DVD Review: The Dark Knight (Single Disc Edition)

Own it On DVD & Blu-ray
12/9/08

Or Download the Film on iTunes

View Clips in our Video Screening Room

In preparation for what is undoubtedly the most hotly anticipated DVD & Blu-ray release of 2008, the wonderful folks at Warner Brothers have sent me an advance DVD for review of The Dark Knight to share exclusively with Film Intuition readers. Although the single disc edition boasts zero special features aside from the cool "digital copy" bonus* and some genre related trailers (along with two public service announcements including that annoying rehash of Casablanca as a warning for DVD copiers and a far superior anti-smoking ad)-- its standout-- other than the film itself is the killer preview for 2009's Watchmen.

Despite the lack of featurettes, it offered me the irresistible chance to see what it's like to view The Dark Knight on the small screen. But before we get into the technical aspects (which may indeed change your decision on which version to buy)--I'll reprint an extended excerpt of my lengthy original theatrical review of the film for you below.

The Dark Knight

Director: Christopher Nolan
(Original Publication Date: 7/18/08)

“Can somebody tell me what kind of a world we live in where a man dressed up as a bat gets all of my press?” The Joker (Jack Nicholson) memorably complained in Tim Burton’s 1989 masterpiece Batman.

Burton’s film — which took an infinitely darker yet still refreshingly humorous approach in updating the classic comic book character created by Bob Kane and later brought to brightly colored life in the popular '60s TV series and film — seemed to provide the definitive take on "the man, the myth, the bat." That was until Joel Schumacher took over the franchise and turned it into a campy, overcrowded mess in the late '90s, but that all changed when Memento director Christopher Nolan took the Batmobile out for a test drive with his Greek tragedy-tinged epic Batman Begins in 2005.

While nostalgia for Burton’s film grew each year as fans mourned the wrecked franchise, Nolan admirably avoided the temptation to try and rebuild the unstable remnants of Gotham City still left standing by Schumacher. Instead, like a master chef, he started from scratch, taking what he wanted from the comic book and earlier films and, along with his co-writers, inventing a richer, far more devastating interpretation of the Batman mythology. In stark contrast to the socially awkward, slightly bumbling and more lighthearted portrayal by Burton’s star Michael Keaton, Nolan opted to go further in depth into the origins of the tale itself. By putting a completely different spin on the character, he illuminates just how “his” Bruce Wayne came to be the existential, less than gregarious and downright arrogant man he serves up, therefore making Nolan’s Batman a genuine shock to fans, including myself, who remembered seeing Keaton's original characterization in the theatre.

While I still prefer Burton’s version — although I’m possibly biased, as much like one never forgets a first love, they never forget their first Batman -- Nolan’s adaptation of the series is uniquely his own. Upon watching Begins once more in preparation for this review, I became infinitely more impressed by Nolan’s filmmaking craftsmanship and the way he not only set up the character of The Joker in the finale of Begins but also subconsciously prepared audiences for the ultimate darkness that would fill his aptly named sequel, The Dark Knight. And indeed Knight is so entrenched in ominous, forbidding tones that it instantly recalls the nighthawk work of Michael Mann (most notably from Heat, Miami Vice, and Collateral) and makes Tim Burton’s ’89 venture seem downright sunny by comparison.

Admittedly, while Batman films have always been by their very definition distinctly preoccupied with the Bat, the events of Dark Knight’s post-production and the unspeakably heartbreaking loss of its star Heath Ledger earlier in 2008 turned all of the media attention to not only Ledger’s final completed performance — frequently cited as his best — but The Joker himself. Hearkening back to that unforgettable opening quote, somewhere in an alternate universe of movie characters, The Joker - as played by Nicholson in 1989 - must be grinning at the realization that finally it is he, instead of the Bat, who’s been given all of the press. And, this being said, is it any wonder that Nolan’s film is the first one in the series to neglect including the name Batman in its title altogether, thereby making each and every self-proclaimed “freak” in the film a Knight of darkness, if for no more than at least a few minutes?"

