The Dark Knight Appreciation Thread (nee Highest Blu-Ray Sales)

[major jay]

I noticed some sharp edits where there should be some decent violence. I'm guessing they'll be releasing a few special editons soon.

[MinionZombie]

I noticed some sharp edits where there should be some decent violence. I'm guessing they'll be releasing a few special editons soon. Sharp edits? I think you're just seeing things. There's been similar talk at the Melon Farmer's website, particularly concerning the knife-in-mouth bit. People thought it was cut, but after close inspection it hasn't been - people were just thinking it was more violent from when they saw it in the cinema. I haven't noticed any cuts at all.

[major jay]

What I was trying to say is not edited from the original release but as if there was much more filmed than what made the theatrical cut. There (the edits) are all over the place. One in particular is when the Joker takes Gordon hostage. I'm just thinking they will be releasing a Director's cut down the line to entice people to buy another copy of the movie.

[ProfessorChaos]

they should've just gone for an R rating anyways, but the greedy fucks at WB knew this film was gonna rake in some serious flow, so they sucked enough cock at the MPAA to get a PG-13 slapped on it so they could milk the kiddies for every dime their parents are willing to spend. i say they should release an unrated version, complete with fucking BLOOD...that's the only gripe i have about the film is the lack of realism when it comes to violence. for instance, that bank manager in the opening scene should've been laying in a pool of his own blood, the dude who got a pencil through the skull should've left a big bloody splat on the table, etc. FUCK CENSORSHIP.

[Mike70]

i got my hands on a copy of this the other day and watched it for the first time. i thought it was pretty awesome for an empty headed superhero action movie.

[MinionZombie]

Well it's not really censorship, The Dark Knight works very well as a PG-13 and indeed that was the aim - and it's not like the previous Batman flicks were hard "R" films, we're not in a Die Hard 4 situation here. Speaking of which - Max Payne - fuck me silly that's a tame-ass film, even the "unrated" version is tame and silly with it's CGI puffs of 'blood' and the odd muffled "motherfucker" tossed in. Mind you, Max Payne is a terrible movie ... TDK is fucking awesome! Nuff said really. As for the MPAA - what really stinks is pinching off a tube of brown onto Zack & Miri Make A Porno, purely because of it's smutty mouth and the word "Porno" in the title - that is pathetic. Mike: empty headed superhero action movie You're high ... right?

[bassman]

Okay.....*cracks batman fan knuckles* As for the violence and blood: A) No directors cut. The film we got IS the directors cut. Nolan has stated many times that there were only a few MINOR edits here and there but no scenes and nothing to do with violence. Just a few extra minutes to an existing scene or an alternate angle. This was the film he intended to make. B) Someone referenced the Gambol face-slice scene...that's the way it was filmed. It was never intended to show the actual slashing of the face. Nolan found it more terrifying to show the other people's reactions instead of the actual violence. But if you pay close enough attention to when the Joker rises out of the garbage bags, he cuts the two goons on the sides of the pool table straight up the gut. C) This film was never going to be R and nor will there ever be such a version. There's quite a bit of violence and blood in the film if you think about it. The fake batman with the cut smile, harvey's fucked up face, and few minor things. The only time it was actually held back was in the interrogation room scene. They had blood on hand to put on Joker's face when Batman beats him, but in the end they decided that the performances and the fucked up make up on ledger made it convincing enough. Okay...that's it for the violence thing. Now Mike....WHAT?!?!? Did you watch this film? Explain......

[Mike70]

Mike: You're high ... right? usually i'd say yes but no i'm not. i didn't really see anything that intellectually stimulating about the dark knight. it was an awesome movie but still just a loud and ultimately empty actiony flick. you know i could be having a pull on all your chains and being a bit of a devil's advocate because of all the hoopla that has surrounded this film

[capncnut]

I'll admit The Dark Knight is the best Batman flick I've seen and a damn good movie worthy of owning... ...but it ain't The Godfather, it ain't 2001 and it ain't Double Indemnity. Don't get me wrong, it's a great movie but seriously overhyped and flogged to death.

