The Dark Knight (Two-Disc Special Edition)
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Actor: Aaron Eckhart, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael CaineBrand: BALE,CHRISTIAN
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.40:1
Running Time: 152 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-12-09
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- The follow-up to Batman Begins, THE DARK KNIGHT reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of BATMAN /BRUCE WAYNE in his continuing war on crime. With the help of LT. JIM GORDON and District Attorney HARVEY DENT,BATMAN sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves effective, but soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal
DVD Reviews of The Dark Knight (Two-Disc Special Edition)
DVD Review: The Dark Knight: A Rarity in Our Time
Summary: 5 Stars
The highly anticipated sequel to 2005's BATMAN BEGINS was released in theatres Thursday, July 17th at 3,040 Midnight showings all over the country.
For the past 30 years (since Christopher Reeves' SUPERMAN in 1978), superhero movies have become a major enterprise, raking in millions of dollars every year. Before it was knocked out of number one by THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK, Joel Schumacher's BATMAN FOREVER held the record for largest box office opening weekend ever, bringing in (what used to be considered a whopping) $52M. After that, there was of course the ever popular HARRY POTTER series, its first installment grossing over $90M in its opening weekend. However, audiences were cast under a new spell (forgive the horrible pun) with Sony's SPIDERMAN Series, which constantly broke every record in the book. Even the movie monstrosity PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN couldn't cramp Spidey's style. There were other comic book films that did extremely successful, including The X-MEN series and new release IRON MAN, which opened in theatres in early summer 2008. After all of this ascending popularity, it was only appropriate that THE DARK KNIGHT had the largest opening weekend in history, grossing $158M in a 3 day weekend, $18.5M in a single midnight showing, and the first film to break the $200M line in a period of only 5 days. Yes, THE DARK KNIGHT has proved to be entertaining and fun to watch, but is there something more to this action-packed movie than just cheap thrills and explosions? I believe there is.
THE DARK KNIGHT begins with a bank heist that throws violence and chilling performances in the audiences' faces. It brought the audience into the movie shocked and disturbed, which is different than any other superhero movie I've personally seen. At first, I was very skeptical to this taut, tense beginning. This past summer has been a series of disappointments; many of them highly anticipated films that were expected to do well. M. Night Shyamalan's THE HAPPENING started with a bang, but slowly deteriorated into a jumbled mess of bad scripting and shameless acting. Angelina Jolie's action/thriller WANTED opened ridiculously and continued down that path until it's unbelievably silly finale. Even Spielberg's new installment to the INDIANA JONES series was atrocious, leaving legends Harrison Ford and Cate Blanchett ashamed and mortified. Some light spots in the summer included Robert Downey, Jr.'s comic book adaptation of IRON MAN, which received fabulous reviews from audiences and critics alike. The film version of SEX AND THE CITY was had positive audience reactions with fair reviews and a good box office quota. And who could forget the insanely adorable robot fairytale WALLE. The summer was filled with ups and downs, but none of them are even close to being on the same level as Christopher Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT.
The film continued on past the bank heist and traveled down to the meat and bones of each of the characters, shedding light on the psychosis of each individual. Nolan's screenplay (co-wrote with brother Jonathan Nolan) is among the best in the business. This screenplay is up there with PULP FICTION and FARGO in greatest scripts ever and it is just a matter of time before Team Nolan will be as famous and well-respected as Joel and Ethan Coen. The dialogue in the film varies from philosophical to whimsically manic, placing an incredibly uneasy feeling in the pits of the audiences' stomachs. The screenplay played beautifully, like a gothic orchestral piece that flowed together masterfully with the direction and acting. Nolan's direction complements the screenplay fantastically, using very dramatic themes mixed with action sequences that are unmatched in other superhero films. While other films have the feeling of Computer Generated Imagery, THE DARK KNIGHT realistically pulls off the action without making the film feel hokey and fake.
Nolan (who directed the 2000 thriller MEMENTO) can bring an antiquely story like Batman to life in an inventive and fresh style, choosing unlikely plot twists and gritty storylines that can shock even the most unwavering moviegoer. Wally Pfister (Director of Photography) and Lee Smith (Editor) deserve credits as well for there hard work trying to skillfully put the pieces of this masterpiece together. The real atmosphere of the film, however, came from James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer, the two composers of the film's score. Howard and Zimmer's composition is both frightening and tense at times, but then appropriately switches into heroic and empowering. The music during the ferry scenes is especially noteworthy, heightening the tension to the breaking point.
The cast made the movie enticing and interesting, leaving the audience questioning the characters every minute of the film. Christian Bale's performance as the title character was both dramatic and complex, showing an interesting side of Batman that hasn't been seen before. Although speculation that Bale's performance was going to be a repeat of BATMAN BEGINS, the talented actor proved critics wrong and revealed the character's power struggle with the good and evil within himself. Maggie Gyllenhaal (who replaced Katie Holmes, thank God) was perfect for the role of Rachel Dawes, Bruce Wayne's love interest. Gyllenhaal's subtle yet effective acting techniques made her performance memorable and efficient. Aaron Eckhart's performance was fantastic. That's all I'm going to say about it because there are some things that shouldn't be said before you see the movie. Just take my word for it, he's brilliant. Filling out the rest of the cast are Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Cane, all giving topnotch performances to there supporting characters. However, there was one actor who seemed to stand out among everyone. You may or may not know him: Heath Ledger.