(Click Here to Read the Entire Review)

The DVD

A Technical Review

Releasing just in time not only for the holidays but also to remind Academy Award voters not to forget about the Bat or more precisely, The Joker's Heath Ledger-- Warner Brothers has launched a superb "For Your Consideration" campaign for industry periodicals like The Hollywood Reporter and Variety that's begun cropping up online.

However, when it comes to the DVD --and much like two of last year's Best Picture Oscar contenders, Paramount Vantage's brilliant epic There Will Be Blood and Focus Features's lush Atonement-- something is lost in the transfer to the small screen.

While we could hear every single "thwack" coming out of Javier Bardem's air-gun in Miramax and Paramount's dark, neo-noir western Best Picture winning hybrid No Country For Old Men and Warner Brothers' own previous statue holder The Departed still packed a phenomenal punch when it arrived on DVD-- because of the scope of Nolan's Knight-- it falls a bit flat on DVD. More specifically, the contrast ratio is off and makes one squint even with the blinds closed as you really need to strain to focus in on the Michael Mann styled They "Fly" By Night-like production design.

Feeling a bit disappointed, I decided the next approach would be an action test. I viewed the film's coolest action sequence-- namely the entire Harvey Dent "Trip to County" and subsequent showdown between the Joker and Batman first on DVD and then stuck the disc into my Blu-ray upconvert player to check out the exact same scene (because really, who can't get enough of that?!).

Needless to say, it was a world of difference-- crystal clear digital sound, a better contrast to differentiate between the scenes making it seem less 2-D and decidedly more 3-D or-- as the Warner Brothers Blu-ray ad before The Dark Knight promised-- it felt as though we were damn near "inside the film."

While obviously, any Knight is better than the absence of Knight and fans will not let this dissuade them in picking up any version of the film-- for those who really desire to go behind the scenes of the work and explore additional features, you may want to consider skipping the single and moving to the 2-Disc Widescreen-- or at the very least venturing way past go and directly to Blu-ray which offers the most satisfying transfer of the film we all rallied around for a majority of this past summer.

Or, in the words of Ledger's memorable Joker, once you make the switch, you'll definitely be saying, "Now There's a Batman."

*Note: A tech-savvy reader hipped me to explore the criteria for Digital Copy on the DVD. FYI-- at least on the single-disc Widescreen Edition, the Digital Copy of The Dark Knight is only compatible with Windows Media and "not compatible with Apple Macintosh and iPod devices."

Spike TV's SCREAM 2008: Voting Has Begun

Your video guide to this year's "other" election.

With awards doled out in categories such as “The Holy Shit! Scene of the Year” and the “Most Memorable Mutilation,” Spike TV’s third annual SCREAM celebration of all things comic book, horror, sci-fi, and fantasy isn’t for the faint of heart.

While the Oscars contain incessant jokes about the show’s endless running time, the Emmys are usually more fun to discuss than watch, the Grammys are growing more and more forgettable, and the inclusion of alcohol at the Golden Globes has made for some increasingly odd acceptance speeches, the mission of SCREAM 2008 seems to be to highlight exactly what entertains audiences. Whether it’s a guilty pleasure for a cheesy horror film, a deep devotion to a favorite comic book artist, or following each and every twist and turn from television shows such as Lost and Heroes, serving up a diverse selection of contenders in more than two dozen categories, Spike TV’s award show has you covered.

While it comes as no surprise that Christopher Nolan’s record-breaking box office titan The Dark Knight leads the pack with 21 nominations, Iron Man and Hellboy II: Golden Army came in second and third respectively. But there are some truly memorable inclusions throughout, including nods for Anna Friel in Pushing Daisies (for Breakout Performance), supporting performer Jason Bateman in Hancock, and nods for the critically divided films Southland Tales and I Am Legend.

