All I can say is-wow. I won't go into the plot, since other sources can do it better. I had not seen the film in the theater, and now I'm glad it worked out this way.
It was one of, if not the most awesome movie experiences I have had with my home theater. "Awesome" is way over used these days, but in this case it is entirely accurate. The combined onslaught of what must be both reference video and audio makes for 152 minutes of sensory saturation.
Some technical notes: I watched on a 720p DLP, with Dolby TrueHD audio through 5.1 analogs. Starting out , the dialog was a little soft and the LFE a bit large, so I bumped up the center channel 2 DB and lowered the subwoofer 1 DB. This turned out to be about right for my system. The dialog was now very comfortable, and my wife still had to plug her ears during the booms.(That's the test in our house.) One interesting item on the video: most of it is in 2.40 aspect, while some of the more expansive shots are in 1.78. This was surprising but worked very well. I have not seen that in any other film or DVD.
The only comment I will make about the characters in the movie is that Heath Ledger was fantastic as the Joker.
I am not a devoted Batman fan, but I was thoroughly impressed with everything about this Blu-ray presentation. You feel wrung out when it's over, and I like that. My highest recommendation.
One interesting item on the video: most of it is in 2.40 aspect, while some of the more expansive shots are in 1.78. This was surprising but worked very well. I have not seen that in any other film or DVD.
This is because 28 minutes of the film was shot in IMAX which is a 1.44:1 aspect ratio. It's the first film to use native IMAX resolution along with the blow-up of the 35mm widescreen print. It's nice to hear that they made an attempt to duplicate seeing the film in an IMAX theater. There's no way that Blu-ray can capture all of the detail in 70mm IMAX film but at least they didn't just chop of the top and bottom of the large format frame to make it fit into a 2.40 AR. I'm looking forward to seeing the Blu-ray transfer to see how close it comes to the theatrical experience.
I was snookered once again. I had heard that the Dark Knight was a super good movie so I went out and bought the bluray version. You have got to be kidding !!!!! What a lousy movie. It was unenjoyable from start to finish. I get so tired of being snookered. Now for a really good movie, watch The King of Mask.
In my opinion this is one of the best comic book super hero movies ever made. The action sequences were absolutely amazing. I think what made them so amazing was that the director insisted that as little CGI be used as possible ... actually smashing new cars, flipping vehicles, and blowing up buildings. I watched this movie with 3 friends who were equally impressed.
Heath Ledger's performance was absolutely chilling. If he does not win the Oscar there is something wrong with the Academy! I don't know exactly how he pulled it off but he became the Joker in every sense. It was really quite eerie! The music used during the Joker sequences was brilliant in adding to the tension and creepiness!
The picture quality (there is great depth to many of the shots) and surround sound on this Blu-ray disc is first rate ... with plenty of LFE to shake your viewing room!
For those interested in the making of the film, the bonus extras are worth watching. You will get a better understanding of the lengths the director went to make the experience as exciting and as real as possible.
Despite the excellent quality of this disc I think Heath Ledger's performance lost just a little on the small screen ... he seemed even more menacing when I saw it on a big screen in a theatre. I would have loved to have seen this movie on an IMAX screen, but neither of the 2 IMAX theatres in this city showed it.
This was a rental copy ... I love this movie so much I may eventually purchase the disc.
Very highly Recommended ... 4+ stars out of 4!!!
Watched on a state of the art 1080P 60" Pioneer 141FD Plasma via Pioneer BDP-05FD Blu-ray player. Sound provided by Classe CAV180 amplifier through a Denon 4802 for processing powering a Martin Logan 5 channel speaker system with a Velodyne HGS12 subwoofer.
tudd.....you may consider that you simply do not enjoy this particular class of movie. There are so very many movies to enjoy - I tend to push my friends to Metacritic.com, where you not only get Pro review meta ratings (quantified to a 1-100 scale) but a ordinary rating of casual site readers (1-10) scale. In that you get to read about the movie, and why it is considered good....or my favorite, why it might be considered bad, by many many reviewers (short comments, with links to full reviews).
Then you can filter the simple word "great movie" into movies you might like. It has saved me endless hours of seeing movies that are hyped to level of insanity - which are simply empty shells that leave no aftertaste.
Because, in the end, well....surely Dark Knight is a reference in its class. The dark super hero, Batman group, movie type. Maybe not the very best (I still have special appreciation of the first with Michael Keaton), but left me exhausted, stressed, depressed, and awed. Like too much of a good Zifandel.
All three of us were let down... Heath Ledger's performance made it palatable.
We still prefer the first two productions with Michael Keaton.
Now THAT is hard for me to believe. I thought this one was head and shoulders above any previous batman flick, including Batman Begins (which would be in second place).
That said, this is more of a crime drama than superhero flick. What was it you didn't care for, specifically?
I didn't like the 2 face ending but the rest was academy award level IMO.