Heath Ledger performed as the Joker, leaving the audiences with little breath in there lungs from the moment he appears on the screen. People stared in awe as one of America's most beloved stars completely immersed himself into one of the darkest portrayals of all time. Ledger's performance is up next to Nicholson's THE SHINING and Mitchum's CAPE FEAR and should (and probably will) be an Oscar-Winning performance. Ledger makes himself utterly unrecognizable, a rarity with most actors these days. It's not just the facial make-up, but the mannerisms and vocal patterns that make this character memorable. Ledger's joker pulls the audience into the mind of a vicious sociopath, insanely painting a picture of the madman in everyone. Although Ledger's performance gave the audience the willies, it also produced laughter either out of comedy or nervousness. Ledger's untimely passing in January of this year was both unexpected and incredibly saddening. After viewing the young actor's startling portrayal, audiences and critics all agree that Ledger could have been the next Brando or even better. All in all, Ledger's performance stole the show and perhaps will even steal the Oscar.
It's almost a certainty that Ledger's performance will get an Oscar nod, but will the film? It just recently got shafted at both the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild awards, after receiving one nomination each, both for Ledger's performance. After seeing what seemed to be the greatest comic book movie ever, I began to question if it could be in the same category as THE GODFATHER and PULP FICTION? People think that it is completely out of the question, considering that THE GODFATHER and PULP FICTION are masterpieces. However, I believe that it can be in the same category and maybe even a step above.
THE DARK KNIGHT is more than a comic book movie, but rather an intriguing crime drama that explores the deepest pathos of the criminal mind and surveys the age-old story of good vs. evil. It's a rare film that displays great performances, pitch-perfect direction, a spotless screenplay, and fantastic timing (even for its 2 1/2 hour running time). It's thrilling, exciting, nail-biting, sad, hopeful, hopeless, depressing, funny, frightening, and entertaining. It's everything that a moviegoer, a critic, and a filmmaker are looking for in a movie. Internet Movie Database users agree that it is among the best. In fact, THE DARK KNIGHT's average star rating was up with THE GODFATHER and PULP FICTION, taking over the number 4 spot on Greatest Movies of All Time right below THE GODFATHER PARTS 1&2 and THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION. It's also been a fad for the past couple of years to nominate the films that are "popular" for best picture. Movies such as LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and JUNO have been nominated not only for good performances and terrific dialogue, but something that many films these days lack: charm. Although these films were both brilliantly made, they didn't seem like Oscar material at first sight. People weren't opposed to LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and JUNO being nominated, but when they oppose THE DARK KNIGHT for a nomination, they will leave this moviegoer asking, "WHY SO SERIOUS?"
Is it possible that this revival of a DC Comic book can win Best Picture of the year at the Oscars? It's possible, but not probable. However, I do think that a nomination is in order for Ledger's portrayal, the Nolan Brother's fantastic screenplay, Christopher Nolan's powerful direction, and a possible nod for Best Picture of the Year. The performances are fantastic, whether the Academy recognizes them or not. Call it what you like, but THE DARK KNIGHT is definitely one of the greatest films ever made. And I'm not joking.
Description of The Dark Knight (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Genre: Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 9-DEC-2008
Media Type: DVD
The Dark Knight arrives with tremendous hype (best superhero movie ever? posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger?), and incredibly, it lives up to all of it. But calling it the best superhero movie ever seems like faint praise, since part of what makes the movie great--in addition to pitch-perfect casting, outstanding writing, and a compelling vision--is that it bypasses the normal fantasy element of the superhero genre and makes it all terrifyingly real. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is Gotham City's new district attorney, charged with cleaning up the crime rings that have paralyzed the city. He enters an uneasy alliance with the young police lieutenant, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Batman (Christian Bale), the caped vigilante who seems to trust only Gordon--and whom only Gordon seems to trust. They make progress until a psychotic and deadly new player enters the game: the Joker (Heath Ledger), who offers the crime bosses a solution--kill the Batman. Further complicating matters is that Dent is now dating Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal, after Katie Holmes turned down the chance to reprise her role), the longtime love of Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne.
In his last completed role before his tragic death, Ledger is fantastic as the Joker, a volcanic, truly frightening force of evil. And he sets the tone of the movie: the world is a dark, dangerous place where there are no easy choices. Eckhart and Oldman also shine, but as good as Bale is, his character turns out rather bland in comparison (not uncommon for heroes facing more colorful villains). Director-cowriter Christopher Nolan (Memento) follows his critically acclaimed Batman Begins with an even better sequel that sets itself apart from notable superhero movies like Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man because of its sheer emotional impact and striking sense of realism--there are no suspension-of-disbelief superpowers here. At 152 minutes, it's a shade too long, and it's much too intense for kids. But for most movie fans--and not just superhero fans--The Dark Knight is a film for the ages. --David Horiuchi
On the DVD
Unlike the Blu-ray disc, The Dark Knight on DVD is completely in 2.40:1 aspect ratio. You can, however, watch the six IMAX scenes separately. Also on disc 2 are "Gotham Uncovered: The Creation of a Scene," which is behind-the-scenes footage about the Bat suit, the Bat pod, and the music; eight-minute segments of Gotham Central, a faux-news program that gives some background to events in the movie; plus a variety of trailers, poster art, and more. Last, there's a digital copy of the film compatible with iTunes and Windows Media (download code expires 12/9/09). --David Horiuchi
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