Featuring an impressive advisory board including Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream helmer Wes Craven, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, comic book writer Geoff Johns, Heroes creator Tim Kring, Frank Miller, Kevin Smith, Paula Wagner, Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, Eli Roth, and Guillermo Del Toro who, according to the press release, “were responsible for advising on categories and determining nominees in each category” of eligible works released between August 11, 2007 and August 8, 2008, in the end it’s the fans who decide the winners. With plenty of widgets, interactive opportunities and chances to vote in every category available on the event’s official website Scream.Spike.com, the show, which will air in more than 160 territories around the globe, will premier on October 21 on Spike TV.

And to facilitate the voting process, I’ve drawn from a wide variety of nominated films to put together a mini video guide featuring clips and/or trailers to refresh your memory.

(Feel free to click on the underlined titles

to explore my original reviews)

Cloverfield

The Dark Knight

Enchanted

Hancock

I Am Legend

The Incredible Hulk

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Iron Man

The Mist

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

WALL-E

Wanted

Dedicated to “bringing the fans exactly what they want to see this year with big world premieres, rare performances and the superstars that made this year a record breaker at the box office,” SCREAM 2008 not only demands your participation but also celebrates “the incredible talent behind these genres,” as Spike TV’s Casey Patterson noted in the press release. Remember, voting is currently taking place from now through Friday, October 17 so head on over to Spike TV’s site to make your selections for the works that made you scream your lungs out over the past year… or just simply call out “Holy Shit!” since — wouldn’t you know — there’s a category for that, too.

The Dark Knight

Explore Video Clips in Our Screening Room

Read the DVD Review

Director:
Christopher Nolan

“Can somebody tell me what kind of a world we live in where a man dressed up as a bat gets all of my press?” The Joker (Jack Nicholson) memorably complained in Tim Burton’s 1989 masterpiece Batman.

Burton’s film — which took an infinitely darker yet still refreshingly humorous approach in updating the classic comic book character created by Bob Kane and later brought to brightly colored life in the popular '60s TV series and film — seemed to provide the definitive take on "the man, the myth, the bat." That was until Joel Schumacher took over the franchise and turned it into a campy, overcrowded mess in the late '90s, but that all changed when Memento director Christopher Nolan took the Batmobile out for a test drive with his Greek tragedy-tinged epic Batman Begins in 2005.

While nostalgia for Burton’s film grew each year as fans mourned the wrecked franchise, Nolan admirably avoided the temptation to try and rebuild the unstable remnants of Gotham City still left standing by Schumacher. Instead, like a master chef, he started from scratch, taking what he wanted from the comic book and earlier films and, along with his co-writers, inventing a richer, far more devastating interpretation of the Batman mythology. In stark contrast to the socially awkward, slightly bumbling and more lighthearted portrayal by Burton’s star Michael Keaton, Nolan opted to go further in depth into the origins of the tale itself. By putting a completely different spin on the character, he illuminates just how “his” Bruce Wayne came to be the existential, less than gregarious and downright arrogant man he serves up, therefore making Nolan’s Batman a genuine shock to fans, including myself, who remembered seeing Keaton's original characterization in the theatre.

While I still prefer Burton’s version — although I’m possibly biased, as much like one never forgets a first love, they never forget their first Batman -- Nolan’s adaptation of the series is uniquely his own. Upon watching Begins once more in preparation for this review, I became infinitely more impressed by Nolan’s filmmaking craftsmanship and the way he not only set up the character of The Joker in the finale of Begins but also subconsciously prepared audiences for the ultimate darkness that would fill his aptly named sequel, The Dark Knight. And indeed Knight is so entrenched in ominous, forbidding tones that it instantly recalls the nighthawk work of Michael Mann (most notably from Heat, Miami Vice, and Collateral) and makes Tim Burton’s ’89 venture seem downright sunny by comparison.

