑ "Batman's Back In Chicago", NBC (2007-04-18). Retrieved on 2007-04-192007-04-19. 
19. ↑ Carolyn Giardina (2007-05-29). "'Dark Knight' heeds Imax signal", The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on 2007-05-292007-05-29. Archived from the original on 2007-05-31. 
20. ↑ Lorene Yue (2007-06-08). "Batman movie filming to start Saturday", Chicago Business. Retrieved on 2007-06-082007-06-08. 
21. ↑ Army Archerd (2007-01-04). "Don't Call it a Remake", Army Archerd. Retrieved on 2007-01-102007-01-10. 
22. ↑ Jeff Otto (2005-06-05). "Interview: Christopher Nolan", N. Retrieved on 2007-01-102007-01-10. 
23. ↑ Dan Goldwasser (2006-10-07). "Breaking the Rules with Hans Zimmer, Part 2", SoundtrackNet. Retrieved on 2006-10-072006-10-07. 
24. ↑ Dan Goldwasser (2006-11-02). "Breaking the Rules with Hans Zimmer, Part 3", SoundtrackNet. Retrieved on 2006-11-032006-11-03. 
25. ↑ "The Dark Knight Teaser Page Up", SuperHeroHype.com (2007-05-12). Retrieved on 2007-05-172007-05-17. 
26. ↑ "Vote Harvey Dent for District Attorney!", ComingSoon.net (2007-05-17). Retrieved on 2007-05-172007-05-17. 

The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012)
Films:   Batman Begins  • The Dark Knight  • The Dark Knight Rises