[Danny]

I'll admit The Dark Knight is the best Batman flick I've seen and a damn good movie worthy of owning... ...but it ain't The Godfather, it ain't 2001 and it ain't Double Indemnity. Don't get me wrong, it's a great movie but seriously overhyped and flogged to death. no sir no it is not

[bassman]

I don't think anyone around here claims that it's The Godfather or Ben Hur or whatever great film. Morons on imdb do....but they don't count. It's not your average comic book film and there are definitely several social undertones flowing throughout the film. Hell....the trailers give one of them away. "I see now what I must become to stop a man like him." Nolan has injected a great deal of real world issues into his films. His Batman films are probably the best at that sort of thing since Richard Donner's "Superman: The Movie". Raimi did a nice little slice with Spiderman 2, as well. It's no Shawshank, but its definitely at the top of the superhero chain of command, imo. And VERY entertaining...

[Mike70]

It's no Shawshank, but its definitely at the top of the superhero chain of command, imo. And VERY entertaining... i agree that it is a damn entertaining flick and probably the best superhero movie out there but isn't that deep. it isn't supposed to be, it's a damn superhero action movie not "winter light" or "hour of the wolf."

[MinionZombie]

The Dark Knight does what many other superhero movies haven't been able to do - bust out of their genre and be something a bit more. Even though there's nothing "super" about Bruce Wayne/Batman beyond hard-graft training and lots of tech. TDK has many thought-provoking issues within it - the true meaning of a "hero", the whole 'Harvey Dent is the hero Gotham needs', despite his turn to the dark side, and then blaming Batman 'because he can take it' was a big issue. There's also the issue of surveilance with the phone tracker thing - and Fox's disgust at the sheer invasion of privacy of it all, and his moral stand against it - but also the idea that it helped them catch the Joker once and for all ... interesting. Then the big one being the moral dilemma of the two boats - one with citizens, one with (mostly) criminals, and they each hold the power to destroy the other's boat in order to save themselves - this issue alone had me, and the dude I went to see TDK with in the cinema, talking the whole way home - ultimately getting us onto the whole use of CCTV in real world Britain. There's the idea of The Joker just being someone who "wants to watch the world burn" - he has no real motive, or wants or needs, he just does what he does. The film is packed with such thoughts, and these elements come out even more with repeated viewings. Also - nice summary of the violence issue, hellsing. I myself was quite stunned upon the first reveal of Two Face - and this is in a 12A rated movie!

[bassman]

Well said, MZ. Like I said, I don't think it ranks with the best films in history, BUT....there is one scene that I think does. The ending with Batman on the run and Gordon making his "hero we deserve" speech. That scene is powerful as hell if you ask me. I get emotional everytime I see it. But i'm also a life long batman fan, so it's probably a bit different to the casual viewer. Someone finally got the idea behind the character and portrayed it correctly. Suck on that Burton and Shumacher...

[MinionZombie]

Well said, MZ. Like I said, I don't think it ranks with the best films in history, BUT....there is one scene that I think does. The ending with Batman on the run and Gordon making his "hero we deserve" speech. That scene is powerful as hell if you ask me. I get emotional everytime I see it. But i'm also a life long batman fan, so it's probably a bit different to the casual viewer. Someone finally got the idea behind the character and portrayed it correctly. Suck on that Burton and Shumacher... lol, yeah - suck on that you two! Ah mate, The Dark Knight is just superb - although I did push it into my Top 10 ... but I might settle it in my Top 20 ... I'll have to have a think about that a little further. I've been meaning to blog up my Top 50 actually, with little bits of chat about each of them - it's not a numerical order list, the best I could do was five groups of ten and order those five groups ... with an Honourable Mentions category at the end. Will do that later...