Admittedly, while Batman films have always been by their very definition distinctly preoccupied with the Bat, the events of Dark Knight’s post-production and the unspeakably heartbreaking loss of its star Heath Ledger earlier in 2008 turned all of the media attention to not only Ledger’s final completed performance — frequently cited as his best — but The Joker himself. Hearkening back to that unforgettable opening quote, somewhere in an alternate universe of movie characters, The Joker - as played by Nicholson in 1989 - must be grinning at the realization that finally it is he, instead of the Bat, who’s been given all of the press. And, this being said, is it any wonder that Nolan’s film is the first one in the series to neglect including the name Batman in its title altogether, thereby making each and every self-proclaimed “freak” in the film a Knight of darkness, if for no more than at least a few minutes?

Picking up where he left off, roughly a year after Begins, Nolan reacquaints us with Gotham City. Not only is Christian Bale’s Batman still deemed a controversial vigilante with police “orders” to arrest him on sight (repeatedly ignored by Gary Oldman’s Lieutenant Gordon) but he’s also unfortunately inspired a group of fame-seeking, action junkie Bat-wannabes who pull out their Halloween styled costumes on any given evening, making do with hockey masks and guns, predictably putting themselves in far greater danger, thereby making Batman’s job harder instead of easier. Of course, this is Batman we’re talking about (or elegantly “The Batman” as he’s called throughout in homage to the comic) so despite needing to iron out a few kinks and take the suit in for additional repairs from Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), he takes everything in stride.

However, that all changes when The Joker (Heath Ledger) appears on the scene and forms a terrifying alliance with the heads of the city’s mafia. He also makes it his personal quest to turn Gotham’s crusading — and far more press friendly “white knight" — District Attorney Harvey Dent (Thank You For Smoking’s Aaron Eckhart) “dark” after Dent becomes the city’s saving grace by taking 549 criminals to court in a landmark RICO case. Whereas Batman must lurk in the shadows and speak in a ridiculously disguised voice to avoid being identified as his carefree playboy alter-ego Bruce Wayne, Dent is the man deemed the true hero in Gotham’s eye. This becomes much harder to bear when Wayne learns that his true love, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal gamely filling in for Katie Holmes) has mixed business with pleasure, falling in love with her dashing colleague, Dent.

Nolan’s version of the exceedingly arrogant Wayne was never one to take things lying down. Thus he proceeds to challenge their courtship at every step, impulsively inviting himself along on a double date, rerouting the leggy stars of the entire Russian ballet aboard his yacht so that Dent is unable to take Rachel to the show, and foolishly trying to inspire envy in his love by making grand juvenile entrances with an endless parade of silicone-enhanced bimbos every chance he gets. While normally — if Wayne was even a fraction more likable — we would feel his pain in not being able to reunite with his true love, most of the time he comes off like an overgrown schoolboy. And intriguingly, the lovely Gyllenhaal has little chemistry with Bale (especially evidenced in a clinically cool kiss) but manages to flirt playfully with Eckhart’s Dent, therefore and possibly without Nolan’s intention, making Batman seem like an annoying third wheel.

But more importantly, this time around, our attention isn’t focused on Batman and it certainly isn’t preoccupied with his nonexistent love life, for as soon as Ledger appears on the screen, teasing us in a fast intro before appearing grandly at a mafia sit-down laughing maniacally, he’s the one keeping us riveted during the film’s overly long 142 minute running-time. While — mostly due to the writing — it isn’t on par with his turn in Brokeback Mountain, Ledger, who drew equal inspiration from Sex Pistols bass guitarist Sid Vicious and A Clockwork Orange’s villainous Alexander DeLarge, does some of his finest work in the film, even if he’s woefully under-used and sadly obscured beneath an unnecessarily sloppy and complicated plot that tries to squeeze in not only every criminal in the city along with all of Gotham’s kitchen sinks. Although I was and still am a true admirer of Ledger’s immeasurable talent, I’d hesitate to go along with the possibly legacy driven sentiment that he’s the worthiest of a Best Actor nomination so far in 2008 since in my opinion that title goes to In Bruges’ Colin Farrell. Still, he heightens every scene he’s in with his musically cadenced voice that punctuates a lackluster score, which never comes close to topping Danny Elfman’s brilliant, instantly recognizable ’89 composition. This time around, and given nowhere near as memorably snappy dialogue as Nicholson was nineteen years earlier to better fit his character, Ledger’s version of The Joker — much like Bale’s Batman — seems far more dangerous, freakish, and twisted than as portrayed in the other films.