For my money, this film was the closest to the comic books in both tone and execution than any of the others. After B&R, I remember saying to people: "Why can't they just do what the comics do? It would be more economical since most Batman stories were crime dramas, and didn't have flying surfboards." I even used to say that if they ever made another Batman movie, I'd love for it to be played by Christian Bale, based on his performances in SHAFT (he'd make a great Bruce Wayne) and EQUILIBRIUM. (Second choice might have been Wes Bentley). Of course, back then most people responded with "Christian Who?" so I always thought it was a pipe dream. It almost felt like Nolan read my mind
And I never liked Nicholson's performance as The Joker, which I found to be closer to Caeser Romero than to the homicidal maniac in the comics. So needless to say, I enjoyed BB and DK a lot! A number of dramatic flourishes also came directly from the comics (the multiple "origins" of Joker, the advance announcement of three killings at a certain time, some of the political aspects, and more. My only complaint is that they don't make more use of the cape. But that aside, aside from being true to the character, it was just as good as THE DEPARTED or many other crime films. Can't wait for the next go-round!
P.S. Amidst all the praise for Ledger, I think many folks overlook the great work by gary Oldman. He nails the part of Gordon so well that I'm never taken out of the film by thinking "Oh, it's Gary Oldman."
I ended up giving this a whole bunch of thought and that is due mostly to my love for the Tim Burton delivery. He made me a huge fan. None of us have read the original comic books and have no expectations of character persona or a delivery of story that follows them. I wanted to enjoy DK so what was wrong with DK?
All three of us felt the movie was too long.
Except for Harvey Dent/Two face, there is little character development of the Joker or Batman. They play their roles as expected and both actors fulfill our expectations. The screenplay does little more than put both of these characters in situations that serve only to reinforce our expectations of who they are. Nothing new here, no deeper understanding of what drives them. Batman Begins explains what drives the Batman yet there is little added to that here. The Joker had a sadistic father yet what drove him to embrace sadism and anarchy rather than be repulsed by who his father was and his own childhood? We
I can see where you would be let down if you were comparing this to the 60's TV show and first 3 batman movies. DK is not like that at all - it's not even a superhero movie. It's a crime drama and as a crime drama I thought it was magnificent.
I've also heard that Christian Bale's Batman is far closer to the original comic books than any previous movie or TV show. I bought DK on Blu-Ray and can't wait to watch it again. Heath Ledger's performance actually sent chills up and down my spine, and that doesn't happen very often.
"The Joker had a sadistic father yet what drove him to embrace sadism and anarchy rather than be repulsed by who his father was and his own childhood? We
My comparison Kirby is restricted to only the first two movies from Tim Burton.
Film11, thanks for the insightful back story on the Joker - that explains much for DK. I too am a fan of the original animated series which also went off the deep end years later into silliness...
Y'know, I'm starting to realize that, despite my hatred of the Schumacher films,I have to grudgingly admit that they are valid, insofar as BATMAN has had various incarnations/interpretations over the years. One can view the first BATMAN as a homage to the character's early days (late 1930s-early 1940s). In fact, in the beginning The Batman even carried a gun! So any concerns over Batman killing anyone in the Burton films can easily be explained due to that aspect. BATMAN FOREVERcan be taken as an adaption of the character as often shown in the 1950s (death-traps, etc.) And the repugnant BATMAN AND ROBIN obviously a throw-back to the TV-show "camp" era. And the Nolan films carry the tone of BATMAN as depicted in the comics from the 1980s to the present (but with a dash of the 1940s as well).
The GOTHAM KNIGHTS dvd is yet another example of how versatile this character is, with multiple interpretations from Anime animators!
One thing you can be sure of...when Nolan is finished and other filmmakers (or maybe that should be movie-makers, since many don't shoot onf film anymore) take up the character, it will again be a different take. For example, if the rumored JUSTICE LEAGUE movie ever happens...well, the world that Nolan has postulated does not seem like one that would contain aliens or a King of Atlantis. So we may see a different Batman than what Christian Bale has provided. And as long as they refrain from ever bringing Robin in (a sure sign that they're out of ideas), I'll keep lining up!
Explanation for the lack of backstory for the Joker.....(from wikipedia)
After much research, Nolan's brother and co-writer, Jonathan, suggested the Joker's first two appearances, published in the first issue of Batman (1940), as the crucial influences.[18] Jerry Robinson, one of the Joker's co-creators, was consulted on the character's portrayal.[55] Nolan decided to avoid divulging an in-depth origin story for the Joker, and instead portray his rise to power so as to not diminish the threat he poses, explaining to MTV News, "the Joker we meet in The Dark Knight is fully formed...To me, the Joker is an absolute. There are no shades of gray to him
Earlier this week I saw The Dark Knight where it was intended to be watched ... at an IMAX theater!
The scenes filmed in IMAX were breathtaking and the sound was awesome.
IMHO I still believe this is one of, it not the best, super hero movie ever made. It blows away previous versions of Batman. I have now seen it 3 times (regular theater, Blu-ray and now IMAX) and enjoyed it just as much each time.