In fact it’s ironic that he is called The Joker. Although his face is carved into a frighteningly extra large smile and Ledger delights in spinning a new sinister yarn for every victim he threatens as to how he earned his scars, there are very few jokes or moments for laughter, even nervous chuckles. Instead of teasing us with lines like Nicholson’s proclamation that, “Jack is dead, my friend. You can call me Joker. And as you can see, I’m a lot happier,” merry mayhem and knife-driven chaos proves to be this bipolar Joker’s most effective antidepressant, although the benefits seem short-lived. For quickly after getting his fix, The Joker is out on the street again, cruising for another kill in an unceasing effort to take out The Batman, leaving unpredictable carnage in his wake as major characters are jeopardized and the fate of one in particular I’m still not entirely sure I understand, given the film’s tendency to offer an “ah-ha” magic trick of bringing the dead back to life and vice versa.

Although I’d rather watch Nolan’s original Batman Begins for a richer and more complete storytelling arc, despite its rather rushed conclusion (proving they may be the director’s Achilles heel as it occurs again in Knight) and Burton’s first offering is still my definitive take on the character, when it comes to staging action sequences, The Dark Knight topped every single film that has come before it in the series during four unbelievably tense action sequences specifically photographed in IMAX. Making up for an unrelentingly wandering camera that distracts our eye from cinematographer and longtime Nolan collaborator Wally Pfister’s gorgeous usage of blues and blacks in early dialogue scenes where the camera seems to be tied to a tether ball until it makes a decision to hold steady for one memorable line or moment, Nolan, Pfister and his amazing cinematic partners in crime, ramped up the action for tremendous effect.

While I hesitate to reveal anything in the way of spoilers, be sure to remain in your seats during a sequence involving the transportation of Harvey Dent as Nolan employs the Batpod, motorcycles, semi trucks, helicopters, and S.W.A.T. vehicles in a bravura experience that demands to be appreciated on the big screen (although those with sensitive ears may want to pack along earplugs). In fact, it’s so good, I was still talking about it one day after the screening and it actually out-performed my previous 2008 favorite action sequence included in Spielberg’s awe-inspiring jeep chase from the latest Indiana Jones film two months ago.

So ultimately, despite the film’s flaws as well as our wish that we could go back and rework it at the screenplay stage to make the most of it for the staggering talent involved (especially the late, great Ledger), to quote Nicholson in Tim Burton’s film — in the end, Gotham City, and by association Batman, “always brings a smile to my face.”

Batman: Gotham Knight

Directors:
Yasuhiro Aoki,
Futoshi Higashide,
Toshiyuki Kubooka,
Hiroshi Morioka, & Shoujirou Nishini

“I never seen him before, but I’m like I so know who this is,” a teenage skateboarder proclaims in Have I Got a Story For You, which serves as the first entry of the impressively animated if uneven six part anthological comic book come to cinematic life in the new DVD release Batman: Gotham Knight. Of course, the caped crusader to whom the teens are referring is none other than Batman and in a series of escalating stories, the group tries to outdo one another as a sort of fanboy version of a “your mama” joke. While it's admittedly a rather weak way to open the episodic work, from a narrative perspective, it makes perfect sense to ensure the audience’s thirst for good old fashioned storytelling by listening to several tall tales in preparation for the film’s far superior yarns to come. And indeed, much like a perfect mix CD made by a friend who knows your musical taste well, the six talented Japanese anime experienced filmmakers responsible for Gotham Knight know how to excite viewers as the film climbs steadily, building upon itself to become worthy of the formidably high bar that Batman enthusiasts have set for any entry in the series.

Broken into a half dozen distinctive chapters, each of the tales in Gotham Knight was created by an entirely different director and screenwriter. Now while in traditional live action form this may be distracting (and some critics referenced the failure of Four Rooms in their Gotham reviews) and it's also been pretentious (such as in the overly long Paris je t’aime), this technique can also provide a unique visual take to differentiate the chapters and better serve the story, such as Kieslowski employing a different cinematographer for each individual segment of his brilliant Three Colors Trilogy. Granted it’s not in the same league as Kieslowski nor should one compare apples to oranges-- or more precisely an anime take on a comic book with some of the best foreign films of the 1990’s-- but the bottom line is, it works in the exact same way in avoiding getting viewers lost in the shuffle of too much stimuli by switching up the visuals, not just for novelty or to pander to the ADD attention spans most filmmakers assume those of us reared on MTV, video games and Choose Your Own Adventure books have, but to better the experience considerably.

And although the mission may have been to segue from Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins into the hotly anticipated sequel The Dark Knight or-- at its most cynical-- another excuse to get more bat bang for the box office buck, Gotham Knight offers several fascinating looks at the comic book’s mythology including various points-of-view when it comes to the existential hero himself. In addition it references not only Nolan’s works but also the films from the other directors including the horribly campy Schumacher offerings, Burton’s masterworks, the comic book itself as well as the deliciously cheesy television series and original film from 1966.

Upping the action considerably from Story, the film moves into Sin City like territory with the dark and breathtakingly animated Crossfire. In this short, we’re given a cop’s-eye-view of Gotham City and just what moral and ethical quandaries go along with having a vigilante like Bruce Wayne’s Batman basically jeopardizing their job security, with some officers led by Lt. Gordon who are in favor of his unorthodox and not exactly legal crime fighting and others who seem more annoyed by the caped one than the average Joe is of telemarketers. Above all, we’re constantly reminded of Bruce Wayne’s code of honor and the fact that-- while he’s arguably one of the darkest comic book characters ever created-- he doesn’t kill anyone and is always willing to put his own life on the line but will never ask anyone else to do the same for him.

Of course, Batman wouldn’t be able to whip out the “kapow” and “splat” without throwing some villains into the film and we’re given some genuinely exciting confrontations with Scarecrow (whom viewers recall from Nolan's Batman Begins) in the short chapter In Darkness Dwells and a humdinger of an introduction to Deadshot in Deadshot. In fact just these two shorts put together more than make up for some of the ridiculous villains and storylines introduced in the late 90’s Schumacher sequels wherein the franchise hit an all-time low with nipples on the batsuit, a wasted Jim Carrey, and trying to cram in an obligatory pop song every twenty minutes to sell Bat-soundtracks.

However, and thankfully never wearing out its welcome in its seventy-five minute running time, the film’s true standout comes in the form of director Toshiyuki Kubooka’s Working Through Pain which was penned by screenwriter Brian Azzarello. In Pain, we find Bruce Wayne heading east where he enlists the mentorship of a bright Indian woman named Cassandra to help teach him how to control his body’s responses and deal with the excruciating pain in which he often finds himself. Instead of just rehashing the tried and true Mr. Miyagi inspired Karate Kid clichéd plot, the filmmakers dig deeper to make Cassandra the most fascinating supporting player in the film that isn’t a regular part of the mythology as we learn that in order to acquire her knowledge she had to hide the fact that she was a woman, only to be accused of witchcraft when her gender was inevitably discovered.

It’s these little touches in the storytelling along with awe-inspiring artwork that separate the film from simply being labeled a clever marketing tool. And by giving audiences a chance to go from one episode to the next, similar to waiting for the next installment in a comic book series, we’re given a richer look at the man in black than perhaps what would’ve been shared if we’d only been offered one single narrative to sum up the endlessly complicated bat.